One Star Shining, Ch. 2 (Patreon)

Ch. 2
Your Companion

*Earlier that same day*

The day began as it usually did for Cassandra Ellis: waking up and having to extract herself from underneath a cuddle-pile.  Both blankets and furry forms lay heavily atop of her.  As gently as she could, she extricated herself from underneath of her  Feline roommate, Tessa, as well as their pet cat Artemis.  

Once having risen and stretching her long arms above her head, she yawned, flashing her long canine fangs before begrudgingly getting up out of her cramped little bed and stalking over to the bathroom to take care of business.  Once there, she also took the time to brush her teeth, wash her face, look at herself in the cracked mirror, and convince herself once again that there was a point to any of this.  

Her tired, exasperated expression stared back at her sullenly, white fur standing up in several places, and her long black hair more than a little frazzled.  The bathroom began to shake and, annoyed, Cassandra grabbed onto a vibrating glass bottle to make sure it didn't walk its way off the counter.  The rumbling sounds of a train going by overhead came a second later, dust drifting down from the ceiling as the wall hangings all shook back and forth beneath its passing.

Once the train had gone, the Husky began putting on her makeup, grabbed a faded bra hanging on the bathroom door, and went through the odious task of putting it on.  The fabric strained to hold her in as she finally succeeded in securing the straps, and she had to reach into each cup to adjust herself before turning side to side, checking herself in the mirror.  More than a little mollified by her assets and how nice they at least looked, if annoyingly noting that one of the straps was beginning to look a bit frayed, she walked back out of the bathroom to look for the rest of her clothes.

Tessa was just then beginning to stir, the slim Feline girl stretching languidly on the bed and purring as she snuggled into the body pillow they kept between them.  Eyeing her reproachfully, Cass contemplated pouring some water on the smaller, pretty Anthro, but with Artemis there, it wouldn't have been as funny.  Instead, she scooped up the slumbering little Calico and deposited her on her rightful throne on a padded shelf, before turning back to Tessa.  Her rough paws shook the girl out of her lazy stupor and she glowered down at her.

"Mmnnn...morning..." Tessa mumbled sleepily, yellow eyes half-lidded, before snapping open to stare up at Cass's annoyed expression and then down her bra-clad but otherwise naked body.  "Good morning indeed!" she purred and waved her tail behind her.  "Wanna fool around?" she arched an eyebrow and tried to pose somewhat seductively, tight little nightgown arching and one shoulder strap sliding down.

Cassandra's famous withering look made the Cat giggle.  "Just get up..." she growled and then walked over to their shared set of drawers to hunt for underwear.  She could feel the appraising eyes of Tessa lingering on her as she settled on a simple black pair and slipped them on.  Her 'unique' physiology made the process more difficult than it would have been for any normal girl, making the lacy panties ride up and pinch a bit before she adjusted.

"So what're your plans for the day?" the Feline asked, sighing and finally rising up out of the bed to stretch.

Cass shrugged, hunting through the piles of laundry on her side of the bed until she found her gossamer black nylon shirt and pulling it on over her head.  Her ears had to go flat to allow it and as ever it stretched across her chest a bit tightly.  The see-through material did very flattering things to her muscular frame and combined with her sleeveless black leather biker vest and fingerless gloves, she was a sight to behold.  Tugging on her military-style black and grey pants, she laced them up and turned in time to watch a now naked Tessa strutting through the room, hair freshly wet and wrapped up in a towel.  

Anyone else would have happily ogled at the slim, athletic loveliness of the girl, bold stripes of color decorating her fur, the modest swell and sway of her assets (although compared to Cass, Tessa looked more like a teenager).  Anyone would have loved to have that skinny, lithe form sleeping next to them every day, but Cassandra only saw her roommate as she was; both a friend as well as a constant reminder how different she really was.

