Love & Lattes - Group Therapy Ep. 04

Welcome back, my lovely reader!

I've given you a lot of sex over the last few episodes, eh lovely? Let's dial it down a bit and actually focus on some plot, shall we? This is more than just porn after all and if you're this far into L&L I'd imagine it wasn't just the sex that got you here!

The girls and boys both have their own tribulations to contend with today, but perhaps they'll come out all the stronger for it. We'll also get to see a familiar face as well!

Let's jump right in!

—♥—

Episode 4:

Blood, Song, and Dues Paid

Karen looked upon the unassuming red brick building on the west side of town, her large mocha ears lifting as she sat in the passenger's seat of Ivory's car. "This place? It looks like an old warehouse or something." The rabbit had her right footpaw propped up on the dashboard of the car, her arm over her knee. She had opted for function over fashion, going with blue jeans and a snug black top for the rehearsal, her regular boots she wore everywhere on.

Ivory gave a grin, showing her sharp teeth as she pulled her sunglasses off and looked over at her lover. "Well, yeah, it's not supposed to stand out. If it did, people would be swarming it to see which major artist was going to be using it."

"Not stand out eh? Like you driving a small compact car instead of some fancy sports car?" Karen grinned back at Ivory as she spoke.

The cat hummed out playfully, "I will have you know I always enjoyed driving small little cars like this. It makes parking and maneuvering in traffic much simpler." Ivory then clicked her tongue and tugged a large wide-brimmed sun hat on before shoving the sunglasses back on. "But yes... it still feels weird running around hiding in broad daylight sometimes. I can usually get away with it more or less, so long as I don't wear anything too fancy or my makeup, I'm not THAT famous after all."

"I dunno, 'Foxy Lover' did break into the top ten, people certainly know your name now." Karen grinned as she spoke, then gave the cat a hungry look. "Well they can look all they want, but they can't touch."

Ivory purred as she saw the look and moved closer to Karen, bumping her muzzle to the bunny's. They kissed eagerly as Ivory felt Karen's paws already moving over the blue blouse she had worn, fingertips squeezing the swell of her breasts lightly.

"Now now my rabbit... business first, you can have me afterward..." Ivory purred the words after breaking the kiss, her lips still brushing Karen's before she pulled back, the rabbit's handpaws hesitating to let her go before withdrawing.

"Fine... I suppose it wouldn't do to show up smelling like sex," Karen muttered, tucking a stray lock of chocolate-colored hair back into place before climbing from the small compact car.

Ivory followed suit, sliding from the driver's side of the vehicle and straightening the knee-length skirt she had worn for the day, a matching blue to the blouse, a simple pair of open-toed sandals on her footpaws, showing her claws were painted in the same hue of blue.

The hesitation was obvious as Ivory looked back at Karen and offered a small smile, "Nervous?"

"Yeah, a little. I've never done something like this before." Karen looked at the brick building, feeling her stomach twist slightly.

"Yeah? Had you ever had group sex like we did the other night, or banged another woman's husband?" Ivory asked the words nonchalantly while giving Karen a smile.

"What? Of course, I hadn't, what's that got to do with this though?" The rabbit huffed out at the cat, her cheeks feeling hot as she thought about the questions, the subject taking her back to the sex she had with Joseph and her.

"Oh, just that life is always full of new experiences. Just go for it and see what happens. Don't be afraid of the unknown." Ivory spoke lovingly and reached her handpaw out toward Karen.

Karen gave a quick nod and grasped Ivory's paw, feeling their fingers interlock together before the cat gave a gentle tug and pulled the rabbit into motion, walking with her to the side door of the large building.

Ivory didn't bother knocking and just grabbed the handle of the old metal door, giving it a bump with her hip to dislodge it. The metal groaned in protest as the door opened to a dimly lit hallway. Karen had to blink her eyes several times to adjust to the darker room, the summer sun having left her blinded now that she was inside.

Ivory let out a slight hiss, her own eyes taking a little longer to adjust to the darkness. Finally, the two of them made their way down the hallway until it led to yet another metal door, this one not so fussy to get open.

