Chapter Two: 
Low on Funds

	Stormy looked down at her plate of food. California style club sandwich, one of her personal favorites. The neon green avocado glistening next to the deep red of the bacon. Usually there would be some thick cut fries that accompanied her favorite sandwich, but this time it was a lightly dressed salad of leafy greens. There was a gurgle deep down in her stomach. She'd skipped breakfast, not because she didn't have the time to make it, or the food, but because she was putting herself on a crash diet. That was also the main reason for the salad as well. Drool pooled in her mouth, threatening to escape, but she controlled the inner animal that was pushing her to scarf down the sandwich in one bite. Instead she picked up one quarter of the sandwich and nibbled off of it daintily.
	“What the fuck is going on with you, honey?” An all too familiar voice called to her, startling her into a jolt.
	Stormy looked across the table to her dear friend Ruby Fontane. Her beautiful ebony lips, plump and pulled back into a wide smile. The silver glisten of braces lined her white teeth. The pair of golden eyes sat lazily on either side of her broad muzzle. The tight curls of brown hair, were pulled up into a loose bun atop her head. Ruby only wore her hair like that when she was out and about, otherwise it would be down into it's normal Afro state. Brown spots speckled her pale tan fur. Ruby was wearing the outfit that Stormy adored so much. It was a classy white, silk blouse tucked into a deep purple dress skirt, that hugged her voluptuous backside and hips.
	Stormy didn't mind stealing a look at her friend from time to time. Not that she had ever been interested in being intimate with a woman, but knew that it would be foolish not to admire art when it was on display. She supposed the other reason she stared was out of jealousy. Ruby was a buxom woman, who could eat anything she wanted and keep the same shape. Some would call her fat, but all Stormy knew was that Ruby wore her weight in all the right places.
	“What?!” Stormy returned, her voice annoyed, but her face wore a smile.
	Ruby clicked her tongue, cutting down into her large French Dip with her steak knife. “Nibbling on your food like a Debutant on her way to a ball. Green salad, instead of your precious fries. Hold the mayo please!” Ruby fluttered her eyelashes, due to her New Orleans accent, her imitation of Stormy was poor at best.
	“Well excuse me of wanting to take better care of myself.” Stormy responded, trying hard to keep the tone light, but it was losing it's zing to her defensive behavior.
	Ruby picked up on the agitation, but didn't let it dissuade her from her pursuit. “Come on darling, come clean with me.” She took a huge bite of her sandwich.
	Stormy used her fork to push her salad around the plate, her mind working on a good cover story, before she could work it out, the truth spilled forth. “I dunno, maybe I'm feeling low lately. I walked by the mirror this morning on my way to take a shower and scared myself. I'm getting old, I have stretch marks from my babies. My tits are sagging. No wonder why Dutch...”
	“Don't finish that sentence, hon.” Ruby stopped in mid bite, her eyes glistened in the warm sunlight that shone through the window.
	Stormy swallowed hard. Her head dipping, ashamed of herself for even letting her thoughts move to that sensitive area. Stormy knew all too well that wasn't why Dutch cheated on her. It felt as if she were self sabotaging her own happiness, because in the end, she was the one that wanted the divorce.
	“So what? Your forty years old, who cares? With age comes drooping, I'm thirty-five, and I got drooping like you wouldn't believe. So you're a little heavier than most, there is just more of you to love. You’re a beautiful woman, someone I adore. I thank God everyday for you being my friend. I'm sure Dutch had his reasons for doing what he did, but I know for a fact that you weren't the cause of it.” Ruby's truths were a large pill to swallow.
	Stormy had heard these same words from Ruby for the last three months. They weren't new in any stretch of the imagination. Ruby was adamant about the subject, which was nice. Stormy needed to hear it, she thought the more she heard it, the more she would believe it. It was working. Stormy lifted her head  and smiled. Their eyes met, Stormy gave her signature 'thanks' nod. It was the same one that she gave Ruby every time they had this conversation. Ruby smiled back, motioning to Stormy's food with her head. Stormy's eyes drifted to the Holy Grail, her sandwich, taking a large bite of it. Ruby giggled and grabbed some of her fries, tossing them over to Stormy's plate.
	Stormy tucked her food into one cheek, so she could talk. “I need to get a job. I'm running out of money. Do you have any ideas?”
	Ruby dipped her sandwich in the beefy Au Jus. “I could see about getting you a job on campus. I mean, I just work there to help pay for my classes, but they always need help.” She bit down on the French Dip.
	“Nah, I wouldn't be able to do something like that. First of all, I only have a high school diploma, plus, I'm trying to work on my house. If I don't, I won't get to see my kids until sometime around my next birthday.” Stormy moved to the next quarter of her sandwich, taking it down like a pro.