Growing up, Cassandra had been a bit different than other girls.  She had developed early, very early, not only in size but also in feminine assets, and her species natural musculature was quick to follow, although even for the norm she was above and beyond in terms of size.  Not many Canines reached 6 feet tall by the age of 10, and by the time she was in high school she had to duck to get through some doors.  Not every Alpha was diagnosed early on, and it had caused a fair few issues amongst her classmates when it came to physical education or health classes.  

Being what she was had perhaps expedited the growth, leaving her struggling to be around her peers and reign in her overpowering emotions.  But then there was the other part of her developing body she had been forced to grow into and much faster than any child might have liked.  Even for Alpha-Anthros, Herms were not very common, perhaps 1 in 1000 developed both fully functional genitals, and most had corrective surgery, or chose one gender or another and stuck to it.  She hadn't stopped growing or developing until late into her high school days, and by then she had become seemingly the sole target for everyone else's desires.  Her popularity had sky-rocketed as she grew, going from a no one to hanging out with upperclassmen while still in the 8th grade, and it wasn't long after that that she had gotten into sex.

Men, women, it didn't matter much to her.  Cassandra had ridden the high of the admiration, desires, and jealousy of her peers, never really dating as much as hooking up with anyone who struck her fancy.  Even being what she was didn't deter them; if anything it just made things more interesting and passionate, but growing up in an all Anthro school did that.  

Her kind was just more casual about sex, without all the hang-ups about it like Humans tended to have.  She only regretted that when she had finally transferred in her junior year to a Coed-Race school that the humans hadn't avoided her as much as they had.  Something about them intrigued her; there had even been one that she had actually liked, but it had not worked out.  So instead, she just stuck to the norm, sleeping with whoever she wanted and breezing through school without much effort.

After high school, she had of course enlisted for her compulsory two-year military service, as most Anthros did, rather than spend four years of civic service, but there she struggled to reign in her stubborn streak.  Her Sergeants had not liked her much, found her too defiant and headstrong.  After her service was up, she had left, intent on finding her own way in life.  She didn't have any close family, wasn't on speaking terms with her parents, and opportunities always seemed to open themselves to her.  At least, at first.  The world didn't work like it did in high school and she had found that out the hard way.

She still had slept around a little but unlike those around her, Cassandra never had the right mindset to sit behind a desk or do construction.  She had no idea how to go into Cross-Species relations jobs, and the media had no use for her.  She had struggled to find work until one day, living out of an even crappier apartment than she was now, she had taken a flyer to join something called 'One-Star Luxury Escorts'.  

One month's pay later and the choice of vocation was simple.  She made more in a month than she had in several while enlisted, and her work was easy.  She had her pick of clients, got to designate her own hours, and to top it all off, she was having sex for a living.  It had seemed a dream job.

A few years had gone by, and as the partners came and went, some coming back for more, but most moving on, she began to lose the luster of the seemingly perfect job.  Working on the active site was strenuous, to say the least, with people seeing her profile picture and things she was willing to do, and that was it.  Sex had begun to become a chore, the faces, names, and nights blurring together.  

The therapists at One-Star had suggested she take herself off the active list and instead just take the scheduling jobs, where she could pick and choose which requests she wanted to fulfill rather than being headhunted by every person who knew how to swipe right on the phone app.  It was a transition, less work meant less pay, but her savings account was very well stocked at least.  The only reason she lived in this apartment still was that she hated change.  She could have found a better place easily, even taken Tessa with her.  But as much as she hated the trains rattling their stuff every day, and the cramped conditions, or the single bed, she didn't want to change things.  Not yet anyways.

Taking jobs entirely based on who applied and what they wanted to do had at least made things a bit easier, but she found herself denying most people after a certain point.  She also found that the female gender had lost much of its appeal to her, as more and more she was attracted to the male clients.  She hadn't slept with another woman in several months, worried that males would soon follow the same trend.  She had even had some bad luck recently when the guy discovered her 'gift'.  

