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Latching Onto You

High school graduation was a great time for Josh. He still remembered the loud snaps of the poppers as the principal congratulated the class for making it through the four years of academic hell, and then moving his tassel from the right side to the left along with the rest of his classmates.

Graduation was a bit in the past.

Well, only about a year really.

Driving down a main highway strip that connected each of the moderately sized towns of southern Illinois together, Josh basked in the cool breeze that came through the open windows of his vehicle. The wind that wiped across the panther's face ruffled his midnight black fur. Turning up the volume so he could hear his loud music over wind, the panther gave a sigh of bliss. The bass rattled his body, and the tremble created a great balance.

Driving to work was one of his favorite times of the day and he hummed along to the music that came through his speakers.

Clicking on the left turn signal, and getting in a turn lane to get off the highway, Josh cringed when his sedan's tires made contact with the crudely paved road. Rocks flung off of the apron of the road, and hit the door making a light pinging sound. He gave a yip in surprise when a rock flung up, and hit him in the cheek.

Josh decided to roll the windows up.

After about five minutes on the back roads that made Josh's subconscious list for the worst ones to drive on, the panther made a right to get back onto a properly paved road. Appearing on the horizon, he saw a large sports complex start to come into view. The complex wasn't anything special in terms of construction, but a large paw print of the Columbia Jaguars was painted right on top of the building.

It was the symbol of the local football team.

And it was where Josh worked for his first summer job. He had so many memories of the sports complex.

Getting Josh off of his lazy butt right after the first week of summer, his mother, the caring and concerned women that she was, knew a lady who knew a lady from HER work that landed him a job right at the main sportsplex.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Josh. You won't know unless you try it!"

"Mom, it's a job that requires me to clean. By the end of it, they might as well put me in a maid costume."

Rolling her eyes, Josh's mom simply said, "Well, at least you will make some money, and gain some responsibility. Plus, you get to meet some of the team members, and possibly travel around with them!"

"Yes, to set up their locker room elsewhere! Why can't I just work at home with dad?" Josh said pointing a finger at his father who was reading the newspaper.

Josh's dad just grunted, and said, "Listen to your mother."

So with that, off Josh went to an interview with a women who had the soul of a Sargent in the middle of boot camp.

Unfortunately, that women, who was called Miss. Priss by the team, was his manager.

Walking into the dark room that he quickly labeled as the "Interrogation room" was where Josh had his interview, and sitting in the back of the room behind a large mahogany desk was a cheetah in athletic apparel. She had the gaze of a predator, and looked at Josh as if he was prey.

Her dark yellow eyes followed Josh as he walked forward. He felt like she was going to vault over the desk, and tackle him to the ground before stabbing him multiple times. What made the whole atmosphere even creepier was the fact that it was dark in the room. The only window had the blinds pulled down over it, and the only light available was a small desk lamp that was conveniently placed in the cheetah's favor. She looked at Josh like he was fresh meat. Her eyes scanned his body as if trying to read him by appearance.

Luckily, Josh was dressed nice. He had an azure polo that matched the cream colored khaki pants. The belt that was around his waist was a deep brown that matched the wood on the desk that the cheetah was tapping her claw on impatiently.

"So, pussycat. You want a job, correct?"

Josh nodded.

"You know, mostly, what this job entails correct?"

Her frown twitched slightly, and Josh could tell in her eyes that she was holding back a smile.

He nodded.

She smiled devilishly, "Good. Sit."

The panther did as he was told, and sat in the plain wooden chair in front of him. The chair creaked underneath his weight.

Still holding the sinister looking smile, the cheetah said, "My name is Miss. Purdue. What's yours, guppy?"

Josh felt a shiver down his spine, at the word "guppy", and started to work up a sweat at the stare down Miss. Purdue was giving him.

"Josh D-Durgon."

Her mouth grew wider to show her pointy fangs, and she leaned back against her desk chair. She propped her feet casually onto the desk, the running shoes gleaming in the artificial light of the desk lamp.

"Tell me about yourself, Josh."

After about twenty minutes of back and forth chatter, Josh felt a bit calmer about the interview. Words started to come easier and he felt at ease with the uneasy atmosphere. Finally, after another ten minutes, Miss. Purdue stretched and leaned back. She put her feet casually on the desk.

"I have good news and I have bad news."

Gulping, Josh awaited the verdict that was about to fall. His hands tensed on his legs, and he could feel his claws dig into his skin.

"The good news is you have a job." She said while taking her feet off the desk, and getting up. Walking over to Josh, she placed her hand on his shoulder, and said,

"The bad news is, you have a job, and I am your boss! You can come in tomorrow at 8am sharp. You will work till one. Meet me in the main lobby. I will get you on the payroll as soon as possible, guppy. You can meet the football team tomorrow as well. They will be pleased to meet you. So, get out of my office. I have work to do."

Thanking her over and over for the job, Josh got up off the chair, and told her how excited he was to work.

"Ya, ya whatever. You won't be thanking me when you have to wash the football player's clothes." She said in reply.

________________________________________________________________________

Walking into the main lobby of the sports complex, the panther's body relaxed when he felt the cool air from the conditioning system wash over his fur. The gym was bustling with activity. Many of the non-football players had memberships with the complex to use the second weight room, and would come in the morning to lift weights, and improve their body.

The lobby was large, and very spacious. Josh could hear the sound of voices reverberating around the lobby, and of vending machines working. The soft clang of the public weight room on Josh's right could also be heard. Josh admired the physiques of the lifters momentarily before walking forward over the large paw print on the floor with the word "Jaguars" written bellow it in a deep red.

At the front desk, Josh noticed the intense eyes of his boss looking at him from behind the computer. She beckoned her newest employee over.

Miss. Purdue was dressed in a different set of athletic attire. A neon tank top with black gym pants.

Walking to the front, Josh walked around the desk, and set the duffel bag around his back that had his work clothes in it on a nearby chair. A digital clock above the desk had the time 7:30 AM on it. Miss. Purdue glanced at the clock before glancing back at Josh.

"You're early."

Smiling as pleasantly as he could muster, Josh said, "I wanted to get here just in case you needed me to do anything."

Shaking her head, the boss said, "Nah. If you want, you can take a shower, and change into your work clothes. Here, take this..."

Noticing an object being tossed underhanded towards him, Josh reacted quickly, and caught the twinkling object. It was a key with the number 110 etched into the metalwork.

"That can be your personal locker. The male locker rooms are down the long hall on your left, and the door will be on the right towards the end of the hall. Think of it as a benefit for working here, pussycat."

As much as he wanted to rage at his boss for calling him a 'pussycat', he let the word slide. After all, he didn't want to get fired on his first day. He grumbled back to the locker room with his duffel bag back over his shoulder.

The white hallway that Josh walked down on seemed almost endless, and the walls were as white as snow. Josh could hear a door opening on his left. A built tiger walked out of the doors that led to the weight room, a towel around his broad shoulders, and his orange eyes scanning his surroundings. He wore tight athletic gear that clung to his body. His muscles gleamed with fresh sweat.

The tiger's eyes met Josh's before he gave a small wink, and walked towards the front desk.

Josh gave a blush, and kept his pace towards the locker rooms.

"Stupid gym rats." Josh thought to himself as he opened the door towards the male locker rooms.

What hit Josh first was the smell. The warm steam stimulated the panther's senses. Getting closer to the back of the locker room, the sweet scent of soap and shampoo filled his lungs which made the environment feel clean. The soft hissing of water hitting the tiles near the shower area echoed throughout the spacious locker room, and got progressively louder as Josh passed the 300 row.

The polished tiles of the locker room gleamed as Josh made a tight right into the 100 row. A long wooden bench was neatly placed halfway in between the short corridor of midnight black lockers. A lone red duffel bag sat quietly on the end of the bench. Josh could not see a name tag on any of the handles so assumed it was forgotten by someone. Glancing at the number written on his key, Josh guessed that the number was his locker. After walking down the row, Josh stopped at a locker that had several white claw mark decals across it.

"Employees only."

Josh smiled at the privacy of having a locker all to himself, and fumbled with the key. Sticking it inside the lock, and giving it a twist, the new employee gave a sigh, and thought,

"This job may not be so bad."

When the door opened with a rebellious moan, a small note caught Josh's attention. Reaching inside the locker, and grabbing the piece of paper that was stuck on the inside wall, Josh read the note to himself.

"Enjoy the perks of being part of the team, rookie." -Miss. Purdue

_ _ Chuckling before putting the note inside a side pouch in his duffel bag, Josh grasped the main zipper of the duffel bag, and gave it a pull. Grabbing his work clothes which consisted of a spandex shirt, and nylon gym shorts, Josh folded them both neatly, and laid them on the bench next to one another.

After addressing the clothes, Josh dug deeper through the bag to find shampoo, and conditioner that his mother packed. Thinking back to the argument he had with his mother about taking the products, he rolled his eyes,

"I don't NEED shower stuff since I am not going to be running laps like them! Plus, the football players don't want someone like me to get in their way."

"Well, who knows? Just take it with you, and see what happens! You could use the weight room, and bulk up yourself too. Knowing you, and your flirty habits, you may find some cute guy after words, and-"

"MOM! Just because you know of my sexuality doesn't mean you have to be involved with it!"

"Fine, but you'll thank me later when you feel all gross, and want to take a shower..."

Placing the bottles away from the general area of the clothes, Josh grabbed the bottom of his graphic tee shirt that proudly displayed a band that no one has ever heard of, and pulled it off of his chest. Although he was of an average physique, Josh always got nervous at stripping in public places. Locker rooms, spas, steam rooms, and public urinals were places that Josh avoided like the plague if he could. It wasn't the fact that the panther hated showing off his exposed body, it was the fact that he was shy.

Taking off his shorts, and tennis shoes next, Josh prayed that no one would find him in only his briefs as he grabbed his nylon shorts. What the timid panther didn't hear; however, was the sound of a shower nozzle being turned, and an exasperated sigh.

