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Chapter 4

Reaching Higher

I need to break ten seconds. Vergennes thought as he bent over with his paws on his knees breathing hard. Sweat poured from his nose, chin and forehead onto the hard ground below him as he straightened up getting ready for another try.

Bending his knees and keeping his arms close, the otter started the timer and took off, shuffling his feat sideways down the gym. Reaching the end, the otter stuck his foot out and cut back the way he came. Shuffling fast back the other way, the otter began to breath hard. Sticking his foot out and cutting, Vergennes goes shuffling back again. After his fifth shuffle down the gym, Vergennes turned and sprinted. Driving his knees up and forcing himself faster and faster as he picked up speed. Reaching the end, Vergennes slowed down and looked at his time.

11.15

He was close. Close to breaking ten. But not close enough.

_"_Damn!" He yelled as he bent over and clutched his knees tightly with his paws, making his knuckles turn white. He had done this five times now, continuously getting eleven seconds. His knees and ankles had both started bothering him with subtle pains as he breaths hard. Looking around at the empty gym, Vergennes makes his way over to his endurance shake, wallet, keys, and phone. He had been doing footwork, sprints, and ab workouts for an hour and a half now. Picking up his stuff and taking the last sip of his endurance shake, the otter makes his way out of the deserted gym. Flicking off the lights he turns around in the pitch dark fitness center to gaze at his night time home.

"One-hundred-and-ten-percent" He said to himself.

It was eleven o'clock Wednesday night. Tired and exhausted, the otter knew he wouldn't get to sleep until one again, and he had morning workouts at eight the next day. In his mind however, he knew that it was all worth it to take another step closer to his goals of becoming a professional tennis player.

"Man, you're going to kill yourself! You've been doing this for three weeks now and you look exhausted. Take a day off! Come out with us Friday night and party!" Lance stated as he laid in bed looking at his phone when Vergennes entered the room coated in sweat.

"I haven't had a day off this entire year. Like I keep saying, one hundred percent wasn't good enough. This is how I'm going to succeed." Vergennes said as he grabbed his towel and walked to the showers.

Hot water pelted the otters face as he brought his hands up and ran them through his head-fur. Heaving a deep sigh, he drops his hands to his sides and relaxes his neck, letting his head fall, resting his chin on his collarbone.

I'm so tired. Vergennes thought as he switched off the water. Stepping out of the shower, the otter runs his towel over his muscular leg fur. Scrubbing hard and making the hair stand on end, he moves up to dry off his groin, midriff, and finally his back and head. Hanging the damp cloth on the shower divider, the otter slips on pajama bottoms and steps out of the shower.

Across the way a strange otter looks back at Vergennes from a mirror. His face is sallow, thin, and sunken. His eyes are exhausted, and it appears as though he has been through a lot. Sadness and wanting radiates off of the otter's rather dark facial expression. His fur is longer, giving him a shaggy look. It obviously hasn't been trimmed in a while. Almost comically, the stranger's fur stands on end from drying off with the towel, although there is no sense of humor in his expression. His body is thinner, lanky, and muscles along his midriff and arms are showing from under his thick brown fur. The pajama bottoms that he wears are loose fitting and sagging.

Approaching the stranger, Vergennes leans over the sink and raises a paw up, pressing it against the mirrors reflection. Lowering his paw to the sink, Verg leans over further and presses his nose against the mirror, staring straight into the stranger's hazel brown eyes.

"Is that really me?" Vergennes asked in disbelief as he leans back and gazes at the shaggy upper body of the otter in the mirror's.

"You can do this." The stranger in the mirror said. "You can keep going! Each step you take is closer to your goal."

Raising a fist up and pressing it against the mirror for a fist bump with the stranger, Vergennes turns and walks out of the bathroom. Leaving the stranger in the mirror standing there alone until the next night, waiting, because he knew that Vergennes would be back after another long and grueling late-night workout.

Entering the dark dorm room as quietly as he could to not wake Lance, Vergennes hangs his towel on the rack and climbs into bed. Pulling the covers up to his chin, the otter quickly falls asleep at one-thirty in the morning. Dreaming deeply about achieving his goals and playing in a professional tennis match, only to be woken up a short six hours later by an alarm in his ear signaling another long, exhausting and grueling day to start.