The cancelations and reactions, especially from humans, hurt more than she could explain.  She made no apologies for it, was even proud of what she was, and had down below.  It made her exotic, desireable, almost tabbo.  It was their loss if they couldn't handle it or were intimidated by it, and just as many men seemed eager to try it out once they saw it.

Still, Cass could not shake the incredible sense of discontent in her life for some reason.  She didn't want to change her job, or go to being just a phone operator like some girls did when they needed a break.  She sucked at dirty talk and preferred to let her body do the talking.  Plus, the operators weren't allowed to play with themselves during the job.  So that was obviously a no go.

Blinking back to reality, Cassandra met Tessa's eyes and realized that she had been standing there saying nothing for almost a solid minute.  The Feline looked up at her confused, even a little worried, but Tessa was always like that, mother-henning for everyone at the drop of a hat when she wasn't being her usual party-girl self or not working at the restaurant.  Sighing, the Husky sat down on the bed and checked her phone.  "Probably going into the agency to get my next paycheck," she finally answered.

Tessa perked up then, now only wearing an overly long shirt, and sat down next to Cass.  She snuggled her furry head against Cassandra's muscular arm, purring, and the Husky couldn't resist hugging the girl with one hand before standing back up.  Tessa waved her tail, ears twitching.  "Any jobs?"

"None so far," Cass said, tousling her long mane of black hair while eyeing herself in the mirror.  A second later, dexterous little paws were combing it for her, taming the unruly strands and settling it all back down to normalcy.  She gave Tessa a little nod of thanks.  "Doesn't mean one or two might not apply.  Just not feeling it today, but that might change."

Tessa nodded understandingly.  "Just try and have fun ok?"

"Yes mom."

The catgirl giggled.  "That's my girl."  She stood, hugged Cass, and then her phone went off.  Tessa leaned over the bed to pick it up, and then began to purr more.  "Aww, Jeremy texted...that dork."

Arching an eyebrow, Cass picked up her satchel and hung it off one shoulder.  "That boy from the restaurant?  You two going out?"

Tessa blushed, ears and tail folding in a little bit.  "I don't know...he's super sweet.  But Harriete also asked if I wanted to go see a movie lately..."

Cass shrugged.  "Take em both.  What guy in his right mind wouldn't want a date with two adorable girls?"

"Cass, that's not exactly right," admonished Tessa, flicking her tail but giggling.  "I mean...I could always ask...It is my day off after all."

The Husky chuckled as she slipped on her boots.  "Well if I come home and the door has a sock on it, I'll crash at the agency.  Always a spare couch to sleep on there."

Tessa flushed more and waved goodbye as Cassandra opened the door and walked out, heading down the cramped hallway with its dim, flickering lights, and out onto the street.  Overhead, the railroad tracks cast shadows over the apartment complexes that were lined up against one another.  It wasn't the slums, but it also wasn't the best part of town either.  Cassandra found herself having to climb up the stairs towards the upper level through an already massive throng of people, but given her size it was relatively easy.

The train ride was uneventful, although she did see a very cute Human guy when she got on.  He exited the train at the next stop, but the way he had been looking at her gave her a little pep in her step, and she even found herself smiling at him just as the train pulled away from the station.  From there, she just played on her phone and listened to some metal-dubstep until she reached her own stop.  A short walk later and she was in front of the One-Star agency.

To any newcomers, as she had been a few years ago, it didn't look at all like an Escort service, just another looming office building with the logo emblazoned on the front just above the double glass doors.  It wasn't the tallest building around, but it had the nicest front view, with actual fountains and a tiny park out front.  The receptionist, a new girl with the name tag of Tammy, smiled at her and took her ID card, scanned it, and then unlocked the elevator.

