So after being an avid reader I deceided to try my paw at this writing stuff. I've had some others read this and helped me clean it up so hopefully there arn't too many errors (please feel free to point them out). I realize it is really short and is more of a scene than it is a chapter really.

This is a story about a black wolf, Taylor, that seems to be your average young adult black wolf that wants nothing more than to live a normal life. Normal can be hard when you still can't find a job a year after graduating college, you are still living with your parents, you work at a dead end part time job, you have a limited social life because your friends are doing better than you, and your love life is sending you mixed signals. 

*PLEASE tell me what you think, whether it's boring, too long/short, not enough action/drama, or if there is something you dislike or whatever. You can do it anonymously at http://iwontbyte.tumblr.com/ask so be as honest and brutal as you want :D

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"Hello, what can I get for you today?" An otter asked from behind the counter beaming with a bright smile on her muzzle. She seemed polite and friendly, but perhaps that was her job. Either way, she looked pretty, filling out that black polo shirt and green apron as it stretched over her chest. She had a pleasant scent that had the undertone of something flowery.

"Um, do you still have the caramel brulee latte?" I asked not seeing it on the menu.

"We sure do," she replied enthusiastically.

"Can I get that in venti? And that's all," I said, anticipating her next questions and handing my card.

"Can I get a name for that?" she asked, holding a pen to the cup and waiting for my response.

They had never asked for my name before here. Usually they only do this when the place is busy to make sure no one grabs the order, but there was only one other person in line behind me. "Yeah, it's Taylor." She wrote my name and order on the cup and placed it on the counter for the barista to grab.

I walked to the other end of the counter to wait for my drink as the otter turned her attention to the stallion that was in line behind me. The stallion was wearing a typical black business suit with a red tie and had a leather handbag in one hand. He was pretty tall, a good foot or more than me and was quite fit. You could see the suit stretch over the muscles in his arm as he reached to pull out his wallet. I looked away feeling envious of his physique and because my ears perked up at the mention of my name from someone behind me. I turned around to see a lion with a big, fluffy mane that seemed to frame the smile he had across his face.

"Venti caramel brulee latte?" he said questioningly with ears flicking at me.

I gave him a nod and said my thanks as I grabbed my cup. He wished me a good day as I turned around to look for a place to sit. Aside from the stallion and I, there were only few other customers sitting in the shop. There was a bear couple sitting in front of the window, a rabbit hiding behind a fort of books in the back, and a weasel sitting at the bar facing the barista. I scoffed at the site of the weasel as I took a seat in one of the comfy arm chairs in the corner. Around him sat an audience all looking at him in attention, his backpack, a MacBook, an iPad, and an iPhone in his paws. How much more snooty can you get sitting here in a Starbucks with all those Apple products? I asked myself hypocritically as I pulled out my own iPad from my tote bag that I sat down next to my chair. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled out a Genius from his backpack. I mean really. Apple has got to be the most pretentious company, calling their employees geniuses, but damn them for making such awesome products. I had to admit though that I was a little jealous of the weasel and all his belongings even if I stereotyped people like him as pretentious.

I shook those thoughts away as I took a sip of my drink, the sweet liquid bathing my tongue making my tail sway happily between my legs and my ears flick. There is just something about a Starbucks that seems to be relaxing, maybe it is the environment and ambiance they create, each one instilling that feeling of familiarity while being different from one another at the same time. Sure the coffee is a bit overpriced, but it is worth the quality and the excellent service. Or maybe that is just me being a little snooty and conforming to the image that Starbucks seems to create with its clientele. I can't help it though. I've tried many other coffee places and nothing seems to compare. I've also admitted recently that I've become addicted to this place and its coffee evident by my gold membership card. After a couple more savory sips, I placed my cup on the small coffee table near my chair and brought my iPad to my lap to browse the internet and check my email. I leisurely sat there sipping my drink and relaxing, occasionally looking up to see different furs sitting down or leaving. It was probably close to an hour before I drained the last of my latte and decided to get up to get a refill.

I was greeted by the same otter with her bright smile as I approached the counter. My empty cup in one paw and my gold card already out in the other. "Looking for a refill?" she asked as she grabbed the cup I placed on the counter.

"Yes, please," I said holding out my card, but she pushed it away. I gave her a puzzled look, my ears flicking curiously at her.

"It's on the house," she answered, "the least we can do for such a valued customer."

"Oh, well thanks. I didn't realize you guys remember me." I couldn't help but smile and wag my tail at the offer of a free drink.

"Hard not to, you've come almost every other day for the past two weeks. Not to mention you kind of stand out. I've seen plenty of black wolves, but you're the only one I've seen with violet eyes, they're beautiful."

