FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was a warm, muggy night, and the roar of the crowd was deafening. At least, compared to normal. I was sitting in an uncomfortable lawn chair at the sidelines as the two teams thundered past me, shouting and panting and throwing the ball back and forth to one another, and I could practically smell their sweat from here. Though the sky and the city was covered in black, the enormous, blinding lights lit up the field as if it was day, and did nothing to keep me cool. Even sitting there I was hot, and I couldn't imagine how the players felt.

But nevertheless, it was an exciting game. The players moved fast, and the ball even faster. It was my brother's final game in his amateur lacrosse league, and they were playing more fiercely than ever. My brother, Joel, took most of the hits - he was their best player, and always urged to get into a more serious league - getting knocked down more times than I could count, but he was always back up again. Of course, he gave as well as he got.

The game was in the last quarter, with only five minutes left, give or take, and I could tell players on both teams were exhausted. They'd been playing probably harder than they ever had, the game tied up. There was a constant stream of growling, snarling, yelling and howling on both sides, and each time the ball came close to either net, the crowd roared. Even I, who was definitely not the loud, thundering sort, found myself yelling at the players, or more typically, my brother.

I hadn't been to many of his games before, but in the last few months I found myself going to as many as I could, which wasn't easy between video gaming and high school. But fortunately school had been out for a few weeks now, and I was thoroughly enjoying my summer holidays. I, of course, didn't do much, except laze around playing Xbox and go to as many of Joel's games and practices as he could drive me to.

I didn't play any sports myself, not even any sports video games. I wasn't what you would call "the athletic type," though I wasn't horribly out of shape. I mean, I was out of shape, but I wasn't grossly obese or anything. My brother liked to tease me about my bit of a belly I have, and constantly urged me to work out or exercise more, telling me all too often I had naturally athletic genes. I of course told him I didn't, that somehow those genes had skipped a generation, but he insisted it was because I didn't work at it.

Some people have to work out every single day just to get the sort of body they want, while apparently, according to Joel, I required surprisingly little. "Just a few times a week," he'd say, which was usually followed by pinching my flabby sides or poking my belly. "And a healthier diet."

But I was fine with how I looked, and when it all came down to it, so was he. I think he bugged me about it not because he wanted me to look better, but because he wanted me to just be healthier and live longer, so I wouldn't have a heart attack when I was thirty. It annoyed me sometimes how he would talk to me as if I was morbidly obese, even though he and I both knew I was far from it. "A bit of a belly" would best describe my physique, at least to hear Joel tell it, though I wasn't particularly muscular anywhere else, either. But I was happy, which was all that mattered.

More happy, I should point out, since moving away from home. It wasn't a permanent move, unfortunately, since I was still in high school, but just for summer. I'd been living with my brother for the past few weeks, after school ended, which came as a relief to both myself and my parents.

My mom and dad weren't the worst people on the planet, and they were far from negligent, but there was little love for my myself and Joel. Plus they both drank a lot, which never helped. Apparently my mother had given birth to Joel when she was just nineteen, and me eleven years later. Joel had taken away her youth, she used to say, and my arrival sure didn't help. Neither of my parents wanted Joel, and especially not me, yet for as careful as they'd been, apparently just twice they weren't careful enough. To hear my dad tell it (especially when he'd been drinking), Joel ruined their lives, and I was the final nail in their coffin.

Yet for as depressing as they were, they had truly done their best to take care of Joel and I. Like I said, they weren't negligent. It was apparently very difficult for them raising Joel, since neither of them had jobs at the time, nor a real place to live. My mother's parents helped them out as much as they could, but still it wasn't easy. When I came around, things got even harder. Fortunately Joel was of an age where he was able to help with many of what they needed help with, such as feeding or changing diapers.

Even now I found it difficult to imagine my older brother taking care of me like that. Apparently he didn't have much of a childhood after I was born, having done what he felt was the majority of the work, as far as taking care of me went. My parents drank even then, probably to forget they had children in the first place, relying on their eldest son to change the baby's diapers and feed him every day and play with him and get him to stop crying. As far as my actual memory goes, Joel had also taught me a great many other things, like how to ride a bike and how to write my own name. He made me breakfast and lunch more often than not, and though neither of my parents were much of cooks, they at least attempted to make dinner every night. Most every night.

Neither of us had ever had many toys growing up, relying more on our imaginations than anything. Joel helped a lot with that. He and I played a lot of games together, generally pretending to be some character or another and just running around outside screaming. In retrospect, since he was in his teens by that point, I likely did most of the screaming. But nevertheless, my big brother took care of me. In fact, he was the one who'd given me my Xbox years after he moved out, and I got my computer from a friend of his. Those were probably my two most expensive possessions, neither of which my parents would have ever bought me.

The saddest day of my life was probably when Joel moved out. He moved out a couple years after high school, when he was twenty, though he told me he didn't really want to. He felt bad for leaving his nine-year-old brother behind like that, but my parents were driving him crazy. Mostly they said Joel cost them too much money, and he was more than old enough to be living on his own. That was usually when they would tell him how he'd ruined their lives, how when they were just nineteen they were forced to fend for themselves with a child they didn't want, how Joel knew nothing of the real world and what it takes to survive. They would say he had no appreciation for the sacrifices they made, though Joel would often counter with the sacrifices he gave having to take care of me. Eventually it became too much, and Joel moved out. Then it was just me and my parents.

I still loved my parents, despite all that, and fortunately I'd been spared the brunt of their verbal abuse. They would still fight and yell, but they also admitted things were slightly easier without Joel living at home, and each year proceeding seemed a little less stressful. I was almost seventeen now, and though my parents weren't able to go on any crazy adventures like they used to dream of back before Joel, I had at least given them a bit of freedom for the summer.

A loud buzzer had suddenly snapped me out of my reverie. The game was over, and when I managed to focus on the team doing the most cheering, I saw a mass of purple-and-white jerseys jumping around with their sticks in the air. Joel's team had won, and though it was just an amateur league, I was sure my brother would receive some sort of small, cheap, plasticky something-or-another to commemorate the victory. Probably a trophy.

Unlike usual, I was then forced to watch the so-called awards ceremony, where each player got his respective trophy and a Most Valuable Player award was given. Unsurprisingly, Joel got it, and probably would have even if they'd lost. The whole ceremony took longer than I wanted to wait, but unfortunately Joel was also my ride home, so I had to stick around.

When the teams all shook hands and all was said and done, Joel at last made his way toward me, beaming as he held both his helmet, his trophy, and a medallion around his neck.

"About time," I said, but Joel ignored it.

"Thanks for coming, Donny," he said as he wrapped his arms around me. I was suddenly deathly aware of everyone around us, but I hugged Joel back all the same. He was still a little sweaty, and in the heat of the night, it was wafting heavily from beneath his gear. I hugged him a little tighter.

"You're welcome."

At last we parted, and Joel rubbed my head vigorously. He threw his gloves and his helmet down, shoving them unceremoniously into his bag, then gazed more carefully at his trophy. "What do you think?" he asked, turning it toward me.

