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“It Only Takes A Moment” by Herr Wozzeck (part 2 of 2, read by the author)
Jules Armstrong’s attachment to Charlie grows stronger as they continue moving about the town. Will one thing lead to another…?
Today’s story is the second and final part of “It Only Takes A Moment” by Herr Wozzeck, who is a composer, violist, Thereminist, and writer based in Boston. They are the author of the novels Whip and Boot and Lost Inside the Blue Line, as well as the poetry collection The Enigma Letters. You can also see them perform with Trio Menagerie, and you can find more of their stories on their FurAffinity account.
Read by the Author themselves.
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Transcript
You’re listening to Pride Month on The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf,
Speaker:your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Today’s story is the second and final part of
Speaker:“It Only Takes A Moment” by Herr Wozzeck, who is a composer,
Speaker:violist, Thereminist, and writer
Speaker:based in Boston. They are the author of the novels Whip and Boot
Speaker:and Lost Inside the Blue Line,
Speaker:as well as the poetry collection The Enigma Letters. You can
Speaker:also see them perform with Trio Menagerie,
Speaker:and you can find more of their stories on their FurAffinity account.
Speaker:Last time, Jules began to follow Charlie around San Francisco
Speaker:in preparation for going
Speaker:to the gay club that night.
Speaker:What will happen when the two of them finally get
Speaker:to the club? Read by the Author themselves.
Speaker:For the amount of ink that has been spent on the subject,
Speaker:the corner-turn from indifference to attraction
Speaker:and attraction to love
Speaker:is no more classifiable than the moment when we realize
Speaker:that we are not so straight as we were taught to assume ourselves to be.
Speaker:Like it, each love,
Speaker:and each relationship,
Speaker:is unique. And likewise,
to begin:“It Only Takes a Moment”
to begin:by Herr Wozzeck,
to begin:Part 2 of 2 “So,
to begin:three months of healing, huh?”
to begin:“I’m ready for it, though.”
to begin:“I don’t doubt it, big guy.
to begin:Just don’t go too crazy, OK?”
to begin:“Of course. I’m usually cautious about that sort of thing.”
to begin:“I don’t doubt it, big guy.”
to begin:Jules and Charlie walked on, the bear jamming his free hand into his pocket as they walked along the path in the park.
to begin:Jules had held on to Charlie’s hand almost since leaving the piercing parlor,
to begin:only parting briefly to readjust his windbreaker slightly.
to begin:It was a rather chillier evening than expected, after all, but Jules
to begin:could handle it.
to begin:After all, he did grow up in Maine.
to begin:He looked down at Charlie, glancing back to the path ahead of him.
to begin:Just before them, he could see the arches of the Golden Gate Bridge stand up just past a row of houses,
to begin:but other than that he and Jules remained surrounded by trees.
to begin:They certainly stood out in the waning light of day, and while the sky burned a bright orange on one side
to begin:he could already sense the darkness coming on.
to begin:But if anything, it gave the path they walked on a certain brand of intimacy that reminded him even more of home.
to begin:It was quite lovely.
to begin:The fact he happened to have a handsome tuna next to him made the whole thing better.
to begin:“Strange they call this
to begin:‘Lover’s Lane’,” Jules noted.
to begin:“Nothing really sticks out about it as being especially romantic.”
to begin:“If I recall correctly, it wasn’t even initially relating to lovers,”
to begin:Charlie replied. “I think the Spanish used it as some
to begin:shortcut or something.”
to begin:He shrugged, looking at Jules.
to begin:“But maybe right now, it’s not that bad a name.”
to begin:Jules blushed, taking his free hand and scratching just behind his left ear. “I
to begin:-I…” He turned away slightly, but could not help the smile that broke out at the front of his mouth.
to begin:Jules found he could not
to begin:reply with any sort of rebuff,
to begin:for he lacked the will to do so.
to begin:Charlie smiled, squeezing Jules’ hand gently.
to begin:“But yeah,” he said.
to begin:“Some will say that the prettiest part of San Francisco is the bay.
to begin:For me, it’s this place right here.
to begin:It’s got trees, got the nature,
to begin:it goes up to the Golden Gate,
to begin:and it’s perfect for evening walks.”
