Movie Date 1 (Patreon)

A great suggestion from @Millerdark this month, exploring the montrose relationships when the females take multiple mates...

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Jaynes spun excitedly in a circle, his long tail puffed to perfection, brushed until the copper fur shone like a brand new tea kettle, and lightly scented with his most favorite perfume. “I’m so glad you’re home, honey!” he cooed. “There’s still plenty of time to catch the seven o’clock showing, but I was starting to worry that you were stuck in traffic.”

He rushed to his usual spot on the foyer rug, stood up as high on his tiptoes as he could manage, and puckered his lips, ready to welcome Dabre home with warmth and love.

But then he paused, sensing something amiss—or at least out of the ordinary. His wife’s usual cadence was off. Every weekday was the same thing; open the door, step inside, 1, 2, close the door, 3, 4, drop her keys in the bowl, step to the rug, 5, 6, grab Jaynes’s waist in her powerful grip, lift him almost off his paws, kiss, 7, 8, 9, set him down once more. “Hi, fluffs, I’m home,” she’d proudly crow, then he’d wrinkle his nose at the taste of cigarettes lingering on his lips.

But not today. Dabre hesitated at the door, stepping aside to hold it open for a guest…

“Oh, goodness!” Jaynes muttered, taking a step back and lowering himself back onto his heels. “I didn’t … realize you’d be … bringing a guest home tonight?” He casually covered himself with his paws. Jaynes has just applied a bit of makeup to his sheath in preparation for date night—nothing overly gaudy, just enough liner to give a little “wet look” shine to the slit in the end—but it was not the sort of look he wanted to sport if Dabre was planning to entertain a work mate. “I didn’t put anything in the oven. I could have sworn we were taking in a movie tonight…”

Grinning wide, his wife held out her elbow, and a slender paw, a dainty paw touched it before the stranger stepped inside Jaynes’s home. Jaynes’s heart clenched tight then took off into a gallop. A double date? Did Dabre decide we were going out on a double date? he prayed.

But no. Once the younger male’s fluffy tail had cleared the entryway, Dabre turned and shut the door behind him. Unless they were waiting behind in the car, no younger female was coming along.

Jaynes heard a buzzing in his round ears, and his head felt light. What? What? What? his brain scrambled. Dabre wasn’t actually planning to bring a … date to their date night, was she?

He struggled to raise his ears, to look calm, to look like the world hadn’t just crumbled beneath him, but it was too late. The two others stared. They had seen.

Jaynes cleared his throat and searched for something to say. But what could he say? Nothing. “Uh, excuse me,” he said before slipping from the front room as gracefully as he could manage and then heading off to the bedroom at a run. He didn’t bother locking the door, didn’t even close it. That would start a much louder fight than he was really ready to face.

“Jaynes?” his wife called after him. “Where are you going? I thought you wanted to catch the seven o’clock?”

That … bitch! How could he dump something like this on him without any warning? How could anyone, anyone expect him to handle this gracefully?

He sat on the bed and cried so hard into both of his palms. It felt like he was trying to hold back a river. Elsewhere in the house, the two gave him a minute to compose himself, but he knew they wouldn’t just go on without him. Their marriage might not be perfect, but it certainly hadn’t decayed to that degree.

There was a soft tap at the door frame, and Jaynes shot his wife a glare. “I can’t believe you’d—” he started to hiss, but then through his teary vision, he realized the figure at the door wasn’t his wife—tall, strong, chiseled, and smooth, like a goddess statue from an ancient myth—but her date … shorter, fluffier, darker, and oh so young!

Jaynes covered his muzzle with his paws. “I’m so sorry,” he said from behind his fingers.

The stranger laid his cheek against the door frame. “You’re sorry?” he whispered. “I’m the one who’s come in here and made a mess of things. Dabre made it sound like—”

Jaynes sighed and let his head flop loosely from his shoulders. “Of course, she would,” he sighed. “It’s not your fault. You don’t know her … like I do. She’s never done … this before, but it’s precisely the sort of thing I’ve grown to expect from her. She wants a boyfriend on the side, so in her mind, I must want that too.”