Like a typical teenager, I shrugged. "I dunno. It's pretty nice. You sure deserve it."

"Thanks, buddy." He rubbed my head again. "Team's going out to celebrate tonight, probably Boston Pizza or something. So you're welcome to join us if you like."

I shrugged again, just as my brother carefully placed his goodies down on the lawn chair, then removed his arm guards. "You'll be with your team..." I pointed out. "I don't know. Not sure how comfortable I'd be."

Now it was Joel's turn to shrug, though I think he was really just trying to take his jersey off. Rather than dump it into his bag, with a smile he threw it over my head, pulling it half way down so I couldn't see. "There you go," he laughed, then as I tried to readjust the jersey's position, I heard the Velcro straps of his shoulder pads rip apart.

Just as I managed to pop my head through the top, I gazed at my sweaty, topless brother as he shoved his pads back into his bag. I then lifted my arms and pushed them through the short sleeves of his jersey, deciding to just wear it instead of taking it off. I could smell my brother's strong scent rising up from it, which seemed to make my tail wag.

When he finally zipped up his bag, Joel, with another shirt in paw, glanced at me and smiled. "You're my biggest fan," he simply stated.

"I am, Joey," I said more seriously than I meant to.

Joel just laughed through his nose then suddenly kissed me on the cheek. I blushed intensely, feeling the heat creep up my face as I glanced subtly to my left and right, checking to see if anyone had seen that. No one had, or so it seemed.

"God you're cute," said Joel, throwing on his shirt. It was a black tank top in the style of a basketball jersey, though it wasn't any actual team. "Well, like I said you're welcome to join us."

I did really want to go, and I truly was Joel's biggest fan. He was a great player, and I supported him as best I could, and I always would. Though we hung out a lot more since I moved out of my parents' house, I still found myself wanting to be around him all the time. But when I thought about it, I wasn't sure I wanted to hang around a bunch of other guys all wanting to drink themselves silly, myself only able to settle with Coke. Or Pepsi.

"I think I'll just stay home," I said reluctantly, just as Joel picked up his bag. I juggled his trophy and medal while I carried the lawn chair, making our way back to his car. "You have fun with your team, Joey."

"Y'sure?"

"Yeah..."

Joel then leaned into me and kissed my head. "Well don't have too much fun without me," he teased, knowing full well of my unusual fetish.

Not sure just how unusual it really was, for whatever reason I found Joel's sports gear an absolute turn-on. And it wasn't just his, it was other kinds, too, like football or hockey, or even motocross. Seemed to be most that included padded armour, I realized, though apparently lacrosse was my favourite. It was particularly odd because I didn't even like sports, much less play them, and I couldn't stand watching it on TV. But give me a pair of shoulder pads and away I go. Even just the jerseys (and pants, in some cases) I seemed to enjoy, I realized as I smelled Joel's again. I sighed quietly.

At last we reached his car and after shoving everything into the back seat, he and I were off, myself making no moves to take off his purple-and-white jersey. "Can I keep this now that you're done?" I asked, cheeks blushing.

Joel laughed as he started the engine and slowly wormed his way out of the parking lot. "I don't see why not."

Joel's apartment was at the opposite end of town, so it took about twenty minutes or so to drive there, probably less because there wasn't much traffic. He lived in a small basement condo where all the new development was, the sort of new development where every single house was nearly indistinguishable from the next. There were subtle differences, of course, like a lighter shade of brown for one garage, darker for another. But the land was totally levelled and there weren't any trees around for miles. Fortunately Joel's small condo complex was built before all the new development, or "clone homes" as he called them, near the Nature Reserve, so it was a bit more scenic and gave him a good place to run every morning.

My brother had only been living here for a couple months, forced to move out of his last place when he couldn't find a roommate to share rent with. He'd gone through at least three of them before his contract was up, and decided instead to find someplace new. Though I didn't understand much about mortgages and home-buying and whatnot, I knew while it was more expensive initially, moving into the condo was a better option for my brother. He said with his job, he wouldn't likely have to move again for a while, plus he didn't have to depend on others to make his payments.

When we finally arrived home, I happily carried Joel's bag for him, going around back to where our entrance was. I felt a bit like a slave or something, forced to use the back door while the rich folk, who lived in the floors above, got to use the front entrances.

I threw the bag down in the living room for now, which was the first room of his apartment. It was relatively spacious, more so for just one person, and boasted a nice coffee table, a couch with a side table, a shelf against the wall to the couch's right, plus a shoe rack. I didn't quite understand the shoe rack, since it only had a pair of flip-flops and a pair of shoes on it, plus mine. Like most furs, I didn't often wear shoes anyway, my footpads more than enough. But sometimes I liked to.

Anyway, to the right of the entrance was simply a coat rack, then against the wall a TV table with a TV on it, the Xbox not far away. Past the living room was the kitchen, which was a nice size for a single person, and was separated from the living room by a bar-like countertop, which could be used as a table. The sink was attached, too, and had a preparation area above the dishwasher and adjacent to the stove, which was right beside the fridge. The room following was tiny, not really a room but apparently considered a "den," barely enough room for a normal-sized desk. That was where Joel kept his lacrosse bag and the wooden rack, like a short coat rack, made for airing out his gear. That was where I finally put down his bag. There were very short hallways leading out of the den, plus the longer one which led in. In the longer hall was a door that led to the washer and dryer, while the shorter ones led to the washroom (to the left of the longer hallway) and the bedroom.

The bedroom was, like most rooms in the condo, great for one person. It had a surprisingly large closet, though, which was good for all the additional stuff I brought with me. There was also a bedside table with a lamp on it, plus a book, and the thankfully large bed sat against the wall. Against the wall the door was on sat a modest desk with Joel's laptop, though he usually just had it in the living room. It was there right now.

I jumped happily into bed right now, though I was hardly tired. I turned around with just enough time to watch Joel enter, and I was smiling at him. Joel sat on the side of the bed and removed his cleats, which he usually didn't wear home, though sometimes he forgot. He then let his toes air out and my brother sighed, relaxing a bit. He then lay back, feet still dangling off the side of the bed.

His right paw flopped down beside my legs then grabbed on, squeezing my left calf a little. He rubbed my leg gently. "Thanks again for coming, Donny. I appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure," I said as I crawled toward him, kissing him between the eyes. My brother and I nuzzled for a moment, but soon he was back on his footpaws, off the bed. Aw, I wanted to say, hoping he'd stay. For now I just stood on the bed on my knees.

"I should probably go shower," sighed Joel, taking off his top. I just stared at his well-toned body, somewhat envious but not nearly enough to do something about it. Then he took a step toward me, letting my paws slide around his waist while his ran over my shoulders. "I'll probably be back around midnight or so, one at the latest. Will you be okay until then?"

Joel still sometimes talked to me like I was a little kid, though I suppose to him, I always would be. "I'll be fine, Joey," I said with feigned annoyance. He kissed me anyway, his lips warm and soft against mine. It was a short kiss, unfortunately, and he parted with me wanting more.