The sound of bare feet making a "plopping" sound on the wet tiles rang through the locker room, and Josh's ears flicked up instantly. Quickly putting on the stretchy athletic shirt, and panicking about feeling exposed, Josh was about to walk quickly out of the locker room when a large figure blocked him in the hall.

If Josh didn't stop right when the male in front of him appeared, he would have collided right into the stranger's chest. Giving a small gasp at the situation at hand, Josh blushed. It wasn't the fact that he nearly collided with the male head on, but he blushed at the fact that the ram in front of him, from head to toe, was completely naked.

He instantly recognized the species as a ram, and a bit older than him. Josh guessed about 23.

The white belly and stomach of the ram shined as leftover water fell to the floor in small droplets. From the neck up to the ram's muzzle, more white fur shimmered in the artificial light of the locker room. Two large curved horns snaked their way out of the top of the male's head. They were brown, and reminded Josh of the same color of bark on a tree.

Around the ram's right nipple, black triangles were tattooed around it,

The rest of the ram's front was covered by a cream colored tan. The fur seemed to stick to the ram's muscles which further highlighted them, making the muscles bulge outwards. The peaks, and valleys of the ram's bulky body almost put Josh in a trance, and at the same time he felt a wave of intimidation.

Josh felt incredibly small in comparison.

He was close enough that he could smell the soap that the ram used. The pleasing smell reminded him of something strong, and overpowering.

Pushing back the need to reach out, and touch the smooth yet silky fur, Josh wondered to himself at how it would feel to be wrapped in the embrace of the ram's powerful arms. He quickly shook away the strangely random thoughts.

Then his eyes descended lower. They followed the treasure trail that was made up of what looked like to be soft tan hair, down until he found himself looking right at the ram's member. He was hung, and the ram's manhood was lazily draped over a generous pair of orbs that had the same white fur as the chest area. Moving his eyes back to level with the male's own crystal blue eyes, Josh felt his blush become more intense, and casually stepped back as if nothing happened.

Leaning to the side, and supporting his weight with his left arm, the lockers gave a groan of displeasure. The ram had a blank look on his face as he eyed up the panther. His eyes flicked over to the "Employees only" label above the locker before looking back at Josh.

"So, you're the new guy that Miss. Priss has doing her errands?"

Josh gulped.

He didn't want to make a bad impression on the very first day of work, and smiled weakly at the ram.

"Y-yep, my names Josh!"

"Luke."

Walking over to the bench, and leaning down over the lone duffel bag, the masculine ram opened up the front pouch, and dug through it until he found a key. Striding over to locker 109, the ram opened up the door which gave Josh a view of the ram's naked backside. The large male's back was well muscled like the rest of his body, and expanded and contracted with each breath the ram took. It was as if the muscles were alive as well. Although Josh tried to look away, the ram's backside was in full view, and the panther couldn't help, but take occasional glances.

The two thick and muscular round globes were tan on the top, but the white fur mixed in on the bottom, and lead into the thighs. Quickly trying to find something that would take his mind, and eyes, off of the ram, the embarrassed panther thought of anything that could break his concentration.

His prayers were answered when part of a newspaper article fell from the inside of the door, and onto the floor.

Seeing the piece of paper right away, and not thinking about the consequences, Josh leaned down, and picked it up. Looking over the article, he recognized the writer instantly.

_"This is from a national newspaper." _Josh thought quietly to himself.

The label of the newspaper was elegant, and the font at the top looked worn. Curious at the time when the article was printed, Josh looked at the top to see the date peering back at him,

July 11, 2012

It was from two years ago. The colored picture showed a ram in a black, and red patterned football jersey, and pants on the ground holding his knee in noticeable pain. Teammates were crowded around him with concern on their face, and a pair of paramedics were both waiting on the side with a stretcher. Josh recognized the team as the Edwardsville Cougars and knew that their football team was one of the best in the nation from how much sports his Dad watched and attempted to talk to him about. Talking about sports was not one of Josh's strongest subject matters.

The title at the top read,

"Number 2 defensive lineman pick Luke Ravington tears ACL. Doctor says 'Worst I have ever seen.'"

Speed reading onward, Josh noticed several key words within the long paragraph of the sports article._ _

_"Afraid surgery will change his play style." _

"So close to draft season."

"30% full recovery."

"Mangers don't want to take risks."

Feeling the paper being plucked out of his grasp, Josh looked up at the now not-such-a-stranger Luke with pity, but covered it up to make it seem like he didn't see anything. Scanning Josh's face, Luke searched the panther's expression.

"You didn't need to see that. You should find a new employee locker, because I don't want to see you near mine ever again." Luke said with a piercing glare.

Shaken and hurt by the response, Josh hastily grabbed his duffel bag, his face drained of color, and moved over to the row of lockers on the opposite side of the room. He organized his duffel bag quickly, and slid it underneath the bench. Josh could still feel the ram's eyes on the back of his neck, but ignored them.

Taking his eyes off Josh and silently taping the article to the inside of the locker, Luke gave a sigh when he noticed everything was back in order. He then proceeded to grab his practice gear. The yellow and black colors of the padding looked old, and worn, but familiar. A black paw print on the top right shoulder for the chest pads was nearly faded. Pulling out knee pads, a under shirt to protect his chest and legs from being scuffed, a red jockstrap, and then the black and yellow tights, and jersey, the football player sighed audibly. He set them onto the bench in an organized fashion. Facing his body over to where the panther was situated, but looking at the floor, he closed his eyes irritably as if it was painful to even look at the panther, and said,

"Look, I'm really sorry for bursting out at you like that..."

But the apology was too late.

Josh was already out of the locker room.

Muttering some horrible choice words, Josh cursed himself for ever picking up the newspaper article. Walking back up to the front desk, Josh scouted for his boss. Miss. Purdue was pretty easy to spot, and she was idly chatting with a lion who had a very lean yet muscular build. The lion wore a muscle shirt that showed off his arms, and stuck to his chest. Casual gym pants were around his waist and simple tennis shoes were on his feet.

The lion's dark brown eyes were full of energy and vigor. His emotions could be easily read on his face and Josh noticed that the lion was amused. Miss. Purdue still had the stone cold drill sergeant look she had in the morning. Seeing the two chatting away made Josh momentarily forget about the nasty incident with Luke and focus on the situation at hand.

Whatever conversation the lion and Miss. Purdue were having was quickly cut short when Josh walked to the desk. Beaming from ear to ear, the lion said very enthusiastically,

"Ohhhhh, you must be the new guy! Well, aren't you jussssst precious!"

The lion purred before extending a hand towards Josh.

"My name is the fabulous Markus Derrion, but you can call me Mark, or Marky, whichever you prefer. I am the boss of the weight room."

Taking Mark's hand, Josh felt the soft touch suddenly grip tighter, but comfortably against his hand. Josh mustered up a smile as best he could even with Luke's words still etched into his head.

"...ever again."

Letting go of Mark's hand, Josh saw a card being pushed over towards him. The card was fairly small and had no photo identification on it. The card had only a four digit number above a barcode.

"This is so you can get into the weight room. Just put the card underneath the scanner and it should let you in. You are going to help Mark prep the weight room for the team for their early morning workout. Mark will show you what to do."

Looking back over at Mark, the lion gave a very light wave, wiggling his fingers.

"Consider this the beginning of your hazing, rookie. And trust me, this is only the beginning." Miss. Purdue said with a devious smile.

"Ooo. I would be afraid if I were you, Josh."

Not even blinking an eyelash at how Mark knew his name, Josh said, "How hard can it be?"

"That's the sprit! We shall be a wondrous team. We can talk fashion, celebrities, and what to watch for a Netflix binge!" Mark chimed in with a smile.

Suppressing a groan at Mark's giddiness at two of his least favorite topics, he was secretly happy that the last topic caught his attention. Parting from his boss with a small wave, Josh followed Mark towards the locker room. Worried that Luke was still waiting inside, Josh listened for any sound that would indicate the ram was nearby.

Luckily, Josh heard nothing. The locker room was completely disserted.

Walking past the showers, Josh noticed that each shower had individual barriers for privacy. Feeling a sense of comfort with the showers, Josh gave a small grin. He decided he would take a shower after he was done with work.

It would be his first step to becoming more at home in the locker room.

When they walked past all the showers, Mark stopped in front of two red doors. One was labeled "Field" in black letters. Josh's ears perked up at the sound of a whistle being blown, and of padding colliding. Several voices were talking, and shouting with one another. The voices didn't sound tense, but relaxed.

Turning around, Mark said with a finger pointing for reference, "This is the main field inside the complex. In the morning, the assorted football players practice different plays, and formations. They also practice their technique on tackling, and running plays."

Looking upward, and saying with a blissful sigh, Mark then added, "They are like majestic birds."

All of a sudden, the sound of a player being tackled close to the door, and someone yelling, "How do you like that, bitch?!"

"Majestic, violent, and sometimes abusive birds..." Mark added.

Looking over at the other door, Josh asked, "And what is that door?"

Giving a small smirk, Mark said, "That is my domain. It is the private weight room for the football players, and it is where you will be spending some of your time. Well, besides the field and the private weight room of course."

Opening up the door and beckoning the panther inside, Josh walked in with a curious expression across his face. Although he wasn't very interested in sports, he felt that being let into the weight room that was used by a locally known team was humbling and many didn't get to experience.

Right when Mark moved out of the way to let Josh in through the doorway, a blast of cool air flowed into the locker room. The air surprised Josh and he felt his muscles tense at the change in the temperature, but he quickly felt himself relax. What felt strange to Josh was the more air he took in, the more he felt his muscles start to unravel themselves and it felt as if he was floating. He found himself in a euphoric state and blankly starring into the weight room as if he was pondering very hard on something.

Mark noticed the panther's face, and giggled, "The air is filtered in here. The oxygen is almost pure. It can be a little overwhelming for newbies."

Shaking his head and snapping himself out of the dreary state he was in, Josh focused on admiring the weight room and took in every detail of one of his newest work spaces.