...

Three Weeks Later

Finals had officially begun.

Stepping into what seemed to be his second home, Vergennes entered the overly crowded library. The smell of old vinyl from the decrepit arm chairs mixed with aging paper and dust tickled the otter's nose. The studies were all lit with dimly lit chandeliers that hung high above next to a stained-glass window depicting Webster-Ferret himself, who had one foot raised on top of a pile of textbooks holding a sword high in the air with one paw and an open book down by his side in the other.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor study, the otter looks around for an open table. Many other furs are bent over textbooks and scratching papers with pencils hurriedly while others work at computers feverishly writing essays. Heaving his backpack higher on his shoulders, Vergennes walks over to an open table, and drops the heavy book-bag to the floor. Grabbing his Anatomy Lab textbook, Anatomy Lecture textbook, computer, and notebook and sliding them onto the old wooden table, the otter prepares for a long night of studying to get ready for the Anatomy final on Monday.

Opening his two textbooks, and powerpoint notes on his computer, Vergennes stretches his hands over his head and arches his back. Even for seven o'clock Friday night, the library was unusually packed because of finals. Looking around, Verg sees Shard and Lance bent over together looking at a textbook, muttering urgently to each other. Smiling to himself, Vergennes grabs his headphones from around his neck and puts them over his ears. Turning the volume up to disregard the distraction, the otter hunches his back and re-reads the powerpoints and textbook. Adding another two hours that night to the six hours he had already studied the three days previously.

Standing up and removing his headphones, Vergennes was one of a few students still in the library at nine o'clock on Friday Night. Packing his well-used textbooks, notes and computer into his backpack, the otter heads out of the library ready for another workout, ready for another late night, and ready to take another step closer to his goal.

...

Entering the gym, the otter hears an unfamiliar sound for the workout center so late Friday night. The sound of clinking weights and heavy breathing drifted through to the entrance way where Vergennes was standing. Someone else was there.

Walking around the corner leading to the gym, Vergennes sets his stuff down and looks around. A tall red wolf with black tribal markings covering his arms is sitting on a bench with his head down looking at his phone. His back turned to the otter.

"Hey, Burn!" Vergennes called, recognizing the red fur and markings of his friend. Walking up to the wolf from his Anatomy and Physiology Lab and Lecture, Vergennes puts a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What are you doing here so late?" Vergennes asks, stepping around and taking a seat on the weight bench next to his friend.

"Hey, V!" The wolf says setting his phone down and looking at the otter. "I'm just getting rid of finals stress right now. I have another big one tomorrow for math, and I feel like I can't study anymore."

"Ah, yeah. I got you. You ready for the Anatomy final on Monday?" Vergennes asks as the wolf looks back at his phone for a moment.

"Yeah. I've probably studied about four or five hours for it. I feel good. You?" The wolf asks as he stands up and stretches his arms over his head.

"I don't know how I feel about this class anymore." Vergennes says, looking up at the wolf from where he is sitting. "All I know is, I can't study enough for this. This either gets me into the AT program, or it doesn't, so I need to put more effort into it."

"Yeah, I can understand that feeling from my other classes. I'll probably be here for another hour; I've only been here for thirty minutes. What are you doing here so late?" The wolf asks, changing the subject and picking up a weight and tossing it on the ground out of the way.

Standing up and turning to look at the wolf, the two almost the same height but the otter just an inch taller, Vergennes bends over and ties his shoes.

"I'm going to do some extra footwork and core work. I've been feeling like one hundred percent isn't good enough for me with tennis, so I decided to give one-hundred-and-ten percent to reach my goals." The otter said, straightening up and looking at the wolf.

"That sounds cool. Mind if I join you? I've been meaning to do some extra ab work." The wolf said eagerly, bringing a paw up and over his shoulder to scratch his upper back.

"That's fine with me! It'll be fun to finally workout with someone else. Doing it by myself gets lonely after a while." Vergennes laughs as he walks over and jumps on treadmill for a warm-up. Quickly followed by Burn taking the treadmill next to him. Looking at each other and smiling, the two friends begin a quick mile jog.

Slowing down after the warm-up, Vergennes jumps off the treadmill and walks over and sits on the floor, Burn taking a seat right across from him, facing the sweaty otter.