to begin:Jules nodded. “I wish there were more trees,”
to begin:he added. “It would remind me of Maine that way.”
to begin:Charlie bowed his head down.
to begin:“You miss it, don’t you?”
to begin:he asked. “I do.” Jules looked to the tops of the trees.
to begin:“Imagine this, but with no row of houses.
to begin:On some trails, there would be no houses for miles.”
to begin:He exhaled, glancing to the ground as his smile fell.
to begin:“My father would take me along paths like this sometimes,
to begin:just let me wander around in nature.
to begin:It was really lovely.”
to begin:Charlie exhaled. “It sounds like you miss him,”
to begin:he said. “Why not contact him?”
to begin:Jules glanced down and to the left.
to begin:“I don’t know how.
to begin:I don’t have his contact information,
to begin:and he is not exactly in a high-profile enough field that he’d turn up on an internet search.”
to begin:“You could always go back to Boothbay Harbor,”
to begin:Charlie offered. “It’s a small coastal town in Maine, right?
to begin:Can’t be that hard to find him.”
to begin:“It was a tourist town, and they did film parts of Carousel there,
to begin:so I don’t know how small it counts as.”
to begin:He inhaled, shaking his head.
to begin:“But I guess you’ve got a point;
to begin:the locals knew each other well enough.
to begin:Even if he moved, they’d probably know where he moved off
to begin:to.” “See? There’s a chance.”
to begin:Charlie nodded, pulling himself closer to the bear.
to begin:“You don’t have to think about it today, or even tomorrow,”
to begin:he said. “But to me it sounds like you
to begin:really want to talk to him again.
to begin:And hey, with your mother out of the picture, you’re free to do so, right?”
to begin:“I guess,” Jules replied.
to begin:“Then I say go for it,”
to begin:Charlie replied. “Life’s too short to spend it thinking about what-ifs,
to begin:and if your memories of him are as fond as they are now,
to begin:I think it’d be a family tie worth rebuilding, right?”
to begin:Jules looked up at the sky, seeing that the orange was just starting to fade out.
to begin:Soon, the dark night sky would overtake everything:
to begin:Jules did not know what light pollution would look like in San Francisco,
to begin:but he imagined it would blot out a lot of stars,
to begin:and then soon it would look nothing like his home state.
to begin:He wondered what the night sky looked like over Boothbay Harbor now,
to begin:what his father likely looked at,
to begin:and how good it would be to see it again…
to begin:He turned back to Charlie, pulling his free hand up to his chest.
to begin:“Would… would you be willing to come with me if I did look for him?”
to begin:Charlie chuckled at the question, and so he stopped, turning to Jules and tilting his head.
to begin:“Already asking me to come on trips with you, huh?”
to begin:he asked playfully.
to begin:“We only met a few hours ago!”
to begin:The bear glanced down to the trail, his feet shifting awkwardly.
to begin:“I… I can’t help it…” That blush worked its way back on his cheeks.
to begin:“You just…” In response, Charlie smiled broadly, his thumb gently ghosting over the fur on the back of Jules’ hand.
to begin:“I’ve got a lot of commitments to keep in mind here,”
to begin:said Charlie. “But Kirk is always telling me I need to get out of the city more often,
to begin:so I could spare a couple days, maybe even a week.
to begin:If you decide to do it,
to begin:let me know and I’ll come with ya!”
to begin:And at this, Jules’ heart swelled yet again.
to begin:“Thanks,” he said.
to begin:“I… I appreciate that.”
to begin:“Any time, big guy.”
to begin:Charlie looked up at the night sky, watching as the last of the sunset faded away.
to begin:“We should start thinking about getting over to the club.
to begin:If we try to get in late, we’ll be stuck at the door for a while, possibly hours.”
to begin:“Of course,” said Jules.
to begin:He then chuckled.
to begin:“And what happens when the music starts?”
to begin:“Well, that’s up to you,”
to begin:Charlie replied. “I personally like to break it down on the dance floor after a couple drinks,
to begin:but I know most people’s first time in the gay club can be overwhelming,
to begin:so let’s play it by ear and see how you feel at that point.”
to begin:Jules smiled. “I’d like that,”
to begin:he said. “Good!” Charlie checked his watch.
to begin:“Come on, let’s get going.”