The weight room was a moderately sized space and could easily house a team of football players. A large black paw print on the far right wall showed off the insignia of the team. The simple black flooring and white drywall of the weight room was nothing special, but Josh wasn't exactly expecting gold plated flooring and walls lined with diamonds. Large mirrors towards the back of the weight room reflected the panther and the lion in the doorway.

He quickly lost interest in the mirrors and moved his attention towards the equipment that he was surrounded by. Several gleaming and well maintained machines starred back at Josh. Every machine that the panther could think of was lined against the walls and weights ranging from all shapes and sizes were on display. The metal gleamed in the artificial light and looked strangely eerie with no one using them.

A towel was thrown over the bar of one of the many bench presses and hung lethargically downward. The condition of the bench press looked like all the rest and whoever used it last made sure to clean the cushion and the bar to make it appear like it was never touched.

"Ahh, it seems Luke has left his mark."

Looking behind him, Josh gave Mark a strange expression, and said, "What do you mean?"

"Luke likes to come to the weight room before field practice by himself. I guess the big boy just needs some time in peace." Mark said while sticking his tongue out and giving a subtle wink.

Playing dumb, Josh asked, "What do you think of Luke?"

Surprised at Josh's interest, Mark said with excitement, "Charming, quiet, and mysterious. He is a character."

"Indeed he is." Josh thought to himself grumpily.

"So, what needs to be done?" Josh asked Mark casually as the lion was busy digging through a closet that was tucked away in the back part of the room. Josh's ears perking up at the sound of stuff falling off of the shelves and he was about to ask Mark on what he was looking for so intently.

Josh, unfortunately, got his answer.

With a smug grin, Mark lifted a paper towel, and glass cleaner, and said, "You are going to clean the mirrors!"

Cursing to himself at the fact that he had to clean, Josh took the towels and the cleaner with as much politeness as he could muster. After all, he found Mark a pretty nice guy and didn't want to ruin his relationship with him like he did with Luke. He walked over to the back of the weight room towards the huge panoramic mirrors.

"I am being paid to do this..." Josh thought to himself as he scrubbed the blotches on the mirror.

Josh could feel the soft padding of the floor cushion around his leg as he kneeled awkwardly down to scrub at the lower parts of the mirror. The cushiony floor softened the weight he put on one knee and he actually felt comfortable in the generally awkward position.

"The ground must be cushioned so the football players can do workouts on the floor without hurting themselves." Josh hypothesized.

Feeling as if eyes were barring into his back, Josh looked over his shoulder to see Mark grinning from ear to ear as he watched the newest employee spray another glob of glass cleaner onto the mirror.

Mark watched from a distance as if inspecting the work the newbie employee was doing, and Josh secretly wished that the overseeing lion would go away, and leave him in peace to do his job.

"I told you I would talk to you about TV, and fashion so let's talk! So what are your favorite shows, hmmm?"

Josh had to think quickly about some of the TV shows he recently binged on.

"Umm, I recently watched some anime if you're into that..."

Shaking his head, Mark said, "Nah, not at the moment! How do you feel about reality TV?"

Suppressing a groan of dissatisfaction, Josh wanted to voice his opinion, but remembered quickly he wanted to make friends. He shrugged half-heartily, and said,

"Not a big fan, but I am trying to get into it."

Squealing with glee, Mark then proceeded to fill in Josh on gossip and on who got who pregnant. Josh nodded and said "uh huh" when appropriate while he concentrated on cleaning the mirror. Time seemed to fly faster with Mark talking to him. The lion's voice gave him something to concentrate on while he worked and it helped him take his mind off of the horrible incident with Luke.

When he was done, he stepped back and admired his work. The mirror shined back at him with a polished gleam and he smiled at the job he did. Mark laughed to himself at a comment he made about a celebrity before saying swiftly,

"This mirror is spotless! You're sooooo good at cleaning! I may just have to work my magic to keep you in here all the time!" Mark said with a smirk while wrapping an arm around Josh's shoulder.

"You know, we have a lot in common you and I, and I think this could be a bountiful friendship. Don't you?"

Giving a snort, and then a chuckle Josh said, "Uh huh."

The cleaning went by quicker than Josh expected. By the time he was done with all the rubber benches and weights, the room smelled fresh. It was like no one ever used the room.

"It looks like that's everything, rookie! So can I count on you to clean this by yourself next time?"

Josh gave a nod as he put away the cleaning supplies saying, "Yep. I can handle it."

Mark smiled saying, "Good."

He clapped his hands together and said enthusiastically, "I will call in the football players for their morning lift session. You may stay and help around if you would like, or you can go back to 'Miss P' and she can give you something else to work on."

Josh decided on staying in the weight room. After all, Josh was curious about the football players he worked for. Although Josh was still irked at Luke, he justified that not everyone he worked with would treat him as poorly. He wanted to make friends with who he was serving.

Watching Mark walk out of the room and into the locker room to call over the players, Josh waited nervously for the men to come in. In a few short minutes, Josh could hear the stomping of cleats on the locker room floor and then the sound of strings being untied and padding being stripped off. The loud "clunk" of the padding falling to the floor could be heard as well. The volume of the voices that were talking was loud and deep.

The door to the weight room opened abruptly and the smell of sweat and artificial turf followed the players as they walked into the weight room. Most of the football players had on the spandex like under shirt over their chests and casual gym shorts of various colors. There were several players that were shirtless however and did not mind showing off a bit. Many of the players were clutching water bottles and taking large swigs of the liquid while panting from the scrimmaging.

The talking came to a stop when the team noticed Josh. An awkward silence fell upon the group.

Mark was still smiling giddily.

"Who the hell are you?" Someone in the back of the group finally piped in. The voice was deep and rumbling.

The voice belonged to a kangaroo in the back of the gathering.

Before Mark could answer, another voice came through the group.

"That is Josh. I met him in the locker room. He is the newest employee here."

Looking around for the person who spoke, the group somewhat parted to show a ram in bright neon green gym shorts and a tight spandex shirt.

Trying to keep himself from scowling, Josh instantly recognized the ram as Luke. Josh looked for any hint of sarcasm, or mocking in the ram's tone, but found none. The ram's expression even looked almost regretful.

Josh could mostly see it in Luke's eyes.

Mumbling among themselves, the team eyed up the newest employee. Several sentences that Josh picked out from the football players were,

"He seems cool."

"He looks like a freaking jogger."

"Does he even know what football is?"

"Will he be doing our laundry?" One of the members, an otter, asked out loud which pulled out everyone back into the main conversation.

Mark grinned and said, "Yes. We finally have enough employees to have laundry done again. You guys no longer have to take your laundry home."

"Well, fuck then he is cool with me." A rhino said with a shrug.

The rest of the group chuckled heartily before dispersing to the assorted weights. Josh stood dumbly, trying to figure out what just happened. The rhino walked up to Josh and said,

"I like you, kid." Before giving Josh a small hit on the shoulder which sent Josh stumbling a bit backwards.

Josh laughed along with the rhino, but when the player walked away, Josh rubbed his shoulder with a grimace of pain on his face.

Most of the work Josh had to do while the team worked out was remedial. Mark sometimes sent him on a run for more water to refill the large water dispensers when the team seemed situated. Other times he was tasked by the football players themselves to grab weights for them, or put weights on the bar for bench pressing. Sometimes Josh even spotted for the players.

One Scottish accented bird named Austin kept calling him over for spotting and even had Josh yell at him for support.

"You call that yelling ya wuss? Yell at me!"

"Ummm...Lift those weights...errr...umm...

"You're pathetic. LOUDER! LIKE THIS!"

The team got a kick out of that.

When Josh had to help Luke, Josh noticed no hint of anger, or annoyance. Luke only said a couple of words to Josh whenever he needed a weight put on the bar, or something else trivial. Josh was surprised at his own composure as well. As much as he wanted to yell at Luke in front of everyone, he could not bring himself to do it. Whenever Luke looked him in his eyes, he felt paralyzed.

Josh decided pretty quickly how childish his grudge was.

After helping around the weight room for almost an hour, Josh's arms were tired from lifting the weights and he felt mentally and physically exhausted.

Mark seemed to have taken the hint and walked over to Josh to say, "You deserve a break. It's already eleven so you only have two hours left in your day. Take a break for about 15 minutes and then report back to me. I can show you how to clean up the field next."

Nodding, Josh was starting to leave when he heard in the distance a tiger tease, "Aww, the newbie is leaving us. Couldn't take the heat?"

Josh said with a smirk, "I'll be back."

"You better be back you whelp." Austin said with a playful sneer.

Josh heard the sound of laughing as he closed the door to the locker rooms and he let out an audible sigh. The locker room was dark and not a soul could be heard stirring. Josh listened for the sound of footsteps, but could not hear anything. The only sound that echoed through the locker room was the sound dripping from the shower heads hitting the tile below.

He was completely alone.

Content with the empty environment, Josh walked over to where he put his duffle bag after Luke scolded him harshly. Peeking underneath the bench, he noticed that his bag was gone and cursed to himself. Josh started to frantically look around the room for his bag to see if it was moved out of the way, or shoved in a corner somewhere.

He didn't find anything.

Panicking that someone could have stolen his bag, Josh quickly started to remember where he saw the bag last and who was with him.

Josh instantly thought of Luke. He imagined the ram waiting for him to leave the locker room before snatching the bag and running off with it to stash it someplace.

Anger started to boil up in his veins. He cursed Luke, saying some nasty things about the ram's masculinity before starting to curse the job itself before sitting on the bench hopeless.

Out of the corner of his eye, Josh could see a fan blowing air towards the employee locker area. Curious, Josh wondered if someone forgot to turn it off and why it was there in the first place. Walking over to the fan, Josh turned the small knob counter clockwise to "off" before noticing a note on his locker. It was a small yellow sticky note like ones Josh would use to mark important events on his calendar.

And it was on his employee locker.