Once inside, Cass felt her good mood disappear.  Vincent was there, lounging against the wall.  The tall Reptile wore very loose clothing, his shirt with deliberate holes in it and his pants hanging off of one scaly hip.  He gave her an appreciative glance that made her fur stand up a bit on end, and she purposefully looked away from him.  She didn't like a lot of the people she worked with, most of them were so jaded or sex-crazed that they didn't really come across as all that friendly, although she wasn't one to talk.  She had always been anti-social, even worried that others thought she was a bitch, but in the end it didn't matter.

The ride up was still annoying, since Vincent seemed to think that just because they were the only two in here that that meant she wanted to talk.  "So what's up?" he asked casually, hissing voice thick with a slur as if he was high on something.  It wouldn't surprise her.

"Just another day," she replied curtly.  "You?"

"Coming back from an orgy," Vincent chuckled.  "College kids know how to party.  That's one bachelorette that knows how to have fun, her friends too."

Cass grimaced behind her shield of thick hair.  "You slept with a woman at her own bachelorette party?"

"Hey, Vincent doesn't discriminate with his customers when they start grinding on him.  I thought I was just there as a dancer.  If they pay, I play."

"Classy," Cassandra huffed.  "Hope she has plenty of soap to get the grease off of her."

Vincent's laugh made her tail curl.  "I could always grease you up too you know?" his tail abruptly flicked underneath the curve of her own.

The Husky whirled around, growling and letting her pent up Aggression show a little.  "You touch me like that again, and I'll tear that tail off, Vincent.  Let's see how many customers want a taste of snakeskin when you're busy trying to regrow it."

Vincent didn't rise to her anger, instead just chortling and hissing to himself, although he did retract his tail.  "Someone's in a mood," he hissed.  "That last cancelation hurt your feelings?" he took on a simpering, baby voice.

She scoffed and turned back away from him.  "I canceled on them, I don't do group stuff, and they lied about their age on the application."

"What, some underage high-schoolers or something?" chortled the Reptile.  "What's the matter with that?"

The Husky growled more and couldn't be happier when the elevator dinged, announcing that they had arrived at the correct floor.  "Do yourself a favor, Vince," she uttered, glancing back at him and using the nickname he detested so much.  "Don't hiss at me anymore.  You wouldn't get any clients with that scaly face flat on the pavement." 

Then she stormed off away from the elevator, angrily checked in with the receptionist, and then sat down at her own small desk to check on her affairs.  She cast an eye across her costs, client listings, and requests; they at least all seemed mercifully low.  There was nothing for it than to just go to lunch an hour later.  She ate alone, as usual, preferring to listen to her music, sitting out on the outdoor patio and smoking on her E-Cig from her dwindling stash of juice. She had been trying to quit for a long time, and found the best method simply was to try and not buy a new bottle. When she ran out, that would be it. Hopefully.

Coming back to her desk once she had finally finished, she saw an alert had popped up on her feed.  An active request.  She sighed, sat down at her desk, and opened it.  A well filled out questionnaire greeted her eyes, details included obviously the reason why Janice, the head of the app board, had probably sent it to her.  It seemed innocent enough at first, a date themed request at an out-of-city hotel, but as she kept reading, her tail began to wag almost without her meaning it to.

The guy, apparently in his early 20's, was looking for a bit of stress release and, apparently from the online ad, some validation about himself before his life got 'dominated and not in the good way'.  That made her smile a bit more, although her constant wariness about online clients was still up.  There was no picture included, but that was good; too many guys liked to send inappropriate pictures by way of prior introductions, as if that would do them any favors.

Then she saw the cost.  Much like anything nowadays, One-Star wasn't cheap, if competitive.  Most clients preferred to delay payment until after their service was completed, but this guy had prepaid.  That was different.  While preferred, it didn't happen that often.  So it meant that this guy was not only okay with the details asked of him and the price tag for what he was in turn asking, but he was committed.  That earned him a tiny bit of her respect, for now anyways.  Also, it meant that if he did cancel, she still got part of the commission regardless.  The location being out of the city limits was a bit daunting, but she was confident that no matter who this guy was, she could handle it.