to begin:And with this, the tuna turned onto a side street on the left,
to begin:Jules following along as the tuna pulled him with. ----**----
to begin:It was quite dark by the time they got to the club, which was given the
to begin:singularly appropriate name of Bottoms Up.
to begin:They also arrived so early that the line had not even formed yet:
to begin:after a very quick ID check, they were both in,
to begin:and Jules could see for himself exactly what it was like.
to begin:The space was a little bit darker than he expected:
to begin:the lights were of various dark blues and purples, and they gave the club a particular feel that,
to begin:while Jules could not describe it as seedy,
to begin:he also could not describe it as normal either. He could
to begin:not quite make out what he was meant to feel about it just yet, except that it was
to begin:also an incredibly wide space, with most of the tables on the outskirts of a large dance floor.
to begin:Jules wondered if this was where the party would pick up, before turning to the tuna.
to begin:Jules leaned towards Charlie, his eyes darting about and noting how few other furs were there.
to begin:“Nobody here?” he asked.
to begin:Charlie chuckled. “This is actually normal for this hour of the night,”
to begin:he said. He then looked to the bar, grinning as he rubbed his hands.
to begin:“But we get a head start on the alcohol.
to begin:And it’s also good for us, for one big reason…”
to begin:And with this, Charlie pulled Jules towards the bar.
to begin:The bar was manned by a rather stoic-looking blue whale.
to begin:As they approached, though, Jules’ attention was pulled towards a rather muscular pink rabbit sitting in the center of the bar.
to begin:He sat there with a glass of water, and as soon as the rabbit’s attention turned to Charlie,
to begin:he absolutely beamed, standing up and holding his hands out.
to begin:“Charlie, you’re early!”
to begin:the rabbit replied.
to begin:The tuna smiled, letting go of Jules’ hand only then
to begin:so he could step forward and give the pink rabbit a hug. “You know me,
to begin:Kirk,” he said. He shrugged, a broad smile playing on his face.
to begin:“I love to show up early to things.”
to begin:He leaned back, before tilting his head towards Jules and shrugging.
to begin:“Well, that, and I’m showing someone new around town.”
to begin:Kirk turned, and his eyes bulged out upon seeing the mountain that was Jules Armstrong. “Whoah!”
to begin:He chuckled, approaching the bear.
to begin:“How’d you meet this hunk, Charlie?”
to begin:“At the gym,” the tuna replied.
to begin:“Kirk, this is Jules.
to begin:Jules, this is my friend Kirk I was telling you about.”
to begin:Charlie turned back to Kirk.
to begin:The rabbit reached for Jules’ big hand, taking it in his and shaking it vigorously.
to begin:“Welcome to the club, big guy!”
to begin:he said. “H-hello.”
to begin:Jules shook it gently, his hand peeling away slowly.
to begin:He then offered a sheepish smile,
to begin:that blush coming to his face again. Kirk only
to begin:replied with a smirk, leaning to the side.
to begin:“Ooooh, the strong but shy type, huh?”
to begin:he asked. He looked to Charlie.
to begin:“He’s real cute. Mind if I take him back to my place tonight?”
to begin:But the tuna shook his head, his expression turning serious for a second.
to begin:“He’s kind of new to the whole gay nightlife thing,”
to begin:Charlie replied. “Be gentle with him,
to begin:he’s still discovering stuff, and I don’t even know if he’ll be up for a dance.”
to begin:Kirk nodded. “Fair enough,”
to begin:he said, lifting his hands up and stepping back.
to begin:“But it’s a shame I can’t explore that.”
to begin:Charlie shrugged. “Not all of us can be me, Kirk,” he said.
to begin:“But I know you’ll respect that.”
to begin:“Yup, no fun if you don’t want it.”
to begin:Kirk turned back to Jules.
to begin:“So you met at the gym, huh?
to begin:Which one?” “Metal Boys,”
to begin:Jules replied. Kirk nodded.
to begin:“Aaaah,” he said, wagging his finger in the air.
to begin:“That’s where I thought.
to begin:That’s Charlie’s standard gym, and that’s the only one I know
to begin:that would have weights for guys your size.
to begin:You doin’ strongman
to begin:stuff?” “That’s the hope,”
to begin:Jules replied. “Matthew asked Charlie to be my spotter during my work-out today.”
