Twisted Tails Ch. 02

Vivien took a sip of her tea, and then looked up into Andrew's eyes. "How do you feel about me?" she asked.

"Nice deflection. Sorry, you first," he said with a smile.

Vivien took a deep breath. "I... would really like to get to know you better."

Andrew smiled. "Do you have any worries about dating someone older than you?"

"Oh. You know, that never crossed my mind until just now. How old are you?" she asked.

"I'll be fifty-three this year," said Andrew.

"Huh? You don't look that old," said Vivien. "You're really physically fit and..." She stopped, going bright red in the face.

Andrew laughed. "Yeah, you got to see a fair bit of me and others today. We all tend to age well right up until we don't. I am that old. Remember, Ginny and I dated. I'm older than she is," said Andrew.

Vivien thought about that for a moment. "Okay. So, since you brought it up, do you know how old I am?"

"Yes, You just turned thirty. And before you ask, no your age does not bother me. I think it runs in the family as my dad was about eighteen years older than my mom."

"Oh. Wait, how did you know I just turned thirty?" she asked.

"Birthday cards on the bookshelves," he said with a smile.

Vivien rolled her eyes blushing again.

"So, are we agreed that we are going to date?" asked Andrew.

Vivien looked at him. Really looked. His hazel eyes, sandy hair and that smile. The way he tilted his head to one side just like the wolf did. "Could I?" she thought. "Yes," she answered.

Andrew set down his cup, walked around the table and pulled Vivien up from her chair. He ran his fingers through the stray strands of hair and then tilted her face up towards his and kissed her.

It took all of three seconds for Vivien to get over the shock of that kiss and return it. She wrapped her arms around him and melted into his arms. He broke the kiss for a moment.

"I've been wanting to do this all day," he said and went back to kissing her. His hands roamed down her back and across her hips. Vivien gave a little moan. Hearing that made Andrew's body harden. "Not yet!" he thought. The wolf deep inside whimpered. "Ours?" came the question. "Wait!"

Vivien broke off the kiss. "Are... are we moving a um... little fast?" she asked in a whisper.

Andrew held her out a bit from his body. "Your speed. Your decision. I await your pace," he said in a hoarse whisper.

"It just seems so sudden and..." she paused. "And yet so right!" screamed her thoughts.

"No, you're right, we... we're probably rushing things," he said letting go of Vivien. "I don't want to rush things. May... may I come by on Monday night?"

"Yyes," she said, her heart still pounding. She wanted to grab him and haul him off to her bed at the same time she was a little nervous.

"Then I will take my leave, my Vivien," he said. He gave her a brief kiss and then walked to the front door and left.

Vivien stood in her kitchen stunned.

*

Andrew drove off with great difficulty. He was waring with his mind and that of his wolf. His heart and the wolf wanted to stay. His intellect said it was time to go. At least for a little while. Andrew reached a stoplight and realized that Cal lived just around the corner. He turned and pulled into Cal's drive. No one was home. Andrew realized that Cal must still be at the picnic, running with the rest of the unattached family members. He found a piece of paper, wrote a quick note in case Cal did come home. He put it just inside the front door. Then he walked around the back of the house. As he suspected, the garage was open. Andrew stripped off and shifted. Then he carefully headed back to Vivien's.

Wolf watched the metal things on the road. He ran across when they were still. Wolf and his two legged form talked good. Better than most. It didn't take Wolf long to get to the house with the toys and the woman. Wolf walked quietly under the windows. He sat and listened. Wolf heard water running and the woman splashing. She was making throat noises that told Wolf she was happy. He sniffed around the house until he found the place she slept. There were bushes under the windows and Wolf found a hollow space to curl up. He stayed awake until he hear her come in the room and crawl into her nest.

Twice in the night, he heard noises. First was a cat. Next time was a bunch of dogs. He growled at the cat and got up out of the bushes to scare off the dogs. He marked the corners of the property making sure that from now on, the dogs would know this was his den. Then he went back to the spot under the bushes. Towards dawn, he headed back to where the metal thing had been left by his two-legged self.

Andrew dressed and was heading back to his car when Cal pulled in the driveway. He greeted Cal and went to go grab the note he'd left.

"Andrew, what you doing here?" Cal asked.

"I... I needed a safe place to shift. I," was as far as he got before Cal interrupted.

"Redhead fever?" Cal asked.

Andrew nodded.

"Don't blame you. She's cute. Come on in for coffee. Sleeping out all night when you're not use to it can be a bit rough," Cal said opening his door.

"Yes, it can be. You have fun last night?" Andrew asked following him into the house.

"Oh yeah. There is a little bitch that just rolled my brain."

"Just your brain Cal?" asked Andrew.

"No, not just my brain. We had a really good time. Oh... speaking of fun, those Frisbees were great. We found a couple that got missed and we all played for a good three hours. Some of us shifted back so we could toss to the others. Thanks," said Cal as the water boiled. Cal made instant coffee and set a cup down in front of Andrew.

"You gonna date her?" Cal asked.

"Yes, and if it goes well, I'd like to do more than just date," said Andrew.

"Good. About time you had some fun. And don't take this wrong, but I never knew how you and Ginny ended up dating. She just doesn't seem your type," said Cal.

Andrew nodded. "Our families thought it would be a good match. It was in a way, but not good enough for Ginny or I. So, I'm glad she has Patrick. He's just rough enough to keep her in line,"

"I'll say. After Luc chewed everyone out and you talked with her, Patrick took her off to one side. I don't know what was said, but the sub-vocals were enough to make my hair stand on end," said Cal.

"Ah, that would explain a few things," said Andrew. He and Cal chatted for a little longer while they finished their coffee.

"You gonna be alright to drive home?" Cal asked as he stood up and yawned.

"I think so," said Andrew. I had a couple hours of sleep,"

"Okay. See you later," said Cal. He headed to bed as Andrew left out the front door.