Trent was still thinking about the broken futon when an unfamiliar voice called out, "Hello down there!"

He paused, as did Mae, and looked around.

"Mister Chazokov!" Mae called looking up. "Hi! What's happening?!"

Trent looked up. They were in front of Ann's place and there was a man on her roof, a middle-aged bear with light blue fur peering down at them. "Preparing for the super moon! I wasn't sure if you'd remember."

"I forgot but now I remember! I wanna see it! Also this is my boyfriend, Trent!"

"Hello, Trent!"

"Hello, sir!" Trent called up.

"That's my old astronomy teacher," Mae said.

"Whoa, you had a whole class just for astronomy? That's awesome," Trent said.

"Yep. What time?!"

"Eight PM would be good!"

"Okay! I'll bring Selmers!"

"Excellent! See you there!"

"What just happened?" Trent asked as Mae started walking again.

"He looks at the stars and the moon through his telescope up on the roof," Mae replied. "We're going to go up there with him and look at a super moon. I'm not entirely sure what that is but it sounds awesome and I miss visiting him. I went through a phase where I'd come by every two or three days to look at dusk stars and it was really fun."

"Oh. All right, this sounds cool," Trent said.

"Yep! Come on, Bea awaits!"

They hurried on.

It felt nice to walk through the city. Trent was already getting used to it, walking through the streets of Possum Springs. It was cold out, but not intolerably so. The winds were down and what little snow there was had since melted. It felt like they were all still waiting for the real winter to hit, for a snowstorm to bury the city in a foot of snow.

They all knew it was coming, but it was unusual for it to wait until January.

That was climate change, he supposed.

He was in a good mood as they approached the Pickaxe, and his mood boosted even further when he looked in through the window and saw that Bea was actually there. He wasn't sure if she'd be working at the moment, because he and Mae had wanted to surprise her, so they hadn't texted to ask. She was behind the counter, looking over something. She looked over as they opened the door and the way her face lit up when she saw them…

It made him feel really good.

"Bea!" Mae cried, letting go of his hand and rushing across the room.

Bea laughed. "Hello, Mae. Hello, Trent-Mae!" she cried as Mae pretty much vaulted over the counter and wrapped her in a hug.

"I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Mae," she replied. "And you, Trent. Obviously. I'm really sorry I haven't been over."

"It's okay, Bea, I know you've been crazy busy. Speaking of that…" Trent reached into his pocket, then hesitated and looked around. "You good to receive your cut?"

"Yeah," she replied, "no one's here but us. How much?"

He slipped behind the counter and fished out the bills he'd prepared for this, then passed her them all. She took them gingerly, staring at them with wide eyes. She looked up briefly, then back down and rapidly counted through them with a practiced ease. "A grand?" she whispered harshly, crouching down behind the counter and pulling out her purse. She stashed the money after counting again and stood back up. "A grand, Trent?"

"Yep," he replied.

She opened her mouth, then suddenly eyed him suspiciously. "Trent, you aren't lying are you?"

"What? Lying how?" Mae asked.

"Like did you give me more than twenty five percent? Did you really make four grand over the past three days? Or you're just giving me more because you feel bad for me?"

"Okay," Trent said, holding up his hands, "I fudged the numbers a little. I'd like to emphasize that: a little. All right? Yes, for God's sake, I'm guilty of giving my...of giving you an extra fifty bucks. Is that really so bad?"

She pursed her lips, crossing her arms, cocking her hips a little to one side.

"Oh don't even give him that look, Beatrice," Mae said.

Bea's serious expression broke and she laughed. "Oh my God...fine. Why though?"

"Well, it's a secret."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Secret?"

"Yeah, you gotta come a lot closer if you want to know the answer."

"You fucking weirdo. Okay, what's the secret?" she asked, stepping up to him.

Trent cupped one hand over her ear and leaned forward. "I have a huge crush on you," he whispered.

She giggled and shuddered at the same time. "Oh my God, Trent. So fucking lame," she said, blushing.

"I heard the secret," Mae said, beaming.

"I mean I wasn't exactly-"

They glanced over as the door opened up, banged open actually, and then Trent found himself staring at a large, decently built wolf with dark gray fur and an angry look on his face coming straight for him.