to begin:He bowed his head towards Charlie, a small blush came up
to begin:his cheeks.
to begin:“We… have not parted since.”
to begin:Kirk rose his eyebrow at this, sitting back at his place in the bar.
to begin:“Oh?” he asked, his left ear tilting upward.
to begin:“Grabbed some food on the way here?” Jules rubbed behind his ear, looking up at his brow, and the glint of metal
to begin:he could see just past the edge of his vision.
to begin:“And a piercing.” Kirk frowned,
to begin:before leaning forward.
to begin:His eyes then widened slightly.
to begin:“Oh shit, that is as new as I thought it was!”
to begin:He turned to Charlie.
to begin:“You haven’t even known him half a day and you’ve taken him out on a date already?”
to begin:Now it was Charlie’s turn to blush.
to begin:The tuna reared back, his face turning a shade of violet that was almost unnoticeable under the club lights. “K
to begin:-Kirk!” Charlie replied, his cocky grin vanishing.
to begin:“Don’t even go there!”
to begin:But Kirk leaned back, a knowing smirk growing on his face.
to begin:“You were holding hands earlier,”
to begin:he replied with a slight sing-songy tone to his voice.
to begin:Charlie huffed, crossing his harms and turning away,
to begin:saying nothing. Now it was Jules’ turn to chuckle:
to begin:seeing the tuna pout like this was actually rather cute, he had to admit.
to begin:He also realized it was a side of this handsome man that he had not seen before:
to begin:he wondered if it was often that men tried to deny such things.
to begin:Thus, Jules shrugged.
to begin:“I… don’t know what it is,”
to begin:he offered. “But it feels good,
to begin:whatever it is.” Kirk shrugged.
to begin:“See?” he said to Charlie.
to begin:“He’s enjoying it!
to begin:So whether it’s a date or not,
to begin:everybody wins!” Charlie nodded, nodding as his smile came back.
to begin:“I guess that’s true,”
to begin:he said. “Got any alcohol yet?”
to begin:“Nope,” said Kirk. He tilted his head towards Charlie.
to begin:“I was waiting on you, was gonna buy you a drink tonight.
to begin:Yves has to shoot a scene and Darren has to perform at Golden Hustlers,
to begin:otherwise they would be here.
to begin:You know how they are.”
to begin:“Professional to a fault,” Charlie replied,
to begin:taking a seat at the
to begin:bar. He then gestured for Jules to join him.
to begin:“Treat my new friend here too as well, huh?”
to begin:“For a hunk like that,
to begin:I’ll cover all the drinks,”
to begin:Kirk replied with a smile.
to begin:He turned to Jules, rubbing his chin.
to begin:“You strike me as a…
to begin:gin type.” Jules tilted his head.
to begin:“They have that?” Kirk nodded, gesturing to the blue whale bartender.
to begin:“It may be a gay bar, but you’ll find we all have different tastes,” he said.
to begin:“They’d be a shitty bar if they
to begin:didn’t.” He then leaned towards the bartender as he approached.
to begin:“Tony, one gin on the rocks for my ursine friend here,
to begin:one screwdriver for me,
to begin:and a craft beer for the tuna, please.
to begin:On my tab.” The bartender nodded, preparing the drinks at a speed Jules did not think possible.
to begin:He thus sat at the bar next to Charlie, blinking in surprise.
to begin:“Um… thank you,” he said to Kirk sheepishly.
to begin:“Hey, I love buying drinks for new friends,” Kirk replied.
to begin:“It’s common courtesy around here.” And almost as soon as he finished saying this, the blue whale dropped three cups in front of them,
to begin:all with different drinks in them. Kirk grabbed
to begin:his own drink,
to begin:lifting it up as Charlie picked his up.
to begin:“To new friends?” Jules blinked, seeing his drink on the countertop.
to begin:He then picked it up, swirling it and the single ice cube in the cup.
to begin:As he did, he smiled:
to begin:he had always thought to come to a place like this, he just
to begin:had not expected it would happen so quickly.
to begin:A great many things were happening really fast,
to begin:but one thing Jules had learned was to just go with it.
to begin:He’d already pierced his brow by that point:
to begin:what more would calling it a date do that wasn’t already true of this situation?