The dark montrose’s ears hung low. “Oh, jeez. She made it sound like the two of you already discussed—”

Jaynes shook his head. He scooted over and patted the edge of the bed, beckoning the younger male to join him. Then the two turned, each sitting on one hip so they could more comfortably face each other.

“Dabre brought up dating someone else—you, I guess—just once, about a month ago.”

The stranger lowered his eyes, and he nodded. “About a month ago … he asked me out for lunch,” he agreed. Then with wide, frightened eyes, he added, “We didn’t do anything! We just had lunch, just talked…”

His confirmation felt like a stab straight through the heart. And though more tears fell, Jaynes forced his way through them. Though the stranger sat right next to him, their shins touching, he raised a paw. “I’m Jaynes,” he whispered.

“I know,” the other whispered back. Without looking up, he took Jaynes’s paw in his. “Dyvid.”

“Pretty name,” Jaynes said quietly. He reached up and touched the huge fluff of fur that puffed from Dyvid’s neck. “I can see why she’s attracted to you. You’re just her type.”

The darker montrose took Jaynes’s paw in both of his. “This is so awkward. I just thought this was going to be a fun night out,” he explained. “I never would have agreed to go if I knew I was going to bring drama into your marriage. Dabre said—”

“We talked,” Jaynes chuckled, “if you can call it that. She asked what I thought of her dating other guys, and I said I was gonna go back and live with my dad. She let it drop, but I guess she didn’t—”

“Yeah, we’ve been talking a lot this month. Just talking, of course, getting to know each other.” Dyvid sighed. “This was supposed to be our first … date, I guess.”

Silence stretched between them.

“You’re not really gonna go back to your dad, are you?” the younger male whined.

Jaynes frowned. “Dunno. Don’t know that I want to watch myself be replaced by the younger, prettier model. I definitely don’t want the role of cooking you two breakfast cakes when you come up for air.” Dyvid’s ears turned tragic, and Jaynes tilted his head. “Wouldn’t you want that? Wouldn’t it be simpler if I left so you could have Dabre all to yourself?”

“I don’t want that!” he nearly shouted, squeezing Jaynes’s paws tighter. “I’d never be okay knowing that I wrecked your marriage. And I’m so not ready to try and take over that role myself. I’m only twenty-two! I just wanted to go out to a movie and have a fun time. I’m not ready for anything serious, and Dabre seems like a great gal, but I don’t know her well enough to make any drama for you two.”

“Oh, don’t cry, don’t cry,” Jaynes whispered. He put his fingers to Dyvid’s cheeks. “Your eyeliner is so pretty. I don’t want you to smear it.”

Dyvid's lips pulled together. “Yours is—”

“Totally wrecked, I’m sure,” Jaynes finished for him.

“Can I fix it, please?” He smiled with desperation. “This is all my fault. Let me fix it.”

“This is not your fault. This is all Dabre’s doing,” said Jaynes. He bit his lip. “Is it … fixable?”

Dyvid shook his head. “No, but we can wash it off and do it over. It won’t take a minute,” he promised. “Then, maybe you could…”

Jaynes’s red eyes opened wider. “Yes?”

“Could you maybe … take me home?” he asked. “It’s pretty obvious the movie isn’t gonna happen. You guys have a lot to talk about, and I really don’t wanna face Dabre. I mean, maybe someday if you guys worked it out, but until then, I’d just be between you two. I don’t want to be that guy.”

Jaynes smiled, his ears out wide. “Yeah, I can do that.” He patted the youth’s leg. “I’ll make a scene of grabbing the keys. I’ll tell her that I’m going out for a drive to clear my head. But you sneak out the back and meet me in front of the neighbor’s house.”

“Thanks.”

The two males shared a powerful hug, then Jaynes led Dyvid to the master bathroom. He washed his face quickly, then took a seat on the commode, so that the younger male could re-apply Jaynes’s makeup.

“Or, you know what could be even more fun?” Jaynes asked with a wicked grin.

Dyvid searched the copper male’s face for a moment before his eyes lit up. “Go … to the movie without Dabre?” he asked.

“Why not?” whispered Jaynes.

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Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TTEElTrofQoovo5vpsA_9THQt_d3cUfFHKvuex-TfEE/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts?