Among Golden Rays (Gay Furry)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Tensions

The next few days were tense, that much was certain.

Despite how happy the night was, how amazing it felt to finally kiss and cuddle, and enjoy another night together, the following day had a gloom to it. A haunting loom to the day besides the low hanging clouds and the dark skies. Jake had written enough books to fear that maybe some tropes were tropes for a reason - something was coming.

The day after the date happened, and the fiasco at the football field, Michael left Jake's house early. The two hugged, and kissed once again, before leaving the other. Even as the wolf-dog pulled away from the dirt lot in front of Jake's house, the two waved longingly.

And then, the woods grew silent. The soft whistle of the wind through those gnarled and ancient branches, the soft rustling of leaves, the groan of exertion the oldest ones exhaled against the wind. That was as silent as the wood could get in Moonshed.

The foreboding loom was still there, Jake could feel it. That soft, almost enchanting edge of darkness. Beckoning like a black silk blanket in a warm room. Taunting as it called forth, to be brought out, to be shown - and yet it would not. It would not be shone until whatever the darkness foretold would become manifest.

Nevertheless, his day would continue on. He had some things to do for the league, as well as he needed to write - before heading to the stadium. He wasn't even sure if he should go anymore, all things considered. He didn't want to put a target on Michael's back, the coaches back, or his own.

However, as Jake made his morning coffee while heating up the spare pizza that was left over, as his stomach was not feeling salads, he felt his phone ding in his pocket. Jake sat his coffee mug against the counter as he pulled his phone out. It was that phone number that Ashton's dad had given him, Ian.

"Hey, just wanted to shoot a message. I've heard a lot about this whole thing with one of the coaches dating Michael, and my lil pup told me that you were the one they were talking about. Just wanted to send my congratulations and my support, I know people can be nasty about it."

Jake felt a smile work its way on his face. He wasn't sure how to respond to it, but he had to - he didn't want to leave the other on read, especially after a message like that. He truly appreciated it.

"Thank you! I'm okay, it has been tough, but it's been okay. Thank you for the message. :)"

That was what Jake sent, a little worried he didn't type enough or perhaps the smiley face was too much - he felt a lot of things. Nevertheless, the man sent a thumbs up emoji back, so that was good.

For a good chunk of the rest of the day Jake spent in his living room, drinking coffee and working on the issues with the league he needed to address, specifically, managing to get the first date for the first scrimmage of the season for them, against a nearby town of Waning. It was in about two weeks time, maybe a little more or less.

From what Jake could tell, and from having been there once, Waning used to be a bigger town than Moonshed but eventually decreased in size and population. It still had a good record for youth football though, and it was the closest to Moonshed out of the rest of the youth leagues. It was perfect.

Jake would have to email Miquel about the pads and the jersey's and make sure they all arrive before the scrimmage, and he'd have to organize it with the organizer for the Waning team, but neither would be too difficult for him - what would be difficult was-

Ping.

Jake's eyes drifted to the phone, narrowing. He received an email.

That wouldn't be too strange if not for the fact that he hadn't messaged Miquel yet, nor had he messaged the other organizer from Waning. He wasn't altogether used to emails from any other place, so this was something else.