Monday, early morning. 

The weekend is never long enough. I was waiting around in the parking lot for school to start. It's not that I wanted to go to class, just that starting the day meant I was closer to the end. Plus, there were a few people I wanted to see that day and weekend plans to make. 

The first drove up in the blue Highwind his parents bought him. Mat, a 16 year old raccoon boy and my friend since the sixth grade, climbed out of the driver's seat. He ambled over to the tree I sat under with some new kind of energy drink in each hand. I took the one he held out. It was covered in some kind of foreign words.

"What kind's this?" I asked him. 

"Ursus. It's the most popular energy drink in Sybearia. It's banned in, like, twelve different countries." 

"Is this one of them?" I asked before taking a drink.

"Naw, my dad's not cool enough to smuggle illegal energy drinks. These bad boys are made to wake up bears! I wanna see if your little kitty constitution can handle it!" He slapped my back and took a big drink of his. 

Speaking of little kitty, Calvin, the other person I wanted to see, hopped off his bus and looked around. Maybe looking for me? I took another taste. I could already feel it working and I barely had any. "We're the same size." I told him and called out for Calvin.

"You're still into that kid? What happened to the Kyle I know and love?  Did you catch feelings for this one?" He was laughing at me, but it was just good natured teasing.

"I think I did. What am I going to do, Mat?" We were laughing at that as Calvin came up looking more alert than any teenager should be able to this early in the morning. "Calvin, try this!" I thrust my drink into him. 

He took it, Mat took another long swallow of his own, and Calvin followed his example.  Maybe I should have warned him, but this had potential to be real funny. Too bad we didn't have first period together. 

He made an appreciative sound. "It's good. What is it?" His pupils were were noticeably growing.

"Energy drink." I told him, trying and failing to keep from laughing. Mat was snickering beside me, making Calvin look concerned. "It's strong. That's all you're getting, I don't wanna be called to the office because the teachers think I gave you drugs." I took the can back and had another swallow. At least I won't fall asleep in class today.

The warning bell rang, letting everyone know to start getting to class. "Oh! Gotta go! See you later, Kyle!" Calvin was talking too fast and ran off. 

Our snickering turned into laughter as we started walking. "How's that for little kitty constitution?" I asked. 

"Bro, he drank more than you! What do you think he'd do with a whole can?" Mat seemed excited by the idea. 

"Don't give him one, his mom will kill me, but maybe we can find out what a normal one will do to him this Saturday." I had to get Mat to agree before anyone else, he was going to be our driver. 

"What are we doing Saturday?" He already sounded interested. 

"I'm thinking you, me, little kitty, and a couple of his nerd friends go to the beach." The friends didn't really matter to me, but they might make Calvin feel more comfortable. 

"Is this a scheme to see him naked since he won't stop covering himself in the lockerroom?" He asked.

"Maybe it is." That was part of it, but it wasn't all. "He- I don't know, Man- I think it'll be good for him, build some muscle, make him more confident, you know?"

"So is this going to be, like, a regular thing? We go out, train some nerds? Our own fitness program?" He asked. 

I cringed hearing it said like that. Maybe I shouldn't try dragging Mat into this. "I wasn't thinking it like that, Man. I was just thinking we play some games with them. Volleyball and swimming and stuff."

"Cool, sounds like fun." He agreed. 

"Really?" I asked. 

"Hell yeah, Bro! I've been looking for something to do since Stace and Cam moved away." He was talking about his old girlfriend and her brother. "Maybe we can get Brandon in on it, too. He's been feeling down since he hurt his leg." Brandon had to leave the baseball team after wrecking his leg back in March. 

"Sounds good, let's do it." We walked into class just after the final bell.

That was that part of the plan worked out. Now I just had to bring it up with Calvin and his friends. I would do it tomorrow, I wanted them to meet Mat today first. 

Tuesday, late morning. 

Calvin and I were walking to the cafeteria. I enjoyed the happy sounds of him chattering about his anime. I tried to listen for him, but there was too much I didn't understand so now it was just noise. 

"Maybe you can show me the next time I come over." I told him when he paused long enough. 

"So you want to watch it with me?" He asked. 

"I think that's the only way I'll understand what you're talking about. It's a lot to take in." I admitted. 

"Oh, yeah, ok. Maybe you can come over this weekend! Another sleepover would be awesome." He seemed excited. 

"Maybe. If your mom let's me." I leaned into him. "Maybe I'll see if you have any other dinosaur stuff." He tensed, embarrassed all over again. I know he's shy, but I don't know why his dino boxers got such a strong reaction from him. "Like another stuffed dinosaur. You don't need to hide that stuff from me, I won't judge." He relaxed a little at this. 

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, I, um, that's my only one. I just like it, I had it ever since I was little." I remembered him holding it while he slept, it was kind of endearing. 

He was uncomfortable and I already had my fun so I changed the subject. "Do you remember what we talked about when I was there? About all of us going out?" 

"Sort of. What are you thinking?" He asked. 

"I think we're going to the beach on Saturday. Mat already said he'll drive us. I'll bring a volleyball net and ball and we can teach you how to play." I said. 

"Ok, I guess I can try it." He said. 

We walked into the cafeteria, Mat was already at our table, I sat next to him while Calvin waited in line for his food. Brandon joined us today, he was out of his cast. The brown wolverine boy really did look unhappy. He was Mat's friend more than mine, but I did like him and it was hard to see a normally cheerful guy look so downcast.

"What's up?" I asked him. 

