I wrote Fox’s Holiday in record time—for me, anyway. Alessia Brio put out a call for holiday shorts for a Coming Together anthology, and I had wanted to write a shifter story outside of my Love is Bliss series. I had fun writing this quick, sexy tale of Ant and Neil. I had hoped to use this as an introduction to a series of MM shifter stories set in Florida. It may still happen.
~
Antonio Vulpe loved two things about his residential community: the no-pet policy (none whatsoever, not a feather or scale or tuft of fur, under condition of immediate eviction as seen fit by Mrs. Kolpacki) and the collective desire of privacy among all tenants. The Mai-Kai Condominium Resort housed twelve units along 68th and 70th Streets, just outside the touristy area of Rudee Beach, and Ant regarded all of his neighbors as nodding acquaintances.
He knew only their last names—everybody was Mr. This and Mrs. That according to what he saw on the mailboxes—and maybe exchanged a few words about the weather when he passed somebody on the way to his car or his front door. In the five years he lived there, nobody came forward with an invitation to dinner or a backyard barbecue, leaving him to assume his complex mates viewed him similarly.
That suited him fine. He intended to keep his life, and his shifting abilities, a secret. It helped that in the last five years Mrs. Kolpacki had neglected to replace several bulbs in the lampposts lining the long courtyard that separated the two rows of detached condos. Ant could shift in his brick-walled patio, slither through a hole in the lattice design, and enjoy a midnight run on the beach in fox form. Livin’ large.
Today, as a cool Christmas Eve breeze caressed his face, all anticipation for a holiday marathon faded.
He came outside to check his mail at the cluster box units on the curb and found the community’s superintendent sifting through a thick stack of letters. Mrs. Kolpacki wore one of her trademark flower-patterned housedresses, which did little to flatter her stooped frame and saddlebag tan skin. She tilted her head back and that’s when Ant noticed the Bluetooth device in her ear. A passerby offering a casual glance might dismiss her as another crazy old beach lady yammering to herself.
“No, we need six bulbs. One burned out last night,” she was saying. She ignored Ant as he retrieved his mail, apparently unconcerned that he lingered to listen. “I wanna get them fixed before the holiday...yeah, it’s short notice, but you’re getting paid. I’m dealing with tenants who don’t want it so dark ‘cause they think somebody’s gonna break in and snatch their Christmas presents.”
Ant shook his head. Surely his neighbors kept valuables in their homes year round. Only now they showed concern for safety?
He stepped off the curb as Mrs. Kolpacki let out a phlegm-rattling cough. “And listen,” she shouted into the air, “while you’re here I need you to check the entry lamps on Unit Six. New guy’s moving in today. Huh? The fuck do I care why somebody’s moving on Christmas? Maybe he’s Jewish and it’s another day to him.”
Ant returned to his home, his stomach roiling. Mai Kai enjoyed a low turnover among residents—the last person left for good years ago on a stretcher. People called Florida “God’s Waiting Room” for a reason, and though Mai Kai could count Ant as the youngest condo owner—twenty-nine compared to the several septuagenarians and older surrounding him—everybody seemed robust enough to last a good decade or more. How had a vacancy occurred without his knowing, especially in the unit across from his?
It bothered him for a minute, then his attentions shifted to lunch. With the school closed for the week and no papers to grade, Ant spent much of the day cleaning house with endless Simpsons reruns blaring from the living room. He fixed a sandwich and microwaved some soup, and contemplated how he could leave his home in fox form without being seen under newly illuminated lampposts. A person might spot a wild animal on occasion in Rudee Beach—the alligator or giant turtle crawling across A1A—but gray foxes proved rare in this part of the state.
Fox shifters even more. Ant had no family left in the area, and if any colleagues or neighbors carried shifter blood he certainly didn’t know about it. He could, however, count on anybody calling animal control or worse, grabbing a shotgun to eliminate a perceived threat to the environment. Heaven forbid a fox gambol into the parking lot of a Starbucks and lift its leg over a hubcap.
Ant knew better to linger in public, anyway. He shifted at night, got his exercise, and slipped home. At best, in the cloak of darkness, he hoped an insomniac out to cut his grass might mistake him for a dog and merely shoo him away. He’d have to wait to see how the lighted courtyard would affect his nocturnal activities.
From the living room came a high-pitched “okeley dokely” and Ant chuckled. What if his new “neighborino” thumped a Bible harder than Ned Flanders, and liked to chat? Now, don’t you worry there, we’ll pray away that Say-tan-diddley-anic shifting power. Maybe later we’ll tackle your homosexual tendencies.
“Shut up, Flanders,” Ant mumbled and settled in to watch the rest of the episode.
The rumble of a truck, however, distracted him.
***
The driver of the U-Haul clutched the wheel and squinted forward, his head sinking into his shoulders. Ant couldn’t see him well for the glare of the closed passenger window, but figured this had to be the new resident. Remembering Mrs. Kolpacki’s earlier rant, he studied the profile as best he could. Funny, he doesn’t look Jewish, his mind said in some comedian’s voice.
When the window slid down, Ant discovered immediately the guy was gorgeous regardless of creed. A mop of dark curls shook as the driver tilted his face down to peer over his sunglasses. “Hey, is this not a proper block? Doesn’t look like I can turn up there.”
Ant shook his head. “Sorry these are both dead end streets. We had signs, but some kids in the other neighborhoods keep pulling them down to prank us.”
“Shit.” The man glanced over his shoulder, presumably on instinct and cursed again when saw the back of the truck blocking the road. He checked both mirrors, no doubt spotting all the cars parked along the curb. One wide turn in any direction would send a corner of the truck into a door or bumper.
“Are you able to back out in a straight line?” Ant asked. “You don’t have too far to go, and if you like I can walk to the main road and check for traffic.”
“Oh, that would help immensely, thanks. I don’t why I rented this damn thing. Should have left it to the professionals.”
Ant figured the driver hadn’t ranted for his benefit and so he walked backward a few steps before turning to face Pacific Ave. Late December meant few vehicles, if any, and a clear view of the blue horizon. His fox sensibilities tended to pull him toward woodsy marsh areas, but he also loved the ocean. Though he could go outside in his pajamas pants and t-shirt, he knew the water would be too damn cold for a dip. Even in his fur, he wouldn’t chance it.
He spent the next few minutes playing traffic controller, waving the U-Haul to the point where the driver could reverse safely onto the main road and drive to his side of the complex. The curly-haired man waved with a smile and yanked the stick to drive.
“Some Christmas, huh?” he called out as he rolled away.
Ant stood in place, unfazed by sharp exhaust fumes, and keeping an eye on the beautiful face reflected in the huge driver’s side mirror.
Some Christmas. Ho ho ho.
***
He should have offered to help the guy unload his shit. More than once he curled his fingers into the handle of his sliding glass patio door, then changed his mind and returned his attention to the yellow denizens of Springfield. Ant rationalized his reluctance—the guy didn’t ask for assistance, and maybe he didn’t want a stranger touching his belongings. He noticed the New York plates on the U-Haul, and knew half the Mai Kai folks had retired from there. They all kept to themselves, and he had no reason to believe his new neighbor wasn’t as private. Besides, it was a small truck by moving standards, and maybe he didn’t have much with him.
Right. You’re too damn chicken to go up and talk to a good-looking man.
Ant shook off his conscience and muted the commercial. Chicken, hell. He was a fox, and foxes stole chickens from their pens. Well, he didn’t, but still...
He couldn’t argue with himself. His fondness for privacy cost him the ability to socialize. He replayed what little dialogue he shared with the man, realizing it may be their only conversation for months. Damn.
Close to midnight, he scanned the courtyard from the lip of his concrete porch. Twelve lampposts burned bright yellow, which meant Mrs. Kolpacki’s lackey had done his job. However, no windows glowed and no shadows slithered along the brick lattice walls hiding back entrances. A small animal could trot on the grass in peace, and as a fox Ant could move pretty fast. Confident he wouldn’t need to change his routine, he undressed and folded the pajamas he’d worn all day on a folding chair and focused on shifting.
