A Fox's Tail (American Kitsune Book 2)

by Brandon Varnell

  “Thanks.” Kevin took a long swig of water, before pulling it back in surprise. “It's still cold.”

  “Of course,” Lilian said in a tone that suggested the reason should be obvious. “All items that go into the Extra Dimensional Storage Space are placed in a form of stasis, meaning that when you take them out, they are in the same state as when you first put them in.”

  “Huh.” Kevin took another swig of the chilled, refreshing water. “That's pretty interesting. Makes me almost wish I had my own storage space.”

  “But then you'd be a girl,” Lilian told him, as if that was enough explanation as to why he shouldn't want his own storage space. “Only women have storage spaces and, well, I wouldn't be able to fall in love with a female.”

  Kevin gave her an odd look.

  “Weren't you the one who told me that your first kiss was with a girl?”

  Lilian's cheeks took on the barest hint of pink. “I had hoped you'd forgotten about that,” she mumbled lowly.

  “Right…”

  Kevin and Lilian began walking back towards the locker rooms. Alex, Andrew, Justin and Kasey followed them. Only after they’d gone several feet did Kevin realize their little group was missing someone.

  Turning around to look at his best friend, Kevin wasn't really sure what to think when he saw Eric crouched down, rocking back and forth on his heels, one arm wrapped around his leg while he drew circles in the grass. The boy seemed awfully dejected, like he might break out in tears any second.

  If that wasn't enough, there was also what Kevin had dubbed Eric's Personal Raincloud hovering over the lecherous boy’s head. The tumultuous, stormy looking cumulonimbus was unleashing a downpour upon the sophomore, soaking his hair and clothes. Several of their peers did their best to avoid the boy, lest they also become sopping wet.

  “Are you coming, Eric?” Kevin called back to his friend. The tall teen lifted his head and looked up at him with haunted, bloodshot eyes that had bags under them. They were hollow eyes; the eyes of someone who had lost their will to live.

  Eric could be such a drama queen when the mood struck him.

  “Yeah,” Eric hiccupped and sniffled as he wiped away a few stray tears from his eyes. “You go on ahead.” Sniffle. “I'll be along in just a minute.” Sniffle. Hiccup. “I just need to cry about the unfairness of my life.” Sob. “Don't worry about me.”

  “We'll do that then. Have fun.” Kevin turned and began walking again, Lilian still attached to his arm.

  His words caused Eric's head to snap up so quickly it was a wonder he didn’t get whiplash. He stared at his departing friends in shock for several seconds before snapping out of his stupor.

  “H-hey! Dammit, Kevin! You're supposed to be a pal and stay with me until I'm feeling better!”

  “Yeah… not happening.” Kevin said, continuing to walk away.

  Lilian was much more mature about the whole thing. She stuck her tongue out at Eric, even going so far as to pull her eyelid down and blow him a raspberry. That just caused Eric to begin wailing.

  She then decided that this was another perfect opportunity to use her mate’s shoulder as a pillow.

  “Do you always have to do this?” Kevin asked the moment Lilian placed her head on his shoulder. They ignored Eric’s wail of anger and despair behind them. The group had grown pretty used to those by now. They happened fairly regularly these days.

  “Do what?” Lilian asked, not bothering to lift her head as she spoke. It wasn't as comfortable because they were walking, and her head kept getting jostled, but she had never been one to sweat the small stuff.

  “This,” Kevin sounded frustrated as he gestured at them to showcase how close together they were. “Do you always have to be so close all the time?”

  “You're my mate,” she answered in a tone that suggested her reason should be obvious. Which it was, to Lilian. “I always want to be close to you.”

  “But aren't you bothered by how sweaty I am?”

  Kevin really couldn't understand why this girl always wanted to be so close to him. The redhead was almost always stuck to him like glue. He would even go so far as to say they were attached at the hip, the number of times Lilian's hips had been pressed to Kevin's notwithstanding.

  Had Lilian been dealing with any other male, they would have undoubtedly lost all self-restraint by now, and taken advantage of the beautiful and seemingly naïve kitsune's devotion to them. Not Kevin, though. The thought didn't even cross his mind.