"Get the fuck out from back there!" he snarled, grabbing Trent by the shirt and literally dragging him bodily over the counter. "What the fuck-"

"Chris!" Bea screamed in a voice he had never heard from her. The closest he'd ever heard her sounding like that was when she was losing her shit in the forest over…

An employee named Chris.

"Bea, what-" Chris began, then let out a shout, releasing Trent and ducking instinctively as a wrench flew directly at his head.

"LET. HIM. GO."

Trent was still having trouble keeping up with everything that was happening, and suddenly Mae was over the counter with a long, shiny screwdriver in her hand. She had it raised over her head like a kitchen knife in a psycho horror movie and was coming directly for Chris, who had begun to back up in actual fear.

"Mae!" Trent snapped, leaping forward and grasping her wrist. She struggled briefly against him, and he saw a worrying, vacant fury in her eyes, like she wasn't fully there. "Mae!"

She stopped struggling and let Trent take the screwdriver from her. When he let go, she took a step closer to Chris and raised her fist. "You ever lay a hand on my boyfriend again and you won't get that fucking hand back, do you fucking understand me motherfucker?" she growled. "And you know I'll do it, too. You know who I am. You know what I did."

Chris was staring at her with wide, frightened eyes and it was one of the strangest things Trent had ever seen. The guy had over a foot and a hundred pounds on Mae, he had to. He could tower over her with ease, but in that instant, she somehow seemed to be towering over him.

"Chris, what the hell are you doing back here?" Bea said, clearly trying to bring some semblance of control to the situation. "I sent you out on a job."

"I...forgot something," he managed, looking at her. "I thought you were robbing the store," he said, his voice firming up a bit as he looked at Trent.

"He's my friend, Chris. Christ. Were you actually paying attention-what the fuck has gotten up your ass recently? Quit fucking arguing with me and do your goddamned job or I'm going to talk to my father about this and then you'll have a real problem to deal with. Get your fucking head out of your ass," she said, getting angrier.

"Whatever," Chris replied finally, turning and stomping out of the building.

For a long moment, none of them said anything, watching him disappear from sight. A few seconds later, they heard an engine start, a car back up, and then he peeled out and took off.

"Jesus," Trent muttered finally.

"Are you okay?" Bea asked, coming out from behind the counter.

"I'm fine," he replied, getting hold of himself and turning to Mae. "Mae...Mae," he said, more firmly, putting his hands on her shoulders. She was staring at the door, but now she looked up at him. "You can't do that, Mae."

"He was trying to hurt you, and I won't let that happen," Mae replied flatly.

"Mae, I understand, and I appreciate that. Honestly, I do. But you can't do stuff like that. God, if he hadn't ducked that wrench, you could've given him a concussion or cracked his skull. Shit, that might've killed him. And you can't come after people with screwdrivers, threatening them like that. He could go to the police."

"You two will cover for me...right? And there's no cameras in here…" she murmured, less certain now, looking around.

"There's no cameras in here and we'd cover for you," Bea confirmed, "but I wouldn't want to, to be honest. That was-he's right, Mae. You can't do stuff like that." Trent handed her the screwdriver and she took it and then went and retrieved the wrench Mae had thrown, then went back behind the counter again.

"I'm sorry," Mae murmured, running a hand slowly up and down one arm, not looking at either of them. "I just...saw red. He grabbed you."

"I know, he was an asshole. And I mean honestly, if someone was actually trying to kill me...well, you certainly are badass, I'll say that," Trent replied. He hugged her suddenly. "I'm not mad at you, more just worried about you. I don't want you hurting people and I don't want you getting in trouble. Kicking some stupid jerk's ass isn't worth you going to prison or getting sued," Trent said.

"Yeah, you're right," she murmured. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. This shirt might be messed, but whatever," he replied, looking down at his shirt as he and Mae let go of each other.

"What the hell was that even about? It's not like he's a saint normally, but he's turned into a real asshole lately," Bea said.

"He seemed to really not like me," Trent murmured, "that whole thing about him thinking I was robbing the store, it felt like bullshit. Like an excuse he just threw together."