After a deep breath and a perfunctory stretch, his skin prickled with the rapid onset of fur and his bones ached and shrank to a more canine shape. The process took seconds, but in Ant’s mind it seemed longer if he didn’t fully concentrate. The excitement of a new, hot-looking neighbor threw him off his game. He needed this run.
He sniffed for signs of activity in the courtyard and detected the pungent, unmistakable aroma of an illegal substance. Whoever toked did so at great risk. If Mrs. Kolpacki caught a whiff the residents would soon find the streets aglow with blue strobes.
It also annoyed Ant that nobody bothered to pass after puffing, but what should he expect since he didn’t know the first names of anybody living here?
His run forgotten, Ant trotted across the lawn, following the strength of the smoke until he came to the lighted spots filtering through the lattice wall. He spotted a flash of bare knee bouncing in time to a stereo playing softly inside the unit. He realized he’d walked a straight line and stood in the back of the newly occupied condo.
Hello, neighborino.
He crept away a few steps, worried by a rough cough, but when the U-Haul’s driver emerged into view, wearing nothing but a watch and a smile, it gave Ant pause. He settled on his hindquarters and looked up at the man with the impressive cock and washboard abs. Dark curly locks shook with his laughter and a deep voice boomed into the silence.
“Hey, pup. Merry Christmas. Did Santa leave you here for me?”
Ant wanted to groan. Mai Kai had its resident stoner. Well, if you discounted all the seniors doped up on painkillers. At least he enjoyed looking at this one.
“I’m Neil Roller, nice to meet you.” The man waved and rocked on his heels. “I don’t know who you belong to, but you’re welcome to hang out here any time you want. I got transferred here by my work, so I don’t know anybody.”
He leaned against the wall. Ant didn’t move. “Between you and me,” Neil continued, “I wouldn’t mind getting better acquainted with that guy across the way. Wouldn’t that be a nice Christmas present, his cock in my ass? I hope that stocking’s hung.” He snorted and almost slipped to the ground, dizzy in his personal haze. Ant would have laughed in human form.
So the guy was a bottom, lonely and willing. Good to know. Ant couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed a nice, hard fuck. Surely the fates owed him one for avoiding the naughty list this year.
He felt a tingling in his groin, and knew if he stayed put he’d sport an animal erection that might freak out his new friend. He had to run off his sexual frustration, and crawled into shadows dividing Neil’s condo from the next one. His keen hearing picked up on Neil’s voice as he broke into a full run.
“What? Where you going, pup? I got hot dogs.”
I don’t doubt that. He kept running, across the deserted road and along the Atlantic shoreline, the image of Neil’s nude body burning in his mind. His neighbor probably hadn’t taken the time to properly grocery shop, and with stores closed on Christmas Day he’d want for a decent meal.
Maybe it was time he acted like a good neighbor.
***
Sixty-eight degrees and sunny on this fine December twenty-fifth. Gotta love South Florida.
Ant showered away the grit of his midnight run and chose festive red and green plaid flannel PJ pants to match his Disney World t-shirt. A quick check of e-mail yielded no school-related emergencies, just a few holiday wishes from various online retailers. Aside from TV and a microwave turkey dinner, he hadn’t planned anything special for the day, so he had breakfast and thought of what to say if he mustered the nerve to visit Neil Roller.
Halfway through his granola, a knock on his patio door startled him to think harder. Neil stood on the other side of the glass holding up a six-pack.
“I didn’t properly thank you for helping me out yesterday,” he said when Ant invited him into the kitchen after introductions. “Vulpe...nice to meet you. Latin American?”
Ant shrugged. “On Mom’s side. Dad’s family was Italian. Genoa.” The man didn’t need to know he’d also inherited his shifting abilities from his father.
“Definitely more interesting than Roller.” Neil set the beer on the breakfast table and accepted an offer for coffee. “I’m not disturbing your plans, am I? It being Christmas and all.”