Meet me after work. I have some things I need to talk to you about. You can have your locker back by the way...

_ Luke_

Dumbstruck, Josh felt an odd sense of relief that their drama was being addressed, but nervous about what Luke had to say. Instead of answering all of Josh's questions, the note simply added more.

Opening up his locker, Josh noticed his duffel bag was put neatly inside. Josh rummaged through the pockets to see nothing was gone and everything was in place. Closing his locker with a sigh, Josh shook his head and started to take back everything he said about Luke.

Walking out of the locker room, Josh walked down the hallway and back to the front desk. People were lined up at the desk, waiting their turn to swipe their card to get into the workout area.

"It's getting busier."

Jumping in surprise, Josh turned around to see Luke nonchalantly sipping at a fruity smelling drink.

Josh gave a leer at the ram saying with an eyebrow raised, "Shouldn't you be working out?"

The ram gave a small smirk saying, "Shouldn't you be on break?"

"You annoy me."

"I'm glad we are on the same page." Luke said with a chuckle. "By the way, don't forget about our meeting."

"Oh, I won't. You can count on that." Josh said.

"Good. See you after work."

Walking nonchalantly away, Luke made a hard right back into the locker rooms.

Josh stood, pondering on what just occurred before remembering Mark's words,

Charming, quiet, and mysterious. He is a character.

After Josh's break was over and Josh had to return back to the weight room, Mark had Josh clean up the football field. It was no easy task and it took him an hour with Mark showing him where the equipment went and how to properly disassemble it. Josh found the equipment hard to handle and awkward to carry. When Josh was finally done, Mark said,

"The football players are done with training for today so you get to do laundry! Don't worry though, you only have to put the stuff in the washer. The evening employee will take care of moving it to the dryer before unloading it!"

_"At least I won't have to lift heavy and awkward things doing laundry."_Josh thought to himself as he followed Markus to the locker room.

Instead of being hit with the clean and sanitary smell that he was hit with in the morning, Josh's acute smell picked up on the distinct scent of artificial turf and musk. Following Mark over to the middle of the locker room, Josh noticed a large cart filled with the football players dirty clothes.

"Oh God...I think I am going to be sick. Wheel this over to the laundry room by the maintenance door and come back to me when you are done before the stink becomes permanent. Also, I grabbed some fresh pods for the washer that have the solution to clean this...this...this MESS!" Mark said with a nauseous look on his face as he handed three pods to Josh.

Doing as he was told, Josh pushed the cart out of the locker room and into the long hallway that he was growing very accustomed to going up and down of. Moving further down the hallway, Josh stopped when he reached two large doors that had "Maintenance" scribbled crudely across it. Looking to the right, Josh noticed two equally large doors.

Josh guessed that the doors led to the laundry room.

Going through the doors, Josh was welcomed by the sight of bright white machines that sat silently in long rows. The dryers were on the side while the washers sat to the left of them. A crude light switch hung from the top of the ceiling which flickered to life when Josh pulled the chord that hung down from it.

The walls were simple while the white tile floor looked like it needed to be replaced.

Moving the cart over to a nearby washer, Josh glanced into the cart to see it was nearly filled to the brim with underwear, socks, shorts, and under shirts. Deciding it was best to use three washers, Josh came to a halt to the cleanest looking ones he could find and started to unload the cart by hand.

After getting an eyeful of jockstraps and compression shorts, Josh was relieved that he got the cart unloaded in less than thirty minutes. Fumbling with the pods, Josh threw one into each washer and then closed all the doors. Turning each of the knobs to the "Normal Cycle" option, and pushing the knob in, the panther was pleased when he heard the machines come to life.

Walking out of the laundry room and towards the front desk, Josh noticed Mark was sitting at the front reading a magazine casually. It was a celebrity magazine with a glitzy title.

Josh did not care enough to give the actual magazine any thought. He was too busy thinking about what Luke had in store for him.

"Ahh, here is my favorite new employee! How did laundry go?" Mark said in a chipper tone.

"Good."

"Ahh, excellent!"

Setting down his magazine, Mark stretched and continued,

"Well, your shift is basically over so I will tell Miss. Purdue that I had no work for you. Don't worry about checking out early. That will be between you and me. "

Mark gave me a small wink.

Thanking Mark, Josh hummed happily towards the locker room and his thoughts started to shift towards the hot shower that was waiting for him.

Opening up the doors to the locker room, Josh strolled in to see it was as empty as it was in the morning. Josh gave a sigh of content. He was happy that he was all alone in the locker room and able to have a completely private shower with no curious eyes to stare upon his naked form.

Walking over to his locker and giving the handle a sharp tug upward, Josh pulled the door towards himself to show his bag was right where he left it. Opening up the main pouch where the shampoo and conditioner was stored, Josh rummaged through the bag until he found the bottle and pulled it out with a smile.

Popping open the cap, the panther sniffed the top. Josh gave a content sigh as he set the bottle on the bench and started to strip out of his clothes. The first thing that came off of the panther's body was his shirt. Gripping the bottom and pulling upward, Josh flung the shirt off of him in one smooth motion.

Pulling the waistband of his shorts down along with his underwear, Josh stood buck naked in the hallway and blushed hotly at being so exposed when someone could walk in on him any minute. Josh grabbed the two in one shampoo quickly before speed walking towards the shower.

The excitement that Josh had about taking a shower in the beginning was replaced with an anxious need to put on clothes and the gnawing feeling of someone randomly walking in on him clawed at the back of his mind.

Cupping his privates with his open right hand as he made his way towards the shower with a nervous expression across his face, Josh looked both ways down the long corridors that led to the football field and that led to the main lobby.

No one was there.

Feeling his heart rate start to slow down, Josh started to slow his breathing to relax himself. He walked to the shower closest to the football field, but the furthest away from the door to the lobby. The barriers on the side gave him privacy on his midsection down, but left his back and neck up exposed.

"It's just a shower. It's my man parts...they are part of my biology. Who cares if they wiggle about?" Josh rationalized as he turned the knob on the shower until it was pointing right at the red.

He gave the knob a quick pull up and was rewarded with hot water.

In fact, so hot that the panther's yells of surprise echoed throughout the locker room.

Josh quickly pushed the nozzle in, turning off the shower, and then moved it more into where the blue and red paint intersected.

"At least I know the hot water works..." Josh mumbled.

Pssssssh.

_ _ The water that came out of the shower this time was warm and inviting. Josh felt his worries start to melt away as the warm water flowed over his fur and down his lean yet muscular body. Grabbing the conditioner he put on the floor, Josh gave the bottle a tight squeeze until he had a decent sized glob of shampoo on his paw.

Rubbing it between his two paws, he started to lather his fur, purring delightfully as he did so. Josh was always embarrassed by the fact that he purred when he showered, but he could not help it. The water felt so wonderful on his fur and the soap felt even better on his fur.

His own hands worked wonders on his body as he slowly massaged the soap into his fur and he focused on his giving his manly bits some tender loving care as his hands started to go lower and lower on his body.

After he washed all the soap away, he turned the shower off and walked over to one of the mirrors by the sink and toilets to admire himself. He grinned at his shiny coat and flexed in the mirror before walking over to his locker and putting on his everyday clothes that he changed out of in the morning. Pulling his duffel bag out of his locker, Josh threw it over his shoulder and closed the door.

Locking his locker with his employee key before leaving, he strolled confidently out of the locker room with a smile across his face. At the main lobby, a lane was still waiting to check into the gym, but not as long. Mark had a tired look across his face, but he still had the same energetic cheer.

"Have a good day, rookie!"

"You too, Mark."

Walking into the open parking lot, Josh felt the warm afternoon breeze blow across his fur and Josh felt giddy as he walked over to his car.

"You look awfully cheerful. It makes me want to gag."

Josh came to a halt in front of his sedan to see Luke sitting on top of the hood with a smug grin across his face. The ram was dressed in a light blue cutoff with black gym shorts. He cradled a football in his arms.

Josh had to admit, he forgot all about the talk he was supposed to have with the ram after the blissful shower he had.

"Oh great...you." Josh said with oozing sarcasm.

"Oh come on! You still can't be mad! I gave you your locker back! That should at least be worth something."

"I am still bitter about you yelling at me, yes."

Luke still had the same smug grin across his face as he said, "Will a round of catch make it up to you?"

Josh's ears raised at the game of catch. He was about to say no and shrug the ram off when his eyes met Luke's softer blue ones. Josh started to secretly feel guilty for acting immature around Luke. After all, it was Josh's fault for pushing Luke away from him for nearly the whole work day.

"Hmph. Fine, I will play a stupid game of catch." Josh said with a tone of fake annoyance.

Luke's face lit up in excitement and the ram quickly ran to the opposite side of the parking lot.

Josh was taken aback by Luke's sudden excitement and Josh had to abruptly ready himself.

"Maybe you should move closer to me! I kind of suck at catching...and throwing!" Josh yelled.

"You'll be fine! I have faith in you!" Luke shouted back.

Winding up the throw, Luke swung his arm back before launching the ball across the parking lot. The football looked more like a ball of fire as it stormed towards Josh. Yelling in fear and covering his head, Josh heard the dull "thunk" of the ball hitting the gravel of the parking lot.

Josh peaked through his arms.

"I don't want to die."

"Maybe I should move more towards you..." Luke said in reply.

After playing "kiddy catch", as Luke liked to call it, for nearly an hour, Josh's arms started to grow sore. Josh frowned when he noticed the ram was hardly breaking a sweat as he leaned back on the hood of Josh's sedan.

"Well, that was fun." Luke said.

"Ya. I found it enjoyable once we turned ballistic football mode off."

Luke chuckled and elbowed Josh playfully in the ribs.

"I wasn't throwing that hard, pussycat." Luke claimed.

"Liar. You throw it as if it weighed nothing. You are not even a quarter back and you have a good spiral."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "Look at you and your terminology!"

"Shut up." Josh said with a laugh.

