I took a hold of Jake’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He gave me the smile that recently had been the source of so many unexpected sensations. Imagine that—a smile that I knew so well before now had a completely different meaning. I rubbed the black splotch of fur on the back of his hand with my thumb. All the little things about him were what I noticed most. It was what made him special.

“Ready?” I asked him.

He nodded and gave me a small, simple, kiss.

“Always,” he said.

We hit the call button on my laptop and waited. We sat there together in agonizingly slow-passing seconds. Finally, his parents answered the call.

“Hey, kiddos!” Mrs. Carter said, beaming at us. She brushed a finger through her black hair, clearing it from her eyes. Mr. Carter was in the adjacent chair, looking equally pleased to see us.

“How’ve you been?” he asked.

“Well,” I said, “We’ve had our ups and downs.”

“You using your languages, Jake-o?” his dad asked.

“Ja, Papa,” Jake mocked.

The two shared a laugh. It was good to see them being so civil. Recently, Jake’s dad really got sober. He tried before but it finally got through to him how much he was hurting his family. Their relationship really got better as alcohol became less and less a part of his dad’s life.

“How’s that mutt of mine treating you?” Mr. Carter asked me.

“I keep him on a leash. I have a muzzle in case he starts biting.”

Jake and I broke out in laughter, soon followed by his parents. But we soon remembered the job we had to do.

“Hey, um, guys… I got some kind of important news…” Jake said, biting his lip.

“Oh,” his mom said, sobering up the mood instantaneously. “What is it?”

“Well, it’s not bad news. But… I mean, it’s worth noting, I think.”

“I realized that I’m madly in love with your son,” I said, getting it out in the open.

Mrs. Carter jumped out of her chair and started dancing.

“Oh!” She cried with a smile. “Who’s right? I’m right! You owe me 50 bucks!” She said that last part to her husband.

“Damn it…” he pulled a fifty out of his wallet.

“You bet on us getting together?!” Jake and I said in unison.

“Do you bet on everything I do?” Jake groaned.

“Well, not everything…“

“But how did you know?” I asked.

 “I saw the way he looked at you, Brent, darling. I knew it was only a matter of time,” his mom said.

“So how long have you known, Brent?” his dad asked.

“Ever since Logan dumped him, I guess. I mean… I don’t know. I knew he and I could be more but… I hid from myself for a while.”

Jake took my hand and squeezed it.

“Jake, honey, he’s so much better than that douchebag you were dating before.”

I spat my water out as I took a sip, laughing hysterically at his mom.

“Cuter too,” she concluded. “Just promise you’re being safe,”

I dropped my ears and Jake cried:

“Moooom! Oh my God! I—I just… Oh God!”

“Do you know what a condom is?” his father joined in.

“I’m hanging up now,” Jake said.

“We’re just teasing,” his dad said. “We love you both and you know that. You’re family and that’s what’s important.”

“Thanks, guys,” I said. “Now to tell my parents…”

“They’ll love you no matter what. Remember that.”

I closed the call.

“Your parents are ridiculous, dude,” I laughed.

“Ugh. That’s one word for it. My mom was right about one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“You are cuter than Logan.”

“I should hope so.”

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He melted into the kiss, hand reaching up to touch my cheek. I leaned further into it until I was on top of him, moaning quietly as his fingers dug into my back and he moaned in pleasure. I ran my fingers along his chest and sighed softly, breaking back into reality.

“Now for the hard part…” I sighed, leaning back up.

“It’ll be fine, baby. I promise you,” he said.

“Dude, you don’t know that.”

“Yes. I do. Your parents love you. They’re cool. They’ll accept you. They had no problems when I came out.”

“Yeah,” I said, fiddling with his necklace until the boob was behind his neck, the bad little habit of mine. “But you’re not flesh and blood. You—“

Jake took my hand and squeezed.

“I know. But, trust me on this okay?” he whispered. “No matter what, we’ll stay together. Nothing they say can change how we feel about each other. I love you.”

I nodded and nuzzled him with a certain gentleness.

“I love you too, Jake.”

“Then trust me on this.”

I nodded and he hit the call button.

My stomach tightened and with every ring. It got worse and worse and I clutched Jake’s hand tighter and tighter.