I sighed quietly when he left the bedroom, taking one good whiff of Joel's jersey before taking it off. I was just wearing a plain black t-shirt underneath it, and camo cargo shorts. I sighed again when I heard the shower turn on, then finally decided to get up. I went into the living room and plopped myself down on the couch, Xbox controller in paw. But before I could turn it on, I began to imagine my brother in the shower, naked and wet, and suddenly had a wicked idea. I touched myself a little at the thought until I finally got up, half erect.

I bit my lower lip as I paced quickly through the kitchen and to the bathroom door, paw shaking slightly before the knob. I gripped it slowly and carefully, turning it ever-so-slightly. Thankfully the door wasn't locked, and I even found it hadn't been closed all the way. On purpose, perhaps? Either way, with the water pouring noisily onto Joel, he didn't hear me enter the tiny bathroom, and couldn't see me through the shower curtain. I smiled and closed the door again most of the way, removing my pants quickly and kicking them next to his, then removed my shirt.

Without any warning, and in the middle of some tune my brother was humming, I pulled back the curtain and entered the bathtub.

"Donovan!" he shouted in surprise. He nearly dropped the soap, too, but his deft hands managed to catch it. "What the hell?"

Facing toward the faucet, the stream of water thankfully blocked by Joel's large, muscular body, I reached my paws up to his chest and pressed my body forward, giggling as my half-hard crotch smeared against his.

"Donny," he said, trying to sound irritated. "I don't have time for this."

"Your team can wait," I said, blush heavy on my face. Despite apparently not wanting me in here, he put his arms around me as I began to lick gently at his left nipple, which made him groan.

"Ah, god, Donovan..." I could feel him getting harder. He let me suck and lick his nipple for a good while longer before he finally said, "You know I love you, buddy, but really... I've got to go meet my team, they'll be waiting for me."

I gave his nipple a hard nip before backing away. "Fine then," I pouted.

Joel sighed. "Don't be like that, you're seventeen."

"Almost seventeen."

"Sixteen-year-olds don't act like that either."

"Well...can I at least..." I began to blush even harder. I wasn't sure if couples ever actually did this, and thinking back I wasn't sure I'd ever seen it in porn before, but I thought I'd give it a try. Seemed sexy enough. "Can I wash you..?"

Joel seemed taken aback, but he handed me the soap anyway. "Okay, but I really don't have time to mess around."

"Yeah, yeah." With the soap, I ran both it and my other paw through his fur, and therefore over his loosening muscles, which only served to make me harder. With a small smile I ran my paws over his chest and his abs, working up a good lather before doing his sides. He then lifted his arms and I did his pits, reaching up toward his paws though I wasn't quite able to reach so high. He laughed at me as I tried, then finally put them down and turned around so I could do his back. With impressive definition, I took more pleasure out of this than normal people would have, becoming even more excited when I got to do his round, perfect bum. Joel had to laugh a few times as my shaky paws awkwardly washed his rear-end, but his tune changed quickly when I did his legs and thighs. From behind, having saved the best for last, I reached around either side with the soap in just one paw and lathered up his sheath, slowly and purposefully.

"Mmm... Donny, I really appreciate the care you're showing me but if you rub my sheath any more you're gonna make me cum." I knew he was exaggerating, but there was no denying his stiffness. Even his knot had formed within his sheath, and as the soap worked his balls and behind, my paw guiltily massaged his knot.

"Clean enough now?" I asked devilishly. I was still touching his sheath, and the other paw had finally ventured up to touch his hot, red shaft, which for now was just poking out a couple inches.

"Ah, damn you, Donovan."

I laughed.

"Okay, buddy," he said a little reluctantly. "That's enough. Unless you want to get clean, too, I'm pretty much done."

I pushed my ears back. My plan was a resounding failure. But I handed Joel the soap anyway. "Would you mind..?" I turned around.

"All right, Donny, but don't try anything funny."

I just nodded, then I felt his strong paws lathering up my back and my neck, then rolled over my shoulders and down to the small of my back and around my waist. He did my bum quickly, then my legs, and while still keeping my back toward him, his paws moved up around my hips and my belly, massaging the soap into my fur. I felt his hard shaft press against my bum as he did my belly and chest, and I couldn't help but let out a long, horny moan. I pushed my bum back into his crotch, though clearly Joel was intent on washing me. Like myself, he saved washing my private bits for last, but there wasn't anything sexual about it beyond what you'd expect. I groaned all the same, half my shaft throbbing out of my sheath. "Ooh, Joey," I groaned, wanting him as much as ever.

He then placed the soap in the soap tray and took me by the shoulders, quickly sliding past me and urging me toward the stream of water. In a very fluid motion, he got me under the water and slipped out of the shower, and it took me a moment to realize what had happened.

"Hey!" I shouted, pushing back the curtain. My brother had already wrapped a towel around his waist.

"I'm sorry, Donny, really. Just look at me," he said, gesturing toward his crotch. He was pitching one hell of a tent. "You think I don't want this? My team's not gonna start until I get there, and I'm probably going to be late as it is."

I sighed quietly. I blamed my teenager-ness for how horny I was, though admittedly part of me blamed Joel as well. I figured that was probably just my teenaged emotions, but still...I wanted him bad.

"I'll be home around midnight," he told me again, then left me alone in the bathroom. I frowned at him all the same, then got the rest of the soap out of my fur. After turning off the water, I quickly patted myself dry - we beagles have very short fur, so it doesn't take long - and wrapped the towel around my waist like Joel had. I grabbed my stuff and Joel's and when I went back to the bedroom, I got to see my brother with a nice dark red dress shirt on, but no pants. He was still a little hard, which I saw through his boxers. I just threw the stuff down into the laundry hamper and sat on the bed, watching him more sullenly than I was actually feeling.

"Don't be like that," he said as he pulled up his pants, tucking his shirt in as he did. "You can't get bent out of shape every single time something doesn't go your way. It's one night, Donny, so relax."

I sighed. I knew he was right, of course, but I still acted upset by it.

At last he was looking respectable, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He sometimes wore a waistcoat when he went out, but clearly tonight he didn't bother. He just gave me a quick kiss on the head and said, "Be good."

"You be good," I barked, not one of my best comebacks.

Joel just rolled his eyes and left. When I was sure he was gone, I walked past his lacrosse bag and to the living room, where I plunked myself in front of the Xbox and continued my game in Assassin's Creed. I was in the middle of a mission, and was getting frustrated by it the night before, so hopefully after a day to relax, I'd get through it easily.

But soon I found myself growling at the TV, achieving 100% Synchronization nearly impossible. "That's so cheap!" I cried angrily. I was supposed to finish the Memory without taking a single hit of damage, but it felt like everything was working against me. Especially the guards. And after the fifth time of having to restart the entire Memory, I decided it was time to turn it off. I thought to play Skyrim some more, now on a second character, but the appeal of video games was gone. I threw the controller down and pushed myself back, arms crossed and frowning.