"Alright, ready to do some core work?" Vergennes asks the panting red-wolf.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Burn says with a nod that sends drops of sweat to the hard ground below him.

...

Both panting heavily, Vergennes and Burn stand next to each other bent over with their hands on their knees. Forty-Five minutes of core and Forty-Five minutes of footwork and sprints left both athletes spent and dripping with sweat. Vergennes' tail hangs limply behind him, but Burn's tail wags lazily back and forth.

"Alright. Good job, Burn!" Vergennes says tiredly, bringing his paw up and resting it on the sweaty wolf's shoulder.

"Heh. You too, V. Thanks for letting me join you. Maybe we can make this a regular nightly ritual?" Burn asks, straightening up and bringing his paws to his hips, looking at the exhausted Vergennes. "I know there's only two weeks left of school. But those fourteen days could make a big difference for people like me." The wolf says, wrapping an arm around the spent otter's shoulder.

"Yeah, alright." Vergennes replies, blushing a little from the embrace. "But first, I think I need a shower." The otter says, bending over and stretching so that he puts his palms flat on the floor with his legs completely straight. Slowly, he brings his nose to his knees, giving his hamstrings a complete stretch.

"Wow! That's pretty flexible." Burn said, sitting down and watching the otter go through his stretching routine as he himself brings his paw to his toes.

"I've been having to work on that for tennis." Vergennes said as he straightened up and grabbed his ankle and pulled it up to his butt, stretching his thigh. Letting his leg down, Vergennes brings his other leg up and stretches his other thigh. Turning to face the now standing red-wolf, Vergennes finishes stretching, and walks over to his friend.

"I think I'm just going to take a shower here. Not worth it going all the way back to the dorms like this." Vergennes said, turning and walking to the locker room door.

"Think it's open? We've been the only two in here for the whole night." Burn replied, following the exhausted otter.

"Should be. They generally only lock the front doors when I'm here this late at night." Vergennes said, leaning against the door with a shoulder. Squeaking loudly, the door cracks open with a burst of masculine musk, sweat, and wet fur. "Told ya." The otter says, turning his head to look at the red-wolf behind him and winking at the impressed Burn.

"You okay? You seem more exhausted than me." Burn laughs as Vergennes slumps on a wooden bench with his face buried in a towel he fetched form a rack. Grabbing a towel for himself, the wolf walks over and sits next to Vergennes.

"Yeah, I just haven't had a day off yet. This entire year. And I think I'm starting to feel it." Vergennes said, straightening up and look at Burn.

"Maybe you should take a day off. Nothing wrong with one day right?" Burn asks as he stands up and lifts his sweat covered shirt over his head, revealing red fur and smooth muscle all the way to a v at his waist. White fur covers his chest and goes down to his groin, but the red fur covers everything else.

"No. I won't be able to stand myself if I take a day off. I need to go every day, because I feel like every time I go, I take another step closer to my goal. That's why I've been so stressed. That's why I need to trim my fur. I haven't been able to do that because I've been so busy with tennis, workouts, and studying." The otter laughs darkly as he stands and takes his soaked shirt off as well.

"Let's go get cleaned up." Vergennes said, slipping his shorts off and standing in his tight athletic underwear with his towel in hand.

"Yeah. Good idea." Burn replies, doing the same and standing as Vergennes peels off his sweaty athletic underwear and wraps a towel around his waist heading to the showers. Following the otter, Burn takes the shower head next to his naked friend and turns on the hot water, hanging his towel up while doing so.

"A hot shower feels so good after working out. Don't ch'ya think?" Vergennes asks, bringing his arms up and arching his back, closing his eyes as his face and chest get pelted with water. Looking at his friend, Burn's eyes stray to the otter's muscular legs and abs. The water seems to bounce off of his friends untrimmed brown fur, matting it down against Vergennes' midriff and thighs.

"Y-yeah. Definitely." Burn says, quickly realizing he was staring at his friend and running his face under the hot water. "What are you doing for the summer, V?" He asks as he turns around so the water is falling over his back.

"I'm going to train. I'm going to train as hard as I can so I can play on the team next year. I'm going to fight to achieve my goals of becoming professional." Vergennes replied, looking at his soaked friend.