The door led to a large open room with dozens of instruments of various types laid about. Everything from classical instruments like cellos and violins, to more modern things like electric guitars. The whole room was bathed in soft white light, making everything look clear and sharp. Along one side of the room was a large glass wall with what was obviously a recording studio within it on the other side of the glass.

The door leading to the glass-walled room promptly slid open and a large curvy bovine-woman appeared from within. She easily had over a foot in height on Karen, possibly being as tall as Isaac. Her hair was jet black with white highlights running through the length as it flowed in a long cascade down her back. The tips of her hair ended at a long thin white tail with a small tuft of black fur at the tip. She wore a flowing sundress of blue and gold, the hemline of the fabric brushing the floor of the studio as she walked.

"Welcome back my little gattina! It is good to see you once more." The larger female called out in a smooth rolling voice that commanded confidence and grace. Ivory quickly moved over to her and the two clasped paws before exchanging kisses on the side of one another's muzzle.

"It's good to see you too, Bianca! I've missed you these last several months!" Ivory purred the words, giving a wide-tooth grin, her own tail flicking and coiling about.

"Ha! You are a little masochist you are, my little gattina. We quarreled but we had a good time then, didn't we?" The bovine woman gave her own grin before releasing Ivory's paws and turning her full attention to the rabbit in the room.

Karen blinked up at the large cow towering over her, she was big. Not just fat either, just large and muscular, but not toned like she worked out, more like just a natural large bulk that came with her. She did indeed have the curves of a woman that loved to eat though and her size easily matched both of the other two girls put together.

"Oh. Uh... hello there, nice to meet you?" Karen spoke out politely as she looked up at the large female. She had taken down guys bigger than this but her sheer size and confidence made her look indomitable currently.

Bianca lifted her drooped white and black ears up at the soft words from the rabbit and gave a wide grin. "You want to sing little coniglia? You need to be louder than that!"

Karen blinked at the words, confusion showing on her face. "Coni-what?"

Ivory giggled as she moved over towards Karen and bumped her own hip against the bunny's. "It means 'rabbit'."

"Oh..." Karen processed the statement then put a paw on her hip and looked up at the woman still grinning and looming over her, "Y-yeah I do wanna sing, I can be plenty loud thanks." The rabbit mused in thought for a moment before continuing, "Also, you obviously speak English, why not just use 'cat' and 'rabbit'?"

The bovine-woman gave another wide grin before shifting her gaze over to Ivory. "Ah, you have brought me a practical one, eh my gattina? She is a thinker first then."

Ivory shrugged at the statement, "Trust me, Bianca. She can be plenty impulsive if you give her a chance."

Karen blushed at Ivory's words, understanding the hidden meaning behind them. Bianca turned back to Karen and snorted through her nose heavily before speaking out, "To answer the question, the why is just who I am. We are in show business little coniglia, nothing about it is practical!" By now Bianca had raised her handpaws to the ceiling as if giving a riveting speech to a crowd.

"Uh... right. So..." Karen trailed off rubbing the back of her head, not sure what to make of the eccentric woman before her.

"So now, sing for me!" Bianca barked out, pointing a finger at Karen.

"W-what? Right now, out of the blue?" The rabbit stammered words, feeling panic fill her chest.

"Yes, now! You want to sing, I need to know what we are working with, you know? So sing for me."

"Just pretend we're at karaoke, Karen. She did the same thing to me when I first got here," Ivory purred the words with a grin.

Karen blushed and rattled thoughts around in her head before finally clearing her throat, "Ah... S-so hold me, and never let me go my foxy lover. I wanna dance with you and no other..."

Ivory snorted back a laugh and grinned. "Really? My song?"

Bianca nodded her head in thought, "Hmm... the harmony is there, you have strong vocal cords."

Karen lifted her large mocha ears up at the words, showing off the silver hoops along the inside of them. "Oh, really? You think I'm good?"

"No! I think you are terrible!" Bianca practically snarled the words as she crossed her arms over her large ample breasts through the dress. Karen flinched at the words but the bovine woman continued. "This one, she was awful too when I got her. I will fix it!"

Ivory rolled her eyes and gave a toothy grin, "It's true, Bianca is a slave driver. I don't envy you, Karen."

The cow lifted her ears up and looked over at the cat. "Oh, you think you will sit and watch? You two want to sing together, you both will practice together!"

