Penguin - 3. Chapter 3

Daniel

Sean picked me up promptly at 1:00 and I was surprised to see Penguin in the back seat in his cat carrier. “I didn’t realize this would be a threesome.” I smirked at him.

Sean laughed and winked at me. “Penguin wanted to thank you personally for the flowers.”

I turned and looked at Penguin. “You’re welcome.”

Penguin slowly blinked his bright yellow eyes at me and purred.

I thought it was a bit strange to bring a cat along on a date, but I figured what the hell? Sean was a hottie and seemed like a really nice guy, so I supposed I could deal with it. Besides, I’m a cat person and Penguin seemed like a really special cat. I mean, how many cats can say they’re a therapy cat?

Sean pulled up in front of a brick building with a sign on it that read “Pet Connections”. The first thing that came to my mind was that it sounded like a pet dating service. I cringed at the thought and arched an eyebrow at Sean. I wondered if I was going to regret sending those flowers. He laughed at me.

“Don’t worry. It’s not a pet dating service or anything creepy like that. You seemed so interested in Penguin’s therapy cat test that I thought you might want to be there for it.”

I sighed in relief. “Whew. You had me worried for a minute.”

Sean laughed. “I’m not some freak that’s obsessed with my cat, I promise.”

I smirked at him. “So I shouldn’t expect a Christmas card of you holding Penguin while wearing an ugly Christmas sweater?”

He looked at me coyly. “Not unless you want me to.”

“Well, I suppose that depends on how desperate I am for a boyfriend.” I winked at him.

He laughed, then got out of the car and grabbed Penguin’s cat carrier. “This is the last step of the testing process. If we pass today, then Penguin becomes a certified therapy cat and earns his vest. All therapy animals are required to wear one.”

“I’m sure you guys will do just fine.” I smiled at Sean.

We went into the building and there were quite a few people milling around. There were mainly dogs, but there was also another cat, a rabbit, and even a miniature horse! Apparently there’s a lot more to this therapy cat stuff than I realized.

We didn’t have long to wait before Sean and Penguin were called into the testing room. I was amazed at how well they did. Penguin had to remain calm while people petted him roughly and hugged him a little too enthusiastically. He also had to tolerate someone staggering and waving their arms around like a drunk person and then going to pet him. Penguin didn’t even blink an eye when a crowd of loud people descended on him, attempting to pet him at the same time. He took every test they threw at him in stride, and at the end he was handed an orange “therapy cat” vest. So apparently it was official.

Sean walked over to me with a big smile on his face. I have him a congratulatory hug and petted Penguin’s head.

“Congratulations! You guys did great!”

Sean’s grin could have lit the entire room. “Thanks! We’ve worked so hard for this; it’s hard to believe it’s done. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah. I could do with some dinner. Let’s go celebrate!”

We drove to Sean’s apartment so he could drop Penguin off. He told me to wait in the car with a sly smile on his face. I wondered what he was up to. I watched Sean as he walked into his apartment. Damn, that man was gorgeous! He was about six feet tall and had the most delightfully messy sandy blond hair that didn’t quite reach his shoulders. I shuddered as I imagined running my fingers through it. He had a medium build and an ass to die for. He could have any man he wanted. I wondered what he saw in me.

Sean returned from his house carrying a cooler. He placed it in the trunk and then got back in the car.

“So where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

I had to look out the window so he wouldn’t see the goofy smile I couldn’t wipe off my face.

Sean drove for about ten minutes before pulling into the parking lot of Meadowlane Park. He gave me a soft smile, and I swear I honest-to-God swooned. I’m a bit of a romantic at heart, but unfortunately I seem to have a habit of dating men who wouldn’t know what romance was if it smacked them upside the head with a dozen roses.

“I hope this is ok.” Sean said. “I thought we could return to the scene of the crime.”

I laughed. “It’s perfect.”

After a lot of jokes about staying out of the creek and not breaking any more body parts, we found a nice spot to lay out the blanket for a picnic. Sean had made a variety of sandwiches and we enjoyed those with some chips and pop. He even made brownies for dessert. We sat there and talked for hours. The conversation flowed easily and I found myself wishing that the day would never end. Just before sunset, we packed up the blanket and cooler and put them in the car. We then went for a short walk around the park to watch the sunset. As we were walking I felt Sean take my hand. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. As we turned to start heading back toward the car, Sean stopped me and turned to face me. He ran his hand lightly down my cheek and said “I’d like to do this properly before I take you home.” Then he lightly kissed me. I looked into his gorgeous hazel eyes and kissed him back. He ran his fingers through my hair, cupped my cheek with his hand, and kissed me one more time.

“You have no idea how much I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow,” he whispered.