to begin:And so, he lifted his glass,
to begin:clinking it with Kirk and Charlie.
to begin:And as he did, he smiled.
to begin:“To new experiences.” ----**----
to begin:It did not take long for the club to fill out after that.
to begin:The music remained at a constant low murmur for a while, staying out of the conversation that Jules was having with Charlie and Kirk.
to begin:And then, after a while, it really picked up in volume,
to begin:and the furs that were milling about before all made their way down to the dance floor.
to begin:From there, it became a mass of gyrating bodies,
to begin:with some being lewder than others.
to begin:Jules could feel the heat all the way from where he sat, and he had to admit it looked energetic.
to begin:Kirk, Charlie, and Jules had more or less stayed rooted to the bar, although Kirk’s
to begin:gaze did wander quite a bit.
to begin:Jules thought to the fact that Charlie mentioned they were there to pick up guys, and so some doubt settled deep into his gut.
to begin:But every time he talked to Charlie,
to begin:every time he looked over,
to begin:the tuna was always keeping his gaze on him.
to begin:It was never that kind of gaze where
to begin:Charlie was looking over, either:
to begin:he knew the twist of the head, the motion of eyes whenever that happened,
to begin:and this was not it, and if it did happen it was only when he was turning away from Kirk.
to begin:It made Jules feel special in a way.
to begin:Jules inhaled, looking back at the gyrating bodies.
to begin:He exhaled, sipping his second gin for the night as he watched.
to begin:The alcohol burned in the back of his throat slightly, but the tingle he felt in his arms was unmatched, and he wondered
to begin:what he would be like to dance with.
to begin:He was not trained,
to begin:but then again he imagined most people there were not, and it looked simple enough…
to begin:Charlie inhaled, downing his second beer before standing up.
to begin:“Sorry guys, I gotta pee.
to begin:I’ll be right back.”
to begin:Charlie quickly stepped away, stretching his arms out as he made his way to the bathroom.
to begin:This left Kirk with Jules, and Jules noticed faintly that the rabbit had just winked at a rather
to begin:lithe marten on the other side of the club.
to begin:The marten blushed, but found he could not look away from the rabbit.
to begin:The rabbit smirked, lifting one finger up before turning to Jules, beckoning him closer.
to begin:Jules nodded, leaning his ear to Kirk’s mouth.
to begin:“Dance with Charlie!”
to begin:Jules blinked, peeling back as he looked at Kirk.
to begin:“Kirk?” he asked. The rabbit winked.
to begin:“I’ve never seen Charlie act like this around anyone,”
to begin:he said. “He won’t admit it, but I can see it plain as day: he likes you, and from the look of things
to begin:I think you like him too.”
to begin:Jules blushed, glancing away.
to begin:“I…” But Kirk winked, downing the last of his drink.
to begin:“Make him your own, big guy,”
to begin:he said. “‘Cause if you don’t,
to begin:you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
to begin:And with this, Kirk patted the bar, before standing up and sauntering over to the marten.
to begin:Jules watched the rabbit lean over him, the marten blushing but not pulling away.
to begin:Kirk had a gentle laugh,
to begin:and he watched the marten’s nerves leave him as they began to chat. Jules sat back, inhaling as he watched their interaction play out.
to begin:He realized in that second that there was something to what he and Charlie had shared throughout the day that felt
to begin:much like that, but on a much deeper level.
to begin:Ever since they had met in the gym, there was something about Charlie that beckoned to him.
to begin:He’d followed it every step of the way until then…
to begin:…so why should he let his nerves about dancing stop him at that point?
to begin:Jules jumped as he felt a muscled hand pat his shoulder.
to begin:“Alright, I’m back, big guy.”
to begin:Jules looked down, and exhaled in relief upon seeing Charlie come in.
to begin:He glanced at Kirk’s spot, before
to begin:looking across to see
to begin:where Kirk was playfully flirting with the marten. “Ah,
to begin:I see someone’s already caught his eye, huh?”
to begin:“Yes,” said Jules. “Yup, that sounds about right for Kirk,”
to begin:said Charlie. He then sat back, looking up at Jules.
to begin:“I dunno about you, though, but I think I’ve got—”
to begin:“Dance with me.” The words came out of Jules’ mouth before he even realized he’d said them.