"What?! B-but I already proved I can sing! I've got a top ten single for fuck sake!" Ivory snarled the words, clenching her paws and hissing. The tone of her voice took on a more haughty and irritated tone Karen wasn't used to hearing from her as if a princess being scolded.

Bianca let out an amused laugh and moved to ruffle the cat's ears and muss her neat hair. "My little gattina, I was ten years into my opera career with all of the home country in love with me, and I always had to practice and keep up. You have had a sip of the wine and nothing more!"

The bovine woman stepped away from the two girls and looked upon a platinum record mounted on the wall, putting her handpaws on her hips. "You will always have others trying to take you down, it is a competition, just like anything else. You will train and you will improve, or someone will come to take your job."

Ivory showed her teeth as she hissed back in response, "Yeah but I've been kicking my own ass for over a year!"

"And I kicked mine for over thirty!" The cow retorted back, giving the cat a stern look. "You've had a single top ten hit, as in one. I had two dozen, and when you have one of these, then you tell me you can take a break." Bianca jerked her thumb back towards the record on the wall as she spoke the words.

Ivory clenched her teeth and jerked her head away, her cheeks hot with anger. Karen simply whistled in response to the instructor's words. "Damn... you're something else, Lady." The rabbit huffed the words, a bit of admiration in her tone.

"Your flattering words will just make me work you harder, little coniglia, but thank you." The cow huffed the words with a wide grin then looked at the pouting cat. "You are ready to retire already? Then get out of my studio and I will have this cute girl replace you. You want to keep singing and have your fans, you work hard and you act like a professional."

Ivory flinched at the words, showing her teeth and glaring at the cow, "You're still a bitch."

Bianca grinned wide at the words and held her paws out, palms up. "And you are still a child, but a child with untapped talent. You two warm-up and drink some water, we will begin in ten minutes."

"What the hell have you gotten me into, love?" Karen spoke the words quietly once Bianca had slipped into the other room.

Ivory sighed in response and rolled her neck. "She's a cunt, but a lovable one, and she is the best. I could only hope to have the talent and ability she does even if I did this for twenty more years. Even now she could probably come out of retirement and go back on the opera circuit."

Karen flicked her ears curiously. "Huh... is there even any money or call for that these days?"

"Oh, you better believe there is! Maybe not here in this country, but if she went home and announced she was touring again... Hot damn she would make money paw over fist." Ivory spoke out, her own admiration showing in her voice.

"I have a feeling... it's not about the money for her," Karen mused the words as she moved to the water pitcher on a small table and poured a glass.

"Funny enough, I get that..." Ivory purred, a small smile spreading on her muzzle. "When I'm on stage, when I see all those people and how happy they are. I really do love my fans."

Karen huffed playfully, "Trying to make me jealous, love?"

"Not that kind of love, you possessive coniglia!" The cat hummed playfully with a grin.

"I swear to the gods! If you start that up I will never bang you again!" Karen snarled at Ivory, giving her a playful glare.

—♥—

Joseph pulled on his second fingerless glove, tugging the strap into place. A durable reinforced set that covered his knuckles and improved his grip. He routinely used them at the various gyms they would stop at while touring. The fox clenched his fist, the tight grip feeling good, and filled him with confidence. "So what's the plan?"

Isaac cut his eyes to the young fox and snorted out a huff before answering him, "The plan is for you to stay out of the way and let me handle everything." The wolf spoke the words in an all-business tone of voice, standing outside of the car, checking through the duster he had on to make sure the various weapons and tools were in order.

The fox gave him a playful grin and flicked his tail about. "Yeah? And how would Karen take to that plan?" Joseph growled the words in amusement as he slid his exposed padded-fingertips into the pockets of his jeans and leaned against the side of the car.

"Karen is a licensed and trained professional, you are not." The wolf snarled back sharply, reaching his handpaw back behind him to flick the safety off on his barretta in the sewn-in holster of his duster, the weight of the gun resting against the small of his back.

"Sure sure, but seriously, what should I do if things go south?" Joseph cut his eyes to Isaac with a bit of concern in them.