"Nothing. My leg's still recovering. Coach says he'll let me try out next semester." He said. 

"That's good, right? At least you'll get to join?" He didn't sound excited about it. 

"He said I could try out. He didn't save a spot for me like he said he would, I have to hope still good enough for the team." He looked at his leg for a moment, back to me, and forced a smile. "Maybe running around with you guys will help. Like physical therapy or something." He didn't sound very hopeful. Calvin sat down next to me as he said this.

"Yeah, maybe it will. We'll go slow first, we got a couple guys who aren't that into sports yet." I waved towards Calvin and one of his friends. The weasel. I think he's Jeremy. That would mean the raccoon coming up now is Martin. I'm trying, but they're not as cute as Calvin so it's harder to remember. 

"Hey guys." The raccoon said, sitting right next to me. Who said you could sit there?  You'll be talking across me. Sit next to Calvin. "Calvin said something about the beach?" He asked me. 

"Yeah, this Saturday. Beach, volleyball, swimming and shit. You guys in?" I looked from him to Jeremy. 

They both agreed. Good, that made six of us. Even teams. I wanted Calvin on mine, of course.

"We gotta bring snacks. Sandwiches, chips, hotdogs. What else?" Mat said.

"Water. Gotta stay hydrated. Crocade too. Protein bars." Brandon added.

"Cookies?" Calvin asked. 

"Hell yeah, dude! What kind?" Mat loved cookies. 

"Maybe chocolate chip?" Calvin. 

"Excellent. Oh, energy drinks! I got some from Doberland." He grinned at Calvin and turned to me. "They're not as strong, Bro. Maybe you can actually finish these." 

"Your gut's probably radioactive with all the shit you drink." I told him. 

"We'll have to encase you in lead when you die." Jeremy said. We laughed. 

Mat grinned. "You won't get a chance, when I go, my gut's going nuclear." More laughter.

The lunch period passed in the same way. Plans for who would bring what to the beach and jokes throughout. The school week went, Saturday drew closer, and everyone got permission to go.

Saturday, early morning. 

Eight o'clock is way too early for any self respecting teen to wake up on a Saturday. Maybe ten o'clock is ok if you're some goody little teacher's pet type, but not even they should be waking up at eight. It isn't natural. I dressed, brushed my teeth, and went to the kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal. 

"Look what we have here! Someone actually woke up before twelve." My dad was too loud. Morning people. 

I groaned in response and started eating across from him at the table. He finished his coffee and poured another cup. I hate coffee, but I still almost asked for some just to fight the sleep away.

"What time is Mat picking you up?" Dad asked. 

I checked the time on my phone. "About eight forty." Whatever energy drink he brings should wake me up. 

I finished breakfast and grabbed my bags. Going outside, I found Brandon doing stretches on the sidewalk. 

"Stretching already? Shouldn't you wait to do that at the beach?" I asked him. 

He didn't stop. "It's part of my physical therapy, I have to do this several times a day." He sat down, his right leg pushed out in front of him, it didn't lay flat. He slowly leaned toward it, arms out like he was trying to grab his foot. He grimaced as he moved, held his position for several seconds, and slowly moved back. His breathing was heavy.

"How long will you have to do these?" I asked. 

He switched legs. "I don't know. Until the doctors say I can stop." He wasn't straining so hard with his left leg. "They said, if I do this like I'm supposed to, I might fully recover." Might.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" He walked fine at school, just limped a little, but I was suddenly unsure.

"I'm going." He snapped. 

Brandon finished his stretches while we waited. Mat arrived, his car's doors and trunk opened when he pressed some button in there. Jeremy, who lived closer, moved to the back seat. I reached for Brandon's bags, but he snatched them away. "I can carry them." He was glaring for some reason.

I put the chips and hotdogs in the cooler and my other bags next to the two already in there. Mat handed me a can when I sat in the passenger seat.  "Imported from Doberland, Bro! The coffee ones are the best but I brought birthday cake flavor for you." 

"They'rereallygood!" Jeremy piped in from behind me, he held his can out by my face, pulled it back a second later, and drank from it. "My mom doesn't let me have energy drinks!" He was still talking fast, but at least this didn't come out as one word. Brandon climbed in.

I glanced at Mat, who was grinning, and then back at Jeremy. "Yeah, I can see why." I wasn't allowed to have them either. I opened mine and drank.

"You want one?" Mat offered to Brandon. 

"Nah. I got this." Brandon held up a bottle of crocade. I drank more of my drink. "How is it?" Brandon asked. 

"Good. It's good." I said. 

"You should drink some of this today, too." He pointed at his drink. " I brought enough for everyone. You don't really know how much you're sweating in the water. Need to keep hydrated, y'know?" 

"Uh, yeah, I'll keep that in mind." What kind of conversation is that? First you're pissed at nothing and now you want to tell me about hydration?
 
Calvin was next. We arrived outside his apartment and he ran down the stairs, already in his swimsuit. 

"You look chipper this morning." I said as greeting. Mat held out a drink to him.

"I don't need it yet, I'll have one later." That's too bad, now I have to wait to see him hyped up. Then again, he already sort of was. Morning people.

"You should try it! It'sgreat!" Jeremy to the rescue! Listen to him Calvin, have one. 

"Not yet. I'm not tired." No, Calvin, give in to peer pressure. Just this once.

"Why not? It's so early." I asked him. 

"Huh? No it's not. I'm always awake this early." I remembered our sleepover last week, he did wake up early that morning even after staying up late.