“Heya, boys!” my mom said, answering the call.

“Hey, Mom. How are you?”

“I’m good, happy to be on fall break.”

“Yeah, I bet,” I said.

“How are you two doing?”

“We’re good. We’re in Germany right now. And having fun.”

“I saw the pictures. Let me see.”

“See what?” I managed.

“Let me see your ear,” she said in a bit more of a bossy tone.

I tilted my head closer to the camera and she clicked her tongue.

“Ruining those good ears I gave you.”

I laughed.

“It’s not that bad. Besides, Jake got his done too.”

“You put him up to it, didn’t you?” she was smiling more, so I knew she wasn’t too upset.

“He threatened me into it,” Jake said, pretending to cry.

I slugged him in the arm and called him a dick. We both laughed.

“So, um, hey, is Dad around? I had something I wanted to talk to you guys about.”

“James, get in here! Brent wants to talk to us,” she cried off screen.

My stomach practically did a flip, leaving me generally uneasy. It only got worse when my dad walked into frame and sat down on the couch, next to Mom.

“So what’s up?” he said. He always got right to the point in such a way that completely unhinged me.

“So, being over here has, um… showed me something.” My stomach clenched. “It showed me how important it is to be honest, both to yourself,” clench, “and those around you,” clench. “Um… I … I’m… Jake and I are… together.” The knot came free and I felt a weight off my chest.

“Oh, Brent…” my mom said, voice coming out low.

I sighed. This was what I was afraid of. A fight, I could handle… but this was disappointment.

“Son, are you sure? Are you sure this isn’t just a ph-“

“Dad, this isn’t a phase,” I said, tears starting to form as the weight came back around once more. “I love him. I’ve loved him for years. I was denying it for so long and I can’t anymore. I love Jake. And… he loves me.”

“Look,” Jake butted in. “I know this is hard to accept, and I’m sorry for springing this on you two like this. But we couldn’t not tell you. You’re my other family. You took me in when my parents kicked me out for wanting to be a fur. I know it’s hard to come to terms with but—“

My mom was fighting the tears back.

“I just wanted grandchildren…” she cried.

“Mom… I can still have kids, there’s surrogates and adoptions and Sophie.”

“Son…” Dad said, taking his glasses off and rubbing the base of his muzzle. “I don’t want you rushing into anything. I don’t want you just gallivanting off with Jake because you think you love him.”

I felt like I’d been hit in the chest. I grabbed Jake by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, moaning softly as my lips met his. It felt so right, the hell with what they thought.

“I love him,” I said when I finally broke the kiss. “And…” tears started to form. “I thought that you would be accepting of me because I’m still your son. You fought for our rights. You should know that this isn’t just a phase. You should know that—“I was completely crying at this point. “That I still love you. Even if you never speak to me again. I still love you because I know that family comes first. I’m sorry that I had to do this to you. But I love him. And that’s not going to stop because you want it to.”

I hung up the call before Dad could even open his mouth. Jake wrapped his arm around me and held onto me tightly. I cried into his chest and let the pain of their rejection flood my system. I hated myself. I hated them. What was so wrong with loving Jake?

* * *

Jake and I lay in bed that night. He was sitting up on the pillow and I was wrapped around him, resting my head on his chest. He was petting my head absently and I just felt so much better about it. It still sucked, about my parents I mean, but Jake reminded me how long it took for his parents to come around with him wanting to be a fur. He promised me that they’d come around but I wasn’t so sure.

He was flipping through the channels until he found the local news. He quickly got tired of translating for me so he turned it to CNN which broadcasted in English. I listened to the reporter; a young, female housecat report the news.

“Investigators are mystified as to how so much of the Osadolescere, a drug used to help humans in their transitions to furs, was taken from the supply truck. It seems that over 10,000 vials of the serum were taken.

“In other news, Investigators into the case of the mass break out of the Parisian jail was deemed to be an inside job. While most of the prisoners were captured by law enforcement officials, a handful of felons are still unaccounted for. Police are searching. If you have any information that could help locate these fugitives, please contact local authorities.”

The TV was then filled with the pictures of the escapees. I recognized one instantly. In all the commotion and love-making, we had forgotten about her.

Laney had broken out of prison.