She mulled it over for a while, answered a few more emails, got caught up watching Restoring-Faith videos on her feed, and finally, steeling herself, she sent the confirmation return email.  It was a clinical process at first, essentially telling him that a Star had approved his application and would be contacting him for further details.  After that, it just came to logging herself out of her desk, checking in with the receptionist, and packing up her things.  Her keen ears caught the subtle whispers of a couple of the other Escorts at their desks as she stalked out, but she closed her mind to them and rode the elevator down in blessed silence and solitude.

She pulled out her phone as she reached the bottom floor, expertly steering herself through the lobby as she texted Tessa, who was no doubt just hanging out at home.  "Got a job, outside of city.  Might be back late evening, so will just crash here like I said.  You get that date?"

As Cass reached the outside of the agency, bright sun dazzling her canine eyes for a moment, her phone made a sudden "yip-yip" alert and she looked down to see that Tessa had texted back.  "J & H coming over together.  What should I wear?!"

"Did you change my phone alert to a dog barking? -.-# " she responded.

"Oh yeah ^^', sorry.  I thought it would be funny.  Please, I need advice!"

Cass, despite pretending to be annoyed, just chuckled to herself.  "Let me get home and we can pick something out together.  Please get out the red dress for me."

Her phone yipped again as she walked towards the train station, throngs of people walking around and past her.  Several of them spared her an appraising eye, and she saw more than a few smiles.  Somehow, that felt good.  " O.O pulling out the big guns!" Tessa said.  "I always liked you in that one.  Red suits you so well.  Who's the guy?"

"How should I know?" Cass replied.  "No picture, young but adult, asked for an all-nighter at a hotel outside the city.  Seems nice enough, probably just in a bad place."

" :( " came the Feline's reply.

Cassandra rode the train back home in mostly silence, phone-wise, not bothering to put in her headphones this time and just watching out the windows at the rapidly flashing buildings of Kallos.  A news broadcast buzzed above her, set into one of the walls, and several people were watching it.  Bored, she turned around to glance at the screen as well.

"...and in other news, Felix Enson's Trading announces its new Executive Head of their new office tomorrow at 9 pm!" the reporter droned.  "Long-time billionaire and philanthropist, Felix Enson II, has scheduled an interview for that same evening.  Isn't that exciting, Dom?" the Deer woman turned to look at her fellow news anchor, a Moose.

"It sure is Penny!" the man replied mechanically with a glazed, trained smile on his face.  "Viewers may recognize Enson's Trading from the large donations made to war-time reconstruction in Estarof following the city riots, as well as multiple charitable contributions to several foundations involved in improving Cross-Species relations!  Now we go to reporter in the street, Casey Casey!  How's it going out there?!"

Shaking her head and shrugging, Cassandra tuned the broadcast out again.  Her stop came up shortly and she made her way back to the apartment.  Her phone yipped again, and expecting Tessa, she pulled it out without thinking.  It wasn't her roommate, but the customer.

"Hi, this is Mr. Cross.  Thank you so much for accepting the application."

So formal.  For some reason, Cassandra smiled a bit, amused by this person.  "Glad I could be of service ^^" she responded, trying to be cute and flirty.  She felt the immediate cringe upon sending it.  "Can you please send me the address for the hotel?"

"Sure!" Mr Cross then sent her a link to the hotel's website and listing.  She read it, saved it to her GPS for later, and sent him back a thumb's up.  The name rang a bell, one of the nicer, upperscale out of town locations.  Maybe this really wouldn't be so bad of a job tonight.  She had by then reached the door to her apartment, and unlocking it, she walked inside.

The first thing she saw was a flying blur of fur and long limbs, before Tessa was standing in front of her.  Her fur was mussed up, hair in disarray, and she was panting a bit.  Her eyes were slightly more slitted, and she smelled like pure Aggression.  Cass knew that smell very well, and she couldn't keep an amused smirk off her face.