With Calvin in the third row, we went to pick up a very tired Martin before starting the hour long drive to the beach at Lake Owoatsis.

Martin accepted his energy drink from Mat and drank half of it immediately. "Thanks. I couldn't sleep last night." 

"Why not?" Jeremy asked him. 

"I stayed up beating Mech Warriors and then, when I was in bed, I was too excited about the trip." He said. 

Nerd. But at least you're staying up late unlike a certain little kitty.

This was met with loud exclamation of "what, already?" and "Dude, how?" From the other two nerds. 

"I'm almost there. I'm stuck inside the mega mothership." Jeremy said. Mega mothership?

"You're still in the mega mothership? Dude! You're barely halfway through the game!" Martin told him. This was, apparently, a big surprise to both of them. 

"Spoilers." Brandon said, massaging his bad leg. "That's a major plot twist." What? 

"You're playing Mech Warriors, too?" Jeremy asked. What? Brandon! Not you too!

Brandon casually trampled on my hopes of a less nerdy conversation by telling them he's been a fan since the sixth game and then going into a long discussion about the lore. Calvin said something about laser sword ninjas and, to my horror, I understood what he was talking about. Nightmare visions of the future danced in my head, me working some boring desk job with spreadsheets and shit. Standing at a water cooler talking about the weather, father of two and a half nerdlet children with braces and nasally laughs.

Mat could see my internal crisis, an evil grin crossed his face. "Hey Calvin! Isn't that the game you and Kyle played last week?" Mat you traitor! 

Calvin dragged me into the conversation, assuring me he saved our progress and could continue playing tonight. I was already looking forward to being alone with Calvin, but a small, treacherous part of me wanted to play the game as well. I blamed Mat for the passing familiarity with video games that led to me kind of enjoying this one. 

We arrived at the beach at about ten thirty. It was a busy Saturday morning, kids running around and building sand castles, parents sunbathing, older university students drinking beer, a few games of volleyball here and there. Mat found a parking space at one of the less crowded sections, we took our things out of the car and picked out a place to set up.

"I'm going to get changed. Who's watching our stuff?" Brandon asked.

"You guys go ahead, I can stay here, I got my swimsuit on under my clothes." Jeremy said. Brandon and Mat walked to one of the beach's changing rooms. Martin stuck around.

"I'll stay, too. I'm already in mine." Calvin gestured at his swim trunks. 

"Don't you want to put your clothes in a locker?" I asked him, pointing at his bag of dry clothes. He wasn't getting out of this, not if I had anything to say about it. 

"I can just wear my swimsuit home. I only brought these because my mom made me." He said. 

What could I say? Should I tell him Mat didn't want lake water on his seats? No, Mat didn't care and neither did his parents, only I seemed to. What else can I say? I put an arm around his shoulders and whispered so the others wouldn't hear. "Think of this as practice. You're getting better, but still really nervous in the school locker room. A lot of the new kids are this year, but they won't be forever. Once they all get used to it, you'll be the only one hiding yourself. They'll start to pay attention to you." He looked worried. More than I expected him to be. Did I scare him too much? I started to feel guilty. "Hey, it might take a while. It's no big deal today, you still have time." He shook his head and followed me to the changing room.

"What did you say to him?" Martin whispered to me. He sounded more curious than concerned.

What's it to you? "Nothing. I'm just trying to help him." It was kind of true. The more Calvin tried to hide, the more the other kids would notice. It wasn't JUST about perving on him, I really didn't want anyone making fun of him. 

We made it to the building, several people were in there. I chose a storage locker next to Mat and Brandon who were just taking off their clothes. I've seen Mat a thousand times, but Brandon was new to me. The wolverine had some real muscle on him. He wasn't huge, but he clearly had more than most guys our age. Clearly defined abs and pecs, toned arms, and even his legs still looked good after not working them for months. Prominent, gnarly looking scars from several surgeries crossed his right leg, but they didn't take away from his looks. 

Martin stood unusually close to me. "Do you always fold your clothes like that in here?" He asked. He stood in just a pair of black boxerbriefs with a red fly. His clothes were balled up in one of his hands. He used his other hand to scratch his belly just above the waistband, giving me an excuse to look down. Does he have a semi? 

"Yep. I like to keep them neat." Actually, I  wanted people to look at me. 

"Maybe I'll try it." He said and began doing the same. The bulge in his underwear grew, he seemed to notice and covered it with the clothes he was folding. His tail twitched. Small, jerking movements. Was he nervous? Embarrassed? It wasn't the wide swishing he usually did. He was cute, but I wanted someone else more. I looked for Calvin, he had already left. Brandon was tying the drawstring on swim trunks, I took another moment to appreciate his muscles. He looked self conscious, even with his trunks on. That wasn't what I expected from someone as sporty as him.

"Do you come to the beach a lot?" Martin brought my attention back to him, he was already in his swim trunks and folding his underwear. 

"Nah, not really, but maybe I can start." It was more fun without parents and Mat only got his license a few months ago. "Maybe we can all make a few more trips before it gets cold." 

We walked back to our spot, Calvin was talking animatedly to Jeremy. For a moment, everyone else faded from view, I only had eyes for him. Calvin standing confidently in the sun wearing just a pair of swim trunks. His fur swayed in the light breeze, seeming to invite me to run my fingers through it. I didn't want to just look, I wanted to wrap him in my arms and press him close to my body, I wanted to feel his warm breath on my fur and his heart beating in his chest. I wanted him to be mine.

