Dogs Chase Squirrels 3 - You First

Camelia took a small sip of her too-hot coffee, taking glee in the crunch of leaves underneath her step.  Her companion, however, seemed more than eager to enjoy her beverage, tilting her head back as she drained the cup’s contents down her throat.

Normally, the leaves wouldn’t have turned in colors so suddenly, but the weather had been getting much colder, much sooner than usual -- not that Irene minded.  She found the colors of autumn to be rather soothing, and the sooner those colors arrived, the better.  It didn’t hurt that the weather wasn’t actually all that cold, either, remaining a touch above seventy degrees; the perfect weather for a stroll.

“So, where exactly are we going?” Irene had already nearly finished her coffee, swirling the cup’s remains with a flick of her wrist.  “Not that I’m dying of suspense or anything.”

“Like I said, you’ll see,” Camelia replied with a smile.  “It’s not too far.”

“Heh.  Fair enough.”  

Irene took the time to glance around at her surroundings.  Outside of a few novelty stores (most of them catering to the needs of an average university student), there wasn’t much to the small business district.  The area became more residential before long, as numerous single and double-story houses lined either side of the street, complete with slowly-browning lawns and even more fallen, crunchy leaves.  It was surprisingly quaint, and a far cry from the otherwise-busy streets she was more familiar with near home.  

“So, have you lived here long?”

“Somewhat.”  Camelia took another sip of her coffee, finally cool enough for her to take a larger swallow.  “I was a student at Pinewood University, so it made sense to live on campus.  I ended up finding a job right out of college, so I never left.”

“At that library of yours, right?”

“Yes.  I spent a lot of time there when I wasn’t in class, more than I’d care to admit.  I got to know the staff personally, down to their birthdays and their favorite foods.  But when my senior year approached, the senior librarian asked if I had any long-term plans.  At the time, I didn’t, so he offered me a job as a shelver until I figured things out.  One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was a full-time employee.”  She smiled, reminiscing.  “It helped me to break out of my shell, in a way.”

“Is that so?  I wouldn’t have guessed you for the shy type, not at first glance,” the squirrel remarked.  “Hell, you’ve held up the conversation better than I did -- and this is coming from a born extrovert.”

Camelia chuckled.  “Looks can be deceiving.”

“You’re telling me.”  Irene tossed her head back, emptying the last of the coffee down her throat, licking her lips once she righted herself.  “Sounds like you didn’t plan on becoming a librarian.”

“Not right away.  I mean, I’ve always loved books, but I never saw myself as a librarian, not when I first started college.”  A soft blush spread over Camelia’s face as she stared at her feet.  “You’re going to laugh if I told you what my major was.”

“BA in Music.  Trust me, there’s no worse hell than being a music major.”  Irene grinned down at the canine.

“Fair point.  Well, if you can believe it...I was a performing arts major.”

Irene blinked, then broke out into a sharp laugh.  “Seriously?  No way!”

Camelia’s blush brightened, her ears wagging a bit.  “It’s true, I promise!  I tried getting into drama club back in high school.  I thought it would be a good way to express myself in front of others.  Never did get over my stage fright, though.”

“I remember the troupe at my high school back home was pretty hardcore.  Guessing that didn’t pan out for you, huh?”

“No, it didn’t.  By the time I realized I had applied for the wrong major, I was nearing the end of my sophomore year.  I tried to pivot over to script work and screenplay writing, but it just didn’t feel right to me.  That’s when I discovered Forrester, and the rest just fell into place.”

“I see.  Well, glad you figured that out sooner than later.  Being a fifth-year is torture.  I know from experience.”  Irene glanced across her shoulder at her companion, her tail flexing once, making her soft fur poof out slightly.  “So, don’t take this the wrong way, but your voice sounds weird.”

The Labrador blinked behind her glasses, letting out a chuckle.  “I’ve been told that, yes.  I guess I never paid much attention to the way I speak.  But I know what you’re about to ask, so -- no, I wasn’t born in Colorado.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured you weren’t a native.  Neither am I, to be honest.”  Irene shrugged her shoulders slightly, as if to dismiss her point.  “I don’t think about home very much.  But I’m curious about yours.”

Camelia shrugged as well.  “It’s nothing special.  I grew up in North Dakota, near Bismarck.  My father was born in Minnesota, and my mother emigrated from London.  My father’s job relocated him to Bismarck, so we went with him.  Outside of summer vacations, I’ve never lived anywhere else -- until I came here for school, anyway.”

“North Dakota, huh?  What can you even do there?”

“Well, if you love french fries, you can’t go wrong.”  The Labrador’s tail wagged as Irene chuckled in response.

The pair continued to walk as the street eventually dead-ended into a rather sprawling park that extended in all directions.  A large field of grass surrounded by trees interspersed around the vicinity and extended to the south.  A few people had taken advantage of the warmer weather to wander through the trails that extended through the entire length of the field and further north, where a small brook bubbled in the distance.