Feeling overwhelmed with emotion from his friend's words, Burn takes a step towards Vergennes and wraps his arms around the otter's sides. Bringing him in a tight, wet and naked hug.

"I know you can do it my friend. You're a champion. Just keep fighting. With all the work you're putting in, I know you'll make it." Burn said, leaning back and looking into the otter's hazel-brown eyes and furiously blushing face.

"Heh. Thanks, Burn. I appreciate that." Vergennes blushed harder as he felt a stirring in his sheath.

"Hey! I just had a great idea!" Burn said, releasing his blushing friend and taking a step back, turning off his shower.

"Yeah? What's that?" Vergennes asked, shutting off his shower as well. Leaving him and Burn standing naked in silence as he reached for his towel to hide his forming erection.

"How about you visit me over the summer! You only live, like, a couple hours from me anyway. There's an amazing tennis facility there, and you can bring Lance! It can be only a couple of days if you guys want, and you and I can work out together. What d'ya say?" Burn asks as he too grabs his towel and wraps it around his waist walking towards the lockers.

"Yeah, alright. Sounds like a plan. I didn't have anything other than training set up for the summer" Vergennes says as he sits down on the bench again. Looking up at the now naked and towel drying red-wolf.

"Yes!" Burn howls, giving a fist pump.

Laughing at his friend's reaction, Vergennes stands up and undoes his towel, wrapping it around his head fur and rubbing furiously to get his fur dry. Bringing the towel down to his tail, the otter bends over and finishes drying off while Burn pulls on a new pair of briefs and shorts and watches his friend as he sits down on the bench. Straightening up and stretching his arms above his head, Vergennes bends over and reaches into his bag and pulls on his own briefs and shorts.

"Ready to go?" Vergennes asks, turning to look at Burn.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here, V. It's fucking eleven o'clock!" The red-wolf says as he gets up and wraps an arm around Vergennes' shoulder and walks with his friend out of the gym and to his car.

"I'm so excited for this summer, V. You have no idea." Burn says as he lets go of the otter and stands by his car. "Thank you again for letting me join you. I'll see you tomorrow night!" Burn states with a wink as he unlocks the car door.

"Heh, no problem my friend! I'll catch'ya later!" Vergennes says as he turns to walk away.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Vergennes calls as Burn shuts the door and revs the engine.

Watching his friend disappear from view to his off campus apartment, Vergennes makes his way to the dorms. Thinking about the red-wolf, and how he has a new friendship that will not only last for a long time, but also help him work harder to achieve his goals of becoming a professional tennis player.

Entering his empty room, because Lance is off partying for Friday night, Vergennes leaves the lights off and tosses his gym bag to the floor and climbs into bed. Still thinking about Burn, the exhausted otter lays on his back and slowly reaches down and grabs his semi-hard sheath through his shorts. Closing his eyes and moaning Burn's name softly, Vergennes slips his hand under his waistband and pulls his shorts down to his knees.

Rolling his twin orbs in one paw, and wrapping the other paw around his throbbing cock, Vergennes moans in bliss as pre leaks out of his tip. Bringing his hand up his cock, he thumbs the tip and covers the pulsing prick in pre as he brings his paw back down the length to the base. Slowly, Verg increases the speed of his paw travelling up and down his sensitive cock. Feeling heat and pressure build up from within himself, the otter moans under his breath as his cock spasms and shoots out more slickening pre. Minutes pass as the otter begins moving at a lightning pace and squeezing his rising and churning balls. Vergennes thumbs the top of his prick again as his tail twitches sporadically beneath him. Moaning Burn's name out loud as his body seizes up and he shoots his hot seed up and over his paw, covering his midriff in a white and sticky mess, the otter closes his eyes and lets out a long stressed sigh.

Leaning over and grabbing his gym towel from his bag, the otter wipes the sticky seed off of his belly, abs, and chest, and pulls his shorts up. Depositing the towel in his gym bag as he lays back down and quickly falls asleep. Relaxed, and happy in afterglow.

Little did he know, however, the finals week that's looming in front of him would bring him some of the toughest challenges and the most stress he would have to face.

End of Chapter 4.

Thank You for Reading!

-Vergennes