I shook my head, I had to control myself. Martin was saying something unimportant. Perfect, he could distract me. I nodded, made some non-committal sound to tell him I was listening. He continued speaking and I learned I had accidentally agreed to teach him to swim. 

"Maybe I'll be able to join your guys' class next semester. I thought I would hate a PE class, but Calvin said he's having a lot of fun swimming with you." Calvin said he's having fun with me? I hoped it wasn't too obvious how happy that made me feel. 

"So you and Calvin talk a lot?" I asked. 

"Yeah, we've been best friends since fifth grade." I felt a spike of jealousy. Another boy who had more history with Calvin. I tried to push it down, it didn't mean they were together. 

We made it to the others, Mat and Brandon were setting up the net. I grabbed a ball, a soft one for our delicate nerds, and called Calvin and Jeremy over. 

"Ok, have any of you guys played this before?" All three shook their heads. Of course they haven't. "That's ok,  I'll make this easy for you guys, we can worry about all the rules later." 

"Hold up! I haven't played either!" Brandon called out. I could excuse him, he played other sports. 

"The goal of the game is to make the ball hit the ground on the other team's side of the net. A team isn't allowed to touch the ball more than three times and no one is allowed to touch it twice in a row. There's six of us, so that means three of us on each team. When the ball comes to your side, one person should bump the ball." I made the motion with my arms. "One person should set the ball, that means you're getting it ready for the striker, and the third person hits it over the net." I demonstrated by bumping the ball to Mat who set it up for me to strike into the ground over the net. "Oh, and no holding the ball. Any questions?" 

"What happens if I miss the ball when I'm the striker?" Jeremy was still wearing a shirt for some reason and had his hand up when he asked this. 

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Then the other team gets a point and your team hates you forever." 

Jeremy laughed a little, but he looked nervous. Calvin nudged him with his shoulder and pointed at himself and Martin. "Don't worry, we're all learning. We're going to miss a lot too."

"Everyone fails sometimes, even pros. Don't worry, no one will think bad of you." Brandon had a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. 

"Me and Kyle will be team captains since we played before." Mat said.

Martin raised his hand. " Ooh, I want to be on Kyle's team!" That's not how it works. 

"Me too!" Calvin said before I could protest. Ok, I'm ok with this now. 

I looked to Mat. "I guess I get Brandon and Jeremy. Sorry Kyle, looks like all the real skill's coming to this side of the court." He's pointed at both of his team mates. I was sure he only meant Brandon, but Jeremy looked pleased, too.

Coin toss, first serve, and Martin bumps the ball directly into the net because of course he does. Mat's team's turn, Jeremy misses the ball completely. Calvin sends the ball sideways. Brandon misses because of his leg. It's a mess. 

"Ok! New plan! We're going to practice passing the ball to each other!" I announce. 

This went better. The four of them spaced out in a square hitting the ball towards each other while Mat and I stood at the edges retrieving the ball every time it got away. Brandon got better quickly, it was only his leg holding him back. The other three improved slower, but they were cheerful and eager to get better, laughing off every failure. They would cheer whenever completing a full circuit and I would cheer with them, becoming genuinely invested in their improvement.

After practicing for some time, we gave the game another try. It went... better. I wasn't as annoyed by their failures this time. Mat called a lunch break eventually. We sat on our beach towels and opened the coolers. 

"What do we got?" He began pulling out bags. "Sandwiches, chips, hot dogs, buns, chips, and best of all, COOKIES!" 

"I brought chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles. I helped make them." Calvin seemed proud. 

Mat bit into one. "You done good, Bro." A couple crumbs came flying out of his mouth, Calvin beamed at the compliment. 

Brandon passed a bottle of Crocade to everyone, warning us about staying hydrated. I took a BLT and a bag of chips. 

"Having fun, Cal?" I was sitting next to him, maybe a little close, but he didn't seem to mind. 

He swallowed what he was chewing. "Yeah, this is nice." He leaned back, looked at the sky, his tail laid itself on mine. "We should do this again." 

"We're not done yet." I told him, poking him just below his ribs. He fell back, laughing and curling to protect himself. 

Martin leaned across me to get to Calvin. "Yeah, we still need to swim. We can't go to the beach and not get in the water." He pulled back, his shoulder brushing against my chest.

"Yup, you need to learn and Calvin needs some practice. Do you need help learning, too?" I aimed the last at Jeremy. 

He nodded. "Yeah. Calvin said you can teach me?" Why haven't they learned before. 

"Yeah, yeah, I can do it." I agreed. I turned to Calvin. "You're gonna swim laps. It'll help you with class." 

Calvin nodded. "Kyle's swim school!" Mat called out. "You need help, Bro?"

"Maybe." I said and tried a snickerdoodle. "This is good." I told Calvin. He was still laying down so I patted his belly and hoped it wouldn't think it was weird. He was grinning, looking proud of himself. I decided he probably didn't. 

"I'll hang here. That game was a little intense." Brandon was massaging his leg again. 

Mat clapped his shoulder. "Don't worry, Bro, you'll get back to normal in no time." Brandon's smile was forced, but he did look a little better.

"You sure you're cool staying back alone?" I asked him. I didn't want to lose time with Calvin, but I also didn't want Brandon to feel left out. 

Irritation crossed his face. "I'm fine. I won't break just because no one's watching me." 

"Ok, ok." I held up my hands. Mat started whispering to Brandon. I stood. "You guys ready?" My nerds got up. "You're not going to wear that in the water, are you?" I pointed at Jeremy's shirt. 