The two shared a moment of silence before Luke said, "Well, I should probably head out. I have some work I need to take care of back at home. If you ever want to play catch again, let me know. I can teach you the basics sometime."

Josh smiled and said, "That would be nice."

Luke gave back a warm smile, his light blue eyes looking into the panther's dark brown ones.

"Good. Up for catch tomorrow then?"

"Sure. Same time?"

"Yep."

Josh didn't think he would ever be excited to do anything with Luke after the fight, but that was totally in the back of his mind. Somehow, Luke's personality won Josh over.

"Sounds awesome." Josh replied enthusiastically.

"Cool. Well, I will see you around, Josh." Luke said as he got off of Josh's sedan and started to walk towards the gym once more. Josh figured he was cutting through the gym to get to the football player's private parking area tucked away in the back.

"See you, Luke!" Josh said as he opened the door to the driver's side of his sedan and hopped in. He gave the ram a small wave and received one in return. Closing the door, Josh put the keys in his ignition and watched Luke walk back into the gym.

"Did I just make a new friend?" Josh said out loud as he started up his car.

The rest of Josh's week went by fast as the panther started to pick up on his work schedule. Most days were same with Josh helping Mark set up the work out area for the football players before doing the errands assigned to him. The players themselves started to warm up to Josh and moved on from calling him a "whelp."

They started to call him "rookie" instead.

And the panther wore the name with a bit more pride than whelp.

After a month passed, Luke and Josh also started to develop a close friendship. The relationship was awkward at first since it felt a bit like the ram was trying a bit too hard to make up for the rocky first impressions. Josh even started to regret giving Luke his number.

"Want to go out for coffee?"

"Want to go out for a movie?"

"Want to go out for dinner?"

Josh started to hear the words as,

"Want to go out?"

Of course, Josh could not turn Luke down even if he wanted to. Plus, Luke's personality had a way of convincing him to go somehow and Josh could not look away from Luke's crystal blue eyes whenever they connected with his. Josh did not realize it, but he started to have certain feelings for Luke.

Very special certain feelings.

After a while, Josh grew accustomed to Luke and enjoyed spending time with him after work. Even Josh's mom and dad seemed to catch on.

"So...who is this Luke you keep spending time with?"

"Mom...seriously. I told you about him because you asked, not because I wanted to."

"Have you guys hit it off yet?"

"MOM. Dad, tell mom to stop!"

"Listen to your mother."

Although everything was going smoothly with their relationship, Josh did not realize how much he truly trusted Luke until he confided to him his most private secret. Of course, Luke provoked him into it.

After cleaning up the football field, Josh sat down on the sidelines of the field. He felt the rugged artificial turf on his bottom as he sat down and gave a sigh. Mark walked by and said, "You did well like always! You can clock out whenever. I will handle the laundry today. Also, I think Luke wants to talk to you so you may want to shower up and go see him."

Mark gave a wink and stuck out his tongue before saying, "It seems you two really like each other. Like REALLY like each other."

Josh rolled his eyes and shooed Mark away playfully as Mark laughed giddily.

Walking back to the familiar locker room, Josh showered quickly and was melancholy that he had to hurry up and get out of the warm water's embrace so soon. Storming out of the locker room in casual attire with his duffel bag of work clothes over his shoulder, Josh briskly walked to the front with a curious expression on his face.

The lobby was bustling with activity. The desk manger, who Josh did not recognize, was busy checking people in and he had a bored look on his face. The line stretched almost to the door and Josh recognized most of the people in it. After all, he did get done at the same time every day. It was extremely rare for Mark, or Miss. Priss to hold him overtime unless laundry was just too much, or the football field was more than a mess.

Luke was at the front desk chatting idly with Miss. Priss whose face still looked as if she ate something distasteful. The ram wore a tight muscle shirt with simple black gym pants.

When Josh walked up to the desk and gave Luke a small smile, she said, "Well, it looks like you two have business to take care of. I will sign the noob out."

Miss. Purdue knew about the routine meet ups Josh and Luke had after work and started to pick up on the pattern that if Luke and Josh were together, they were probably going out to do something.

"I have been here for more than two months, and you still call me a newbie." Josh said with a grin.

"Yep. You're still small in my eyes."

Josh rolled his eyes when Miss. Purdue walked away.

Lifting up a football Luke said, "Catch?"

Shrugging, Josh said, "Sure. Mark told me you had to tell me something."

Luke nodded and said as he opened the door outside for Josh to walk through, "Yep. After you."

Josh laughed and sarcastically said, "Such a gentlemen."

Smiling like an idiot, Luke said in reply, "Of course. No need to thank me."

Josh walked onto the hard gravel of the parking lot and assumed position. Luke walked until he was across from Josh and moved his arm back, ready to throw. Josh readied himself in his usual stance.

Winding up the ball, Luke threw it right to Josh and the panther could hear the ball hit his chest as he caught it. He threw the ball back to the ram, but not with as much gusto. Soon, they both started to get into a rhythm and Luke decided to bring up the topic he wanted to talk about.

"So, what do you want to know about the injury?"

Josh was so awestruck by the question that he missed the catch which broke the flow of the situation entirely. Josh quickly ran and picked up the football and just stood and held it as if it was ticking time bomb.

Josh kept thinking why the ram would bring up the topic and looked to see Luke's reaction. Luke looked at Josh with a serious face. Picking up the football, Josh walked back over to where he stood before he missed the catch.

He threw it back to the ram who caught it nonchalantly. The rhythm of catching and throwing the football back and forth started up again. Neither person said a word for a quite a while, just throwing the football back and forth as if the action spoke for itself. Then Josh decided to get brave and curious. The panther remembered the article he picked up so long ago and the words written on the paper.

30% recovery rate...

"Why did you come back to the game?"

Luke smiled at the question, thinking of warm memories, and said, "Because I could not turn away from it."

The smile quickly turned to a frown.

"I could have made it all the way, but that was not my priority after my surgery. Therapy was hell and the healing process was slow. It still stings to think about it which was why I snapped at you in the locker rooms on your first day. Luckily, school was never a real big issue for me except that I had to use the handicap ramps for a year. Getting around was tough."

Josh was surprised at the fact that Luke actually cared about his studies. He was so used to the jock heads at his school that he totally forgot that there were responsible people who cared about academics and sports.

"Oh. What's your degree?"

"Accounting. I ended up getting a pretty good job, but was relocated here. That's when the game started to call me back. The manager of the local Columbia Jaguars called me in to play for them. My therapy was over for about a year. That's basically my story in a nutshell."

"So how old are you? You seem like you have a lot of stories."

"I am twenty three."

There was a pause for a bit, but then Josh said,

"Oh come on, there's got to be more than that. A big stud like you on one of the biggest college football teams in the states has to have more stories than that."

Luke blushed at the compliment, but turned his head so Josh could not see how red his cheeks were and said, "Yes, I do miss those days, but they are behind me. There is nothing I can do now. I will tell you stories later. It would take ages for me to categorize them."

Luke gave a small chuckle before silence fell on the duo once more and the only thing that could be heard was the dull "thunk" as the ball was caught back and forth.

Finally, Luke spoke up.

"Since I shared a personal secret with you, you have to share one with me."

Again Josh was taken aback by Luke. Although he was excited that Luke was opening up to him, he felt that he never would have to return the favor back. His heart started to race and he felt his limbs started to shake.

"What if he knows..." Josh thought to himself.

Josh gave a nervous laugh and said, "Yes, but I stumbled upon yours by mistake. That does not count!"

"Still counts in my book."

"Oh come on! Really?! Are you going to act like a child about this?" Josh said teasingly as he returned a throw to Luke.

"Fine. You can whisper it to me. Does that make you feel better?"

Josh sighed and said, "Not really."

"Listen, I promise I won't spread it around."

"That does not make me feel better, either." Josh said.

"What are you gay, or something?" Luke said with a grin and threw the ball to Josh.

The panther let the ball fly over his head.

There was a silent pause and Josh just stared at Luke, biting his lip.

"You are aren't you?"

Another pause before Josh nodded, still biting his lip nervously. It was hard enough coming out to his parents. He had no idea how Luke was going to take the news.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!"

. Luke had a smirk that was bigger than ever and Josh started to regret confiding to Luke. The ram started to run over to Josh. The panther cringed as he realized that maybe telling Luke was a mistake. He braced himself as Luke got closer and his tail tucked between his legs. He expected to feel a fist on his face and could feel tears starting to form in the back of his eyes.

"I'm not going to beat the shit out of you, you idiot." Luke said as he came to halt in front of Josh with a concerned look on his face.

Josh glanced up from the ground and saw Luke's crystal blue eyes staring into his. Josh felt a hand touch his chin and pull him eye level. Josh blushed and looked away again.

"Who cares who you sleep around with." Luke continued.

Josh looked up at Luke, this time giving him his full attention, still not sure if he was just tricking him into dropping down his guard.

"You're not mad?"

"No. Why should I be?"

Josh shrugged and walked over to his car and sat on the hood. The panther felt his heart rate start to drop and he felt himself relaxing as he looked for words to say. The reaction that Luke showed surprised him at first, but he felt he could explain why he was concerned about the ram's reaction.

"I don't know. You are the third person I've confided to. I've never told anyone my secret unless my mother and father count. I was just expecting a different reaction."

"Well, I for one do not care. Now I can stop calling you 'pussycat' and start calling you something like 'dickcat.'" Luke said with a laugh.

Josh gave Luke a glare, but the glare was anything, but hostile. Somehow, Josh was laughing.

"So, you're fine with it?" Josh asked.

"Yes, I am fine with it." Luke replied.

The football player sat on the hood of the sedan by Josh and the two sat in silence for a while. Luke scooted closer to Josh and put his hand on his. Josh was caught by surprise and he blushed red hot underneath his fur. The touch was soft and caring and was nothing what he thought the ram's hands would feel like. He didn't want to admit it, but Josh actually shivered slightly at the foreign feeling.

"I'm sorry if it felt like I was forcing you to share that."