"Oh!" was all I could say as I looked away, my ears flicking backwards in embarrassment at the complement. I was glad that she couldn't see that I was blushing under my grey fur. I grabbed my drink and went back to my seat. I wonder if she was hitting on me.I contemplated this thought as I took my seat. When it comes to the female mind, I am completely ignorant as to what goes on in there. I seem to be utterly oblivious when anyone is flirting with me according to my friends. I wish there was a "Like" button on people like on Facebook. People could push it to let you know whether they are interested in you or not. It would make things so much easier and clear up a lot of confusion for everyone.

I didn't think of myself as much of a looker. I was just your average guy. My fur wasn't entirely black. My underbelly was a lighter shade of black that stretched from the base of my neck to the middle of my inner thighs. A midnight shade of black fur covered everything else except for a few spots. I had a few patches of grey fur on the tip and underside of my bottom jaw, a spot on the back of my right paw that spilled over the right side to my paw pad, and an orange size blotch on the left side of my torso. I have a pretty slim build with no real muscle tone as I am lazy and not much into working out. As far as fashion is concerned, I am not the best consultant. I like to keep it simple, a pair of jeans, graphic tee, and a jacket.

After taking a few sips of my latte I decided that I should stop fooling around, I needed to get some work done. I had to bring out my laptop for this and set aside my iPad. Once my laptop was humming with life, I opened the internet browser and clicked on the folder I labeled "Work". I choose the third link in the list since I exhausted the first two. The homepage appeared, and I logged in to my account. The website lets me save previously used search criteria and so I clicked on the "Saved Searches" button and selected the first one on the list. It said there were eight hundred thirty four results found, I sighed as I began to sift through all the job listings and applied to all those that I qualified for.

If you asked me where I saw myself five years after graduating high school, I would have told you that I was going to have a successful career and living a nice life. I would have my bachelors in computer programming, working for a high profiled tech company making software or developing videogames, and living in a luxury condo in the city or a large house in the suburbs. While I do have a degree in computer programming, I've slowly lost interest in programming and instead of living independently with a well paying job I am still living with my parents a year after graduating. I had a summer job for a bit with the company I had an internship with, but due to the economic crisis they had to lay off some people and keeping the summer intern wasn't in their plans. I wasn't too stressed out for the first month of being unemployed since most of my friends were also in the same boat. So I had plenty of time to hangout and socialize. I figured it couldn't be that hard to find a job in my field.

It wasn't until spring that I started to get concerned when most of my college friends had found jobs, even the ones with a sociology degree found work. I mean come on! Sociology was for those lazy students and a joke among those pursuing scientific and business degrees. Guess who's laughing now.By the time summer was half way through I was starting to get depressed, even my friends here at home were finding jobs which meant I could only hangout with them on the weekends which was hard since my part time waiting job scheduled me on weekends sometimes. I started to feel like an outcast, isolated and alone. It seems that every job in my field wants someone with five to ten years experience, three different certifications, a top secret security clearance, and know every programming language proficiently. I don't even have a fourth of what they are looking for, how am I suppose to get out of this catch twenty two. On the rare occasions that I did find an entry level job that I qualified for, I was always beaten by someone that they found was better qualified.

The worst one was near the middle of fall when I finally scored an interview meaning I must have been selected from the thousands that applied. I pulled out all the stops to make a good first impression. I went to the groomers to get all nice and trimmed. My parents even helped me pick out and buy a nice suit to wear. When I was at the interview, I thought I did a stellar job. I looked great, kept my ears perked and attentive, made sure to keep my tail in check; I answered all their questions easily, and even told a joke and got a laugh out of it. When I said my good byes I gave nice, firm handshakes and an award winning smile. They said I should hear from them within the week.

It was the longest week of my life. I checked my email like a teenage girl addicted to Facebook. It was eight days before I received their email. My heart began to race and my tail started wagging uncontrollably as I open the email. I scanned past the letter head until I spotted the beginning of the letter and my heart sank. I had so many thoughts and emotions running through me when I read the first few words, "I'm sorry to inform you..." That's all I had to read to know their decision. It was as if you told me that I failed the final exam to a course I needed to pass in order to graduate. What now? I thought to myself. For about an hour I just sat there looking defeat. It was only when my belly protested that I decided to move. My parents were in the living room when they noticed me walking towards the fridge and asked if I had heard anything from the interview. I told them that I didn't get the job as nonchalant as possible. My mom, being the caring protective mother that she is, got up and comforted me as if I was five and had just fallen off my bike crying. I shooed her away assuring her I was fine and that I'd get it next time. I guess they bought my act and soon they were back to watching their shows.

