jtigerclaw and I bring you another installment in the saga of Leonard Mack and Vera La Tiérra. Enjoy!

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Water Country, just miles outside of the city of Williamsburg, provided a popular place for furs to go have some water-based fun or lay in the sun.

Somehow, Leonard Mack (Fox, F/C) convinced Vera La Tiérra (Red Vixen, PG) to spend the day with him at the water park. It was the perfect time to do so; the forecast would call for 90-degree temperatures and sunny skies.

The sprawling water park had several types of water slides, pools in all areas of the park, a large beach-like area with a wave-pool and a huge playhouse with water guns, jets and slides, all aimed to keep kits going crazy. Leonard took the occasion to put on his swim trunks before the two left for the park. The red and navy blue pattern suited him nicely.

As the couple approached the front booths to buy their day passes, the feline attendant smiled as she recognized them.

"Hey, Mr. Mack, Ms. La Tiérra, it's good to see you again!" she said brightly.

"Yeah, you just haven't seen us at the same time," Mack joked.

Vera nodded and smiled. "It's good to see you too," she said.

After the two paid for admission and rented a locker, Vera went to change while Mack put his things inside the small space, including his shirt. The todd's chest was muscular, the tuft of fur on his chest very defined and large. His arms and legs were very strong and toned. With his long red hair, one might think he'd fit right into a barbarian movie.

Mack is a tall, unusual fox, and he had embraced his uniqueness. The fox's mind wandered to the vixen as she changed in the locker room; he actually found himself wondering if Vera was going to wear something he had never seen.

Then she came out of the locker room and walked towards him wearing only a tiny blue-and-yellow bikini and a smile. The bikini was certainly something he had never seen! Her white belly, rarely seen, was slim and taut, her legs strong and toned. She was an athlete.

A sexy athlete.

Mack let out a wolf-whistle and clamped a paw over his muzzle almost instantly after he finished. Vera smirked when she saw him do that.

"What, joo dun think I'm beautiful, Señor Mack?" she teased. Mack's cheeks were beet red as he let go of his muzzle.

"Yeah, well, um... you know... I did that 'cause the other guys weren't around. If Teo heard me do that to you, I'd never hear the end of it," he said. The vixen laughed and nodded.

"That's true!" she said. Mack, quickly relaxed by the banter, offered his arm and the vixen playfully took it as the two went out to enjoy the water park.

They didn't get past the wave-pool when Mack heard a high-pitched squeak of glee from the throng of sunbathers. He looked to the right to find a pretty otter girl with long blond hair come over to him. Not only was she wearing a cute red bikini, she was also pretty tall.

"Omigod, omigod, it is you! Eeeeeee!" she squealed, clasping her paws together.

"I... guess it is?" Mack said, nervously smiling. Vera gave the otter girl a bit of a strange look as she fangirled all over the tall fox.

"Mr. Mack, my name is Shirley, I'm such a HUUUUGE fan!" she gushed. Mack grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Gee, thanks. I don't get many fans like you," he said. With an infectous smile on her face, Shirley pulled a small booklet out of her bag.

"Could you and Vera autograph my media guide?" she asked brightly. Mack looked at the cover; he had never actually seen the guide closely since he posed for the picture. All the new members of the Minutemen for the just-completed season were on the cover. There he was beside Lenny Hicks (Coydog, PF). The others were rookies: Marron Gwosdz (Arctic Vixen, PG), Otto Okkonen (Dragon, F/C), Damien Nathaniel (Hyena, SF) and Vera. It looked as if Mack and Vera were the only players of the six who hadn't signed her guide yet. How fortunate for Shirley.

Mack was more than happy to sign the guide for her. Vera was as well, but she seemed a slight bit tense. Maybe she just didn’t expect to be approached by fans during a relaxing day off. She grinned widely as she gave the book back to Shirley.

"Thank you so much! It was very nice meeting you!" the otter said brightly.

"Yeah, nice meeting you too!" Mack replied. He couldn't help but smile as she walked away. Shirley was a good-looking otter. She was also tall. Talk about what Leonard liked most.

"Feels good to make a fan's day, doesn't it?" he asked Vera.

“Oh... sí, sí, it does,” Vera replied, looking a little pensive as she looked off to the side
.
* * *

After the meeting with Shirley, Mack noticed a slight increase in attention from Vera. He wondered if perhaps she might have been acting a tad possessive, but that would have been silly, given that they were just hanging out as friends at a waterpark. Mack shrugged it off, although he certainly didn’t mind the extra attention.