Stupid Joel, I found myself thinking, though of course he wasn't to blame in the slightest. I sighed again, louder, debating on whether or not I should just turn my game back on. But when I thought about how angering it was, I decided instead to start getting ready for bed. I wouldn't necessarily get into bed, but at least get out of my regular clothes.

But before I reached the bedroom, I realized Joel's gear had not yet been put away - it still sat in his bag where it was no doubt collecting all sorts of horrid smells. I stared at the bag for a while, then decided to do my brother a favour, or so I told myself, and air his stuff out.

I unzipped the bag and the first thing I pulled out was his shoulder pads, which rested on top, then the helmet immediately after. On the arms below the shoulder pads I slid on the arm guards and the gloves right after, then I removed his jockstrap (and the cup within) and dangled it on the edge of a peg. His jersey and shorts would ordinarily go up, too, but neither were in his bag. I took a short whiff of all the warm, sweaty smells that was Joel and at last entered the bedroom.

Quickly I removed my shirt and my shorts, and though I usually just slept in my boxers, or pyjama pants when it was cooler, I couldn't resist slipping into Joel's jersey again. I rubbed my paw all over my chest and sides, getting a good feel for the smooth , cool material, and in no time at all I felt that warm tingling in my sheath. And in just a moment I forgot about Joel and stupid Assassin's Creed as my paw gripped my sheath.

I moaned quietly and sat back on the bed, leaning back with one paw as quickly I became fully erect, save my knot hidden behind its sheath. In my mind I began to imagine my brother in all his gear, playing the game he loved. But very quickly that devolved into Joel wearing just his jockstrap, and showing me his bum.

My brother had a great bum. I'd never been too into them before, but Joel's...well, perhaps just everything about him turned me on. As I stroked myself quickly, wasting no time getting into it, my paw mashed his jersey's material into my chest until after just a minute, I yelped and tore my paw away from my cock. Panting a little, I winced and groaned as I tried not to cum, cock throbbing horribly and dripping with precum. I didn't want to finish quite yet, though it would be difficult holding it back.

After a few deep breaths, I got off the bed and kicked off my boxers, then made my way back into the tiny den, horny as ever. I looked at his gear, and though I wasn't quite feeling adventurous enough to put all of it on, I sure as hell wanted to wear his jock.

I slipped into the garment easily enough, though I barely fit in with my shaft pounding away. But still I tried, bearing in mind of course Joel's own sweaty sheath and balls had been rubbing against the inside for nearly an hour and a half that very night. My dog-meat throbbed again, and as I pulled it out and stroked, I found I was extraordinarily sensitive.

"God that's good," I said aloud, stroking slowly for now. I retreated back to the bedroom and slid into Joel's lacrosse shorts, moaning softly as it came around my waist. For now I rubbed the end of my shaft on the smooth insides of his shorts, which sent an amazing shiver up my spine. I moaned again, louder, and continued doing it. Torturous shots of pleasure fired through my cock each and every time my tip slid across the material, smearing a bit of precum with every chilling graze. When eventually I'd had too much, finding it becomes incredibly intense after only a short while, I pulled the shorts down below my balls and stroked off once more.

"Ah, aah..." I cried, lying on my back now. I pumped my shaft harder and faster, paw groping at my sides to feel the smooth jersey against my fur. Eyes closed, I pictured Joel in all his gear, shoulder pads and arm guards and gloves and all, embracing me with all of it on. In my mind his gloved paws fumbled around my back and my bum and my balls, fondling me so delicately yet very purposefully. Soon I imagined him standing behind me, myself bent over a table and while still in gear, he penetrated my tailhole.

I moaned loudly as I imagined my brother fucking me, almost able to feel his dog-meat pushing inside my body and stretching my poor hole without mercy. Of course I was still just stroking myself, but I saw it and felt it so vividly in my mind, it could almost have been real. I then bit my lip and groaned through my teeth, my free paw up around my chest now fondling my nipple, all through Joel's purple and white jersey. The sweaty jersey he'd won his game in.

While my brother was making good use of my tailhole, all in my mind, somehow I'd been turned around so I pictured myself with my legs around his waist and we were facing each other. Eyes closed tight, I imagined while he pounded into me my paws reaching up and pulling him down by his shoulder pads, pawpads sliding across the stiff protective material and down his strong biceps, his muscles hard and powerful. From his gear I recalled the smell of his thick, sweaty musk, an odour I loved and made me insanely horny. I then began to imagine my big brother kissing me, his tongue against mine while I continued to grope his pads, and he continued to fuck me.

In just a few short minutes, holding that image and those smells in my mind, I suddenly seized up and howled a bit too loud, not caring if our rich neighbors above heard me. My cock filled with a powerful rush of ecstasy, pleasure crawling through my balls and climbing toward my gut. Much to my surprise, I managed to fire long, hot ropes of thick white beagle-seed all the way up to my chest, reaching as high as my collarbone, likely in part because of how horny I was earlier, and how unsatisfied Joel had left me.

"Jesus," I huffed, the pleasure dying down. I began to idly grope my balls anyway, but I stopped stroking as my dog-seed dripped down my knuckles. For now I simply lay there paw around my cock, though it wouldn't stay very hard for long. I wanted Joel so badly before, and though I just got off, I found I still wanted him. But instead I just sighed, and after another long moment, finally got up to clean off my mess. I then replaced Joel's jockstrap and shorts onto their rightful pegs and quickly threw my boxers back on - though I kept the jersey - and crawled into bed.

I was tired, and yet when I closed my eyes to sleep, it never came. I had no idea how long I was lying there for before Joel finally came home, but it was probably a good couple hours. He stumbled into the room noisily, ruining any amount of sleep I'd actually gotten, though I remained still.

"Donny," he whispered. I heard him fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, then heard it fall to the floor. "Donny?"

I shifted slightly, but remained silent. I wasn't much in the mood for sex anymore, now that I was warm and comfortable and my eyelids struggled to stay open. I heard my big brother bounce around for a second as he removed his nice shoes, then his pants, then listened as he took off his boxers. I could smell a particular heat in the air, one I was very familiar with but had no desire for. I also smelled alcohol.

"You awake?"

I sighed loudly, which meant yes.

"I missed you, Donny," he said as he crawled onto the bed. He pulled the sheets down a bit, then rubbed my shoulder. He began kissing me almost immediately, but stopped to say, "Sorry about before. But if it's all the same to you, I'm good and ready now." I thought I felt something other than his knee poking around the bed sheets...

"You're drunk," I pointed out groggily. I kept my eyes closed, for all the good it'd do. "How'd you get home?"

"Took a cab, don't worry buddy. Now c'mon, let's do this..."

I sighed again, then turned onto my back. Though he was just a faint silhouette half on top of me, I could see his doghood was fully erect and begging for release. With the bit of light shining in through the small window next to the ceiling, I could also see he was dripping wet. But I made no move toward it.

"I'm not really in the mood, Joel."

My brother laughed quietly. "What...seriously?"

I shrugged. "I jerked off earlier..."

"Oh, well that doesn't mean I can't..." He stopped himself there and held his no doubt spinning head for a moment. "Okay, Donny, I understand."