"I see clothing is no longer much of a concern.  They got here fast!"  She crossed her arms down at the flushing Feline.

Tessa folded her ears and played with her paws.  She had obviously thrown on a shirt to cover herself, the front disturbed by twin points, and her tail was lashing from side to side.  "Y-yeah.  I didn't expect it to go so fast, but...yeah it's going well.  Sorry...here."  She grabbed a hold of Cass's paw and dragged her inside, closing the door and hurriedly rushing her through the one-room apartment.  On the bed, a rather nerdy looking male Goat who couldn't be older than twenty was passionately making out with another, young looking female Ferret.  The two looked up in confusion as the other two women rushed past them.

"Hi?" the boy, obviously Jeremy, stuttered out, taking deep breaths and rolling over onto his back.  Several long shallow scratches adorned his chest, and his glasses were hanging cockeyed off of his nose.

Tessa giggled and stopped long enough to remove the glasses and put them securely off to the side.  "Don't let us interrupt.  This is just my roommate, I'm helping her then I'll be right back."

Both the lovers' eyes panned over and up to Cass.  The ferret girl grinned sheepishly.  She was slender and rather tall, but probably only came up to Cassandra's shoulder at most.  "Does...she want to join in?"  Jeremy jumped and looked if anything more panicked than excited.  Three women was probably more than he ever expected he could handle.  He was cute, decently enough anyways.

Cass chuckled and waved her paw down at the entwined pair.  "I'm just grabbing some clothes and heading off to my job.  You're all a bit young for me, but don't hesitate to have fun."  Tessa went even more flushed and hurried off to try and find the dress for her, which gave her enough time to lean down and whisper to the two, "She likes having her ears nibbled on, but don't pull her tail."

"You two...?" asked Jeremy, his nose looking distinctly like it was about to start bleeding.

"No, but I've snuck glances at her diary," winked the Husky, then stood back up as Tessa returned, red dress folded in her arms as well as a matching pair of pumps, choker, and red purse.  "Thanks Tess," she said, kissed the Feline on her cheek, and then abruptly nudged the girl down into the bed with her two guests.  "Have fun, kids!" she chuckled as a heavy purring began to rise from the sheets, and Cassandra waved goodbye, clothes in hand, as she left the apartment, locking the door behind her.

She changed in one of the communal bathrooms, removing everything but her undies, before slipping on the blood-red outfit.  This was her power dress, conforming to her body perfectly.  Strapless and backless, the red fabric clung to her tightly without constricting, slit up the skirts all the way up to one powerful, white-furred thigh, and the front crisscrossed with artistic little strands that made the neckline plunge even more than it did already.  It didn't work with a bra, but the bodice had small inserts to conceal the fronts of her breasts, so it was still socially acceptable.  

The back of the dress allowed her tail hang comfortably through a slit, and combined with the beautiful red pumps, it made her already impressive height loom even higher, drawing attention to her long, strong legs and muscular if also plush hindquarters.  The black, lacy choker went around her neck, and afterwards she began to apply more makeup, touching up her eyes, lips, and cheeks with fitting levels of dark eyeliner, blush, rouge, and lipstick.  She fluffed up her hair a bit more, posed for herself to make sure she looked good, which of course she did, and then lifted up her skirts to apply the last detail.  

Shuffling into an open stall, she rolled up the hem of the dress high enough to get to work on it.  Her underwear slid easily off down her legs, low enough for her to tie on and adjust the straps of her sheath holster, before pulling them back up.  The public didn't need to see her hidden detail quite as openly as the rest of her, since while it didn't show much while in pants, a dress like this tended to show off everything.

