Part 1
Nick sat at the counter of a local sushi bar, not too far from his suburban home. The border collie wasn't really fan of sushi, but couldn't say no to his high school best friend who requested the venue to reconnect. They hadn't seen each other since the summer before college, when their group of friends spent their last time together at the beach. At the time, he held a huge crush on the white wolf, but kept his feelings at bay, lest he disrupted the relationship he was in and therefor, their friendship.
As he looked around the restaurant, situated in a plaza near the transit center, the border collie wondered what was taking so long. He looked at his phone and noticed she was fifteen minutes late. He wanted to text her, but didn't want to risk looking pushy. He got the waitress, a very attractive, busty shiba inu and ordered a second iced green tea. She smiled and brought the drink in short order.
"Are you sure I can't get you anything to start with, yet," she asked in a sweet, sympathetic tone.
Nick just smiled back, "No, thank you. I want to wait for my friend first. She should be here soon."
"Well, she sounds very special if you're willing to wait for her this long," she winked at him, before turning away to help her other guests.
In his excitement, Nick wound up showing up half an hour early, being the first customer to arrive; the shiba inu letting him in as she unlocked the door to open for business. The place was only a ten minute walk from his parents' house and he really didn't have anything to do before then.
The border collie saw a light rail train enter the station across the street and when it stopped, the wolf of his dreams step out into the autumn air. She looked almost exactly the same, except four years older and her blonde hair partially dyed pink. She wore a pink hoodie and blue jeans, which accentuated her hourglass figure and ample breasts. As she walked, her hips swiveled and the motion made Nick's heart race.
Nick recalled the time they went to the beach right before they left for college, and he saw her in a two- piece bathing suit for the first time. He wound up spending a lot of time in the water, trying to hide the obvious excitement. His convenient excuse was that he didn't like sitting around in the sun all day.
Michelle entered the restaurant and she made a beeline to the border collie who was waiting, tail whipping about in excitement.
"Oh, my gods! Nick, it's so good to see you, I missed you so much!" she exclaimed.
"I missed you too Michelle!" Nick said as they embraced. He felt her warm breasts push into his chest. A warm feeling of familiarity and nostalgia came over him as he held her close. Still holding each other by the waist, they kissed each other on the cheeks, a sign of greeting reserve for her closest friends, Nick being the only male she reserved it for.
"It's really been too long, how have you been? You look great!" she asked, looking into his green eyes.
"I've been ok. I came back home after school, because I can't afford a place to live. I work my ass off, but my credit's shit and I can't afford a place to rent with student loans," he said, ruefully.
"Tell me about it, I have to work two jobs to afford my own place," she lamented in kind as they took a seat in a booth.
"Two jobs? And I didn't know you live on your own. Most of my college friends wound up coming right back home after school, even though they make decent money."
"Yeah... I wasn't given a choice..." she said in a sad tone.
"Oh... I'm sorry..." he said, not pursuing the conversation any further. He knew her parents were pretty conservative, and even though she was a good person, she did things that would earn their ire had they learned about them. Nick had a feeling that they kicked her out after finding something out.
"It's fine. It's hard, but I have my freedom!" she said with a smile.
The two ate their lunch and caught up, reminiscing about old times and telling stories from their respective colleges. Even though it had been over four years since they last met, it seemed like time never passed.
Soon, the meal was finished and Nick didn't want to just leave. However, he wasn't sure if she had plans afterwards. She did say that she had two jobs, afterall.
The two stood outside of the restaurant, getting ready to leave, when the wolf spoke up, "Hey, do you have any plans today?"
"N-no, not really, why?" he asked.
Michelle blushed as she worked up the courage to ask him a question.
"Well... do you want to see my second job?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, tail wagging expectantly.
The collie's heart leapt at the offer to spend more time with his best friend and former crush. His tail wagged as he answered, "Sure! I'd love to! But won't you get in trouble?"
"No, not with this job. I work from home," she answered.
The two walked down the street, the wolf cozying up to the collie in the chilly autumn air. He was glad for the close contact, seeing that he underestimated the weather and chose to wear a thin blue hoodie and black cargo pants. The only remotely warm thing he had on was the pair of boots on his feet.
"My place isn't too far. It's on the next block," she pointed out.
"It's fine, I'm good!" he responded with false bravado.
Michelle responded by pressing herself closer, her warm breasts pushing into his arm as she looked up at him with a knowing smile, "Better?"
Nick laughed, "Yeah!"
As they walked the last block, Nick brokered a question, "I've been meaning to ask, your eyes?"
Michelle chuckled, "No, they're contacts. I had to get glasses last year, so I opted for contacts, instead. I asked the optometrist if they could do something about the coloring."
Michelle had heterochromia, so one eye was blue and the other hazel. The meaner girls in class gave her the nickname "Traffic Light." If Michelle knew about it, she never let on.
"Well, I'm not gonna lie, I love your natural eyes," he admitted, somewhat bashfully.
Michelle smiled, looking down, "You're the first person that's told me that."
"I'm sorry if I..." Nick started before she put her hand on his cheek to draw him closer and kissed him on the other one.
"It's fine! You didn't do anything wrong. I'm grateful for the compliment," she said looking into his eyes.
The two came up to a row of four- story modern buildings with an industrial, but natural feel, common to new builds in the Pacific Northwest. The first story spaces had stores built in and the rest were filled with apartments.
Entering a doorway next to a chain coffee shop, Nick and Michelle walked up the stairs to the second floor corridor. The border collie followed the other dog to a door at the end of the hallway, next to a window and followed her inside.
The apartment was a studio apartment that was designed to be a loft- style domicile. Immediately to the right was the bathroom. The next space down was the sleeping area with a queen sized bed on the floor. Past the kitchen was the living room where a laptop and sound equipment was set up on the coffee table. On the walls were string lights and a wood and metal sign with the word "love" with light bulbs in the letters.
"Nice place!" Nick said as he looked around.
"Thanks! It's the best place I could afford," she said as she tossed her bag on the couch.
"I like it. What's with all the equipment, do you do podcasts?" he asked.