"Sorry, Joey."

"Nono, it's all right. Guess I figured since you were so into me before, you'd still be."

By that point I was already starting to regret my decision, feeling kind of bad for almost leading him on like that, though I was sure if we'd actually gotten into anything heavy, I would find myself regretting that instead. I just sighed quietly, which was followed by a much louder sigh from Joel. He got up off the bed and put on his boxers, and though I noticed he was still rock-hard, he climbed into bed anyway, taking his side next to the side table.

"Good night, Donovan," he said softly, then we kissed. Despite how the night had gone, I held onto my brother anyway and like that, I was fast asleep.

The next morning came abruptly when Joel got out of bed with a loud curse. Despite it being Saturday, my brother had to go into work that day for a bit of overtime before his week of vacation, of the two he was allowed. Evidently my big brother had had a bit too much to drink, which worried me slightly in light of our parents' obvious problem, and now he had to get to work with a hangover. More specifically, he had to go get his car first from wherever he left it, then go to work with a hangover. I felt a little sorry for him, though it was his own fault.

"You gonna get off early today?"

"Yeah, probably," he said as he filled a travel mug with coffee, a regular mug full right beside it. I was watching him from our room, though it was probably time for me to get up anyway.

"So how're you getting to work?" I called out.

"Stephen's going to pick me up."

"Oh." I slumped back down in bed and yawned.

Joel, by the way, worked as a video game tester for a smaller company in our city. I was insanely jealous of his job, though it was always kind of upsetting when he talked about it like it was just another normal, boring job like working at McDonalds. He made the whole idea of testing out new video games sound so...tedious, so humdrum and everyday. Apparently he was in line to be the next lead tester, which was why he had to go in this weekend.

As I approached the kitchen, having finally dragged myself out of bed, I gave my brother a hug from behind, still wearing his purple jersey. He smiled at me and turned around, and despite his coffee breath, gave me a gentle kiss. I just rested my paws on his hips and gently nuzzled his bare, white-furred chest.

"You want me to make you anything?" he asked, looking about as if there was actually food on the counter. "I can make you eggs, or get you some cereal, or something. Do you want some toast?"

I had to smile at my big brother. "I'm fine, Joey."

He petted me gently on the back. "I know you are, but I've still got to take care of you, y'know."

"I'm seventeen, Joel."

"Almost seventeen. Anyway, lemme make you some eggs or something. Hopefully I won't puke in them." Before I could object, Joel had put down his coffee mug and found a frying pan, then quickly made his way to the fridge to retrieve a couple eggs. I always ate them scrabbled with a bit of pepper.

"I can't begin to count how many times I've made these eggs for you before," mused Joel as he waited for the pan to heat up. "I've been making them for you since you were, like, five."

I smiled and ran my little claws up and down Joel's back, along his spine, which he seemed to enjoy. "I appreciate it, Joey."

When at last the eggs were sufficiently scrambled, he found a small plate and scraped everything onto it, then got me a fork. "There you go, buddy."

I smiled. "Thanks." I pulled a stool out from under the countertop/table and sat down to eat.

While still standing, Joel just leaned against the black counter and watched me eat with a bit of a smile on his face. "Damn it you're cute," he said, pushing himself up again. He put his mug down and came up behind me and gently tickled his fingers along my sides, along my ribs, and kissed me softly on the back of my head. He kissed down my neck a little and a bit of my shoulder, his paws now clasped just above my belly. I giggled at him as I ate my eggs, and he continued to kiss and nip at my head and ears respectively. Then he rested his head against mine as if listening to me chew, arms still around me. I could almost feel his heartbeat, and it made me blush.

When I finally finished my eggs, I pushed the plate forward and held onto Joel's forearms and leaned back into him, smiling. He was so warm, so comforting. No one in the entire world knew Joel and I shared this sort of relationship, a secret we'd been keeping for at least three months now. I loved my big brother more than brothers are supposed to love each other, and it was an incredible feeling. He was my soul mate, I knew, someway, somehow, I knew it. There was no one else I wanted to be with.

"Well," sighed my brother. "I guess I should start getting ready to go." He really sounded like he didn't want to. But unfortunately he was right. Just a second after releasing me, he downed the rest of his coffee, snapped the lid onto his travel mug and went into the bedroom to change. I followed him in, of course, licking my lips and savouring the last bit of his tasty eggs still on my tongue.

When I appeared, I blushed to see my brother rip off his boxers and kick them aside, standing before me totally nude. I just stood and watched him like some kind of creep, stealing glances at his sheath and balls while he ignored me and looked for a fresh pair of underwear. He found a new pair of boxers not unlike the old ones and slipped into them quickly, giving me a wink as he pulled them up. Then he put on a pair of well-worn jeans and a t-shirt immediately after, then grabbed his phone off his desk. I yawned and stepped aside as he rushed into the living room, grabbing his travel mug from the counter, laptop from the coffee table, and his keys from the dish next to the shoe rack. Just before leaving, after cracking the front door open, he stopped himself and looked back to me as I stepped into the kitchen.

"Donny," he said, gesturing I come over with his head. I smiled at him and came close, and we shared a long, loving kiss. "All right, I'll see you later, buddy. Hopefully be home around...four, maybe."

"See ya, Joey." Then he was gone. I sighed quietly and scratched at my chest, wondering what I should do next. It was earlier than I usually got up, but I was wide awake now. When I felt my stomach grumble a bit, fed but not satisfied, I poured myself a bowl of cereal and ate it on the couch, flicking on the TV for now.

As usual, nothing was on except the news and daytime talk shows. A few cartoons were on, but none of them appealed to me. I remembered the cartoons from my youth, that is, before I was in high school. They were fantastic shows, but the stuff I saw now was nonsensical and noisy. And repetitive. I ended up on Discovery watching some news-type show about the latest in science and nature. It was fascinating enough, though I wasn't paying much attention to it. Even long after I finished my cereal, I still found I was gazing at the screen only listening to half of what they were saying, flipping between it and one of those dumb cartoons between commercials. I sighed loudly.

Suddenly, though, I heard my phone ringing from the bedroom, and I rushed to answer it. After the fourth noisy jingle I reached my phone, sliding my thumb across the screen to answer it. "Hello?" I said, a little out of breath.

"What, did I catch you masturbating?" laughed my friend Chase, a dingo. We'd known each other since we were pups, and have been best friends since.

"No," I answered quickly. It wasn't a particularly convincing "no," despite it being true.

"Yeah right. So what's up? You doing anything today?"

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "Not really. Joel's working today, 'cause his boss called him in." I then sat on the bed, the noise of the television faint from the living room.

"Great, you wanna hang out? Maybe get lunch, or something, and get some stuff for next week."

"Sure, yeah. Uh. What kind of stuff?"

"Oh, I dunno. Snacks and shit. Hot dogs, marshmallows. You know, regular camping stuff. Think Joel can get us some beer?"

I hated the taste of beer. "Uhh. I can ask, I guess."

"Awesome, thanks. So what time you want me to swing by?"