He went from excitement to nervousness pretty quickly. "Ye-yeah? It's a special shirt just for swimming." Is he even more body shy than Calvin? I looked him over, tempted to try and talk him out of it. He is kind of cute.

Calvin gave Jeremy a side hug. "It's ok, you don't have to take it off."  

"Thanks." Jeremy looked relieved. 

Martin ran off to the water, calling for us to hurry. We followed and waded into the water. Mat wasn't far behind us. 

"What do we do first?" Martin asked?

"Well, when I started he made me practice holding my breath underwater and then he held me up while I practiced moving." Calvin explained. 

"That's easy." Martin took a deep breath and ducked under the water. Well, at least he's eager. I looked at Jeremy who did the same a moment later. 

Martin popped his head up several second later. "How long was that?" He asked. Jeremy came up, too. 

"I wasn't counting, not very long though. Do it again." They both went back under. "Calvin, start swimming. Swim until you're in front of that life guard and then come back." He turned and went. 

I had them practice for several minutes before moving on to the next phase. Martin paired himself with me and Jeremy with Mat. This was the fun part. Sure, he's not Calvin, but I couldn't say no to a boy who wanted me to put my hands on him. One on his chest and one on his belly maybe a little lower than it needed to be, but he didn't seem to mind. His fur felt a lot like Mat's, longer than Calvin's, probably fluffy when dry. His belly was soft from a lack of activity, but lacking the fat of someone who ate a lot. I could count his ribs by touch as he moved. He seemed fragile in my hands in a way that he didn't when I was just looking. 

I had Calvin swim back and forth for most of that time, doing different strokes to work different muscles. I told him to swim faster after several laps and tried to count the seconds. It wasn't accurate, but it would serve our purpose. When he needed to rest, he hung around us and encouraged his friends. Our friends, I guess. Eventually, I let him free swim, but warned him not to go too deep. Martin and Jeremy got to swim unassisted some time later, too. 

I don't know how long we spent in the water. Brandon joined us eventually to swim a few lazy circles around us. The swimming devolved into the nerds splashing each other and then dragging the rest of us into it. 

It was early evening when we were ready to pack up. There was just one more thing I wanted out of this. "Come on, guys, I want pictures. Who's first?" I called to everyone.

"Why not a group photo?" Mat asked. 

"We'll do that after. Stand over there, you're first." I told him. He got between me and the water and posed. Almost sideways, one hand on his hip and the other towards me doing the peace sign. It was a very Mat look.

"Me next!" Martin ran forward to Mat's place, faced me head on, feet apart, hands on his hips and a wide, toothy smile. 

Brandon came forward and flexed to show his muscles. Full confidence marred only by him trying to hide his bad leg. 

Calvin stepped up. "I don't have a pose or anything." He had a cute nervous smile and one hand rubbing the back of his head. I snapped a quick photo of him like that. Mostly for myself, but I would share it, too.

Martin ran up to him "I can fix that."  They both put an arm around the other. It looked good, both of them looked happy. 

"You're up, Jeremy!" I called.

He stood in position, both hands in pockets that I didn't know his swim trunks had, and grinned. Understated but sweet.

"Now all of us!" Mat yelled. He had brought some stranger over to do help us. This one would become my favorite, a real memory of the day. 

After, se went back at our little zone  to begin cleaning up. I could hear Martin asking Calvin about the showers. 

"No walls? But everyone will see us." He said. 

"I know, but Kyle says no one really looks at you." Calvin said.

"But there's so many people. What if I get hard? I won't have anything to hide it with." Martin complained. 

"You can use your hands, but Kyle says trying to cover yourself just makes people look at you." Calvin told him. 

It was time for me to join in. "It's a little different in public. They won't notice as much because they're all strangers and, if they do, it won't matter as much. Who cares if a stranger sees you hiding or sees your boner? It's not like you'll ever see them again." They both looked embarrassed to be caught having their conversation. I leaned in, put a hand on them both. "There are people of all ages there. Adults who don't care about you, little cubs who won't know to be embarrassed, middle schoolers who will only see you as older kids that they don't want to mess with. Seriously, don't worry so much, what they see doesn't matter."

"I can shower when I get home. I'll pack our stuff while you guys are gone." Jeremy volunteered. 

"You should wash the sand off you." I told him. He tried to protest, but I interrupted him. "You can keep your clothes on if you're really that shy, but at least rinse off so you don't get sand and lake water in Mat's car." It's not like Mat cared and I wasn't trying to peek at him, I just didn't want a mess in Mat's car.

And with that, they followed me. In the locker room, Jeremy carefully avoided looking directly at anyone while we hung our swim trunks next to our lockers and grabbed our drying towels. Calvin immediately held his in front of himself, trying to cover his parts, it was still an improvement over his first day when he could hardly be brought to use both hands to hang up trunks on the rack. 

Martin went longer without covering himself, giving me a good look at his cock. He talked to try to hide his nervousness by talking a lot and covered himself with his towel like Calvin once he realized he was getting hard. 

Mat was Mat. He had nothing to hide and joined in talking to Martin and Calvin. Maybe he could help normalize this for them.

We washed at the showers. Calvin stared straight ahead at the wall as he washed, but he did a good job of not covering himself the whole time even though he was clearly still embarrassed. My little guy's growing up.