Josh was surprised at the intimacy that was in the ram's words. The panther felt himself blush and he pulled his hand away saying,

"You don't have to get all soft on me, Luke."

Luke grinned and punched Josh lightly on the shoulder, "I wasn't getting soft on you. You're a good guy. Just...a bit stupid."

Josh looked over at Luke to see he was smirking from ear to ear.

"I'm stupid...that's funny." Josh said with a sigh and then a chuckle.

The afternoon heat started to the duo and Josh could feel sweat dripping uncomfortably down his back. Josh stretched on his car, flexing his limbs to get the stiffness out of them. He looked over to see Luke staring across at him as if transfixed by something. Josh blinked and said,

"What?"

Luke, as if woken up from a trance said in reply,

"What?"

Rolling his eyes, Josh said, "You rarely space out. What's up?"

Luke said coyly, "Nothing. I swear."

This time it was Josh's turn to grin foolishly. "Ya, like hell its nothing. Usually, that face means you're thinking about something."

"Oh, I'm not thinking of anything."

Figuring that he was not going to get anywhere with the conversation, Josh checked the time. Pulling out his phone, he was surprised when the phone's time showed 3:15 pm. Quickly grabbing his keys out of his pocket, Josh walked over to the driver's side door.

"Where are you going?" Luke asked curiously as Josh climbed halfway in his car.

"I've been out here for two hours! I totally lost track of time! My parents are probably worried sick!"

Luke gave a chuckle before saying, "You have a curfew or something?"

"Nah. They just expect me back before dinner. My family is pretty particular about eating together."

"Ahh. Well, I guess I will see you around then." Luke said with a smile and a wave.

Josh nodded, "Ya. I will see you later."

Before Luke left however, Josh noticed something in Luke's expression. Luke's face looked melancholy, as if he missed a chance to say something, but did not know what it was.

Josh shook the feeling off quickly, and dismissed it as a misinterpretation. Starting up the car, Josh revved the gas to hear the engine was fully running and pressed on the gas petal lightly. Turning the steering wheel until the car faced the exit, Josh turned on his left turn signal. Glancing in the mirrors, Josh saw Luke in his right mirror walking over to the football that Josh let fly over his head when Luke got Josh to confide.

Luke picked up the football as if it was the most fragile thing in the world, and cradled it near his chest. Starting to think about how it would feel to be the football, wrapped in Luke's arms and held so close, made Josh gag and quickly discarded the image.

"I'm not falling for a straight guy am I?" Josh thought as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

Another week went by and soon the hot months of June started to turn into the hotter months of July. College was right around the corner for the studious panther and soon Josh and his parents were scrambling to get everything in order. Tuition had to be paid, stress had to managed, and advisors needed to be visited.

Josh was growing older as well. The panther celebrated his nineteenth birthday with Luke early July. Luke took him out to an expensive restaurant and the whole affair was treated almost as if it was a date. Josh had to keep pushing the idea out of his mind every time the thought crossed his mind and just focused on the chat and the food.

After it was all done, Luke invited the birthday boy back to his apartment. Josh was extremely taken by surprise by the invitation, but said yes anyway, and when the two finally pulled up to the complex, Josh felt like he was stepping over some sort of straight/gay friendship code.

But it all went well and Josh collapsed on his bed back at his house with a smile on his face. The panther had to admit, Luke was growing on him and he could not hold back the thoughts that started to go through his head about becoming something more with the ram.

Josh noticed that after he confessed to Luke about his sexuality, that Luke has been looking at him with a different spark in his eye. Josh could not decide what was going through Luke's head whenever he noticed the expression, but it was usually while Josh helped around the weight room with Mark.

The expression looked almost feral to Josh as if Luke was the predator and he was the prey, but at the same time the expression looked calm and protective, as if the glance itself put a shield around Josh.

It was as if it was saying,

_ You are mine._

Josh would always shake off the feeling, but on one particular day at work he would get more than just a look that would show Luke's true feelings.

Walking through the doors of the gym in casual clothes and a gym bag thrown over his shoulder like always, Josh checked his watch to see it showed the time as 7:00am. Starting to take showers at work rather than at home, Josh started to get to work earlier and earlier until he fell into the habit of going to his workplace just to take a shower. Josh hummed happily to himself, knowing full well how much time he had to kill before his shift started at 8:00 am.

Walking down the hallway to the locker rooms, Josh grabbed a clean towel from a cart before opening the doors to the locker room. When Josh opened the doors, he was greeted with the familiar rows and rows of lockers and the clean scent of steam tickling his nose. Josh was also doubly pleased that no one was present and he had the whole place to himself.

Finding his locker and taking out his work clothes from the duffel bag, Josh folded them neatly on the bench along with the towel. Going back to his duffel bag and rummaging through its contents, he dug out the two in one shampoo and conditioner before heading over to his favorite shower head.

Turning the knob until it was pointed at the red area, Josh pulled the knob towards him until he felt the warm spray hit his fur. Needless to say, Josh purred like a kitten and started to wash himself thoroughly. Grabbing the bottle of conditioner, Josh started to rub himself down.

Then he heard the noise of a door open.

The sound of feet started to ring through the locker room and Josh froze like a deer in headlights. Even though Luke had an early morning workout and showered when he was finished, Josh usually had his clothes on and was out of the locker room.

But now Josh was looking straight to towards the doors out of the private weight room to see Luke standing in the hallway casually. He wore a tight spandex workout shirt that highlighted his upper body assets while his lower body was in bright orange gym shorts.

Josh still could not figure out the ram's obsession with bright colored stuff.

The instant that Luke's gaze made contact with the panther's own, Josh blushed and just stood in the shower silently and still as a statue.

"Well, continue. Were both males. We have the same fucking parts."

Josh nervously laughed and continued as if nothing happened.

Listening to the feet start to move behind him and then fade, Josh heard the sound of a locker being opened and of a bunch of shuffling. Josh heard the locker close once more before hearing the footsteps move towards his direction and take the opposite shower area next to his. Looking over, Josh silently gasped at what he saw.

Like the first day Josh met Luke, the ram stood naked right in front of him. Everything was in full view for Josh to except for the crotch area which was covered by the small makeshift barriers that were connected to the wall.

Josh secretly wished the barriers were not there anymore.

Luke's muscles had sweat droplets sliding off of them and as the ram lifted up his arm, Josh could see the muscles tense and flex as he turned the knob. He gave the knob a pull and smiled as the water cascaded over his rock hard body.

Josh purred softly to himself, trying to hold back another blush.

Trying to hold back a dizzying sensation he was getting from the hot water and a sudden rush of blood to lower extremities, Josh coughed awkwardly and continued to wash himself down.

But his eyes turned back to the ram.

Luke lathered himself up nice and slow, as if sensually teasing Josh and pushing at every button that Josh had. Luke's hand brushed over each muscle on his arms and chest, making sure to dig in deep to massage them. Luke then lifted up his arms to get the pits underneath and Josh swore he saw Luke grin before shielding his face from view with his large arms.

Josh was starting to pant and as he washed himself, he noticed a throbbing sensation in between his legs. Blushing fiercely, Josh could not tear his eyes away from the display Luke was giving.

Luke's hands started to work lower until they brushed over his built and beefy chest and abs, making extra sure to cup and wash the pectoral area. His hands then started to work down towards the treasure trail before disappearing and being hidden by the barrier.

Josh was so in a trance from the show and lathering himself up as well that he did not realize that Luke was starring right at him.

And had the "look" across his face. The look that regarded him as just prey and he was the dominate predator.

Josh sucked in his breath and screamed inside his mind in fear. He wondered if he really pissed Luke off. Josh anxiously glanced around, wishing to just disappear from the embarrassing and awkward situation.

That's when Luke gave a smirk and a wink.

He leaned over the barrier, sticking his rump out seductively, the predatory gaze still in his eyes.

Josh gulped.

Luke's face was inches away from Josh's and he could feel the ram's breath on his lips. Then Josh felt hands on the back of his head, pulling him closer. Josh did not fight Luke and, as if he was hypnotized, got so close to the barrier he could feel his body pressed up uncomfortably against it.

Not a word was said between the two. The locker room was dead silent besides the water hitting the tiles with a sharp "pssh" sound.

Josh was shaking, his body tensing at the sensations that were flowing through it. He started to feel his breathing becoming more uncontrolled and he thought his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. His mind worked, wondering all the ways the situation could pan out.

Then Josh felt lips brush against his.

And then more of a rub.

And then Josh felt a tongue move in and Josh could do nothing as Luke took control.

Moaning into the kiss, Josh felt his body shiver as his senses were bombarded. Luke's hands rubbed where they pleased and Josh wrapped his arms around the ram's neck, feeling up Luke's broad and muscular back. As the kiss turned more intense, Josh felt the hands that were once roaming across his chest move up on his shoulders and grip dominantly, but at the same time gently.

Then, next thing Josh knew, he was on the far opposite side of the shower against the tiled wall panels. Josh was still locked with Luke and the panther could feel the ram start to suck on his lower lip before biting softly.

Josh was moaning, his body twitching in pleasure as their bodies rubbed against one another. He could feel a member against his, pressing hard against his own and pushing it against his chest.

Hands explored between the duo, rubbing and cupping whatever they could find. Even when Josh felt Luke exploring his most private regions of his body, he let him continue as Josh traced around Luke's own.

The panther was seeing stars and when the two moved their lips away from one another, panting and exhausted from the passion that exploded between them, the only thing that the two could do was stand in silence.

Josh could feel a hand push his chin up.

"Well...that...was a surprise." Josh said through exasperated breaths and nuzzled underneath the ram's neck who chuckled softly.

"A good one I hope."

"Very good."