"Uhh..." I had to strain to look at the clock. It was only nine in the morning now, having watched over an hour of mindless television. "Anytime. I just have to put on pants, really."

Chase laughed. "Not unless you want to get arrested."

I smiled. "Yeah..."

"All right, man, well, I'll see you in a bit, then. I've got to do a few things before I get you, but I shouldn't be too long. Maybe...ten-ish?"

I shrugged again. "Yeah, sure, sounds good. Later."

"Later."

Ten-ish. That meant I had an hour or so to get ready. I put my phone down and glanced about, deciding I'd go with the grey camo shorts today, rather than the green. After reluctantly slipping out of Joel's smelly jersey he'd worn to his game last night, I put on a fairly snug, short-sleeved shirt, dark blue with a faded image of Captain America's shield on it. I then slipped my phone into my pocket and went to the bathroom, to the mirror.

I didn't have much fur to mess around with, beagles being naturally short-furred. But I had a bit atop my head that was still short, but just enough to make me look like I'd just gotten out of bed. Apparently our family has a bit of Collie in our blood, having been mixed in generations ago on my mother's side, and hardly showed anymore. My grandmother had somewhat longer fur, though barely, and my grandmother's grandmother looked almost half-and-half, and yet her mother looked more beagle. It was staggering to think about, and strange how genetics worked. Either way, my brother and I looked pretty much entirely beagle, short fur and all.

Anyway, I brushed my paws through my head-fur vigorously, ridding it of that just-out-of-bed look and giving it more of a messed-up-fur look. I picked at it here and there, but it just remained somewhat spiky and messed up. I sighed, then shrugged, then shook my head, my long floppy ears snapping back and forth until I stopped. I still looked basically the same, and that would have to do.

At last, after watching TV for a while longer, Chase called, lost in the condo complex. "Hey, where's your brother's house again? They all look the same."

"Fifteen," I said slowly.

"I know the number, Donovan, I just can't find it."

I sighed. "You have to go around back, I said."

"Back?"

"Yeah, like, in the back yard. I'm in...ah, never mind. I'll come find you." If Chase was saying any more, I missed it when I hung up my phone, shoving it back into my pocket. I grabbed my wallet and the spare house key Joel had made me - it had a single key ring, a tiny metal lacrosse stick - and locked the door after leaving. It didn't take long to find my friend, who was pacing around two houses over.

"Hey!" I shouted at him, waving my arm.

"There you are," he growled, not actually angry. "Why on earth is your entrance in the back?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, 'cause that's how they built it."

"All right, well anyway, I'm parked over there."

Chase's car was an old thing, blue and in surprisingly good condition. "It runs," he was often heard saying. It was at least ten years old.

I got into the passenger seat and in moments we were off. At quarter after ten, stores would be just opening now, and real restaurants besides those that served breakfast wouldn't be open yet for another forty-five minutes. We just drove for a while, myself staring out the window as we made our way toward the mall. It wasn't a huge mall, but it was open and so was its food court. Plus the grocery store wasn't too far away, which we'd probably be hitting first.

"So what're you getting?" I asked my friend again.

"Not sure yet. Figured I'd know it when I see it. What're you and Joel bringing?"

I shrugged for the hundredth time that day. "We haven't really discussed it yet, truth be told. But, you know, burgers and whatnot. Sandwich stuff. Probably bring up a lot of what we already have. Fruit, maybe."

Chase tapped his steering wheel with his fingers as he waiting at the red light, only a few blocks away from the mall, and the grocery store. "I guess we can bring more of the same. Vic and Matt are probably gonna bring some snacks and stuff, too. Vic told me he's bringing practically his father's whole liquor cabinet, but I'm not sure I actually believe him."

Vic and Matt were our mutual friends, who we'd known since grade nine. Vic was a small arctic fox whose mind was dirtier than you'd think. He got all A's in every class, excelling in math and science, and was already being considered for early enrollment in colleges and universities. His parents were extremely strict, and incredibly overbearing and pushed him, which might explain why his mind was so filthy. He liked to party, Vic, when he wasn't busy with school work.

Matt, on the other hand, was a Rottweiler of average intelligence. He played lots of sports, though not the popular ones, and was quite skilled at them. Unlike Chase, Vic and I, he was somewhat of an artist, too, a writer mostly but liked to draw sometimes as well. He was fairly quiet and level-headed, often the ying to Vic's yang, but when pushed he could have quite a temper. I hadn't yet seen him fight anybody, but being the largest of us four, I was certain I wouldn't want to.

"Well, Joel's probably gonna bring some beer. If not for you guys, then at least for himself. Though I don't imagine he'd mind sharing."

At last we reached the grocery store. Inside was busy, even so early, and though he didn't know what he wanted, I grabbed a buggy anyway. We walked around for what felt like hours, scanning each aisle carefully for anything we might need. Though I didn't care for them, Chase threw in a few cans of baked beans, then I got a chance to raid the chip aisle. I chose Dill Pickle and Salt and Vinegar, and Regular for those who didn't like flavour. We then decided Chase would bring some hotdogs and grabbed a couple packages, then of course hotdog buns, and wandered around for a while longer. Most of our time was spent weaving between mobs of insane customers. Our last stop was the pop aisle, and though Matt would probably be bringing some, as well as Joel and I, Chase grabbed a case of Coke anyway, figuring he'd just drink the rest if no one else did.

At last we were done, and when we finally checked out, it was well past noon.

"Fucking zoo in there," commented Chase as he piled the bags into his trunk. He said it with the slightest taste of an Australian accent, though he wasn't born there; his parents were, having moved here years before he was born. Whenever Chase got annoyed or angry, just a hint of an accent strangely emerged. "Where do you want to go to eat? And don't you fucking shrug at me."

My shoulders were begging to shrug, but I managed to resist. "Uh..." I drew out that single syllable for as long as I could, then began to get back into the car to stall for even more time. "I don't know," I said at last, which got me a frown from my friend.

"God damn it, Donovan."

"I'm sorry! I'm not good at making decisions."

The dingo sighed, then pushed his keys into the ignition. "Well I'm not moving until you decide."

"Why do I have to decide? Why can't you decide?"

"Because I'm always deciding. I want you to decide for a change."

Now I frowned. "Fine. Let's go to... I dunno. Someplace fast."

"We're going to Williams, you son of a bitch." I knew he didn't mean it, the son of a bitch comment. I still loved him, but I gave my friend an irritated look anyway. "Sorry, Donovan. I hate grocery shopping. Like, you have no idea."

"We're on vacation now, Chase, you don't need to get so stressed. And tomorrow we'll be so far from any big grocery store like this, it isn't even funny."

Finally Chase started the engine and drove across the parking lot to the coffee bar. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, stopping again. We both got out and stood in line. As usual I ordered a Chai Tea Latte, strange for what I tended to eat, then a Chicken Caesar Wrap. I didn't often eat healthy, but when I did it was at Williams. Damn was their stuff good...

Chase paid for both our meals, saying it was his birthday present to me, then we took a booth seat with our number, placing it close to the edge of the table so they'd see it.