to begin:The bear blinked in surprise,
to begin:but this time he did not peel away,
to begin:afraid his words had been swallowed by the techno.
to begin:Nevertheless, a look at Charlie saw him blink briefly in surprise,
to begin:the tuna tilting his head as he looked up at the imposing bear.
to begin:Before Jules could start wondering if he had misspoken, however,
to begin:the tuna’s smile grew ever broader, and he reached for the bear’s hands.
to begin:“I thought you’d never ask, big guy,”
to begin:he said. “Here, let’s dance.”
to begin:And with this, Charlie led Jules down to the dance floor’s edge.
to begin:At the bar the techno had been loud,
to begin:but here Jules felt the music more than heard it:
to begin:the bass pounded in his ears,
to begin:and after a little bit he felt his heartbeat match it.
to begin:But overall, with the haze that took over his body, he felt the desire to move,
to begin:the wish to gyrate his hips, wave his arms…
to begin:Before he knew what he was doing,
to begin:he was doing most of those things, his shoulders starting to bob along with the beat.
to begin:Everything else loosened up rather shortly afterwards, and so he began to move, and he moved quite easily.
to begin:He felt a leg bump up against his knee.
to begin:He then opened his eyes, looking right at Charlie as the tuna began to do similarly.
to begin:His movements were much freer, however: he managed to
to begin:fit a little twirl in there, his thick tail swaying behind him as he moved.
to begin:His moves were more energetic and joyful, and Jules simply watched him for a few beats,
to begin:his motions moving along.
to begin:After a few more bars,
to begin:Jules noticed that Charlie began to move his hips in sync with his.
to begin:They latched onto a rhythm, and it was then that Jules realized that Charlie was slowly inching ever closer to Jules.
to begin:Their hips moved in sync, and then he realized that Charlie’s arms were raised up close to his.
to begin:Their torsos grew closer, and after a second,
to begin:Jules could feel their chests slowly start to touch.
to begin:Jules smiled, before closing his eyes.
to begin:He reached down, placing a hand on Charlie’s hips.
to begin:He used this to synchronize his motions a little better, the two of them moving more in sync than before.
to begin:Charlie looked up at Jules, their gazes meeting as they looked in each other’s eyes.
to begin:Even in the lighting,
to begin:the sky blue was more prominent than before.
to begin:It was then that Jules felt Charlie’s hands settle on his chest, the first time they had done so since the gym.
to begin:Here, though, their touch was more tender, like they were almost ghosting
to begin:over his chest.
to begin:The bear could not quite get what he felt,
to begin:but those hands began to travel up and down his torso to the beat.
to begin:It brought a very pleasant warmth to him:
to begin:even though there was no
to begin:actual lingering happening,
to begin:Jules felt like those hands left a warm trail behind on his shirt.
to begin:It was not quite touching his fur,
to begin:but suddenly Jules founding himself wishing it was that.
to begin:The bear lost track of time this way, their hips moving together. Slowly, Jules brought his other hand to the other side of Charlie’s hips, pulling him closer.
to begin:This was the first he had felt of the need to pull himself closer to Charlie,
to begin:and as he did he wondered why he did not earlier.
to begin:Their hips were thus smushed together, their torsos rubbing.
to begin:And Charlie’s smile… Oh, how wonderful it looked from this angle…
to begin:And how close his mouth was,
to begin:how he felt Charlie’s breath tickle his nose,
to begin:how he wanted more…
to begin:Jules leaned in first,
to begin:planting his mouth on Charlie’s as he closed his eyes.
to begin:The second he did,
to begin:he felt one of Charlie’s hands run up his neck,
to begin:settling onto the back of his head and pulling him deeper.
to begin:Jules parted his mouth slightly, and soon their lips intertwined,
to begin:their motions slowing down as they shared a kiss.
to begin:The fact it was a kiss only entered Jules’ awareness slowly,
to begin:but even as it did it did not bother him,
to begin:nor did the fact that it was a point of no return.
to begin:After all, it was with the handsome Charlie Masthead.
to begin:At that moment,
to begin:there was nobody
to begin:he would have rather kissed.
to begin:The kiss parted slowly, and in the haze of the music and the alcohol Jules
to begin:could only smile.