“We’re here,” Camelia replied, approaching the field.  Irene looked around, somewhat confused.

“Wait.  This is just a park,” Irene commented, folding her arms over her chest, taking the opportunity to discard her cup in the nearest trash can.  “I mean, it’s a nice park, but I don’t see what’s so special about it.”

“I told you that looks can be deceiving, yes?”  The Labrador grinned mirthfully as she walked into the center of the field, where a small, raised hill stood.  Camelia took a few steps up the hill on her bare feet, gingerly avoiding a few rocks that rose up through the grass.  Despite her disappointment, Irene walked up the hill as well, looking around perplexed.

Once at the top of the hill, Camelia took the time to finish her own coffee, letting the soft breeze whip her short hair about.  “Mmm, it’s a nice day for this.”  She slowly began to remove her cardigan, and much to the squirrel’s surprise, started to unbutton her blouse.

“Whoa, w-what are you doing?”  Irene sputtered those words out; she was far from a prude, but even she found it unusual to disrobe in public, especially without a warning before hand.  “Pretty sure this isn’t a nude park.  Also pretty sure that’s not actually a thing.”

“No, but I don’t want to tear my clothing, do I?  I rather like this blouse,” Camelia commented, her eyes half-lidded as she undid her final button, sliding the garment off her shoulders and arms.  Irene was surprised to see the Labrador wearing what looked like a black Lycra top that hugged her curved form rather tightly.  The subtle presence of muscle tone wasn’t lost on her, either -- nor was the fact that Camelia had started to remove her skirt, revealing a matching set of Lycra pants underneath, ones that went just below her knees. Said pants highlighted those curves even better than her top did.

Okay, she just skipped past pretty and dove right to drop-dead gorgeous, Irene mused.

Once Camelia disrobed, she approached the awe-stricken squirrel, offering her garments.  “Could you put these on the bottom of the hill, please?  Oh, and these too.”  She removed her glasses and hoop earrings as well, placing them on top of the garments in Irene’s waiting arms.  Doing as instructed, the squirrel made her way to the bottom of the hill, placing Camelia’s clothing down someplace where they wouldn’t find themselves trampled by an errant jogger.  

“You may want to stay down there, actually,” Camelia called out.  “I’m going to need a bit of room.”

Mentally, Irene knew what all of these actions meant, given what she knew of the Labrador during their brief time together.  Yet, there was still that small voice of doubt, one that wasn’t sure if what she was seeing was quite real -- that this petite canine was capable of making herself much, much less petite.

Camelia quickly put Irene’s doubts to rest as her height shot up in a matter of moments.  A woosh of air followed her expansion as her height climbed up to nearly ten times her original height almost instantly, her large toes scrunching over the side of the hill as she righted herself with a small giggle.  Irene had to crane her neck past all those curves to get a better look at the canine’s smiling face as her eyes fluttered open.  

“Mmm, that never gets old,” she said in a booming (yet not unpleasant) voice.  The lycra she was wearing stretched to match her new size, making for a snug fit.

Irene’s eyes darted around the park as Camelia began to stretch her limbs, her body easily taller than the trees that dotted the grounds.  Surely, someone would have seen her shift; they were probably fleeing in terror, or trying to call the cops or --

-- nothing was happening.  Everyone seemed to go about their business.  Hell, one of the joggers on the running path looked up at Camelia and gave her a wave -- one she eagerly returned.  Now Irene had seen everything.

“Holy shit.  No one’s freaking out,” Irene replied, still in shock.  “How...what...what kind of black sorcery did you perform to keep everyone from losing their absolute shit?”

“Nothing at all, Irene,” Camelia remarked.  “They’re just used to seeing me big, that’s all.  Speaking of which --”  The Labrador shifted her weight, slowly lowering herself so she could sit down atop the hill, massive legs extended outward as she landed on the ground with a noticeable thump.  Her hazel eyes gazed down at the squirrel as she placed her hand, palm up, next to her.  “Climb on up.  The view is wonderful up here.”

Irene approached Camelia’s hand with a bit of trepidation.  She wasn’t used to being the smaller one in these situations.  If anything, she was more than eager to join the Labrador in height, but a lack of proper attire made that a risky proposition.  Again, not an issue she normally would fret over -- but not for what might have been a first date.  Maybe.  She still wasn’t sure what this was yet, but she did know those butterflies of hers were getting worse.

With one last second of hesitation, Irene climbed up on the canine’s palm, sitting down in the middle with her legs tucked underneath her.  Camelia took her time raising the squirrel up, keeping her hand steady as she guided Irene to her opposite shoulder.  Once Camelia’s hand steadied, Irene made her way off the dog’s palm and onto that shoulder, grasping at large tufts of golden fur to keep herself balanced.  Her eyes fell on Camelia’s ample bosom, her ears turning red.

“Whew.  Not quite used to this...not when I’m the small one, anyway.”