"So you liking living with your brother?" asked Chase. Despite being best friends, he knew nothing of my sordid relationship with Joel. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to tell him, though sometimes I badly wanted to. He pestered me often about finding a girlfriend, or more recently a boyfriend, and I found it hard to come up with excuses. For once I wanted to tell him I was taken, that I had a boyfriend, or a mate at any rate, but I knew I never could. I tried to imagine dozens of times how he might react to me telling him, but in my mind it never seemed to end well. Chase and I never kept secrets from one another, and I hated keeping this one from him, but I felt it was necessary.

"Yeah," I said, ears perked a bit. "It's pretty great. He keeps telling me I have to get a job, though, which kinda sucks."

"You'll have to get one eventually, you know. Matt's got one." Matt worked at the grocery store we were just shopping at, though I didn't see him. If he was working that day, and he probably was, he was likely very busy, and in such a large store it was easy to miss people.

"Yeah, I know. He says I have to help him pay his bills."

My friend shrugged, despite my scolding earlier. "It's only fair."

"I guess. Anyway, it's nice to get away from my parents, even though it's just for summer. I think they're happy I'm gone, too. Knowing them, they won't even want me back."

"Well, maybe you can keep living with Joel. If you can help him out, and he doesn't drive you too crazy, I'm sure that'd work out just fine. Maybe he could even drop you off at school before he goes to work. Starts bloody early enough."

At last our food arrived. As we ate, I imagined living with Joel all the time like that. After a hard day of school, it would be so amazing to come home to have him there, and hold onto him and kiss him until thoughts of school were all but gone. We'd eat dinner together every night, and tell each other how crappy our days were (or how good they were, I suppose), and later we could snuggle until we fell asleep. And other things as well.

I sighed quietly as I imagined it, staring off into space. Chase was going on about something while I dreamed of walking through the door of Joel's house with my backpack on, throwing it to the floor in frustration but seeing my brother standing behind the counter of the kitchen. I'd walk in and immediately he and I would hug. Joel would rub my back and nip at my ears or kiss my head, and when he was finished he'd help me vent in the bedroom...

"Are you listening?" asked Chase, waving a paw in front of my face. My head flicked back slightly as I came back to reality.

"Yeah," I said, though of course I really wasn't.

Chase frowned at me, but soon eased up. "So you're still single, hm?"

I blushed slightly. "Yeah," I said, though of course it was a lie. Joel and I are fucking, I wanted to say, and we're happy being together. Joel is my boyfriend, my soul mate, and I don't want anyone else. I could almost feel the words on my lips, but I remained silent.

"You been talking to Blake at all?"

"A little," I said as I took another bite of my wrap. "Mostly online. Text him sometimes."

"He really likes you, you know."

I sighed, and felt a little guilty. I think we'd had this discussion a thousand times before. "I know."

"Why don't you go out with him? He's attractive enough, you've never denied that. You're both single, and you've gotten to know each other a bit better since you two kissed."

I still remembered that kiss. "Maybe I just don't want to date anyone. There's nothing wrong with that. It's nothing personal." I heard myself telling Chase all about Joel and I, but never said it.

Now Chase sighed. "I know it isn't. He's sorta come to terms with that, and he likes being your friend all the same. Wants to hang out more, so I'm glad you finally decided to invite him to your cottage. But no one can really figure you out. Y'know I only ask 'cause I'm worried about you."

"You don't have anything to worry about, Chase. I'm not depressed or anything. I'm perfectly happy with the way things are." Fucking my brother.

Chase gave a smaller shrug this time and a quiet sigh, then we finished up our lunch. I still had a bit of my tea left, and Chase his Caramel Latte. "So you want to hang out for a bit?"

"What do you think we're doing now?" I asked with a cheeky smile.

Chase mocked my smile. "I mean after lunch, dummy, and you know it. You gonna show me your new place?" He of course meant Joel's new place, and it wasn't even particularly new. Though his newest.

"Sounds like I am," I said.

"You don't have to, but even Vic with all his millions still lives at home. You've gotta show us your little slice of freedom, man."

Vic didn't actually have millions, though his parents were exceedingly wealthy. They were both doctors, his father a medical doctor, his mother a psychologist. Both well-respected, to hear Vic tell it. On top of that, his father owned half the shares of some large pharmaceutical company, or so Vic would have us all believe. I really had no idea where they got their money, I just knew they had it.

"Yeah, yeah, you can come over. It's not really spacious or anything, but it's cool. Kinda cozy."

Chase nodded, then we finally finished our drinks. We drove past the mall, deciding neither of us wanted anything (or could afford anything), so we headed straight for home, my little place with Joel. It didn't take long to get there, though traffic could have been better, and I made a point of showing Chase exactly where the "back of the house" was, and where the entrance was to the apartment. I unlocked the door and opened it slowly, trying to be dramatic.

"And here it is," I said unenthusiastically. I realized now that I was showing it off for the first time, I was observing things a bit more carefully, like how much of a mess there was. I mean, there wasn't a mess, but I was purposely looking to see. I also became acutely aware that no one but Joel and I had been in here before, and hoped nothing would give us away.

"This is the living room," I said, scanning it carefully. Everything seemed okay. "Xbox, tv, bookshelf... And over here's our kitchen!"

"Cool," commented Chase, looking around at everything. "I like how it's all sorta one room, except not."

I shrugged. "Down here's the bathroom," I told him, pointing toward the den. After entering the den, I moved my paw so I was pointing at the bathroom, the door open halfway. "This... Now, they call it a den, but it's pretty small, so Joel just uses it for his lacrosse stuff."

Chase had to laugh at the so-called den.

"And here's the bedroom," I announced, noticing a few pieces of clothes on the floor and the messy bed. I then of course realized, with a cold chill up my spine and a nasty tingling at the back of my neck as Chase entered, there was only the one bed, and two occupants. Two occupants who, as far as everyone in the entire world knew, didn't sleep together. I wanted to get Chase out of here before he could realize it, but as I turned I knew it was too late.

"Where do you sleep?" asked my friend. He wasn't looking suspicious or anything, but more curious. He took another glance around the room. "It's a hell of a lot cleaner than mine."

"We have an inflatable mattress for now," I quickly managed to come up with. My parents had one at their house that I used to use when I had sleepovers as a kid, which if not for that I probably wouldn't have answered so easily. "There's not really room for another bed, plus it's just for summer."

"Right. Makes sense, I guess. You should kick Joel out of his bed and make him use the mattress, just for one night. See how he likes it."

I laughed, and it didn't sound nervous. "Yeah, I should." The thought did have its appeal.

"Well," said Chase. "Lucky you. I don't have anywhere to go until I get a job and finish high school. Just two more years, man, two more."

Chase and I finally retreated to the living room, where I promptly plopped myself down on the couch and turned on the TV. Chase sat beside me.

"Want anything to drink, or something? I dunno if we have any snacks... I feel like I'm being a pretty crappy host."

Chase smiled. "Nah, I'm good. And your hosting skills are fine. Well, they're what I've come to expect from you, and I mean that in a good way!"