“This is my Christmas, no worries. The beer is a big improvement.” The company, too, he thought to add. He had the advantage over Neil, knowing the other’s sexual preferences. As he offered the man the five-cent tour he sensed Neil reading him, trying to gauge interest and possibilities. What the hell, it’s Christmas.
“If you want to hang a bit, I was just watching some old school holiday cartoons.” He guided Neil to the end of the sofa by the table where he kept his magazines. Recent issues of The Advocate fanned out over unopened mail. Neil glanced over and smiled.
They sipped their coffee and engaged in small talk throughout the Grinch’s escapades. How do you like Florida? Where are you from originally? Yeah, I’m not native either. I like my job. God no, I know better than to assign homework over Christmas vacation. I’m supposed to be the cool teacher!
“What is it you do?” Ant then asked him. Neil drank deeply from his mug, a faraway expression glazing his eyes for a moment before he spoke.
“I really can’t divulge, because I work for the federal government. I moved from the New York bureau and will report to the Miami offices after New Year’s.”
Ant whistled. Maybe that explained the weed. A stressful job would have him seeking a comfortably numb state, too. “That’s a hell of a commute.”
“Well, it’s field work, and the Miami bureau covers most of the state. At best I’ll report for meetings once a quarter, which gives me more time to check out the theme parks.” Neil settled back in his corner seat, legs spread and one arm draped over the back of the sofa. His tight jeans left little to the imagination and Ant itched to feel those large hands groping his ass and balls.
“I assume you’re single,” Neil said with an uptick in his voice.
“Yeah, you?”
“I ended a relationship several months ago. Not looking for long-term, but I don’t mind some fun.”
“I heard that.”
From coffee they graduated to beer and microwaved chicken wings. Cartoons gave way to a sci-fi movie marathon, and by the third hour or so Ant nursed such a buzz that he couldn’t tell when the attack of the slime creatures ended and the invasion of the Martians began.
Neil tried to stand but wobbled back against the couch. Ant took the paper plate of bones from him and set it with his. He usually kept a neat home, but it wasn’t that large a mess that it couldn’t wait a while. “Anything else you want to watch?” he asked. “Or maybe you want to walk off the beer? We’re not far from the boardwalk—lots to see even though most of the shops aren’t open.”
“I’m good, thanks.” Neil slapped his gut. “I stayed in town for about a week while I closed on the condo. Though, I wouldn’t mind going out another time to find where the locals go. I don’t do the touristy bars.”
Ant lifted his beer to his lips. The lukewarm liquid fizzed on his tongue and he winced at the increased bitterness. Best to stop now before he lost control of his senses. In the course of their lazy day Neil’s shoes and socks disappeared, and he appeared mussed and sexy as all hell.
He offered Neil the remote. “I don’t care what we watch. Merry Christmas, the gift of choice is yours.”
Neil lowered the volume on the Martians and set down his empty bottle. They watched to the bitter end when the manly man hero swept his girl on top of the burnt shell of a spaceship and kissed.
“Poor Martians,” Neil muttered. “No wonder we haven’t had a ‘first contact,’ if we keep making movies like this.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You think there’s something out there?” Neil turned to him. His eyes seemed clear again, and Ant felt more in control himself. “Aliens, or otherworldly beings living on Earth?”
“Umm...” Only most of his family on his father’s side, but why discuss them now? “Well, there’s a marathon of Cosmos coming up that could influence me,” he said.
“I don’t care to watch anything else.” Neil shut off the TV. “It’s Christmas. Wanna fuck instead?”
“Wow.” He chuckled, far from offended. “You government officials are pretty direct, huh?”
“When it comes to sex...and collecting your taxes, I guess.” Neil leered at him, panning his gaze down to Ant’s crotch. “I know you’re supposed to sit on Santa’s lap and say what you want for Christmas, but I think it’d make more sense to bury my face in yours and give you what you want, eh?”
Ant smiled. He liked that gift idea.