  It had nothing to do with girl-shyness anymore, but more that he just didn't love her. And Kevin Swift wasn't the kind of guy who played with a girl’s emotions. He would never take advantage of someone else’s feelings for his own gratification, especially when that someone seemed to truly love him.

  “Not really,” Lilian answered, “I mean, you are kind of smelly, but I figured this would be a good chance for me to get used to your masculine scent.” Her words were met with a blush and a groan from Kevin. “Does it bother you when I do this?”

  “It is kind of uncomfortable to walk like this,” Kevin informed her. “Awkward, too. I'm afraid I might trip over your feet or something.” It was only half-true, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her the real reason he didn’t want her clinging to him. Or rather, he already had told her, but Lilian seemed to get a major case of selective hearing whenever that happened.

  “Okay, then. How about this?” Lilian took her head off his shoulder, before lacing her fingers through his.

  In spite of his lack of romantic interest for the fox-girl, Kevin could not help but marvel at how soft her hands were. He'd never felt anything so smooth before. They were like velvet, especially against his calloused palm.

  Lilian looked at him with a bright smile as she squeezed his hand affectionately.

  “Better?”

  “Um, yes,” Kevin admitted. He dutifully ignored the way his heartbeat sped up, and also the way all of the blood began rushing to his face. “Thank you.” Lilian just smiled, swinging their conjoined hands between them.

  “Is it just me, or are you guys also having a hard time believing that this is real?” Alex asked his brother.

  “You mean do I think it's impossible for Kevin to have such a hot girlfriend when I'm still single? Of course. I'm way better than him. If any of us should have gotten a girlfriend by now, it's me.”

  “As if! I'm better than the both of you combined! I'm handsome and smart and―”

  “An asshole.”

  “An asshole.” Alex paused, his face scrunching when his mind registered his brother’s words, and then he realized that he had just agreed with them. His eyes narrowed into an angry glare. “Wait a damn minute! I am not an asshole! You take that back!”

  “No, I don't believe I will my dear, naive, stupid brother.”

  “That does it! You're going down!”

  The two began to slap each other silly. Several people stopped to watch the duo go at it. It was sort of like watching two clowns fighting, which would have actually been pretty awesome to see.

  Kevin and Lilian did their best to ignore them.

  “… Fight…” Justin did not.

  “Those two are complete idiots.” Neither did Kasey.

  “God damn you, Swift! How dare you steal my Tit Maiden!” Eric just ignored the whole “twin brothers fighting” thing in favor of glaring angrily at Kevin.

  Kevin and Lilian ignored them. This was pretty much how every track practice went.

  “Kevin! Lilian! Hey!” a female voice called out.

  Kevin’s body stiffened at the familiar voice. He turned with Lilian to face Lindsay. His not-so-secret crush looked like she had just come back from her own practice. Her skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat that gave her body a healthy glow.

  To Kevin, she looked perfect. Granted, his opinion was kind of biased… and he was ignoring all of the grass stains on her skin and clothing, not to mention the twigs and leaves in her hair, which appeared reminiscent of a bird�
�s nest. Those were small details that he didn't feel were worth mentioning.

  It had nothing to do with the fact that he'd had the biggest crush on her for several years. No sir. Nothing at all.

  “Lindsay!” Kevin felt a moment of panic. Not good. He hadn't expected to run into her after practice today! He hoped he didn't smell too rank. Had he put deodorant on before practice? Oh, dang it! He should have thought about wearing some cologne!

  “Hey, you two.” Lindsay grinned at them, her cheeks flushed from practice. Kevin thought the light dusting of pink made her look even cuter than usual. “Just got back from track practice, I see.”

  “I… yes.” All right, Kevin, just calm down. You can do this. Lindsay's been friends with you for years. Talking to her should be easy. “What about you? You just finished soccer practice, right? How'd it go?” Good job. Talk about something that she's interested in. Girls love talking about their interests, right?

  Lindsay played on the high school girls' soccer team in the center forward position. He had actually gone to a few of her games last year, and knew she was really good. Definitely the best on her team.