They spent some time in one of the pools and Vera spent several minutes trying to get Leonard to chase her. He was only happy to oblige, unable to understand much of the Spanish she was saying back to him:

"¡Nooo, el zorro grande y malo me está persiguiendo! ¿Oh, qué hacer?"

It's not as if he was totally ignorant of the language. Since he learned that Vera spoke Spanish, he had been trying to learn some. Considering what little time he had to learn it, he thought he had made some progress in the months that he had known the vixen.

Later, a stray noodle floated along, dropped by a nearby kitfox. Vera picked it up and playfully whacked Mack on top of the head. He laughed and fended off another attack, splashing water at her to defend himself.

A few minutes later, they decided to take on a water slide. The Tubular Tunnel was a two-fur slide and had several twists and turns in the dark. It was a must-ride for anyone who went to the park. Vera smiled as she looked up at Leonard, holding his arm.

"Lennie, ¡esta diapositiva parece muy espantosa! Le necesitaré protegerme..." she cooed. Leonard looked back down at her and smiled briefly, but then his expression changed. Mack had a look on his face that indicated the gears were turning in his mind. Figuring out Spanish was like cracking a code, he thought. But he did recognize one word...

"'Proteger'? Protect?" he asked. Vera smiled and nodded. "Mmhmm!"

Mack chuckled. "You need protection, Vera? You're the biggest thrill-seeker I know; you once told us you bungee-jumped off a bridge just for giggles," he said, flashing a grin. The vixen laughed and nodded.

"You got me, Lennie," she teased.

The ride was just as thrilling as they hoped. Vera sat behind Leonard and the two were pushed into the water jets and started their descent to the pool below. The two-person tube slid from side to side as the light peeked through the openings whizzing past them. Vera and Leonard shared cheers and whoops as the vixen held on to Leonard's shoulders.

The tube exited the tunnel and they splashed down. The foxes laughed together as they disembarked the dual-rider tube and waded out of the pool at the foot of the slide. That really was fun. And Mack couldn't help but notice that Vera did hold on to him the whole time. It was expected for the rider in back to do so, but he still enjoyed it.

* * *

The couple decided to grab a snack, as it was around lunch time. Leonard knew the perfect confection; he went to one of the stands and ordered a large funnel cake for the two to share.

"Funnel cake, hm?" she asked as the todd set the treat in front of them. It consisted of fried bits of dough fused together and the concoction was sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar.

Leonard nodded and picked up a plastic fork. "When I was a kit and we went to county Fairs, Mom and Dad let me have funnel cake before we went home. They figured it would be better for me to hop around in the car instead of running around all over the fair after I ate it!" he said laughing.

“Well, I usually stick to my diet,” Vera said, “but since this is a special occasion...” However, before she could finish, Leonard had already started eating. “Hey! Leave me some!” she laughed as she picked up the fork and dug in herself.

Leonard was first to the last bite, which was particularly large and coated all over with sugar. It was going to be a good one. He corralled it, stuck it in his muzzle and taunted Vera with his victory by leaving some outside of his muzzle.

He didn't expect Vera to retaliate so quickly.

The vixen smirked and squinted her eyes before lunging and chomping down on the last piece still in Mack’s mouth, leaving their noses and lips only a centimeter away! Leonard pulled back in surprise and started coughing, as the piece of funnel cake got a bit stuck in his windpipe.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry! Jou okay, Lennie?" she asked, putting her paw on his left shoulder as he coughed, touching some of his hair. The fox nodded, coughing a couple more times, swallowing and clearing his throat.

"Yeah, I'm all right..." he said. But the image from seconds ago was seared in his mind. He was THAT close to kissing her for the first time! And by accident, no less! He shook his head, trying to forget that missed opportunity.

"Jou sure jou're all right?" Vera asked again. Leonard looked to her and assured her he was fine.

"Yeah... I'll go get us a soda. Maybe that'll help..." he said, then getting up to go back to the snack stand. The image of her face, showing concern, remained in his mind's eye. He had never seen any vixen so beautiful.

* * *

After the snacks were consumed, the two went to go on a couple more water slides and wade in a pool near the huge water playhouse. As they got out of the water there, Mack seemed to spy a familiar face, maybe two.

A red fox with navy blue and red-patterned swim trunks walked hand-in-hand with a pretty red-headed arctic vixen, who was dressed in a red bikini.