	“Oh girl. Oh girl! I have a great idea. You should give guitar lessons! You can do it right out of your house. You're a famous folk singer. I know people would lose their damn minds to get a session with you.” This revelation was so moving, Ruby had to set her sandwich down.
	Stormy thought on this for a second. It wasn't a bad idea. She had been the leader of a folk band when she was younger. Well versed with her acoustic guitar, and piano. She could definitely make some money doing it. The only thing that escaped her was how was she going to set everything up. She'd been out of the money making game for a long time.
	“If you want, I can hang some fliers up around the campus for you. Maybe even post something on my Facebook page. I'm sure you'll get some calls.” Ruby finished her sandwich in one big bite.
	“That would be great. Just give them my phone number and I'll start scheduling them to come over for their lesson.” Stormy watched Ruby wipe her hands on her napkin. “Twenty-five a lesson sound good?”
	“Yeah, fifty sounds good,” Ruby said eating up the last of her fries.
	“No, I said twenty-five.” Stormy responded as she dug a twenty dollar bill out of her wallet.
	“That's what I said, fifty.” A coy smile rushed across her muzzle again, as she reached into her purse for her wallet.
	Stormy was starting to figure out the pattern, and thought that it would be best to leave it rather than exacerbate it. “Here's my money for the waiter, I have to go freshen up.”
	Ruby took it, and laid it down on the table next to her fifty dollar bill. “Freshen up? What are you, the fucking princess?”
	Stormy couldn't resist the urge to laugh as she stepped away from the table. This kind of back and forth only happened when they were spending time together. Usually Ruby was a soft spoken, elegant woman, while Stormy was more of the loud mouth trouble maker. It was nice to have a change once in a while. Ruby had been a blessing from the first day that they'd started talking.
	Stormy returned a few minutes later to find Ruby standing ready. It was time to go shopping, which meant there was no more time to waste. Stormy almost asked if it was time out of habit, but before she could, the slightly shorter Hyena girl laced arms with her and the two walked off towards the door.
	Ruby stopped short of the door and held up the twenty dollar bill that Stormy had dug out of her tri-fold wallet. “Almost forgot, apparently they don't take money from washed up folk singers around here.” There was a playful tone in her voice.
	“You paid the bill, didn't you?” Stormy asked. Usually she would be angry about this gesture, but money was getting tight, she was already concerned about how she was going to buy the new dress.
	“No. I tried to pay with your money and they were all like “Stormy Rivers! She was good in her day, we can't possibly take her money.” And I was like. “How dare you insult her like that. Take the money.” But then he just pranced away without taking your money. I assure you, I tried.” Trying to hold back her laugh was starting to seem fruitless as she cut loose with her Hyena chortle.
	“Would you come on!” Stormy laughed along with her as they both left the restaurant and converged on Ruby's Prius.

	The mall had only been across the plaza. Ruby loved to shop their on the weekends, but Stormy would rather avoid going unless it was earlier in the week. They'd worked out a compromise. They would visit Sears on Thursday afternoon to buy new clothes. Ruby wanted to get a new dress that she could wear to an award ceremony for some of her fellow faculty members. Stormy wanted a new dress for going to church in. Something summery, that went with the warm Fur York City weather.
	Ruby had no trouble finding a beautiful maroon gown that hugged her body just right. It was trimmed with a light black fabric. Stormy knew it would rest nicely on her hips and backside. Although Ruby's breast were a B-cup, the top of the gown would hug them tightly and lend integrity to the evening gown.
	Stormy, on the other hand, was having problems finding the dress she was looking for. The main problem was that most of the dresses she liked were out of her price range. It hadn't been until Ruby suggested the discount rack that Stormy made any progress. Unfortunately, that meant that the dress was going to be from the spring line. It still fit her style though. It was like a long, flowing shirt that tied at the waist, white lacy fabric accents, and soft yellow flowers. The sleeves hung free at her forearms. It went well with her soft tan fur. Both of them slipped into the same changing booth, so they could chat while they were trying on there new dresses.
	Ruby slipped free from her silky shirt, hanging it on the hook provided, before unzipping her skirt, pushing it over her ample hips, and letting it slip down to rest on the floor. Playfully she bumped butts with Stormy who was already off balance. She tumbled into the wall. Both of them laughing like school girls. Stormy was standing there, embarrassed that she hadn't worn sexier underwear. The boxer shorts hung from her wide hips like loin cloth. It made her look more homely then she'd liked.
	In the mirror, she caught a glimpse of Ruby's finely shaped hips. Even though they were full and wide, they were also taut. She could see the muscles ripple as she moved. A weird sensation rolled through her. An excited, giddy feeling that she had come to know all to well over the last three months. How could looking at my friend's body have this effect, she wondered.
	“Ruby, I've been having this problem lately,” Stormy began, Ruby didn't turn around, she just looked back at her from over her shoulder. “I've been getting so horny for no reason. I mean, like, painfully horny.”