***
They had the rest of the week off, and Ant saw no reason to rush with his new friend. He lay along the couch with Neil on top of him. Pungent scents of beer and Buffalo wing sauce assailed his senses but hardly deterred his arousal. He stroked the hard planes of Neil’s chest over his shirt, up to his shoulders and down to trace roped arm veins and soft skin. His lips brushed a patch of chin stubble and he enjoyed the prickling that preceded meeting Neil’s parted mouth.
He moaned into the kiss, opening wider to accept Neil exploring his mouth. Hands grasped his ass and tugged his pajama waistband. He wriggled for comfort as his cock hardened and Neil’s erection bore into his thigh. Eyes closed and reliant on touch to gauge Neil’s desire, Ant fell easily into a slow buildup of passion.
He lost track of time and couldn’t say when exactly Neil broke off their kiss. “You really are cute.” His voice turned husky, and Ant chuckled. Neil arched back to push up the hem of Ant’s t-shirt, then fanned his fingers over the expanse of tanned skin before creeping up to pinch a nipple. Ant hissed at the brief jolt, and he ground his crotch into Neil’s leg. He wanted their coupling to last, but the more Neil teased his flesh those thoughts gave way to his body’s urgency. He wanted inside of Neil, constricted in his warmth and shooting his load until his orgasm blinded him.
Neil picked up on his desires, and off went his shirt. Like him, he flashed a light dusting of chest hair and good definition in his upper body, and flawless skin Ant longed to lick down to the sweet spot. He’d looked good last night, and more so now. He braced against the couch to rise but Neil slipped away and tugged at the pajamas.
“Mmm, nice,” he murmured, and lifted his ass to accommodate Neil. Off came his pants, then Neil’s jeans and underwear. He helped kick away the coffee table to give the other man room to kneel.
“Very,” Neil added in his assessment of Ant’s cock. He curled his hand around the base, sliding down for a moment to cradle his balls. They tightened with want and Ant hissed in a breath, longing to come.
Not yet, though. He had to feel Neil’s lips pursed over the tip, his mouth widening to take in every inch.
Neil began with a long upward lick that left a trail of heat in its wake. Up one side and around the tip his tongue swirled, teasing him. Seeing the other man’s hollowed cheeks and dewy eyes meeting his gaze, though, proved the most arousing in this moment. Ant breathed in slowly and focused on the pleasure given him and how his skin tingled.
He raked his fingers through that mess of curls bobbing over his cock, and gauged Neil’s approval by how his lips tightened. “You’re good at this,” Ant said, and chuckled at the upturn of Neil’s filled mouth. “I can’t decide if I want you to finish me off or not. I bet your ass feels even better.”
Neil released him and straightened, still on his knees. After a beat he rose to straddle one of Ant’s thighs and his prick came to rest against Ant’s. Grasping both together, Neil stroked and writhed in place. The friction of velvet skin on skin could have shot Ant through the roof.
“Do you mind if I wrap my ‘gift’?” he asked. “I have a ribbed condom in my wallet. It’s gonna feel good with your thick cock inside me.”
Ant didn’t hear himself give permission. He heard a grunting plea slip from his mouth and Neil leaned forward to kiss him before unfolding away from the couch. The man had a nice bubble butt—round and smooth and enough to feed a horny man for days. Ant could lose all track of time with Neil bent over in his face, letting him lick and finger his hole until they both came.
He shifted to a sitting position on the couch, his ass teetering on the edge, while Neil turned back with the opened foil packet. His neighbor took one last lick, lapping up the precum and squeezing his balls before rolling on the lubricated rubber. “I took a chance that we might have some fun today,” he said with a wink. Ant thought he meant the condom, but Neil angled toward the TV and bent forward with his hands parting his ass cheeks.
Ant saw the small purple hoop attached to a string. Damn. The guy had come to visit wearing a set of anal beads. One appeared ready to spurt from Neil’s perfect pink hole, but Ant knew to play with care. He never fooled around much with toys—one bout of sex in animal form with another fox shifter satisfied his curiosity of non-vanilla couplings—but he enjoyed watching the marble-sized beads easing past that puckered point.
Midway through, he gave the string a sharp tug. “That too rough for you?”
“Fuck, no. It’s great.”