"Yeah...it kinda did. So what then?"

Trent considered it. "What were you guys talking about that morning he started giving you shit?"

Bea thought back for a long moment. "You," she said finally.

"Me?"

"Yeah. He was asking about you...in a weird way. Sort of like, trying to frame it obliquely? Like, he didn't want to outright ask, just about the 'weird-looking cat guy hanging around lately'...sorry, his words, not mine," Bea said.

"Oh," Trent replied as the pieces fell into place. He actually laughed.

"Oh what?" Mae asked. "I'm missing something here."

"Same," Bea replied.

"He's jealous," Trent said. They both stared at him. "I normally wouldn't go to the 'you're just jealous' argument because it sounds so lame, but that has to be what's going on here. The only time I really see dudes get nuts like that is over women. He likes you. And he sees me as a threat. He must have saw me whispering in your ear, and you giggling and blushing."

"Ugh, God," Bea groaned. "Why?"

"You're super hot and badass, that's why," Trent replied.

"It's true," Mae agreed.

"But why now? I mean, I guess why at all, but why is this suddenly a problem now? We've worked together for like a year now-"

"He's probably been trying to fuck you for at least that long, it's just that he never felt like he had competition before," Trent replied.

"You're into this, huh?" Bea asked.

He shrugged uneasily. "I mean...you know what? Yeah. It's nice to fucking finally be on the other side of this shit for once. I'm finally the dude with the girl and not the guy trying to get with the girl, or shit, even the guy who can tell he doesn't even exist to the girl."

"Okay, fair," Bea replied. "I can respect that." She shifted uncomfortably suddenly. "Shit...now I'm, like, horny," she muttered.

"Which part got you horny?" Mae asked.

"I think you did...combined with missing you both, and Trent giving me a fucking grand," Bea admitted awkwardly.

"Well…" Mae murmured, looking around with a broad grin.

"No. Absolutely not. No way," Bea replied immediately.

"Come on. No cameras. No one's here. We can lock the doors, put the CLOSED sign up for just like ten minutes…"

"No way, Mae. It's way too risky," Bea said.

"If you're not comfortable with it then we shouldn't do it," Trent said.

"Wait, so you are?" she asked, then glanced down at his crotch. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fucking hell, of course you are, you get hard over everything."

"I'm dating three incredible women," he replied, "can you seriously blame me? But seriously, don't feel pressured."

"Shit…" she groaned, glancing back into the room behind her. "I actually super want to, just...it's a super stupid idea...agh, fuck it," she snapped, marching out from behind the counter while jerking a thumb over her shoulder. "Get back there."

"Yes!" Mae cried, taking Trent's hand and leading him back.

"Mae, you gotta keep watch. Like seriously," Bea said as she locked the door, looked around, then flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED and started coming back, following them into the back room.

"I will," she replied.

"I'm serious. If my dad walked in, Christ he might actually have a heart attack. Why am I doing this, it's so stupid?" she groaned.

"We seriously don't have to," Trent said.

"No, I'm doing it. I've denied myself too much and I really miss you and I really miss sex. And I can afford a quickie. I fucking deserve one," she said. Bea took his hand from Mae and pointed with her other hand. "Stand guard at the door there. I'm dead serious."

"On it, go get that dick, Bea," Mae replied merrily.

"This is so weird," she whispered, then dragged Trent into the back room. Its contents were mostly lost to him as they got to a table off in one corner that seemed the perfect height for this. Bea hopped up onto it and pulled him into a tight hug, pressing her lips to his.

"Are you sure?" he asked between kisses.

"I'm sure. Now pull my fucking panties aside and fuck my pussy," she replied, her voice heavy and husky. He responded immediately to that, his hands wandering over her body. He found that she wasn't wearing a dress today but a tight black t-shirt and a skirt. He pulled her t-shirt up until the black sports bra she was wearing was exposed, and then he pulled that up too.

"Trent," she whispered, blushing worse than ever.

"What?" he replied, briefly grasping her bare breasts.

"Nothing," she murmured, smiling awkwardly and glancing over his shoulder. "Mae, keep watch!" she hissed.