“Neither am I, but I felt it was appropriate,” Camelia whispered quietly, staring straight ahead.  She was right -- this was a great view.  Irene could see where the brook led, twisting off into the distance, and even splitting off into two directions leading east and west where the trails also split off; the western trail led back into the college town proper, while the path that went east continued past the trees and out of Irene’s line of sight.

“Okay, you were right.  This was worth the wait,” Irene admitted.  “You floored me when you just shifted out of nowhere like that.  Are you normally this tall all the time?”

“Not always.  But I’m big enough, and often enough.”  Camelia couldn’t help but widen that smile of hers, flashing the squirrel a set of shiny white teeth.  The squirrel couldn’t help but feel a little on edge as she looked at that smile.  “I didn’t want to alarm you by starting off gigantic.  That would make for an awkward second impression.”

“Well, you already won me over with your first.  You’d have to do something pretty crazy to change my mind about you.”  After a bit of hesitation, Irene scooted a little closer to Camelia’s cheek.  “Also, you are just begging for me to smooch you right now.”

“A kiss?  Are you sure you don’t want to admit this is a first date yet?”

“Only if you admit it first.”  Irene beamed happily.  Camelia’s hand returned to her shoulder, allowing Irene to climb back on top of her palm, this time standing (and thanks to her large tail as a balancing point, not struggling) as the Labrador brought her closer to her muzzle, her lips slightly pursed.  Despite the difference in size between the two, Irene slowly leaned forward, placing a small kiss on Camelia’s lower lip.  She could feel the butterflies in her stomach rising as her mind started to wander the moment her lips made contact.  Camelia let out a small, satisfied hum, enough to nearly bowl Irene back over, taking her out of her dream-like state.

“Oh, sorry!”  Camelia said, repressing the urge to giggle.  Having landed flat on the canine’s palm and not on the ground below, Irene couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Maybe we should do that again when you’re a little smaller,” she commented.  Or I’m bigger.

“Perhaps.  Although I’m finding what we’re doing right now to be rather pleasant.”

“Heh.  So am I.”  Wanting to minimize any potential accidents, Camelia helped guide Irene back to her shoulder so they could watch the day go back, the canine gently tapping her foot against the bottom of the hill with soft thumps that made the ground shake slightly each time.

-----------------------------

The sun was beginning to set as Camelia and Irene returned to the parking lot, where her Vespa awaited.  Despite being nervous about leaving her helmet behind at Camelia’s insistence, she did so, and much to her relief, it was still there, resting against one of the handlebars.  Camelia had returned to her normal height, having put on her original outfit again, to Irene’s slight disappointment.  She rather enjoyed seeing Camelia wearing less.

“Thank you again for coming all the way to see me,” Camelia replied.  “This was a wonderful afternoon.”

“Agreed.  I wasn’t expecting today to be so mellow, but I couldn’t have asked for a better first date.”

“Ah.  So this was a date.”  Camelia giggled into her hand.

Irene giggled as well, rubbing the back of her head.  “Alright, maybe it was.  Let’s just call this a probationary period in case the next one goes better.”  She looked into the smaller canine’s eyes expectantly.  “There...will be a next time though.  Right?”

The Labrador took Irene’s hands into her own, nodding once.  “I’d certainly like to think so.”

“Well, then, let’s make it official.  Our first real date.  Maybe sometime next week?”

Camelia closed her eyes, tilting her head down as if she were in thought.  “I think that should work.  I’ll give you a call once I know how my schedule looks.”

“Alright, that works for me.”  Irene gave the canine a big grin.  “So, do I get a do-over on that kiss now?”

“I suppose you deserve that, considering you nearly died because of me.”

“You know what they say.  No reward comes without a little risk.”  

Gently embracing Camelia in her arms, with the canine leaning up on her toes to better reach, Irene’s lips once more met Camelia’s, her eyes closed.  Her entire body felt warm, as if the sensation emanated from her lips and down through every part of her, from head to toe.  If she had to put that sensation into a single word, it would be electric.

It felt as if time had stood still for both of them, only picking back up once they finally separated.

“Wow,” Irene whispered, stunned.

“Yeah.  Wow.”  Camelia said in reply, unable to keep herself from smiling.

Irene didn’t want to let go of the Labrador, but knew that this wouldn’t be the last time they’d be together.  Placing her helmet on her head and slipping her ears through the holes carved out on top, she started up her moped, blowing a kiss to Camelia, whose cheeks flushed red.

“I’ll be in touch!”  Irene shouted over the noise of the aging engine.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Camelia replied back.

With a turn of the handle, Irene’s scooter kicked to life as she pulled out of the parking lot, looking at the canine getting smaller in her side mirror until she was unrecognizable among the afternoon crowd.  The squirrel woman could still feel that tingling sensation on her lips as if they were still pressed to Camelia’s, making her incredibly giddy.  She revved up her moped to full speed, savoring the sensation of wind on her face, which only added to her glee.

Her day didn’t end exactly as she expected, but that was okay.  What she was feeling now was far more euphoric.  She couldn’t wait for round two.