He held his eyes closed as he washed his head fur and I realized I wasn't using this opportunity to look lower. Why not? I've been waiting for him to stop hiding. His eyes are closed, he's wide open. This is my chance. I looked away instead. Dammit. After everything I said to him about how no one would look, it felt wrong to peek now. Even with the way he would sneak peeks at my dick, I couldn't do it back to him. 

Martin was a different story, looking at him didn't feel like I was betraying his trust. Like I noticed in the lake, he was built like Calvin. Thin arms and legs with no definition and a cute little butt. His tail was curled defensively in front of him. Even wet, it was bushier than Calvin's and could actually be used to hide his junk, or at least it could if he tried harder. It was held close on his left, effectively hiding it from Mat, but he was more open on my side. It was almost like he wanted me to see his hardon. Don't mind if I do. 

He washed himself with jerky motions, his cock twitched when he reached down to touch it. Did a drop of precum leak out or was that just water? I couldn't tell. His body clearly enjoyed the touch, though. His hand stroked faster, spending a little longer down there than he needed. He seemed to shudder and a thick wad of cum shot out onto his tail. His eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly in shock. He used his hands to pull his tail in and cover himself completely. He looked quickly to his left and then right, seeing me watching him. I could see it on his face the moment he realized I had seen everything.

He quickly looked away and down to the floor as he finished washing, the shame was obvious on his face. Was he about to cry? I felt... guilty. Dammit! Why do I feel guilty? That was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to see! I've looked at dozens of boys in the locker room, seen tons of accidental boners and never felt anything! He wasn't Calvin, I wasn't betraying any trust by watching him. Why couldn't I just enjoy the first accidental jerk-off I've ever seen? 

I finished washing and walked to the drying station. I dried off as much as I could with my towel and turned on the blow dryer. Calvin came by with Martin in tow. Martin refused to meet my eyes. I ignored them both while we dried off.

Back at our lockers, Jeremy was sitting on a bench and still rubbing himself down with his towel. I dressed without watching anyone for the first time in forever. I wouldn't be able to enjoy it while still dwelling on the look on Martin's face.

It wasn't until we had our clothes on that I started watching the others again. Jeremy was already back outside, Martin was still upset, Calvin could tell something was wrong but not what. Brandon said something to Mat who went outside ahead of us.

We walked out, Brandon was limping more than usual. I was about to offer to let him lean on me, wondering how those muscles would feel, when he spoke. "You guys go ahead, I need to talk to Kyle real quick."

"Ok." Calvin said and pushed Martin forward with him.

"Dude, you need to stop. Seriously." He said. 

"What?" Was he talking about me looking at everyone in the locker room?  Did he see me watching Martin in the shower? 

"You need to stop staring at my leg
I know it looks fucked up, but I don't need you to remind me." He said. 

Oh, is that all? "Dude, I'm not just looking at your leg. Yeah, I'm looking at that, too, but I'm looking at all of you, you're kinda hot."

He seemed surprised by this. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." I said.

This seemed to calm him down a little, but he wasn't done. "Ok, but that's not the only thing. Stop acting like I need help doing everything. Just because I'm hurt doesn't mean I'm some broken thing that'll fall apart if you stop watching me." I wasn't sure what to say to that. I did try to help him a little, but that's what you do when your friend is hurt. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry I  snapped at you after we ate. And this morning. But you keep acting like I can't do things for myself." 

"Oh, uh, sorry, Man. I was just trying to help."

"I know, but I get too much of that at home. My parents don't want me to do anything for myself, my sister's keep trying to take care of me. Even my little brother acts like I'm broken now. Do you know how hard it was to talk them into letting me come today?" He was choking up a little. He backed off and took a few more deep breaths. 

"Ok, so you don't need help with everything, but Dude, you're limping kinda bad right now." I told him. 

"I'm fine, I can rest once we're in the car. I know my body. I can take this." He took a few steps and stumbled." Ok, maybe I need a little help getting there, but don't you dare tell my parents."

I helped him get back and put him in the front next to Mat. Calvin and Jeremy had taken the middle seats and Martin sat in the back. 

"Move back so he can get in." Calvin said to Jeremy who started to get up. 

"Don't worry about it, I can sit in the back." I told them. 

I climbed to the back and sat next to Martin who stiffened and refused to look at me. Should say something to him? Apologize, maybe? I can't believe I turned down sitting next to Calvin for this. 

Calvin yawned as Mat started driving. Finally, he was actually tired. I took off my seat belt and rummaged around in the cooler for one of Mat's energy drinks. "Here, we don't want you falling asleep on the way back." He took it. 

"Oh! I want one too!"Jeremy said. 

"Don't give him one, he already had two today!" Mat called back. 

"Give him a protein bar instead!" Brandon called. "No, wait, give them all protein bars, they need them!" I grabbed five from the cooler, one for myself and another for Brandon.

"You want anything, Mat?" I asked. 

"We got any more cookies back there?" He asked. 

"No, we already ate them all." Calvin said. 

"Aw man! Gimme some chips then, and a Crocade." Mat said. 

I finished passing everything out and watched Calvin try his energy drink. He was careful to sip this one, unlike the Ursus he tried on Monday. "It's not as strong as the other one, you don't have to sip it." I told him. He took a much bigger drink of it. "That doesn't mean chug it. Drink it like a normal person." 

"Let me have some." Jeremy whispered to him. 

"Don't do it!" Brandon warned. 

Calvin looked back at me, his pupils were already much wider than normal. I choked back a laugh and shook my head. I let myself enjoy Calvin's reaction to the drink, the fidgeting, his twitchy tail, him talking way too fast. 