"I'm trying!" Mae replied. "This is really hot."

"Just hurry," Bea said.

Trent responded by grasping her hips and pulling her forward, closer to him, so that she was right at the edge of the table. She let out a small gasp as he reached up into her skirt with one hand while unzipping himself with the other.

She looked down, watching him. "You get real ambidextrous when you're fucking," she murmured. "I couldn't do that."

"I'm motivated," Trent replied as he pulled his erection out and got Bea's panties pulled aside in the same moment. Stepping up to her, he entered her.

She gasped loudly and wrapped her arms around him. Trent began rapidly pumping into her and the pleasure hit immediately.

"Oh fuck...oh fuck," Bea moaned quietly, trembling as he grasped her hips again and held her in place. "Holy-oh!"

"This might be the best sex I've ever seen," Mae murmured.

"Keep, OH YES, watch!" Bea snapped.

Mae let out a huff of irritation but otherwise remained silent.

Trent felt consumed by her as he looked down between them. He'd gotten her dress up, exposing their sex, and he was watching himself disappear into her again and again.

"Don't...mmm, don't cum in me," she whispered.

"You gonna swallow? It's in you or on you or no orgasm from me," he replied.

"I'll take it in the mouth," she replied. "But you two have to go get me a drink."

"Deal."

"Just keep going...until I orgasm...I'm almost there," she whispered.

"That was fast," Mae murmured.

"This feels so good...and it's so fucking stupid," Bea moaned.

Trent smiled and suddenly reached back and laid a hand on her tail. She let out a yelp, then moaned louder as he ran his hand along it.

That got her. She started to orgasm, wrapping her legs around him and making a valiant attempt at being quiet. Trent couldn't stop screwing her. The feeling of fucking a woman while she was orgasming was its own intense reward.

When she was finished, she released him. "Lemme finish you off," she whispered, panting a little.

"All right," he replied. He was close to finishing anyway.

Trent pulled out and stepped back, and Bea got off the table and dropped to her knees. Once she got it in her mouth, she didn't have to do much work. He simply stared down at her, watching her start bobbing her head, and pretty fast he was letting off.

"Oh, Bea…" he groaned loudly as she kept sucking, staring up at him, her eyes aflame with lust.

He finished cumming in her mouth and then she released him. Both of them started fixing their clothing.

"Wow that was stupid," Bea muttered as she hastily got her bra and shirt back into place, then reached up under her skirt and readjusted her panties. "I mean, it was fucking hot and good but that was the stupidest, riskiest thing I've ever done."

"Come on, Bea. You stole from the mall," Mae replied.

"Not the same!" Bea snapped.

"You stole?" Trent asked, surprised.

Bea sighed heavily. "I gave it back! And Mae made me do it. But I made her give hers back, too."

"Mae you stole from the mall?" Trent asked, glancing back at her. She shrugged. "I wish I could hold up that Futurama meme of 'I'm shocked, shocked! Well not that shocked'."

Mae giggled. "Yeah. But don't worry, I'm not dumb anymore, I know not to do it now."

"Good," he replied.

"Okay, okay, I've left the store closed for long enough and another employee might be back from a call soon," Bea said as she finished adjusting her skirt. "Go get me my drink." She began shooing them out from the back room.

Trent laughed. "Normally I feel like it's the guy who's all 'okay we fucked get out of here'," he said.

"I'm just-I have work to do and we shouldn't have done that anyway!" Bea replied.

"But you just couldn't resist my dick?" he asked.

She began a sigh that turned into a growl as she stared at him. "Don't get cute," she muttered finally.

"Yeah, cute boys are lame," Mae said.

Trent laughed. "All right. I'm just teasing."

"I know." Bea walked over, flipped the sign, and unlocked the front door. "God that was stupid," she whispered softly.

"But it felt really good, right?" Mae asked.

"Obviously. Now get," Bea said, opening the door. "I can still taste it."

"Sympathy," Mae said, "we'll get your drink."

"Thank you. Oh, wait. Trent. Before you go: I might have a lead on a car you can buy. I'll know for sure by tomorrow."

"Awesome! Thanks."

"Yep. See you."

She closed the door behind them.