  His opinion was only slightly biased.

  “It went fine.” Lindsay tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. The action drew Kevin's attention to the soft curvature of her jaw, which invariably brought his attention to her lips. They were chapped, and slightly cracked from being outside and running around on the soccer field for so long, but Kevin still felt his mouth go dry at the sight of them. Or maybe his mouth was dry because of dehydration? All that running had made him rather parched. “We only had a bit of trouble with one of the newbies.”

  “O-oh?”

  “Yeah.” Lindsay huffed and crossed her arms. “This one girl, Cassidy Fergus, kept bragging about how she had been the center forward on her last team and would do a much better job than me.” A satisfied smile crossed her face as she thumped her chest with a fist. “Don't worry, though. I put her in her place.”

  “That's good to know… I think.” A highly uncomfortable silence grew between the pair. Come on, Kevin, think! Don't let the conversation end just like that! “So… when's your next game?”

  Lilian played competitively, so her soccer was year-round. Kevin had always admired her dedication toward her chosen sport.

  “Not for another week. Our next game is next Wednesday.” She leaned forward, hands clasped behind her back, grinning. “Are you going to come and cheer me on?”

  “Ah ha, w-well, I'll certainly try.”

  Straightening, Lindsay crossed her arms under her chest and pouted. “You haven't been coming to my games lately. I'm beginning to feel like you don't care anymore.”

  “I-I'm sorry about that.” Kevin scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I've been… busy.” Yeah, busy dealing with a certain crazy fox-girl.

  “Is that so? I guess it can't be helped, then.”

  While Kevin attempted to engage Lindsay in conversation, Lilian glared daggers at the soccer playing tomboy. If looks could kill, or, you know, produce heat seeking missiles or something, Lindsay would have been smote by now.

  Kevin didn't notice this, which also explained why he hadn't said anything about it. There was no way he would have let Lilian glare at his crush.

  But while Kevin did not see the look Lilian sent his crush, Lindsay sure did.

  “Is something wrong, Lilian?” she asked, wondering what she’d done this time. Had she said something offensive? She didn't think so, but then, it was hard to tell with that girl sometimes. Hadn't Lilian nearly bit her head off when they first met? And then there was that time at the mall…

  Lindsay still felt depressed just thinking about some of the things the other girl had said to her.

  “Nope! I was just thinking about something.”

  Lilian smiled brightly, showing off her sharper than average canines to the soccer player, who shifted uncomfortably, no doubt feeling wary in her presence. Good. Lilian couldn't just let this girl keep talking to her mate without suffering any consequences. It was important for her to let all the competition know that her beloved was hers and no one else's.

  “Ah… okay…” Lindsay looked a little unsure, not that anyone could blame her. “So…” She glanced between the two of them, her eyes flickering back and forth. “I guess I'll see you two later, okay?”

  “What? You're leaving so soon?” Kevin winced at how whiny he sounded, almost like he was desperate for her to stay—which he was, but he didn’t want to appear that way.

  “Time waits for no one.” Lindsay winked. “Or so they say. Besides, my parents are expecting me home soon. Not all of us have an apartment all to ourselves and no curfew.”

  “I guess,” Kevin sighed, “I'll see you later then.”

  “Bye!”

  The rest of the trip to the locker room was done in silence. During their time spent walking, Kevin couldn’t help but notice that Lilian looked a bit discouraged about something. He thought about making an inquiry, but decided against it. Whatever was bothering Lilian wasn't really any of his business, and he honestly wasn't sure he wanted to know.

  “We're here,” Kevin announced as they stopped in front of the men's locker room. He gave Lilian a look, which she managed to interpret correctly, for once.

  “I'll wait for you here.” Lilian smiled. Again, something seemed slightly off about it, but if she wasn't going to say anything, then he wouldn't address it either.

  “Alright. I should be out in a few minutes.”

  Kevin walked into the men's locker room to wash off the daily accumulation of grime and get changed.