Next to me, Martin quietly nibbled on his protein bar. Ok, I really do need to say something. I pulled out my phone and typed out a message. 'It's not that big a deal. Don't worry about it so much.' Would that work? I held my phone in front him, he read it and didn't respond. Ok, it didn't work. I tried again. 'I've seen other guys do it, too. At school.' Just one, but he did it all the time, and on purpose too. This didn't seem to help either, I had one more idea. 'I won't tell anyone, no one will ever know. I promise.' I pulled him into a side hug as I showed this to him. He tensed and put his hands on me to keep from falling. He didn't pull away, though. After a few moments of leaning against me, he finally relaxed. 

He ended up falling asleep on me. I thought about how nice it would be to have Calvin on me instead, but at least Martin was feeling better now. It was early evening when we got back. We didn't go to Martin's place first, we went to Calvin's.

"Martin, wake up! We're here!" Calvin yelled. What? He's coming in too?

I lightly shook Martin, helping him wake up. He groaned and staggered out of the car.

"See you guys Monday!" Mat called out. 

"See ya!" Jeremy yelled. Brandon waved. He was looking much happier than he had all week. 

We grabbed our bags out of the trunk, Martin had a backpack in there and I realized he was staying the night, too. Dammit, I was supposed to be alone with Calvin. Well, almost alone, his mom would be there too. I tried not to let the frustration show. We walked into Calvin's apartment where his mom had bags of food from Hive Guys Burgers on the table.

"Did you boys have fun?" She asked. She looked so domestic, nothing like the cop she was.

Calvin launched into detail on the trip, telling her all about it. Or most of it, he didn't mention the energy drinks. "Everyone really liked the cookies. Especially Mat." He said at one point. 

I nodded. "They were really great. Thanks you."

Martin told her about me teaching him to swim. "That was very nice of you." She told me. She sounded like she meant it, she didn't soubd suspicious like last week.

"The beach wouldn't be as much fun if he couldn't swim with us." I told her. I didn't tell her that I hadn't planned on it, but I realized this was true too. It really was more fun with all of us participating. 

We finished eating and the three of us went to Calvin's room. I looked around, hoping to find his dinosaur boxers on the floor again. I wasn't so lucky. I did see him pull a blanket over his plush dinosaur, though. 

"Time for Mech Warriors." Calvin said. He and Martin raced to the TV and game station to turn them on. 

"We trading by deaths?" Martin asked him. 

"Yeah, but only us. Kyle's not very good yet." Calvin said. He held a remote to me. "That way you can play more and get better." 

Great, just what I wanted. More time playing. It was kind of fun and I did do a little better than last time. Not good enough to keep up with the other two, though. They would trash talk each other whenever one died, it was kind of funny hearing the normally modest sounding Calvin yell things like "get wrecked" and "you suck." I tried to imagine him doing it at one of Brandon's baseball games. Maybe next semester, when Brandon's feeling better.

After the game, Calvin showed me the anime he had told me about earlier in the week. The story was kinda cool but the fights were not as awesome as Calvin and Martin seemed to think. 

Something was put in front of my face. "Did you meet Dinofluff yet?" Martin asked. It was Calvin's stuffed t rex he was holding out. Dinofluff? 

Calvin tried to grab the toy, but Martin pulled it back. "Martin, give him to me!" I could hear a little panic in his voice. 

"Hear that Kyle? He calls it him." Martin laughed. 

"Martin!" Calvin yelled. He got up and started to chase Martin.

I stood up, took the toy, and gave it to Calvin who put it in his closet. Calvin's tail twitched in agitation. Martin was laughing. Sure, Calvin's reaction was cute and I kinda of wanted to mess with him too, but I didn't like anyone else doing it.

"That's enough." I tried for a stern tone. 

"I was just messing around." Martin shrank down a little. I barely said anything. Did I look that angry? 

"Not cool." Calvin said. 

"Do it again and I'll help him get payback. Maybe I'll hold you down while he pantses you." I was trying to lighten the mood with that. Martin's quickly curled his tail defensively in front of him. I nudged Calvin in the ribs. "Oh no, I think he might like that. Look, he's trying to hide a boner." Calvin snickered. 

"What? No I'm not!" Martin forced his tail down to prove it.

I looked away as theatrically as I could with a hand held out. "No no, don't show us. We don't want see that." 

"I don't- argh! At least I don't freak out if my underwear shows a little." Martin proved his point by grabbing Calvin and pulling up his boxers at the side. Calvin, predictably, yelped and pushed his arms down to cover himself. 

They both ended up on wrestling on the floor. It was fun to watch, mostly because they were trying to expose each other. Calvin managed to pull the back of Martin's jeans halfway down, giving me a great look at his butt through his black boxer briefs. Calvin's pants had come down evenly to his hips, giving me a nice look at his orange and blue plaid boxers. 

I knocked them over and laid myself on them to pin them down. Neither would be strong enough to move me. They laughed at the sudden interruption and struggled trying to free themselves. 

"You can stop fighting now, you both lost." I said. They squirmed a little longer before giving up. 

"Ok ok, you win." Martin conceded. 

"Calvin?" I asked. 

"Fine, you win." He admitted. We got up, they adjusted their clothes and looked at each other. 

"Don't start fighting again." I warned. 

"We weren't fighting for real." Martin said. 

"Yeah, we were just wrestling." Calvin added. I wasn't sure if they were telling the truth or not, but I wasn't going to press the issue. We watched another episode before Mat left for the bathroom.