They kept asking if I was alright for the next week and I kept telling them I was just fine and that nothing was wrong. It was a lie of course; I was depressed. The idea of me never finding a job and living with my parents into my late thirties constantly haunted my thoughts. My downtrodden state also followed me to work where I found it incredibly hard to fake a smile and keep a cheery attitude. My tips became noticeably smaller. I even turned away from my friends when they had offered to hangout. I became a hermit of sorts only venturing outside my room to work and eat. I couldn't be bothered with socializing. I was too busy being depressed to do anything productive.

I was two hours into my job searching when my gut signaled to me that I should take a break and eat. I was getting tired of applying for jobs anyways. I looked up from my computer to notice an entirely different atmosphere in the shop. The sun was on its way down casting an orange glow through the windows. A quick glance at the clock in the corner of my laptop told me that it was four thirty. A new crew had replaced the one from this morning and a new ensemble of customers inhabited the seats. There were a couple of furs in business attire in line and the tables at the window were inhabited by students with open laptops and books. The bar was occupied by what looked like a malamute that was happily sipping his drink and messing around with his phone, his curled tail swaying from side to side. I shook my head and blinked a couple of times to get rid of the hypnotic effect his swaying tail had on me. I packed up my belongings into the tote bag I brought and grabbed my empty cup to get another refill. Now don't get me wrong, the food here is not bad and I love the scones, especially the pumpkin ones, but they are overpriced even for this hypocrite who is going to get another five dollar drink.

To my surprise the same otter girl is still at the counter, leaning over it with one arm lying across it and the other supporting her chin. It was hard not to notice her bosom framed by her arms and pressed against the counter. I didn't let my eyes linger too long as I didn't want to get caught checking her out. "I'm surprised to see you still here," I tell her as she straightens up and smiles at me.

"Hehe, someone asked me to pick up their shift so I'm stuck here all day." If I look back on this scene it would be the perfect moment to pull out the, Well what time do you get off, line.

Being the inexperienced flirt and shy wolf that I am I could only respond sarcastically with, "Lucky you." I don't even know if she likes me like that.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, we usually don't get too busy in the afternoon like some other locations. And more hours mean more money."

"That's a good way of looking at it. I wish I had that problem," I chuckled. It seemed as if she wanted to keep up the small talk, so I told her about my current job situation. "The restaurant I work at closed for renovations after New Years."

"Man that sucks, sorry to hear that. Can I get you another refill?" she asked, pointing at my cup.

"Yes please," I said as I handed her the cup and gold card.

"Don't worry I got this," she said taking the cup and ignoring the card.

"It's alright, I can pay for it. I'm not homeless yet," I retorted. She must have felt that she insulted me as her ears splayed downwards in response. She turned around and was about to say something until she saw the cheeky grin I had across my muzzle.

"A venti caramel brulee latte for Taylor," she teasingly announced.

She seemed to be teasing me so feeling a little bolder I decided to tease her back. "If you keep this up I'm going to have to take you out to repay you." I had a shy grin on my face as I reached out to grab the cup, one paw on the bottom, the other on the side of the cup. It was an accident, but the side I grabbed still had her paw on it and I felt her soft fur brush over mine as I momentarily held her paw. She slowly removed her paw as I moved the cup away from her and gave me a chuckle. It's a good thing I have dark fur or she would see that I was blushing. I started to back up to the door and said thanks and bid her a nice day.

"No problem, see you soon," she said as she resumed her leaning position on the counter.

If I had been paying more attention to my surroundings, I would have heard the door open or smelt the scents from the outside world rush into the shop. I was too late to react to the otter girl telling me to watch out. The scent of someone hit me right before I hit something soft yet firm and got another whiff of that scent before falling to the ground and landing on my butt. I used my left paw to brace my paw and my right one I held to the side hoping not to spill my coffee. I could hear some laughter behind me and some of the patrons in the shop were staring at me. I finally shuck off my shock and got up to my feet. This time I wouldn't be surprised if someone could tell I was blushing. I was so embarrassed that my cheeks felt as if they were on fire, my tail retreated to the safe spot between my legs, and my ears were almost point straight down.

I started apologizing profusely to the fur that I bumped into before I got a good look at him. He was a large tiger about my height, just an inch shorter maybe. He was wearing a blue and white striped polo under a black Northface jacket, and a pair of khaki cargo pants. When I said he was large he wasn't exactly fat, yeah he had a bit of a gut, but under it all, what I hit was pretty solid and his thick chest and arms told me that he must work out.

"I'm so sorry," I kept apologizing to him.

"It's not a problem," he said. I couldn't look him in the face, but what he said next got my attention. "Thanks for the free drink though."

It wasn't until then that I realized I wasn't even holding my drink, just the cozy that I held in my right paw. I finally looked at him. He had a sly cat grin, a sparkle in his golden eyes, and my drink in his left paw. He slipped my drink back into the empty cozy and said, "Just watch where you're going next time."

I apologized again and left the shop, too embarrassed to look back.