Finally done, she put her jacket back on, put the rest of her clothes into her purse along with her makeup, checked the time, and made her way back to the train station.  This time, she couldn't help but notice the multitude of looks she get, even this late into the evening, with hungry, curious eyes lingering on her as she sat on the train seat rather than standing up.  She nodded politely at a pair of male Canines who were staring at her, before turning her attention back to her phone.  Two shadows immediately loomed above her and she sighed.  Why did she ever try to be sociable.  She put on a small, polite smile, and looked back up to see the two men standing in front of her, paws on the rings above them.

"Hey," one grunted, trying to sound macho and cool.  She nodded in response.  "You look spectacular, going on a date?"  She nodded again.  "Oh."  The man traded a look with his friend.  "Any...chance you wanna reschedule?" he asked, obviously losing a lot of his bluster.

"No thank you," she responded politely.  "It would be rude to.  Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Uhhh..." muttered the other one, ears folded a bit downwards and unsure why he was even still here.  Both of them obviously had never been turned down often.  "You...two been going out long?"

"No.  I'm sorry, that's kind of none of your business to ask, but I don't mind it."

They both shrank a bit more.  "Cool, cool."  The first one scratched behind one ear awkwardly.  She could all but feel their wills warring against their obvious attraction.  "You...doing anything tomorrow?"

She smiled brightly up at them, noticing that her stop was coming up.  She cleared her throat, meaning for them to step back, and she stood.  Only then did they realize how much taller she was than them, even without the high-heels, and they looked up at her, ears folding back in immediate Alpha-Female recognition.  That alone made her smile a bit more genuine and satisfying.  "I'm afraid it's an all night event," she simpered, voice still sickeningly polite.  "And I don't date more than one person at a time anymore.  Will you boys excuse me?" she stalked past them, purposefully letting her tail wave more openly.

She heard one of them say, "Dude, I think I'm in love..." as the doors closed behind her and she rolled her bright, purple eyes.  She called up a cab on her phone app, climbed into it after waiting a good thirty minutes past when the driver had quoted their arrival, and afterwards came the long drive outside of the city towards the Weatherbury Holiday Hotel.  It was a lovely establishment, all things considered, with a homey, rustic charm that reminded her more of a log cabin rather than a classy resort.  She actually really liked it, but doubted she would ever have come here of her own volition, much less on her own dime.

She gave the receptionist the room number provided to her by Mr. Cross, unashamedly, and even was amused by the innocent blush that crossed the younger woman's face.  She smiled in thanks, and then rode up the elevator.  She tapped the sign-in feature on her phone, letting her client know that she was here.  Finally, she was in front of his room door.  This was it, yet another day on the job.  She only hoped that this one would be worth all the trouble and tentative hope she had allowed herself.  Her paw knocked solidly.

"Who is it?" asked a mellow, male voice from the other side of the door.

"Your Companion, Mr. Cross," she responded, pasting on a trained smile and adding a sultry weight to her voice.  "I am sorry about the wait, I don't come out of the city often. Your time can be extended if you wish."  She said it mechanically, but honestly this place was so nice that she might enjoy herself regardless of how well the session went.

She heard the door beginning to rattle as Cross unlocked it.  "That isn't a problem at all, I was admittedly really nervous and was really excited to meet..."  The door swung open, revealing him.  He stood there, clad in only a white bathrobe.  Tousled, seemingly constantly spiky blonde hair, freshly washed, lay upon his head, with some of the brightest green eyes she had ever seen staring up at her.  He wasn't a tall man, although for a human he was of decent height, with a trim, athletic figure from what she could see that only came from a steady diet and constant upkeep.   Even so, she could have folded him in half with ease.  His cheeks were freshly shaven, giving him a more boyish but endlessly attractive look, and behind him she could smell something rather heavenly.  "You?" he sounded surprised, and for a moment she was confused.  Then it hit her.

"Well, hello again!" she chuckled, smile growing wider and much more genuine at the happy coincidence.  "Gee, haven't I seen you somewhere before?"  She leaned idly on the doorframe as he stared up at her.  A long silence hung between them and somehow that just made him cuter.  "What's the matter, handsome?" she asked.  "Not going to invite a girl in for a drink?"

