“So you’re going to try asking him out on a date?”
A blush was visible through the shorter fur on Wes’ muzzle as he nervously held his phone in his paws. He had typed a handful of messages to Tanner, but he never sent any of them. He just couldn’t think of what he wanted to say, and Lee’s sudden teasing definitely wasn’t helping.
“I’m not asking him on a date,” Wes countered. “I just…want to see if he’s able to hang out after he’s done working. Maybe we could go out to eat or go on a nice walk in the park?”
“So…a date,” Lee giggled as he reclined on the couch, making Wes groan in defeat.
“Okay fine, we’ll call it a date!” the red panda said. “I don’t see why you’re so pushy about this!”
“I’m not being pushy! I’m just happy to see my roommate going after a guy he’s totally got the hots for!” Lee let out another giggle as he got up from the couch and approached Wes. “And from what I could smell earlier, hoo boy were you turning each other on!”
“So we turned each other on, that’s good. But that doesn’t really help me here. I just don’t know what to say to ask him out.” Lee eyed Wes’ phone for a second before reaching over and playfully snatching it from the red panda’s paws.
“Hey! What the hell?!” Wes shouted, reaching for his phone. “Give it back Lee!” The squirrel laughed as he jumped back onto the couch and moved away from Wes, rapidly tapping the screen. Wes practically jumped on top of Lee, trying his best to grab his phone before the squirrel did anything potentially damaging.
“Aaaaaaaand sent~!” Lee said in a sing-songy voice. He handed the panda’s phone back to its owner, and Wes quickly snatched the phone to look at what was sent.
‘Hey sexy, was wondering if you wanted to do something when you finished up for the day? We could do dinner, a walk in the park, or maybe even something else back at my place ;)’
“What the fuck, Lee?!” Wes exclaimed, frantically typing out a new message to explain what had happened.
‘Sorry about that. Roommate stole my phone. Getting a bite to eat doesn’t sound bad though. Would you want to meet when you’re done?’
A few seconds passed before the three dots that indicated Tanner was typing appeared.
‘Just finished up for the night. There’s a diner not too far from your apartment that we could go to if you’d like.’
Wes’ heart practically skipped a beat as he read Tanner’s response. He quickly began typing his response.
‘Sure, sounds good to me. Meet you outside in a few?’
‘Sounds good. See you then.’
“Looks like you’ll be busy tonight, huh?” Lee said from behind Wes, making the red panda jump slightly. He must have moved while Wes was so preoccupied with texting Tanner. The red panda lightly punched the squirrel’s arm, which earned another giggle from Lee as he rubbed the spot he’d been hit. “That’s a weird way to say ‘thank you’ to the guy who helped you score a date.”
Wes rolled his eyes before making his way to the front door and opening it. “You going to order another pizza?”
“Oh you know I am. I’ll have to request that sexy stag as my delivery guy again. Enjoy your date, raccoon!”
“And you enjoy your pizza delivery guy, tree-rat!” Wes stepped outside into the hallway, closing the front door behind him.
-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-==-
Wes waited in the lobby for a minute or two before he heard the sound of the elevator opening behind him. Turning around, his heart began to flutter when he saw Tanner step out. Their eyes met, and Tanner made his way over to where the red panda was standing.
“Sorry if I kept you waiting,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Had to sort some things out last minute.”
Wes shook his head. “No no, I wasn’t waiting for very long,” he said, a slight smile on his face. “I want to apologize again for Lee sending you that message. I get that he was trying to help me out, but he didn’t have to be so forward.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tanner laughed. “All three of his suggestions were pretty good ideas for things to do.” Wes’ face turned beet red when he remembered the third suggestion Lee had made in his text.
“So, this diner you mentioned…” Wes started. “It’s not far from here?”
“It’s only a few blocks down from here,” Tanner explained. “One of the first businesses in the city that the company refitted to make it more anthro-friendly. They’re a full CVO establishment too, so you won’t have any trouble finding something you’ll enjoy.”
“Honestly, I’ve been craving some bamboo shoots recently,” the red panda admitted. “While they’re good on their own, there’s so much you can do with them to make them even more delicious.”
“Oh yeah, they should definitely have something like that there. Now enough talking about food! I’m starving!” The otter pat his stomach before offering a hand to Wes. The red panda blushed, sheepishly taking Tanner’s hand. The otter then proceeded to lead him towards the exit to the lobby, passing by Zeke on the way out. As Zeke looked up from what he was doing, he looked curiously at Wes before looking at Tanner. The otter met his boss’s gaze, and he mouthed the words “I’ll explain later” before leaving the building.
As soon as they left, Zeke pulled out his phone and looked at the capsule withdrawal records. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that a red panda capsule had been withdrawn, specifically by…
The boar let out a long sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Someone has some explaining to do.”