Liaws-DatewithThom

Lia had agreed to sign up for a dating site. Of course, she did it under friendly duress from Nicole, a lovely belly dancing snow leopardess she had met during her “female 101” classes. Nicole was actually one of the teachers. Too late to back out now though. She had had already agreed to a date after meeting a man. His name was Tom and was a professor at the local university. Lia had not fallen in love, but she was definitely grateful for intelligent company and wanted to see where it went. The vixen had been open and honest about her history with Tom, even her gender change. Lia felt it was important to do so. The man was gracious enough not to care. Not that he wasn’t interested but her former gender meant nothing to him,


She agreed to meet him at a decent restaurant for some good food, a nice in-house band and company. Lia let both Nicole and her back up emergency contact, Sandra Felis, know what was going as she learned in her class. Not because she didn’t trust Tom but because she didn’t trust who was out there on her way home. Even in 2516, a woman couldn’t be too careful. Now the vixen was struggling just to find something to wear.


“Damn it, Lia. You can make clothes, you own a store! How do you not have anything nice enough to wear?”


Finally, she settled on something a little formal but cute. It was a pale blue crop top, and showed just a slice of her well toned belly. It was met by a bright yellow pencil skirt that stopped just at the top of her knee and had a slit that showed one leg perfectly. The vixen didn’t bother with she's as Lia preferred to feel the ground beneath her feetpaws.


She looked around and tried to think of what she was missing. She bit her thumb claw, and then it dawned her. The vixen was missing something every woman ought to have--a purse! She sighed. Her shoulders slumped a little bit. It was so stupid of her to forget one piece of equipment.


“It’s only been four months. Cut me some slack.”


The vixen grabbed her rolled up smartphone after having set it down and then her wallet. The cab was waiting her outside, a big burly wolf driving. She locked the door quickly then sprinted down her little walk away and got into the backseat.

“Where to miss?”

“Genolis! And fast. I’ll give you $50 to take the fast route.”


“Right.”


The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice. Authentic Italian music played from a live band. The lights were dim but not enough that you couldn’t see. And the owners were there making your food themselves as they were taught. Their kids, one old enough to run the place himself was making sure the patrons had enough to drink or needed more bread.


She walked in, nervous at being seen in public. Lia knew that the Canemphian treats were good, and her classes had taught her how to dress in a skirt and walk in one, but the vixen was still nervous that someone would see her for what she still knew herself to be. Instead, whistles and whispers were heard. Lia forgot that even nearly a century later, anthros were still a subject of slight taboo and exoticism. All that did was cause her to blush.


Gino, the owner’s son, showed her to a table. Gino himself was well known throughout the community as a good man who helped where he could. He and Lia were friends. At the table sat a man. He was dark skinned, wore glasses and while not physically fit he was handsome in his own right. He quickly stood up and shook her hand, pulling the chair closest to him out and urged her to sit. Lia didn’t know what to make of him being a gentleman at first, arms flying and giggles had.


“So, Tom. It’s good to meet you!”


“It’s nice to meet you too, Miss Williams. I hope you don’t mind but I ordered a salad for both of us to start. I wasn’t sure the dressing a woman with your figure would use, so I asked them to bring little cups of ranch and Italian.”


She bit her lower muzzle lip. He was considerate enough, but the fox hadn’t eaten a salad in such a long time.  Lia was also wasn’t sure what he meant by her figure, but then she remembered that she did advertise herself as a fitness model. Should she start eating that way? Lia decided to ask Sandra and Nicole later. Or ask to see Dr. Markov one of these days. The older Dryger was well renowned and would know what to say.


“I..thank you. I haven’t had a salad in a long time. Italian is just fine but I prefer French dressing usually. Something about the tangy zip to it.”


She winked just as Gino brought their salads and the dressing. The young man leaves a bottle of French dressing on the table and gives her a knowing smile. The vixen poured a healthy but not excessive amount of dressing on her salad and then mixed it in to ensure that it was all over the place.


“So...any rules I should know about…?”


The vixen almost choked on a piece of lettuce. That wasn’t something she was expecting right off the bat. Lia wasn’t good at this at all, she wasn’t used to being on dates and hadn’t expected that question. The vixen also didn’t want to appear rude. Still, it was important to lay down a foundation. She took another bite out of her salad to think.


“No politics on the first date. Don’t want any fights. Same with religion. Asking about me or my career is fine. If you want to me that’s fine. Just give me fair warning. Okay? I think that’s fair.”

She watched Tom nod and e. There was a reason for the last one. Though things seem peachy now, Lia’s mom abused her as a child. Now, Lia was bothered and scared of unannounced physical touch. It was unfair to Tom, but it was who she was and he’d have to accept that.


“That’s fair. I won’t ask the whys on that last one.”


The waiter came over and they both ordered. Tom ordered linguini with an alfredo sauce and Lia got spaghetti with a homemade meat sauce. She took a sip of her iced tea, not really sure what to say. The vixen had been emotionally stunted as a child, so was never sure what small talk actually was.


“So..the store will open next month. I’m going to take a vacation first, get my bearings straight.”


“That’s great! Will you be personally modeling any of the pieces?” He scooted forward, genuinely curious. While Lia could tell he was a good man, she also noticed that he took the occasional look at her chest. She squirmed a little bit in her seat but didn’t really mind at the same time.


“Yes, I will. The TV commercials will start sometime next week. I’m in a bikini, and a sports bra with yoga pants and shorts. Oh man, did they cling to my butt. It’s a little big,” She blushed, “but I like it.”


“I see. Interesting. Would you say that that’s your best feature?”


The vixen blushed again. She couldn’t help it. No one had asked her these types of questions before, so it was all knew. Lia kept eating her salad until Gino brought their respective meals and an extra tea for Lia. She finally stopped eating, put down her fork and let him clear the table. She looked at Tom, trying to keep an even face.


“I will say that yes, I think it is. Yes, it is big. Yes, it is round. But really I look at it as perky and just right. It sits atop two muscular legs and it definitely gets me looks. Am I happy about that? Not yet. But I’m learning to appreciate it.”


“Why aren’t you happy?”


“W...well, because I’m not used to it. I’m used to being the fat little geek that sat in the corner and got bullied. So it’s a bit of an adjustment.”


They both sat in silence eating. The rest of the evening was spent talking and finishing first the meal then eating dessert. Talk of sports and favorite movies commenced. At last things were wrapping up when Tom moved in a little closer and smiled.


“I know this is a little forward of me, and I do apologize.” He said with a blush covering his cheeks. “I’ve never felt an anthro before and I’ve never felt anyone who has gone through this procedure before. I was wondering if I may give your breasts a gentle caress?”


The vixen froze, tail rigid and ears high on alert. She hadn’t had anyone ask her this yet. Lia wasn’t sure what to do or what to say. Part of her wanted to punch him, get up and leave. Another part wanted to feel it for herself. That side won as her ears lowered sideways and her flattened.


“G...Go ahead.”


Tom got up, feeling a bit embarrassed himself. He walked over and behind her, his hands going up. Lia could feel his hands gently caress her sides through the shirt and lead up to the chest not just a mere grope. He trailed along the edges of her full breast, teasing and lightly touching. A murr escaped her mouth as her tail wagged. He didn’t go so far as to be x-rated but it was a nice touch that gave him the full weight of her breasts and was still nothing more than something akin to a medical exam.


He leaned in, kissed her cheek and whispered, “thank you.” and it was as though nothing else mattered in the world at that moment. Even if the two never saw each other past that night, she would be happy to know that she made someone’s evening. And they made hers.