to begin:He then leaned towards Charlie’s head,
to begin:holding him close as he moved his muzzle to where he assumed Charlie’s earholes were.
to begin:“You live near here?”
to begin:he asked. Charlie nodded.
to begin:“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ve still got some more dance in me,
to begin:though. Wanna dance a couple more numbers and head home?”
to begin:Jules nodded. “Sounds perfect to me.”
to begin:And with this, the two of them pulled their heads back, and continued to dance along to the music. ----**----
to begin:When they had gotten into Charlie’s apartment, the two of them essentially went straight to bed:
to begin:Jules was not so used to being up so late, and so they both fell asleep in each other’s arms, wearing only their boxers
to begin:as they settled into Charlie’s bed.
to begin:Jules wondered if Charlie had expected anything else, but the tuna snored in his arms, and then the bear forgot about this worry as he followed Charlie into sleep.
to begin:The bear was woken up by the rays of the sun peeking in through the edges of the blinds in Charlie’s bedroom.
to begin:They cast a rather strange light across the room, illuminating just enough of the blue
to begin:-walled interior to give Jules a sense of how small the room was for such a big man.
to begin:It felt cozy, though, and for Jules this was just as well. And then
to begin:he looked down, and smiled upon seeing Charlie sleeping gently.
to begin:The tuna looked quite adorable with his head resting just above his nipple, and Jules smiled upon seeing it.
to begin:It warmed his heart, and the fact that he was in
to begin:the bed of a man he had only met about half a day earlier
to begin:was not even disturbing to him when he thought about it.
to begin:He paused as this thought came to mind:
to begin:he realized this was all moving incredibly fast.
to begin:No relationship he’d ever been in had gotten to this point, not even with Beth.
to begin:And now, there he was, willingly sharing a bed with Charlie.
to begin:Was all this a stupid decision?
to begin:Everything about this felt right to him,
to begin:but he was not even sure how Charlie felt about it.
to begin:Charlie had gone along with everything up to this point,
to begin:but how far would he follow him?
to begin:Jules felt a bolt of self-consciousness overcome his whole being.
to begin:He knew what he was like to his ex-girlfriends:
to begin:he had always walled himself up.
to begin:Would he do that to Charlie as well?
to begin:No, he would: he felt free and wonderful, but eventually something would happen,
to begin:and he’d wall up, and then Charlie would lose interest…
to begin:How long would that take?
to begin:Before Jules could answer this question by himself, he felt Charlie stir on his chest.
to begin:The tuna yawned, stretching the arm that had been across the bear’s torso off to the side,
to begin:before he looked up and smiled at Jules, his eyes shining as if they were in full daylight.
to begin:“Hey there big guy,”
to begin:Charlie began. And in spite of himself, Jules smiled.
to begin:“Hey,” he said. “You sleep well?”
to begin:“Very,” Charlie began.
to begin:He drummed his fingers on the bear’s chest.
to begin:“And you?” Jules glanced to the side, his smile fading slightly.
to begin:“Very well, too,” he said.
to begin:This was not a lie, either, for he had slept better than usual that night.
to begin:But as he laid there, he paused, his hand coming up to gently scratch behind Charlie’s head.
to begin:“Somethin’ on your mind, big guy?”
to begin:the tuna asked. Jules sighed, looking down to Charlie.
to begin:“Is this… moving too fast?”
to begin:he asked. Charlie chuckled, reaching a hand up to rub under Jules’ chin.
to begin:“In my estimation, it’s movin’ at just the right clip, big guy,”
to begin:he said. He then glanced to the side.
to begin:“Even if it is a little fast.”
to begin:He then looked up, before sitting up at the edge of the bed.
to begin:“Now, are you worried it’s moving too fast?”
to begin:“Maybe…” Jules sat up in turn, swallowing as he looked at
to begin:the tuna in the eyes.
to begin:“I just… I’ve never felt like this about anyone before.
to begin:Never felt…” “…this in love?”
to begin:Charlie asked, his smile dropping for a second.
to begin:“Yes! That!” Jules exhaled, shaking his head as he looked at Charlie.
to begin:“You’re… you’re just so wonderful.
to begin:So fun, so free, so understanding…
to begin:I feel different when I’m around you.
to begin:Like nothing I could do would ever be wrong.”