Isaac grew quiet in contemplation before adjusting the duster. He had on his worn jeans and hiking boots, the typical outfit he would wear on the job along with a plain black t-shirt. "This guy has been laying low here for almost three months, he has most likely gotten complacent and won't be expecting anything. He even picked up a part-time job here at this hardware store, hence why we are making this public. Less likely to go south that way."

"Yes, we grab him as he gets off work, I got all those details yesterday. I want to know what you want me to do IF things don't go as planned." The fox's voice had the edge of irritation and concern in it now.

Isaac could plainly tell his younger lover was simply concerned for him. The wolf looked away, thinking about last night and the one before that, along with the years of build-up to this point. He huffed and drooped his large red ears before cutting his blue eyes back to the fox, a look of concern in them as well. He didn't want him to get hurt on this, he didn't want to risk losing him now that he had grown attached, now that he and Ivory were such a prominent fixture in his and Karen's life.

Joseph saw the look and gave the wolf a reassuring smile before speaking again, "I know it's not a game, I'm not gonna act like some dumb kid, but I don't want you out there alone either, this is a team thing for a reason, yeah?"

Isaac growled to himself, a brief glance at the fox's eyes had reminded him of Hazel and the concern she always had for him over his investigator gig. "Just watch my back, let me do all the talking. We flank him, and if he tries to run, you let me chase him down."

"So, I'm just there to look good eh?" The fox growled cheerfully, pulling his paws out of his jeans and giving a playful flex, showing off the defined toned muscles in his arm.

"Well, you certainly looked good drooling on your paws and knees last night!" The wolf snarled teasingly before reaching back to slap the fox on the rear.

Joseph yipped out and growled back playfully, his tail whipping about now. "Well, I had to let you return the favor, I doubt you want to be a bottom every time!"

Isaac grinned and looked into the fox's eyes for a long moment, the chestnut hue of them reminding him of his ex-wife. Joseph blinked back into the wolf's icy blue eyes, the color reminding him of Ivory's.

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" Isaac huffed the words and looked away, feeling his cheeks warming up.

"Y-yeah... I got your back man." Joseph barked the words awkwardly and cut his own eyes away, feeling his pulse pacing up a few notches.

The larger dog took a steadying breath and checked his phone for the time. "Keys said he would be off at fifteen hundred, so any minute now. We know he drives that truck over there, so we cut him off. That's why I parked between the store and his vehicle. We will walk up like we are customers with a question."

"Ah Keys, I've not talked to them in a while now. I should reach out to them when we get back," Joseph muses the words and perked his ears out as the bounty they were here for came out of the store.

"Alright... show time." Isaac rolled his neck, feeling a few pops and creaks in his shoulders before shaking his arms out and moving towards the male that had just stepped out of the store.

Joseph followed along a pace behind the wolf. He sized the guy up that was walking, a little smaller than him, a feline, perhaps a lynx. Joseph had enough competitive experience to know the guy moved like he was trained in fighting, and given his size and body tone he would be fast.

The lynx paid no mind to the two of them at first, his red apron from work kicking up in the breeze, then an ear flicked up in the realization that the two were moving towards him with obvious intention. Both the dogs saw his body language change, his posture growing tenser.

"Son of a bitch..." Isaac snarled quietly through clenched teeth.

"Nothing we can do about it now." Joseph huffed out quietly in response.

The lynx stopped in his tracks to let the dogs cover the last few paces before speaking out, "If you gentlemen need help, I'm off work, but an associate inside will be happy-"

"You know why we're here, Harvey." Isaac growled the words out sternly.

The cat gave a defeated sigh and shrugged. "It took a while, I was starting to think no one cared."

"So, we cool? You want this done the easy way I assume?" Isaac huffed the words in a deadly serious tone.

"Of course, I want the easy way." Harvey raised his paws, palms open submissively.

"Good, this makes it easier for everyone." Isaac reached into his duster to get the wrist restraints as he moved in on the lynx.

Both the dogs saw the tension shift as the cat dipped forward on a bent knee. Joseph, being a knife user himself recognized the motion at once as Harvey's paw slipped into his back pocket in the fluid familiar motion, the movements lightning quick.

"Knife!" The fox barked out as Isaac's body had already been responding on reflex, his brain catching up to the split-second warning. The wolf had been preparing for an unarmed blow to counter but knew full well the lynx may have been armed.