I wished for the same; however all I could do was smile at him stupidly before we walked back to the car and he drove me home.

*****

After I got home, I was still reeling from Sean’s kiss. I can honestly say I’d never been on a date like that before. I knew that I desperately wanted to see Sean again. I changed into some pajama bottoms and a t-shirt before plopping down on the couch to watch TV.

“Hey, Timmy.” My gray tabby cat jumped into my lap and started purring. He curled up into a ball and promptly fell asleep. I have no idea what I even watched because I was so caught up in reliving my date. I could easily see myself falling for Sean. I needed to be careful.

I was jolted out of my reverie when my phone rang. Timmy jumped off my lap and gave me an annoyed look before stalking off to the bedroom. This time I remembered to check my caller ID. I had learned my lesson. “Hey, Robbie.”

“So… how was it? Let me guess… he took you back to his place so you guys could screw like rabbits. It’s about damn time you got some. So which one of you is going to be walking funny tomorrow?”

“Shut up, you ass!” Anyone else probably would have been mortified, but I knew Robbie too well to be surprised or offended.

Robbie just laughed. “Seriously, man. How’d it go?”

“I had a great time. He took me to Penguin’s therapy cat test, and then he took me to Meadowlane Park for a picnic. We made sure we stayed away from the creek this time. We talked for hours, and afterward took a walk to watch the sunset. Then he kissed me.”

“So... tongue…no tongue… details, man!”

“Are you sure you’re not gay? You seem to like to hear an awful lot of detail about my sex life.”

“Ha. Ha. Ok, so you guys went for a walk… then what?”

“Then he brought me back here.”

“You dog! So you screwed like rabbits at your place, not his.” Robbie laughed.

I rolled my eyes. Robbie had a one-track mind. “We didn’t screw like anything. He was a perfect gentleman.”

“So no blow-jobs or hand jobs even? How boring.”

“You’re such a dick!”

“You know you want it, baby.”

If he had been in my apartment I would have whaled him a good one.

“In your dreams, Robbie. I gotta go. Later.” I hung up the phone.

*****

Robbie and I met in kindergarten. We most definitely were not best friends right away. We both wanted to play with the same toy and ended up pounding the shit out of each other. Robbie gave me my first bloody nose and I knocked out one of his baby teeth. We were each other’s nemesis for the rest of kindergarten and through most of first grade, until Frankie Malone decided he wanted to kick my ass. I have no idea why. Frankie got some pretty good hits in before Robbie stepped in and knocked him flat on his ass. I guess he felt that he was the only one that got to beat the shit out of me. After that we became fast friends and were inseparable. The trouble we had gotten into when we were apart was nothing compared to the trouble we got in together. We got to know the principal quite well!

We did everything together and were there for each other through all the highs and lows of adolescence and young adulthood. Our families became pretty close, too. I swear we were always at one house or another. Things became a bit strained during our teen years when Robbie and our other friends discovered girls. I was struggling with realizing I was gay and tried to put on a front and date girls right along with Robbie and our friends. That was a bit of a disaster. Things came to a head when Robbie lost his virginity to Sallie Martin. He kept going on and on about how great it was and that I really needed to get the stick out of my ass and try it. I got really pissed off when he said that. He asked me if I wasn’t interested in dating because I was in love with him. All the color drained from my face and I pounced on him, trying to get some good punches in. The truth was that I did love Robbie. As a brother. I’ve never looked at him as anything more. Robbie managed to get on top of me and pin me down. He sat on my chest grinning and told me I should go fuck Brad. He was gay, too and apparently had a crush on me. I was stunned. I’ll never forget what Robbie told me next. He said “You should have just been honest with me, asshole. I know you better than you know yourself. I’ve known you were gay for a long time. It’s about damn time you realized it, too.”

I came out to my parents during our senior year and let’s just say it didn’t go well. I moved in with Robbie and his parents for the rest of the school year and after graduation we got an apartment together. Neither one of us was college material, so we got a job working with a landscaper. Robbie didn’t get along with our boss, so he quit and ended up working for another company. We’re both good workers and have managed to keep the same jobs for the past ten years. We’ve talked about going into business together, but neither one of us knows the first thing about business management. I suppose we ought to learn one day or else settle down with someone who does know how to run a business.

I don’t think Robbie will ever settle down, though. I wasn’t kidding when I called him a slut. He’ll sleep with just about any woman that will have him. My history isn’t quite so checkered. I dated Brad throughout high school, but that ended when he left for college. I dated on and off until I met Trevor. I don’t like to talk about Trevor. I almost lost Robbie’s friendship because of that piece of shit. There are no words to express how grateful I am that I didn’t.