He remained frozen in place, and then he blinked and stepped back.  "Oh! Of course, please come in."  He squished himself back against the wall as she crossed the threshold of the hotel room, her tail deliberately sliding across his chest teasingly, and then she was inside.  The door clicked solidly behind her as he relocked it.  The room was tinted red from the romantic mood-lighting he had prepared, with freshly made sheets and fluffed up pillows on a bed that was ripe for a defiling.  She actually felt a little excited; this guy was really trying.  So much better than the usual, just horny types.  He had requested a more 'date-night' feel to the evening, and with all this work, she was happy to play along.

"So," she said, removing her jacket slowly and hanging it up on a hook before turning to look back at him, still lingering in the doorway.  "So nice to be alone with you, hunny."  She winced on the inside, feeling silly at playing the bit, but he seemed to brighten up a bit for a moment and then strangely deflated again.  "Something wrong?" she asked, planting a paw on her hip and arching her head to the side, ears lifted.  "Weren't expecting someone like me?"

"To be honest?" he replied, voice soft and unsure, and she nodded, expecting him to turn her down already.  "No, but I had no expectations at all really.  I've never done this before."

"What, had an Escort?" she teased.  He shook his head.  She rolled her eyes, chuckling, and then stalked over to him.  She plucked up a glass of champagne and loomed above him, leaning one paw against the wall above him.  "I'll tell you what, Mr. Cross," she said softly, actually able to play the seductive mistress bit better for some reason around this guy.  He seemed to hang on her every word, eyes fixed on hers.  She took a sip of the champagne, not something she was used to, and swallowed it slowly, letting him admire the bob of her throat.  His eyes kept traveling down her chest, face flushed, before she chuckled and they zipped back up to her face.  That was actually adorable...  "You just do whatever feels the most natural to you, and I promise to do my very best to take the weight off of you.  There is nothing you need to worry about tonight.  Think you can do that for me?"

He nodded very slowly, swallowing once and then glanced down and to the side.  "It's...just...a lot.  I can't really even believe I'm here, that you're here, that I'm doing this, that you're the same woman I saw on the train..." he seemed to be rambling and she took another sip, waiting.  "I have no idea how this is supposed to work."

"It works however you really want it to work," she told him softly.

He blushed more.  "This is the weirdest birthday ever...and probably the only one I've ever thought I'd be able to enjoy.  That's all.  I'm used to being who people want me to be.  I've never just done something for myself before..."

She listened, and her smile became a little more sad.  Either this was a very strange bit he was playing, or he was being completely honest out of awkwardness and that just made her feel for him.  She touched his chin with a paw and made him look back up at her.  "You can be whoever you want to be, at least here."  She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, leaning down closer to him.  "I'm not just here to rock your world.  I read the request, and I know that you're feeling down, overworked.  Hell, I totally understand that feeling."  

He smiled, a little hopefully up at her to see someone listening.  Her smile went wider.  

"You said it was your birthday?" 

He nodded.

"Then let's start this off properly..." she growled soft and low, and lifted the glass again to her lips.  She took a long, slow sip of the champagne, held it in her mouth, and then lifted his chin higher with her other paw even as she leaned down even farther.

His lips were incredibly soft against her muzzle, the texture something like velvet, and immediately he went  completely still, frozen in place as she kissed him.  She let him enjoy it for a second, before firmly grasping his chin in her padded fingers and pulling slightly down.  His lips opened slightly and her tongue surged between them, invading his mouth, and the rush of fizzy champagne close behind.  He made a startled sound as she pinned him gently against the wall, tongue wrestling with his and guiding the drink down his throat.  Only once every drop had gone from her mouth to his, she slowly leaned back, her tongue the last thing to leave him.  She smiled at his dazed expression, stroking his cheek and patting it once.

"First of many," she said, eyes twinkling.  "So what's next, birthday boy?"