"Are you guys ok?" I asked Calvin. 

"I think so." He said. 

"You legit looked mad at him." I told him. 

"Well, kind of. He was just trying to embarrass me." He looked at his closet. 

"Dinofluff?" I asked. His ears twitched in embarrassment. I walked to the closet and took the toy out. Calvin was about to say something, but I handed it to him. "I don't want you losing sleep because you don't have it." 

"That jerk shouldn't have said anything." He grumbled, but it was half-hearted. Maybe he really wasn't all that upset. "He was just trying to look cool because he has a crush on you." Calvin looked as surprised he said this as I was. 

"What?" I asked. 

"Um, well, um... Don't tell him I told you! Ipromisedtokeepitsecret!" His eyes were wide. 

"He has a crush on me?" I asked. 

Calvin nodded after a moment. "Yeah, since last week. You're cool and you're nice and I told him how you saved me and then we heard a rumor that... you're.... well... gay, so he thought maybe he could get you to like him back." That explained a few things. I felt a little guilty for usually ignoring him. "I told him you might not be. It's just a rumor." He looked at me expectantly. 

"It's true." I said.

He perked up at this. "Do you like Martin back?"

"I like him as a friend. He's cute and he's kind of fun." When he's not being annoying. "But I'm already into someone else."

Calvin blinked in surprise. "You are? Who is it?" 

It's you, you clueless kitten. Why haven't you noticed? I wouldn't hang with just any nerd. "It's someone who deserves way better than me." 

"What? But you're great!" He grabbed my arms. "Who is it? Do I know him? Is it Brandon? You kept watching him today."

Yup, clueless. I grinned. "It's not Brandon. Or Mat. I'm not telling."

"You should ask him out. I bet he'll say yes." He said. 

No, you might not trust me anymore if I do. "No, I'm not doing it." He tried to argue, but I shut him down and changed the subject. I had him tell me about other shows he liked until Martin came back wearing a set of mint green pajamas. His muzzle fur was damp from brushing his teeth. Maybe that was why he took so long.

Calvin looked at him. "Oh, you're ready for bed already?" 

"Yeah, I'm kinda tired." He said. 

I looked at my phone, it was one in the morning. "I guess it is a sorta late." I usually stayed up a little later than this, but I don't think Calvin did since he said he likes waking up early.

Calvin looked between Martin and me. "Do you want to borrow some of my jammies today?" Jammies? 

"Nah, I don't need em." I said. 

Calvin left to get ready. I looked at Martin, his pajamas were a little big on him making him look smaller than he was. You have a crush on me, do you? 

I put a hand on his shoulder, thinking he might like it. I didn't want to lead him on, but surely it would be ok to touch him. I'll let him down gently later. "Are you really ok? You guys were kinda angry earlier." Yeah, Calvin was fine, but I wanted to know Martin was too. 

"I'm fine. I was- I was just messing with him." He looked down. "Maybe I went too far showing you Dinofluff. I know he's embarrassed about that."

I  gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and pulled my hand off. "I already knew about that. I think he'll recover. Just don't mess with him too much, I don't want you guys fighting." 

Martin asked me questions about sports while we waited for Calvin. He clearly didn't know anything about any of them, but he listened anyways. When Calvin came back, it was my turn to get ready. I only had to brush my teeth, so I didn't take as long as they did. The bathroom smelled like Calvin was pawing off in here. Is that why Martin took so long too? I thought about saying something to them, but I knew just how shy Calvin was about that topic. Besides, Martin didn't need to be reminded of what happened in the shower earlier. Damn, I bet the looks on their faces would be priceless.

They surprised me when I came back, they were both in their underwear, tails curled around their legs. Martin tried to swap to a more confident stance, almost a Superman pose with his hips pushed forward. His tail and face gave away his discomfort, though. Oh yeah, he's definitely trying to get my attention. Why didn't I notice myself? 

"Ca-Calvin said you sleep in your underwear. We decided we'll do it too. You know, so you won't be alone." Martin said. 

Right, I'm sure you're not enjoying this. He had a modest bulge, a benefit to boxerbriefs that Calvin's boxers didn't have. Maybe I could get Calvin to wear some one day.

"Cool. Where are we sleeping?" I started taking off my clothes.

"My bed again. It's big enough for all of us." Calvin said. I looked at it. Sure, we'd fit, as long as everyone's ok touching. I know I am. "Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine." I said. 

I was right about the tight squeeze. Even though they weren't completely pushed up against me, I could feel the heat of their bodies and their fur brushing against mine as they moved. 

Sometimes being a light sleeper is a curse. I was woken up at some point by noise outside Calvin's door. Probably his mom leaving her room just like last time, I was too groggy to really care. I kept my eyes shut and waited for sleep to take me again as I listened to the floor creaking when she walked down the hall. Maybe I should bring my radio with me when I sleep over, play white noise to drown out outside sounds. 

I tried to focus on something else and noticed both of my nerds had moved in the night. Calvin was pressed against my left side, his muzzle resting on my arm. His stuffed dinosaur lay between my elbow and his stomach. That's twice he cuddled up to me in his sleep. Is it coincidence? Would he do it with anyone? Maybe it's something more? I'm probably overthinking it. On my right, Martin was more obvious. He had gotten between my body and my arm. His head rested on my shoulder, my hand was on his lower belly, a couple of my fingers on his waistband. One of his hands was on my wrist. Did he somehow do all this without waking me up or did we both contribute to it? I fell back asleep listening to them breathe.