The two kissed passionately again before breaking apart and finishing their showers under the same shower head. Josh let Luke wrap his arms around him, letting the ram press his chest against his back as he rubbed in the soap and shampoo. The panther could feel every flex and twitch and moved along with the ram as Luke massaged him. Josh could not help, but purr loudly as Luke massaged Josh with gusto and Josh was pleased beyond his wildest dreams when Luke started to work on his front side. Josh felt the gentle touch of Luke's hands brushing over his thighs and pelvis, working around what Josh yearned for Luke to reach out and grab for months.

Luke made sure to wash up Josh's most sensual areas, cupping and groping the panther's package, before hitting the lean, but muscular panther's abs and chest. After being worked up by Luke, Josh was basically jelly, melting at the soft gropes into a putty that could be mended to Luke's pleasure.

Luke grinned at the soft gasps Josh gave, making sure to really dig in to the spots that got the cutest and longest ones. They continued for a while, Josh enjoying the ram's company while, Josh rubbed his backside against Luke's stiff manhood.

When Luke was done, Josh switched positions with the ram.

The panther returned the favor with pleasure and even did a little bit more. Josh cupped a feel of Luke's privates, giving the large package a firm squeeze before continuing up Luke's abs and chest. Josh could feel the ram's chest heave and relax as his hands worked over the thick muscle. The panther caressed Luke's nipples lovingly, giving each one a few pinches which made Luke groan in pleasure, before running his hands up Luke's neck and rubbing the football player's chin seductively.

Josh was in heaven.

And so was Luke.

After a few more stray touches, the duo kissed hard, their tongues battling more ferociously than the first two they shared. Their bodies humped against one another, rubbing and grinding as if the only heat they knew was between themselves. Chest to chest and muzzle to muzzle, the duo finally disconnected the third passionate kiss they shared, panting heavily and basking in their embrace.

Josh felt a throb and looked down to see his manhood pushed up against the ram's own member, both being smothered between their chests. Luke's gave a throb before a bead of pre started to drool out, rolling down the bottom of his shaft and over his large pair of orbs.

Josh looked up at Luke and grinned saying, "You have a leak."

Luke grasped the panther's member and his own, giving them a hardy stroke, making Josh moan out in ecstasy at the firm grasp of another male.

"Now, so do you." Luke said as he watched pre snake its way out of Josh's digit.

Giving a grin, the panther said, "Fair enough."

The two stood in each other's embrace, still enjoying the feeling of being so very close to one another. Josh had his muzzle tucked under Luke's neck again and Luke had his right hand grasping Josh's rump dominantly while his other idly stroked up and down Josh's abs and chest.

Luke eventually pushed Josh away, to the panther's dismay, and said, "You should probably get to your shift. We can continue this afterwards. You shower after this right?"

Giving a nod, Josh shuffled uncomfortably before saying, "You sure you're ok with this?"

"I'm fine with this if you're fine with it. Listen, this may sound sappy, but I knew our relationship would turn into something more. It was just a matter of when."

Josh stood silently, not wanting to say something to disturb the emotions between them. Luke did the same, starring into Josh's eyes as if transfixed and hypnotized.

Finally, after some time just standing silent, the duo split and dressed themselves appropriately. Luke put on his signature red jockstrap, under shirt, padding, and then finally his football tights. Josh put on his work uniform which consisted of gym shorts and a simple tee shirt.

Their two eyes locked and they shared a quick kiss before departing. Josh ran to the front desk, afraid that he might be late for his job. Mark stood at the desk with a smile across his face at Josh almost literally sprinting to the front.

"Am I on time!? I am really sorry! I got caught up in showering and..."

Mark held up a hand and pointed at the clock saying, "You are still a minute early. I will notify Miss. Purdue that you arrived almost right on time!"

Josh gave a sigh of relief, his mind calming and his heart slowing down from the high it just received only forty five minutes ago. Waiting by the desk until Mark came back, the panther thought through about all what happened. He remembered the kiss against his lips and his mind starting to trail away to dirty thoughts involving Luke. His mind swam in thoughts of Luke spread out on top of him, his weight pressing down on him and his crystal blue eyes shining into his.

Blushing at the thought, Josh shook it away.

He had a job to do. He had to keep himself from being distracted.

But the thought of Luke came back stronger.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Josh snapped himself out of his daydream and made himself appear as if he was alert. Mark did not seem to notice.

"Alright, so today is going to be like any other day. Let's go clean up the weight room!"

Nodding, Josh followed Mark to the weight room, still thinking about Luke subconsciously.

In what felt like a blink of an eye, Josh was done scrubbing the mirrors and picking up around the weight room. The whole process seemed like a blur and he felt as if his body was working by itself. He even tuned out Mark's endless talking about pop culture, but still managed to say "Ya" or "Mmmhmm."

Josh started to come to the conclusion that he did not just want Luke, but craved him as more thoughts about Luke started to take over his mind.

Mark examined the weight room with a look of pondering before saying, "It seems I have trained you well. This room is spotless! Now we just wait for the football players."

Patiently sitting on a weight bench, Josh started to chat casually with Mark, making sure to take his mind off of the ram. But then the door to the weight room opened and Josh was face to face with a handful of hunks.

They greeted him as if he was their brother, patting him on the back and giving him a friendly smile. Some went a bit further and slapped him on his backside.

Luke participated in the ass slapping who just smirked innocently as he put on his best camel walk to the nearest bench press. Josh felt his mind turn to putty instantly when his eyes met Luke's rump.

"OY, rookie! Stop lollygagging and spot me! You know the drill!" Austin said loudly.

Josh jumped and quickly resumed moderating the weight room.

Most of the football players were fine besides the occasional ones that needed to be spotted. Luke called him over most of the time, a devilish look in his eyes when having Josh spot and making sure to get right under Josh's crotch. Luke would inhale deeply before starting another rep and it took all of Josh's restraint to keep himself from sitting right on Luke's face.

After Luke was done, Josh felt a hand grope his package in flash and Josh blushed hotly to see Luke grinning wickedly.

"You still up for playing catch after work?" Luke asked with a stupid smirk.

"Of course. As long as you are."

"Good. Glad I did not scare you away."

And just like that, Luke simply walked towards the curling area by a large bear.

Luckily, no one noticed the second grope Luke sneaked in as he was walking away either.

Josh was in a trance, sweat dripping down his body as he walked hypnotically towards the locker room. His mind was in a whirl and his heart throbbed along with another digit in his shorts. Again, Josh dodged lots of bullets walking around in a semi aroused state. His briefs did a surprisingly good job of hiding embarrassing public erections.

What felt like ages, Mark finally let the panther go and clocked him out at the usual time after Josh did laundry. The jockstraps and underwear that Josh had to throw into the washer did not help stifle his arousal. Josh knew full well that Luke's jock was not included in the mix of undergarments.

Josh's hands shook as he pushed open the door to the locker room and he looked around for Luke.

"You here?" Josh said into the barren locker room.

No answer.

Confused, Josh checked the rows of lockers until he got to the employee lockers. What stood in front of the row took Josh's breath away.

Luke stood in his red jockstrap, the skimpy waistband stretching across and around. Two parallel straps framed Luke's rump, each one dipping underneath and connecting with the full pouch in front which Josh was now starring dumbly at. Luke had his arms crossed, a grin across his face.

"You seem to be struck mute."

"I...umm..."

Luke pounced. His hands gripped Josh's shoulders once more and pushed him against the lockers. The football player's hands then moved down towards Josh's wrists, gripping them softly. Josh could feel Luke's breath tickle his cheek as the ram lifted his wrists above his head and pinned them against the locker.

"I feel were close enough." Luke said.

"Could I lock in your love, baby?" Josh replied with a smirk.

"You're such a fanboy." Luke said with a chuckle before diving in for a kiss.

Josh accepted it, his mind exploding in bliss as his fantasies were fulfilled and his deepest desires let loose. Luke growled dominantly, the sound making Josh's ears droop in submission. Letting go of Josh's wrists, Luke started to work on the panther's shorts, gripping the waistband and pulling down until Josh was only clad in his briefs.

Josh still kept his hands up, offering his body to the ram.

Luke took the hint, stopped kissing Josh passionately and started to lick down Josh's neck. Giving a purr, Josh's back arched at the strange feeling of totally giving himself over to the male in front of him.

Josh moaned happily when Luke started to nibble and suck on Josh's nipples, giving each one love and attention. Throbbing, Josh's manhood jumped in his briefs at the sensations that were shooting through his body like liquid fire, filling his every thought with need and desire.

Luke grinned as he sucked on the panther's left nipple lovingly before hooking a finger in Josh's briefs and giving them a rough pull downward. Josh blushed as he felt his member slap against his chest and a hand grip around it that was not his own.

"Luke...please just... do whatever you want."

Stopping his advances on Josh's right nipple, Luke looked up with a smile in his face before pointing Josh's throbbing member to his face and giving it a lick. The panther suppressed his moan as much as he could, but it left his lips loudly.

If anyone walked in on them, they would be screwed out of their mind.

But Josh was not thinking of the consequences, he was thinking of the ram who was busy licking up and down his shaft seductively.

"Jesus..."

"No...I'm Luke."

Josh chuckled, but the chuckle quickly was swallowed up and came out as more of a groan as Luke started to suck on the tip of Josh's digit.

Josh grabbed the ram's horns, bracing himself as Luke started to take more and more of the panther's member. When Josh finally felt his hips kiss the ram's muzzle, Josh knew that Luke took it all. The panther shivered in bliss as he felt Luke's tongue flick against the bottom of his shaft, and a gentle right hand grasp his orbs, fondling them as he slowly started to bob his head. The fur was soft against Luke's hand, making the ram shudder. Luke's left hand moved across own chest until he found his left nipple. He pinched the nipple, moaning around the manhood in his muzzle.

Josh hissed as he gripped harder on the ram's horns, the throbbing sensation in his orbs starting to become more intense. Luke tasted pre on his tongue and swallowed it as if it was nectar. Closing his eyes, the ram enjoyed the sensation of a pulsing member inside his mouth and smiled to himself when he noticed that Josh was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Bucking his hips along with the rhythm of Luke's bobbing, Josh felt his pleasure heightened to levels he never felt before. He groans started to turn into growls of desire and Luke could feel the panther's orbs start to lift up. Josh's ears flattened in submission, his hips started to buck erratically and Luke could feel the pent up low hangers smacking against his chin with each thrust.