There was no mistaking that hair, Leonard knew. He held up a paw as Vera got out of the pool herself.

"Hey! Mr. Gwosdz! Marron! Over here!" he shouted. The red fox looked over and laughed.

"Well, look who it is!" he said, in his slight Georgia accent. Marron looked over and waved.

"Oh, hello, Leonard! Nice to see you here! Hello, Vera!" she called out. Her slight Cockney accent was still evident in her voice, even after being in the United States for the past few years.

Vera smiled and returned the hello as the four got closer. Sam grinned up at Mack.

"So I guess that great minds think alike, Leonard?" he asked. Leonard chuckled and nodded.

"We thought it would be fun to come today," he said.

"You and Vera?" Marron asked.

"Why not?" the vixen replied. "After all, a water park is much more fun when jou have a friend to share it with," she said.

"Can't argue with you there, Vera," Marron said, giggling.

The situation didn't even seem awkward to the pair as they continued their conversation. Sam, after all, was talking to two players who were free agents, now that the FBA season had concluded. He had to not only re-sign the fox standing in front of him, talking about how much fun he was having at the water park, but he also wanted to re-sign his wife to the club, standing right next to him. She was chatting merrily with the only player under contract, the red vixen in the blue-and-yellow bikini standing before them.

Good thing Sam's brain wasn't in GM mode at the moment. Those kinds of thoughts could ruin a fun day. Water park now, work later.

After they finished their conversation, the Gwosdzes left to go on the two-fur tube slide on which Leonard and Vera had so much fun. Leonard heard Marron talking to Sam as they left:

"You know, they really do make a cute couple," she said.

"Yeah, I think so too," Sam agreed.

Leonard's cheeks turned bright red and Vera started giggling after noticing that. He had no idea whether or not she heard what the Gwosdzes had said. But he didn't let it bug him as the blush subsided and they went to go on another ride.

* * *

The sun was just setting as Leonard walked Vera to her door. The two had picked up some food at a drive-thru restaurant (Mack a juicy double pounder with cheese, and Vera a grilled chicken sandwich with salad) and ate them while they sat in Leonard's truck. He was a simple fox, preferring to drive a Ford truck like his father did back on the farm. They talked about how funny it was that they ran into the Gwosdzes and Leonard couldn't help but laugh when Vera described the look on his face when she snatched the funnel cake from his muzzle.

Standing at Vera's apartment door, Mack shuffled his feet nervously.

"Um, Vera?" Leonard said.

"Sí, Lennie?" she replied, looking up at him. The sweet look in her eyes started an argument in Leonard's head:

"Go ahead, tell her right now! You know it to be true!" said a voice. "Say you love her!"

"No, no, no, no! She doesn't even think this is a date! Don't even think about doing it right now, it's too soon!" said another voice.

"Vera, I..." Mack started.

"Hm?" she replied, keeping her eyes fixed on him.

"Do it, do it!"

"No, no, don't do it!"

"I... had a really great time with you today," he replied.

"AGH! You moron!"

"HAH! Waiting is the best move! Good job!"

Vera smiled. "Aw, I had a really great time with jou too," she replied. She stood up on her tiptoes slightly and kissed Leonard sweetly on the cheek.

Leonard felt his cheeks flush, but he smiled.

"We should do this again, ¿sí?" she asked, giving him a sultry gaze.

Mack grinned back. "Oh, absolutely," he said, the image of the vixen clothed in only her bikini popping into his mind. That was one image he wasn't going to forget.

Vera giggled, but then the two were silent for a few moments. Vera shuffled her feet, as if she was thinking of something else to say.

Leonard scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. "Uh... Well, I have to hit the gym early in the morning. So... you have a great night."

The vixen nodded and smiled. "Sí... jou too. I'll see jou there tomorrow, too. Buenos noches, Lennie."

The foxes embraced and held the hug for a few precious moments. Vera even laid her head on Leonard's chest again. This time, there wasn't much confusion in the fox's mind. The one thing he was sure about was that he had a great friend now. Still, four words hung in his mind at that moment:

I love you, Vera.

Maybe she would feel the same way he felt for her someday, and maybe those words could be spoken. But now wasn't the time.

After letting go of her friend, Vera entered her apartment and watched as Leonard got into his truck. The vixen gazed out the window and met Mack's eyes as he looked back from the car.

They waved at each other, then Mack started his drive home.

The vixen then turned from the window and sighed, looking down at her feet.