to begin:He then sighed, his eyes watering.
to begin:“But what about me?
to begin:I didn’t even really know how much I liked guys until yesterday when I met you.
to begin:I didn’t know…” He exhaled, looking to the floor.
to begin:“I’m just scared…” “…Scared I won’t like the person you’ll turn into?”
to begin:Charlie asked. Jules blinked. “Y
to begin:-yes,” he said. He shook his head. “I’m…
to begin:I’m probably not going to be that interesting.
to begin:And then you’ll find out I’m not that interesting, and…”
to begin:Charlie nodded, his expression soft as he listened to Jules.
to begin:He sat there for a second, swallowing as he looked over the large bear.
to begin:Jules found his expression hard to read,
to begin:but the fact he had not pulled away yet was a small comfort.
to begin:Finally, Charlie shrugged, scooching closer.
to begin:“You’re probably right,”
to begin:he said. “I don’t really know that much about you.
to begin:I don’t really know what you like, what you’ll be like when you grow into yourself a little bit more…”
to begin:His smile finally returned.
to begin:“But from what it looks and sounds like,
to begin:you don’t fully know who you are yourself.”
to begin:Jules blinked. “I guess that’s true,”
to begin:he said. “Exactly,” Charlie replied.
to begin:He then leaned forward, placing his hand on the bear’s chest.
to begin:“You say you won’t be interesting,
to begin:I say it’s too early to tell.
to begin:And I don’t know about you, but I’d like to discover who you are
to begin:when you’re allowed to do what you want, because
to begin:I’ll bet you anything you’re kind in your own way.”
to begin:The bear’s ears twitched, pointing straight at the ceiling.
to begin:“Really?” Jules asked.
to begin:“Yeah.” Charlie let his hand rub down over Jules’ chest.
to begin:“And either way, it won’t make any difference to me.
to begin:You’re handsome, you’re humble,
to begin:you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,
to begin:you’re a bit of a hopeless romantic…”
to begin:His smile lit up the room again, and his hands stopped wandering all over Jules’ body.
to begin:“You’re already plenty interesting to me, Jules,
to begin:and nothing anyone can say will take that away from you,
to begin:or from me.” And as soon as Charlie said this,
to begin:Jules felt a shudder overcome his whole body.
to begin:It was the most pleasant shudder he could feel, however,
to begin:and he suddenly felt more loved in that moment than he ever had his whole life.
to begin:Jules smiled, and he felt a tear escape his eye.
to begin:“Charlie…” Without much preamble,
to begin:Jules leaned in, his lips almost mashing against Charlie’s.
to begin:The tuna was only too happy to return the kiss,
to begin:Jules feeling his scales brush against his fur very lightly.
to begin:It was a little more passionate than the kiss on the dance floor,
to begin:for briefly Jules felt
to begin:a salty tongue brush against his for the briefest of seconds,
to begin:and Jules wished he could always kiss Charlie like this.
to begin:The kiss parted, and Jules found himself smiling, not even caring that there was moisture soaking into the fur of his cheek.
to begin:Not that he would have the time to, for soon after he felt Charlie’s thumbs wiping away those tears.
to begin:Charlie then looked up at the eye piercing.
to begin:“We should probably get your saline solution applied to your piercing, huh?”
to begin:he asked. “Yes,” said Jules.
to begin:He then pulled his knees up, smiling.
to begin:“I almost want to stay with you another day.” Charlie smiled, shrugging. “Well, I had no plans today, so I’d be down for that,” he said. Jules nodded. “Know any breakfast
to begin:places?”
to begin:he said. Charlie chuckled, rubbing his hands together.
to begin:“In this neighborhood?” he asked.
to begin:“They are everywhere,
to begin:and they’re all good.”
to begin:The bear leaned forward.
to begin:“Then it’s on me.” And as he said this, Jules felt himself smile broader than he ever had in his life.
to begin:For the first time he could think of, he felt like he was where he belonged,
to begin:and something about that filled his heart with a warmth that he could not describe.
to begin:This was the second and final part of
to begin:“It Only Takes A Moment” by Herr Wozzeck, read for you
to begin:by the Author themselves.
to begin:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
to begin:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
to begin:Happy Pride, and Thank you for listening to The Voice of
