Freddie needed time to cope with his parents after his father responded to his knock at the backdoor and found his son wrapped in a blanket covered with shed dog hairs. They made such an embarrassing fuss over him. Well, his mother made most of the fuss while his taciturn father peppered him with short bursts of questions such as "Is it over now?" and "Will it happen again?"
Unhappily, Freddie admitted he didn't have the slightest idea. "I should call Michael," he said. "He may have some answers for us."
"Let me make you some breakfast first," his mother insisted. "What would you like?"
"Anything would be better than last night's dinner," Freddie answered, thinking about the bowl of dry dog chow.
"We're all going to have to make adjustments unless your friend can offer a solution," Dad said.
"I don't think some Chinese food would kill me!" Freddie retorted.
"No," his mom cautioned. "No way, young man. Onions."
"Onions?" Freddie felt staggered and even his dad gave mom a quizzical look.
"The dishes from the Golden Temple have onions as some of the main ingredients," she said. "Onions are very bad for dogs."
"You're kidding me?" Freddie slumped into a chair at the table, causing the blanket to shed more fur onto the floor and even the tabletop.
His mother frowned. "Dear, perhaps you should go upstairs and put on some clothes," she suggested. "Would you mind tossing that old blanket into the laundry basket in the utility room?"
Freddie made sure to secure the blanket as he rose from the table. "Do hurry," his mother continued. "I will have breakfast ready in 15 minutes."
Fortunately, that gave Freddie time to pull on some clothes and retrieve his phone to call Michael. He winced as he noticed the phone felt slimy in his hands and remembered that he had slobbered on it while making his futile effort to call Michael after his first transformation into dog form. After only two rings, Michael answered. "Freddie! Is that you?"
"In the flesh," Freddie answered. "Human flesh, to be clear."
"So, you changed back? That's fantastic." Freddie heard the relief in his boyfriend's voice.
"My parents are being insane about it," Freddie said. "By the way, did you know onions are bad for dogs?"
"Yeah. Everyone knows that. And don't ever eat chocolate if you're a dog."
"Chocolate! Chocolate cannot be bad for anyone!"
He laughed. "Super bad," he felt compelled to note. "So, how'd it happen?"
"How did what happen?"
"Well, I've been researching the rings," Michael jumped ahead, one of his habits that Freddie found hard to manage.
Freddie stopped him. "Rings?"
"Oh, that's right. Yes. Five of the rings were made by a wizard named Cosimo Ruggeri. He was a favorite of Queen Catherine de Medici. He even made her a magic mirror..."
"Michael! Focus on the rings, please."
"Well, like I said, five rings were made. Three of them have been lost." He paused for a moment, and Freddie swore he did it solely for dramatic effect. "The other two are in museums."
"So, we have one of the lost Medici rings?"
"It appears so," he answered. "This is so intense!"
"D'uh!" Freddie remarked. "You're telling me? I've turned into a dog twice! How do we keep it from happening a third time?"
"I'm still working on that," he admitted, which provoked a groan from Freddie.
"What were you doing the first time you changed?"
Freddie thought for a second. What had he been doing? He remembered getting home, going upstairs to his room and... "Oh shit."
"What happened?"
"Sorry, I nearly dropped my phone," Freddie lied.
Actually, he remembered the prelude to the change quite clearly. He had been stretched out on his bed, horny and ready to jerk off.
"Well? What were you doing?" Michael asked again.
"Nothing," he answered defensively. "Just messing around in my room." Freddie's mind leaped forward to the second time he changed, which had taken place as he and Michael fooled around on the sofa at Michael's home.
"Well, there must be triggers," Michael said, interrupting Freddie's thoughts. "And not just the triggers to change you into a dog. There are probably triggers to change you human again, too."
Freddie leaped ahead of him again. He had changed back on Michael's front porch when Michael had scratched him behind his dog ears until he had cum right there in front of his boyfriend.
Afterwards, they had talked, he had gotten excited again, and he had changed back into a dog. Michael had taken him home, told his parents, who kept him outdoors for the night, and Ellie had managed to get her way into his family's yard, and he had pounded her until...
"Oh fuck!" He managed to think instead of blurting out. Regardless, he left Michael waiting impatiently through the long pause.
"Freddie, are you there?"
"Yes, I'm still here," he said. "I'm just thinking."
"Do you remember any details?"
Freddie felt his face blush hotly. "No."
In fact, he realized the embarrassing truth. Getting horny and excited seemed to precede a trip to his canine state. He had only two examples to compare, but each time he had only changed back to his human form after cumming in his dog body. He knew the information was likely crucial, but he couldn't admit it to Michael.
He felt so confused. Freddie had known he was gay since kindergarten, if not earlier. He loved Michael. He liked guys. Why was he getting horny and fucking the neighbor's dog like there was no tomorrow?
Freddie almost jumped out of his skin when his father knocked on his door. "Freddie, mom has breakfast waiting."
"I've got to go," Freddie said. "Breakfast's ready."
"Maybe we can meet this afternoon?"
"I'll call you," Freddie promised even as he debated whether he would. He couldn't help himself when he was with Michael. He always got turned on by everything about him. He shouldn't risk it.
For now, his parents were waiting. With a sigh, he said, "Love you. Bye!"