Maybe later he’d replace them. For now, a slap on that fine ass while he pulled out the last bead sufficed as far as kink. The sight had left Ant too horny to wait. He leaned in for a quick rim job, then grasped Neil’s hips and guided him to sit on his erection.
They groaned their mutual satisfaction. Neil’s warmth overtook Ant and he wriggled with each twitch that tightened that perfect ass around his cock. He leaned to one side and caught their darkened reflection on the flatscreen. He saw enough of Neil’s heavy-lidded expression and bobbing prick as they fucked to increase his arousal. However, he loved the view of his cock disappearing between Neil’s cheeks more.
He spread his knees to allow his partner to shift his stance. Save for their grunting and the occasional “Fuck yeah” no words passed between them, which suited him fine. Ant never cared to converse during sex—he’d get to know Neil better in the future, hopefully after many post-holiday house calls.
Without warning Neil changed the rhythm. Rather than bounce directly up and down on his Ant’s cock, he pushed his thick ass back into Ant’s crotch for a moment, then began a slow, rocking motion that arched his back and emphasized the curve of his bottom. Ant couldn’t describe the sensation, but found the move sexy as all hell. His balls tingled and tightened, indicating he’d soon come.
He pulled Neil by the waist to lean him against his chest. Using the reflection as a guide, he reached around and grabbed at that wobbling cock to stroke him to orgasm. “Let’s do this together,” he murmured, and Neil needed little convincing. Ant’s climax hit at the same time a gush of hot cum dribbled over his knuckles and lubricated his caress.
Neil stilled on his cock, milking Ant until he cried out, then collapsed against him. Slick with perspiration and passion, they gasped for breath and Ant mulled over staying put or moving the party to his bedroom.
Glancing at Neil’s discarded jeans, he spotted a green sprig of something poking from a pocket. Mistletoe.
He chuckled. They seemed to do fine without it.
***
In his short life, Ant had few lovers worth remembering. He enjoyed sex when he could get it, and afterward he usually got in a long run in shifted form. In this case, with a non-fox partner, he stayed indoors and invited Neil to share his bed where they whiled away the afternoon sucking and stroking.
After a torturously incredible blow job, Neil smiled up from Ant’s softening prick. “How you holding up?”
“Good. Great. I’ll be lucky to walk a straight line by New Year’s.” Ant chuckled. “How about another beer? I could use some hydration.”
“Sure.”
Ant rolled out of bed and Neil tangled in the sheets, hugging a pillow with a come hither smile. He could get used to socializing more with Neil, and exploring every inch of his body. For now, though, sustenance called.
He grabbed two beers from the refrigerator and a bag of chips off the counter. In the living room his foot hit something solid yet soft and he looked down to see that he kicked over Neil’s billfold. It must have slipped from his jeans. He didn’t wish to invade his lover’s privacy, but the leather wallet had opened to expose the man’s government credentials.
He squatted down to inspect the embossed photo ID and his heart thudded. Neil Roller not only worked for the FBI, but held a position in an office unknown to the general public. Ant, however, was well familiar with the Shifter Investigations Division.
Neil had been sent to Florida to keep tabs on weres and shifters in the South—all the alligators and Florida panthers and sea creature cousins of the “selkies” popularized in Celtic lore. Oh, how it would surprise people to discover that some of the dolphins frolicking in the Atlantic came ashore and lived as humans. Shamu? We call him Bob. He shoots a mean game of eight-ball.
Neil was aware of all of this, apparently. Ant knew they didn’t arrest shifters for simply existing, but the idea of surveillance bothered him. Neil had just fucked a fox, too...was he aware of that?
Speak of the devil calling from his bedroom. “Hey, you got anything to eat, too?”
“Yeah, coming.”
“You just might.” Deep laughter surged and excited him.
Ant kicked over the billfold and nudged the jeans over it before returning to bed. He and Neil had shared one hell of a Christmas Day, but it wasn’t enough for shocking confessions. If things got serious, he’d break the news.
Maybe save it for the Fourth of July if they were still fucking then. News like that seemed to pair well with fireworks.
THE END