	Ruby smirked and slowly turned her upper body slightly. “It's normal sweetie, I've been dealing with the same thing now for a couple of years. The other day I drove by the high school and there was some punk kid skateboarding by with his shirt off. I thought I was going to die. Your body is changing, it just took yours a little longer to get started than everyone else's.”
	“But I mean, I get horny over weird stuff.” Stormy slipped the dress on over her head and adjusted it as it tumbled down into place.
	“Like?” Ruby said stepping down into her dress, pulling it up around her.
	“I got turned on by my therapist earlier. He's not attractive at all, but I turned around and my mind put him in the buff with a boner.” Stormy grunted as she worked to tie the belt around her waist.
	“Yeah, that's weird, alright. Anything else?” Ruby backed up closer to Stormy, who knew what she needed without even asking and zipped up her dress.
	“Just now I was looking at your hips and was thinking how nice and firm they were. I got all tingly inside.” Stormy looked at herself in the mirror, the dress looked as beautiful as she imagined it would.
	“So ol' Ruby gets your motor running huh? Well hon, if you ever want me to, I can stop by sometime and we can help each other out.” There was a lingering sensual tone in her voice as if she were testing the water, but giving herself an out, if Stormy was repulsed by the idea.
	“You're a lesbian!?” Stormy was shocked to hear this. She'd known Ruby for almost five years now, and the subject had never come up.
	Ruby posed in her dress, satisfied by how she looked, before turning her back to Stormy once again. “Maybe. Hell, I dunno. I've only ever been with one guy in my whole life and it was terrible. The moment he knew I had a pseudo penis, he was turned off and broke up with me.”
	Stormy had the dress halfway unzipped when she choked. “A pseudo what?!” Her voice was louder than she intended it to be.
	“Well, the cats out of the bag now.” Ruby said, her tone defeated as she pushed the dress down and off, laying it on the bench. “I have a pseudo penis. All the girls in my family have them. In fact, many of the girls of my race have them. Hyena's are known for it.”
	“Wow, that's weird! I mean... not it a bad way, but in an unexpected way. We didn't talk about this in school.” Stormy tried to recover from her hoof in mouth, a curious look moving to her face. “Can I see it?” The question came out cautiously, the twinge of excitement growing stronger.
	Ruby smirked and turned around, pushing the front of her black lacy panties down, letting her length slip free. Stormy's eyes went wide as she took a closer look at it. It wasn't very long, maybe four inches in it's soft state, an inch around at the very least. It was neat and tidy, unlike any penis she'd ever seen. The foreskin was wrapped protectively around the head. Ruby's length started to grow firmer under her friend's gaze. Stormy's heart was starting to pound in her chest as sweat beaded up around her hairline. She looked up at Ruby, who was blushing now.
	“You're disgusted, right?” Ruby whispered. Her voice was soft in the room.
	“No, not at all.” Stormy's words came out breathy, as she slowly reached up to touch the dark colored skin.
	It flinched in her hand, she could feel Ruby's soft heartbeat through the skin. Ruby gasped and reached down to wrap her hand around Stormy's. There was a cautionary look in her eyes, not one that warded Stormy away, but one that warned Stormy of what might happen if she continued to paw. For some reason Stormy didn't let go, couldn't let go.
	“That's what I meant earlier. If you ever want me to come over, so we can spend some time together, all you have to do is call me.” Ruby whispered as she tried to control her stiffening length, knowing it would be impossible to hid in her tight panties. “I've always been attracted to you. I never met someone so beautiful, wonderful, and talented...”
	Stormy's eyes traced along the thickening length. It had grown by have the size that it was when Stormy had first seen it. Ruby's words lingered on her ears enticingly. She thought about the offer for a long moment. Her body was certainly interested in the proposal. Not just interested, but yearning for it.
	“That's sweet. I have to be honest, there is little keeping me from doing it right now. I just need to focus on figuring out what I want. I'm afraid that I might let myself get sucked into a relationship very easily. You're a dear friend, and I love you. I don't want you to be just a rebound. I hope you're not disappointed.” Stormy whispered, Ruby's length slipping from her hand slowly, wanting to savor the feeling until the last second.
	“Honey, you have nothing to worry about. I'll always be here for you, in any way you need me to be. If it never happens, that fine with me. I love just being close to you. I love being your friend.” Ruby pulled Stormy into a warm hug.
	Stormy blushed brightly and squirmed into the hug when she felt Ruby's length poking against her lap. “Thank you for understanding.”
	“No problem girl. Let's cover our asses and get going.” Ruby giggled, adjusting her panties to conceal her hardened length as best she could.
	Stormy was slow to move, her body was in a wanting way. “I'm going to take my time getting dressed. I'm battling a hot flash right now.” She lied to cover up the fact that she was just painfully horny.