Moving his right hand away from the panther's orbs, Luke backed off the shaft a bit as he felt the first wave of pre hit the back of his throat and used the now free hand to pinch his other nipple. He swallowed the pre happily and looked up at Josh, his eyes reflecting that Luke was in heat and wanted Josh to give him what he desired. Seeing the muscular alpha male looking up at him with lust in his eyes sent Josh over the age. The panther gave a roar and climaxed.

Luke felt the first wave of climax hit the back of his throat and groaned at the taste, swallowing it greedily. Pulling off of the shaft, Luke stopped pinching his nipples and grabbed the panther's shaft in a strong grip. Luke stroked Josh's manhood and pointed it down towards his chest, making the next two beads splatter against his thick stomach and drench his jockstrap. Josh made more animal noises, twitching and convulsing as he marked Luke with his essence, his hands still gripping the ram's horns.

Milking everything he could, Luke stroked until the climax started to slow down and was a dribble down onto the locker room floor. Rubbing in Josh's orgasm into his fur, he made sure to massage it into his chest and jock. Reaching into the pouch, Luke started to stroke his hard shaft with Josh's climax, the slick and squelching sounds of the stroking echoing throughout the locker room.

Letting go of Luke's horns, Josh braced himself against the locker panting loudly and said, "Sorry...if I...got a bit rough."

Luke grinned and started to stand, his hard erection still in his grip.

"I like it a bit rough."

Luke went in for another kiss and Josh could taste his own orgasm on the ram's tongue. His ears went low in submission again and blushed as he realized how much control Luke had over him. Luke disengaged the kiss and looked at Josh with his blue eyes twinkling in the artificial light.

"Brace your hands on the lockers. If whatever I do scares you, let me know, ok? Also, is this your first time?" Luke said with concern in his voice.

Josh nodded.

Luke replied, "I will make sure to let you get used to it."

Josh did as he was told, his mind screaming in ecstasy. Even though he just climaxed, his body was telling him he wanted to take Luke more than anything in the world. His semi erect member gave a throb and started to spring back to life. He spread his knees, presenting himself to Luke who smiled with glee. The sound of a locker being opened and a bottle being popped open could was heard. Luke squeezed the bottle, letting the contents slide over his hand before rubbing them together and putting the lubricant back into the locker.

"Prepare yourself." Luke said as his index and middle finger started to circle Josh's tail hole.

Josh hissed as he felt the fingers plunge into his tight hole, blushing and giving a groan as the fingers slid in with a bit of resistance. Luke wiggled his fingers around, before pressing on something that made Josh's member squirt pre instantly.

"I see I found your love button." Luke said with a smirk as pulled out a bit and thrust his fingers back in which made Josh moan out and his hips roll back towards Luke.

"Like that?"

"Yes!"

"Good because we have not even started yet."

Pulling out his fingers, Luke grabbed the panther's tail and pulled it up gently, and saw that his hole was well lubed. Starting to stroke his shaft and lube it up as well, a squelching sound filled the locker room and Josh gasped as he felt Luke's member rub in between his cheeks.

Leaning over the panther's back and kissing the panther's neck, Luke started to hump Josh, bucking his hips and moaning as Josh's rump squeezed down on his manhood. After a few more bucks, Luke lined up the tip of his maleness against Josh's winking hole. Luke gave a small thrust forward, poking the entrance with his tip.

Giving a small groan, Josh simply said in the middle of it,

"Just do it already. Stop teasing."

Luke took that to heart and bucked forward, pushing the tip in. Josh's whole body screamed in ecstasy, but a pain quickly followed. Josh winced as Luke started to push in further, but moaned at the feeling of being full to the breaking point by another male.

Closing his eyes, Luke felt the tightness of Josh's hole hug his shaft, and he nearly lost his load. Luckily, he held back the need to climax right then and there. Pushing on, Luke continued to move his hips forward until he felt the pouch of his jockstrap, which his orbs were still held in, kiss against Josh's naked ones. Josh's ears flicked up before going back down in submission as the dominating male on his back nibbled on his neck gently. Pulling down his pouch to unveil the two full orbs, Luke gave a sigh when he felt his now exposed balls fully press against Josh's own.

"You ok down there?" Luke asked.

"I actually feel pretty good."

Josh was not lying either. His manhood was fully hard and leaking pre like a faucet. It was as if he never climaxed into Luke's muzzle earlier. Josh felt the ram's manhood throb inside of him and rub against his prostate, making him shiver. He pushed back a bit against Luke's body, getting familiar with the sensation.

Smiling, Luke said, "Good."

Pulling out until his tip was the only thing penetrating Josh and pushing back in suddenly, Luke groaned when he felt Josh's muscles tighten around his shaft once more. His member throbbed and sprayed a bit of pre into the passage before he did the same thing over.

Josh gasped and wiggled underneath Luke, not used to the feeling of being filled and then empty and then filled again. Josh could feel the ram's balls slap against his with the second thrust. Wrapping his arms around Josh's shoulders, Luke whispered in Josh's ear,

"I'm going to go a bit faster, ok? Remember, let me know if it hurts."

Giving Luke a lustful kiss, Josh said, "Rut me."

Thrusting hard into Josh, making him moan, Luke said,

"With pleasure."

Luke started to pick up his thrusting, making sure to angle himself so he hit Josh's prostate each time. Josh shuttered and groaned in need with every single thrust and started to push back against Luke. His body was getting closer to release with every thrust into him. He could feel his member throb before spraying pre onto the floor.

The smell of sex could instantly be picked up in the locker room if someone would have walked in and the couple basked in the musk as they made love. The sound of balls slapping against one another was so intense that Josh was afraid that people outside the locker room could hear them rutting.

Luke's groans started to turn into more drawn out growls of dominance and Josh felt a hand come down onto his rump to give it a firm slap. Josh let out a yelp, but a jet of pre sprayed out of his member.

Feeling a pulse and then a string of pre shoot inside of him, Josh knew that Luke was getting close to his orgasm. Luke started to buck hard and deep into Josh, hitting every pleasure zone that Josh had inside of him.

Leaning back against Luke enough to feel his muscles flex and relax, Josh pushed his rump back as much as he could as he reached the edge as well.

Muscles clenched, feet curled, and the two yelled out as they both reached their peaks at nearly the exact same time. Luke grinded his hips against Josh and pushed his head towards his for a deep kiss as he climaxed. Josh felt wave after wave of hot spunk fill him as he shot his second load onto the lockers in front of him, spottily painting them.

When both orgasms finally tampered off, Luke pulled out of Josh panting wildly. Josh was doing the same, his mind rushing from the high he just received, his body still shivering from the sensations.

He laid on the floor on his side, beaconing the ram to do the same. Luke laid down, spooning with Josh and cuddled up to the soft panther's fur.

"That...was amazing." Josh said as he scooted as close as he could to Luke who was busy pulling his jockstrap off and throwing it off to the side.

It was covered in the duos semen.

"Want to do it again sometime?" Luke asked.

"I want to do it every day." Josh said with a smile.

"I want to as well. Josh...I think I..."

Turning around to face Luke, Josh said, "You...what?"

A pause before Luke shrugged and said, "Nothing. I will tell you later."

Josh swore he saw Luke was nervous about something, but he did not wish to push. He already knew the answer to the question.

"You're latching onto me aren't you?"

Luke just pulled Josh close.

Getting out of his car with a duffle bag over his shoulder, Josh yawned and checked his watch. It was 7:00am and he was right on time. Opening up the door to the complex, Josh noticed that nothing really changed. Mark was sitting at the desk texting on his phone and when he saw the panther he beamed and said,

"JOSH! Welcome back sitcom buddy!"

Chuckling, Josh accepted the hug from Mark who nearly dived over the desk to get to him.

"So how was your first year at college? I tried to get Luke to tell me, but he was being a spoil sport about it. You two have such a bro code between one another."

Josh smiled and said, "It was good. Nothing much happened. Classes were easy and I am going to become a math teacher."

Mark raised an eyebrow and said, "Good for you! Sucks that we cannot keep you forever. Well, you better get ready for your shift at 8:00am. You'll still have the same jobs as last time. I assume you remember them?"

Josh nodded and said, "Yep. I am going to go change. Catch up with you in an hour."

Walking away from the conversation, Josh made his way to the male locker rooms. He opened the doors to see some new fresh coats of paint and that the lockers were remodeled and were brand spanking new. Smiling at the change in atmosphere, Josh walked over to where his old row was to see it was empty.

The smile turned into a frown of confusion and he searched for an employee area, but could not find one anywhere. Josh was so busy looking for anything that could point him towards the employee area that he did not hear footsteps behind him.

"They are not there anymore. You have your own room now."

Jumping, Josh turned around to see Luke standing with a towel wrapped around his waist with a smirk on his face.

"You can use my locker though if you want. I don't mind."

Josh ran over to Luke and nearly tackled him to the ground, hugging him in a tight embrace.

"You did not visit me all spring semester. Skype calls are one thing, but I like to screw with the real deal!" Josh said, but blushed at the words he used.

"Ummm...screw is a bad word choice..."

Luck chuckled and said, "Nah. I like to screw with the real deal too."

The two stood in silence, just enjoying each other's touch for a bit before Luke said, "You got my Christmas present, right?"

Josh hooked his finger on his waist band and pulled outward to show a light blue jockstrap.

"Good. Why don't you strip out of those clothes?"

Josh did as he was told, knowing full well he wanted whatever Luke was going to offer him. Before he stripped out of the jock though, Luke put a hand on his and said,

"Leave the jockstrap on. I like it on you."

Josh smiled and kicked the shorts and shirt to the side before wrapping his arms around Luke's neck and give him a peck on the cheek. Luke smiled saying,

"It's good to have you back."