  ***

  Lilian watched Kevin enter the men's locker room with a disheartened frown. While she had been doing everything possible to keep her spirits up, she was beginning to feel discouraged by her lack of progress in regards to her beloved.

  They had been living together for a while now, but so far nothing had happened. Lilian had tried every trick Kotohime taught her to make him lose all sense of self-restraint and mate with her. And yet, he still refused to take advantage of any of the opportunities she'd presented him with.

  Not even prancing around his apartment in skimpy lingerie worked. Not even posing in that lingerie worked! Posing! Sexy poses that should have had him eating out of the palm of her hands! Or between her legs. Whichever came first.

  For a while, she thought something was wrong with him. Maybe he was gay? Or perhaps he had performance issues? Insecurity maybe? She didn't know, though she had hoped it wasn't that first one. There were a lot of ways to help him with performance issues―she was a kitsune. Enough said. And if he was insecure, well, she knew the best way to deal with that as well. There wasn’t much she could do if he was gay, however. The Matriarch had lesbian twin daughters, and none of the men that old hag threw their way made either twin desire hotdogs over tacos.

  That's why she had decided to go to his school as a student—to observe Kevin and find out what made him tick. Perhaps then she could find the best way to make him respond to her affections. Because what she was currently doing obviously wasn't working.

  Some good had come of going to his school; she'd found out that he wasn't gay, for one. Nor did he seem to have any insecurity issues. He was definitely shy, but she’d discovered that fact when introducing herself to him in human form.

  It was all that passing out he did. It was such an obvious sign that even someone like Lilian, who knew almost nothing about humans as a whole, could recognize the signs of a boy suffering from a bad case of Cannot Talk to Women.

  Learning that her mate wasn’t gay or experiencing insecurity should have been cause for celebration, but it wasn't. She’d run into another problem in her quest to gain her mate’s love, and it was even worse than something simple like insecurity. Much worse.

  A breathy sigh escaped her lips. Thinking about her current love life, or lack thereof, was depressing. She had already chosen her mate―she even lived with him―but
he wasn't responding to her seduction attempts the way she had been told a normal man would.

  Lilian was sure that if he were anyone else, she would have already made him fall in love with her. “Men are easy,” Kotohime had told her. “They are creatures of lust and sex; just show them a little skin and they are yours for the taking.”

  She had shown Kevin a lot of skin, a lot, but he still wasn't hers. It appeared her beloved mate was different from other men in that simply showing off some skin (or appearing before him completely naked) didn't work the way it normally would. He wasn't like other members of his gender.

  It was frustrating. But it was also the reason she had chosen him—well, one of the reasons. If he were like any other man, Lilian wouldn’t have fallen in love with him in the first place. She loved him for who he was. His kindness and compassion and shyness were all endearing and cute in their own way. Yet even so, Lilian sometimes wished he would just respond like a regular guy, throw her on the bed, rip her clothes off and ravish her.

  It was a confusing conundrum, one that she did not know how to solve. And she'd been so excited when she found out it was him, too. Talk about depressing.

  “Such a heavy sigh,” a deep, articulate voice with a heavy faux-Spanish accent said from somewhere behind her. “La bella mujer, perhaps I could be of assistance and alleviate whatever ails you?”

  Lilian turned and promptly found herself wondering if the person standing before her had been transported from Spain―or if maybe she had just fallen asleep and was experiencing a really bad dream. Those were the only two reasons she could think of to explain what this person was doing at a high school in America.

  The boy in front of her was a very eccentric-looking young man, with bright blond hair and olive colored skin. That wasn't so odd. The odd part—emphasis on the odd—was his very large pompadour style haircut. It was quite possibly the largest head of hair she had ever seen. It had to be at least a foot tall! And it was all shiny! Shiny hair! Like he had dunked his head in a bucket of hair gel for several hours and then let it dry.

  And don't even get her started on his clothes; skin-tight red pants that stopped halfway down his calves to reveal ugly pink socks. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt with a high collar, ruffles at the end of the sleeves, along with four straps across his chest and shoulder pads. On his feet were a pair of brown boots and finally, white gloves covering his hands. He looked like a Spanish bullfighter gone wrong.