	Ruby zipped up her skirt before grabbing her shirt down from the hook. “No problem, I'm going to get dressed and pay for my purchases. I might pick me up a pair of shoes while I'm at it. So if I'm not at the counter, I'll be by the shoes.”
	“Sounds good.” Stormy said, her voice coming out like a soft groan.
	Once Ruby was dressed, she was on her way out. She added a playful slap to Stormy's backside on her way by. Stormy started panting the moment Ruby left the stall, her hands weakly working the latch on the door. Her whole body felt as if she were on fire. Her nipples were hard and sensitive, past the point of comfort. Every time she moved, the bra felt like glass rubbing across them. Her slit was swollen and dripping from her excitement. Her clitoris was pert and tingling. Lately she'd been turned on so often that it felt like her body was being taken over by something or someone else. This by far had been the worst in three months. It hurt more than it should have.
	She tried to concentrate enough to pull her jeans back on, but there was no way. Stormy was going to have to take care of this now. The implications making her cheeks flush red. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a small camera peering down into the room. There was no way for her to get any privacy. Quickly she pulled her pants up around her hips, turning her back to the camera. It was hard for her to concentrate, her head was spinning. Sweat was beading up all over her body, causing her clothing to stick to her. If she worked the angle right, it would look like something had happened to her zipper and she was trying to fix it. Although she doubted anyone would ask.
	Deep inside she didn't give a shit, she just wanted this overwhelming feeling to go away. It didn't take long for her body to submit to her fingers. Pawing along her soft, swollen folds, trying to touch her clit as little as possible. Quickly she dipped her fingers into her, before moving them forward along the delicate skin. It hadn't take long for her whole hand to be covered in her juices.
	Stormy closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind enough to concentrate on something that would bring the relief faster. The only thing that popped into her head was Ruby's semi erect pseudo penis. When she had touched it, it had gotten stiffer. It reacted to her as if it were a real penis. Would it be possible to ride it, she thought crassly. Would it be able to cum inside of me, her thoughts continued. Stormy imagined herself kneeling on all fours on the bed, as Ruby rode her. Gently and tenderly as she knew her friend would. Then Ruby's head rolls back and...
	Stormy gripped her mouth with her other hand, trying to stop the wave of noise that wanted to escape from her lips. She'd cum so hard that her boxer shorts were soaked. Luckily, her jeans had been spared. The pain was starting to subside into soft ripples of pleasure that rolled through her. Pleasure, accompanied by guilt. She wiped her hand on a wade of tissue paper that someone had discarded in the corner. She tucked it into the garbage can provided for visitors. She buttoned her jeans and zipped them up. The damp feeling of her boxer shorts sent a shiver up her spine. Stormy picked up her loose fitting pink shirt and pulled it over her head. It stuck to her sweat covered skin. Silently, she prayed that Ruby wouldn't ask any questions. Although she already knew that chances of that were slim.
	When she stepped back into the store, Ruby was waiting for her. She held two Sears bags out like she were asking a silent question. There was a smile on her face, but it bared a hint of concern. Stormy didn't know how long she'd been in the stall, but it must of have been a long time. No doubt she looked rugged too. Ruby walked up slowly to meet her.
	“Girl, you alright? You're skin is all red.” There was the Ruby she'd been waiting for, she was sure to have more questions in tow.
	“Yeah the damn zipper got stuck and I was having a hot flash. I almost threw a tantrum in there. It was an ugly scene.” Stormy applauded herself for the quick cover up.
	“I hate it when that happens. I got this pair of jeans that I love, but the zipper is always stuck on something.” Ruby recalled as they both started for the counter, Stormy was glad that Ruby hadn't asked more questions.
	“Let me pay for my dress...” Stormy realized that she'd left it in the stall, cursing herself for doing so..
	“Don't you worry about it. I already paid for it for you.” Ruby giggled and handed one of the bags to her.
	“How? I still had it in the changing room.” Stormy's head was still not at full capacity, she looked down at her neatly folded dress in the bag.
	“I just picked you up another one from the rack. Same size and everything. Let me do nice stuff for you girl. You deserve it.” She said, the sincere look in her big golden eyes only exacerbated Stormy's guilt.
	“Alright...Ruby, thank you for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you.” Stormy's words were sincere.
	Ruby touched her shoulder, not bothered by the fact that it was soaked with sweat. “You'd probably die, old and alone.” Her words seemed harsh, until she finished her thoughtful smile. “Just like I would without you.”
	Ruby's honesty was enough to bring tears to Stormy's eyes. She couldn't have asked for a better friend. The pang of guilt grew slightly. The pair locked arms once again and started for the back entrance to the store. Anything else that they had to say to one another was only a matter of situation. They both knew how they felt. This had been a uplifting experience. Weird and naughty, but uplifting all the same. It was just the type of day Stormy needed.