This is a commission for an anonymous patron. Their request involved writing a sequel to "A Stereotypical Pair", the story about a gay couple, one a Catholic and the other a Protestant. What do you think? If you enjoyed this story, feel free to leave a comment down below! Have a wonderful start to the week!

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The apartment remained dark. I sat waiting patiently at the table with the luggage bags ready, waiting for John. I’d already had the rest of the leftover pizza from in the refrigerator, and despite seeing a list on the counter glaring back at me, each dotted line filled with needed groceries are condiments, I had purposefully neglected going out shopping. I didn’t need to. We didn’t need to. Not with what I had planned for us.

Finally, I heard footsteps on the other side of the locked door. The knob turned, and a tired, worn-out timber wolf began shedding his jacket while closing the door behind him.

“Sorry, I’m late!” John called from the foyer. “The bosses needed me to look over some extra paperwork and I got a little held up on the bus by a traffic jam…”

“Evening, John,” I chuckled from the kitchen table. “It’s okay. I was getting a little worried though…I wondered if we’d even have time to leave early tomorrow.”

“Early tomorrow?” He perked an ear, turning on the light and shifting to look at me. As well as the two large suitcases resting on the kitchen table. “James, what’s this?”

“I wanted to surprise you,” I explained with a wide grin. “You’ve been working your tail off at your job and so have I, and I thought we could do more than just sit around our place while we’ve both got the next couple weeks off. So I’ve been thinking we should go on a vacation somewhere.”

“Somewhere?” He echoed my last word, appearing bewildered but also excited and intrigued. “A-Are you serious, sweetie?”

“Sure am!” I chirped with foxy mirth. “You’re gonna love where we’re going!”

He asked, “Where did you book us to, sweetie?”

“A cabin in the woods!” I announced, pulling out my phone.

I went on to explain to John about a national park several counties away from where we lived. The two of us have definitely heard about it over the years but never had the chance to visit or even ponder the idea of spending time there. In the past, John had voiced the idea of going camping someday, but you do our work schedules and things getting in the way of any passive planning, it never came to fruition. We didn’t even consider it during our previous week off together from work with the help of annual leave. Not anymore.

So, I rented a romantic rustic cabin deep in the national park. A tiny nondenominational chapel would allow the two of us to attend a church ceremony on Sunday morning. They were nearly a dozen different hiking trails for us to explore and almost a hundred different places in the park for us to see, from beautiful cliffside say to even a underground cavern that had tour guides.

The photos I showed John of the cabin’s interior really brightened up his eyes. A granite countertop in the kitchen, a well-furnished living room that had gorgeous windows, a stone fireplace seemingly carved from a boulder, and a large mattress in the master bedroom on the top floor. It certainly got his tail wagging when I pointed out that it still had Wi-Fi connection. He marveled at the two-story building’s exterior too, at the old-country hunting design, the wooden deck complete with a grill set-up and a hot tub as well as a magnificent view of a small lake that had a swimming dock.

“I don’t know about you,” I teased him, “but I think I would like to try skinny-dipping with you on the first night we get there? Hehe.”

“That does sound fun…” he spoke hesitantly.

My ears folded and then unfolded. “What’s wrong sweetie?”

“Nothing,” he reassured, “it’s just so sudden.”

“I will have you know that I have been planning in advance for this for us.”

“What about rent?” he asked. “We can’t forget about paying on the 1st.”

“I already sent a check to Russell in advance,” I mentioned. “I also gave Mrs. Winslette a heads up to flower our window plants while we’re gone. I also didn’t bother filling our fridge up with fruits or vegetables that’ll go sour. You’ve been spending most of the past few months in a blur. We both deserve a vacation to somewhere like this, even if I did bring it up unexpectedly…sorry.”

Still holding my phone, John continued to eye each photo appraisingly. “This is all unexpected…” he admitted, “but very reasonable.” The handsome wolf of mine let out a sigh. “And yeah. You’re right. I would much rather go there than just stay cooped up in the apartment.”

“Is that a yes then?” I asked, then beamed brightly when the wolf nodded like an eager toddler. “Good! That I won’t have to worry about getting a refund, haha.”

“Just include me in the loop for next time instead of making it a surprise,” he suggested as he followed me into our bedroom. “I love you, and I do wanna go on this surprise vacation, but still.”

“I wanted to surprise you for a reason!” I teased him. “I mean, even with the next couple of weeks off, you’ve been acting like a sad sack. Like you’re going to be bored not going into work but getting paid for it either way. Reminders will take advantage of this free time off, so I made an executive decision.”

“Executive decision?” John echoed my choice of words. “Hah, you a CEO of our marriage?”

“And Chief Financial Officer,” I quipped.

“I think my job makes more money than you do,” he joked, and I gave him a sharp but playful glare. “What? It’s true.”

“If you pull rank on what we earn again, you won’t get to see me lying naked on the lakeside deck,” I warned him, smirking. John rolled his eyes, and I laughed. “Anyway, you go take a shower and I’ll make sure our cabin rental is still confirmed. Then let’s go to sleep. It’s going to be a long but happy day tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait,” he said, leaning forward to peck his lips on the tip of my nose. “Thank you for this, James. Love you.”

My tail wagged behind me as I watched him enter the bathroom. “Love you too.”