"Har har. Wanna play a game, then? Nothing's good on TV, Saturday afternoons."

Chase already had a controller in paw, the red one I liked most. I should have expected that. "Thought you'd never ask, buddy. What'll it be this time, hm? What game should I kick your ass at with your own controller?"

"Shut up," I barked, though I couldn't help but smile. We ended up playing Modern Warfare 2 for a while, and as usual Chase was kicking my ass. No matter what game we played, no matter how long I played it for, somehow my friend was always better than me. Even games he hadn't yet played, or games he'd barely played, he astonishingly managed to beat me. And it wasn't like I was particularly bad at video games. I mean, I could beat most single player modes on hard (even Halo on Legendary, all by myself!), and still he would beat me.

"So how many is that now?" Chase asked, the last round nearly coming close to losing.

"I'm gonna get you, Chase, it has to happen. One of these days."

Eventually we changed to Halo, just to mix things up, but it was the same results as ever.

"So," began Chase, who was currently chasing me around with a Gravity Hammer. "Seventeen, huh?"

"Almost seventeen."

Chase rolled his eyes. "Right. So how's it feel?"

I shrugged, concentrating more on keeping the Energy Sword I just found. "Fine, I guess. Just another year, y'know? Same crappy gifts from my parents." The same crappy gifts from my parents were generally none at all.

"Joel get you anything?"

That was a good question. "I dunno." My tail suddenly began to whap noisily against the couch as I came around the corner and slashed my friend open with the Energy Sword. "Ha!"

"Lucky shot," he claimed, though it was totally legit. "Look, I'm sick of this. Can't we at least play against other people? Give me some sort of challenge." Despite the fact I'd just killed him, I imagined he was getting bored killing me so much. I was kind of getting bored being killed, anyway. And so in just a few moments, he and I, sans the headsets, played against people worldwide, which as a team improved my rating significantly.

"What did you get me?"

"I'm not telling. But you'll like it." I was hoping for more time on Xbox Live Gold, which was what he usually got me.

After a few more games, we finally turned the Xbox off. "Why don't you give Blake a call?" my friend suddenly suggested.

"Huh? Why? You that bored?" When I looked at the clock, it was only three in the afternoon.

"No," shrugged Chase. "But why not?"

"Well, why not invite Vic and Matt over, too?"

"Because Vic and Matt hang out with you way more."

I sighed. "I feel like I'm leading him on, or something. I dunno..."

"You aren't leading him on, and I've told you a thousand times he's over it, man. He doesn't think you're leading him on. He just wants to hang out with you."

I sighed again, through my nose this time. "Fine, I'll call him. But it's going to be awkward."

"You'll be fine."

I dug out my phone from my pocket and found his name in my Contacts. Somewhat nervously, I hit Send and listened to it ring. Once, twice, three times and no one answered, and I was kind of hoping no one would. But after the fourth ring, I heard the Doberman's voice. "Hello?"

"Hey, Blake. Uh... It's me."

There was a short pause. "Sorry, who is this?"

I didn't get great reception inside the basement condo, so I stood up and walked toward the door. "Donovan. It's Donovan."

"Oh! Hey, Donovan. What's up? I wasn't expecting this."

"Chase and I are at my place, wanted to know if you'd like to hang out..?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, why not? Wasn't doing anything, anyway. Um. Might need directions to your place, though."

After he went to find a pen, I told him how to get here, though in retrospect I probably could have told him the address and he use Google Maps. But I appreciated him letting me go on like that. "Oh, and you have to go around back. Our entrance is in the back."

"Right. See you in a bit."

I hung up my phone and put it on the table. "Happy now?"

"You've satisfied me for now," he answered jokingly. After a short while, Blake at last showed up.

"Hey," I said with a smile as I opened the door. The tall Doberman stepped in, looking around as if he was an inspector.

"Nice place," he said. "Happy birthday." Blake then gave me a hug, which surprised me, but I was polite enough to hug back. I was also polite enough to not tell him my birthday was actually tomorrow.

"Thanks."

"Chase," said Blake, nodding toward my friend.

"What's up, man?"

"Not much," shrugged the black-furred dog. He was wearing light Capri pants and a dark grey tank top with a red bandana hanging loosely around his neck. Around one wrist was a few bracelets, around the other another bandana, dark blue. He also wore an anklet around his left ankle, hempen with a couple beads, plus a few rings on his fingers, both hands. He was a handsome dog, and polite, and to listen to him quite clearly gay. "You guys playing video games? Which one?"

"We were just playing Halo," said Chase. He sat up all proudly before announcing, "I kicked Donovan's ass."

Blake laughed. "Aw, is that true? Don'cha worry, Donovan, we'll get him."

I smiled. "I've only got two controllers. You two can play though."

The Doberman shrugged happily and took a seat next to Chase, then moments later started a game. I didn't mind, of course, since they were using my Gamertag. For now I just simply sat and watched, trying my best to make conversation. Thankfully we had the game to distract us. It didn't occur to me until later, but perhaps Blake only started the game in order to avoid awkward silences.

"So where is your cottage?" he asked me. It was actually my grandparents' cottage, still owned by them though they rarely went up anymore. If they did, it was with my parents, and they were far too busy to go up during summer. Joel and I were going to go up on my birthday to open it up, then spend the rest of the week there with my friends, camping.

"North of Wiarton," I told him. No one knew where the cottage actually was, but knew where Wiarton was. "'Bout twenty minutes or so. Chase knows."

"Ah, okay. I've sorta been in that area before. Beautiful up there. I'm excited to go, I've never really gone camping before. M'parents aren't really outdoorsy, y'know?"

"Neither are mine," said Chase, "but thankfully they let me go up with Donovan at least once a year. Not that they could really stop me."

The conversation went on like that for a long while, myself eventually being forced to get up off my rear and serve a couple drinks. Chase told Blake all sorts of stories about the cottage, like the time last year when he and I went out on the canoe and the damn thing tipped. He seemed to like that story. Chase then went on to describe the time when I was very little, I had sprawled myself out on a large, black inflatable whale in the water, and in my warmth and comfort had managed to fall asleep, and my father had to come rescue me when I'd floated too far out.

But at last Chase went on about less humiliating stories, like how we tell crappy ghost stories by the campfire and roast marshmallows and cook hotdogs. He then regaled our friend about playing Manhunt at night, and the wild animals and strange noises you'd hear. He described the thousands upon thousands of stars you could see, and the milky way spilled vividly across the night sky. He was definitely getting Blake all excited for this trip, which I suppose was a good thing.

"Vic said he was gonna rent a lot at the campground, if he could, though I honestly don't see it happening. If so, he's inviting anybody and everybody to join him in his tent."

"I think he used that same line on Jennifer a few weeks ago," I pointed out, much to the amusement of Blake and Chase. Vic was insatiable sometimes.

Suddenly, much to my surprise (though it was well after four), Joel came in the door, equally surprised to see us there. "Hey...everyone."

"Joel!" I said, possibly more excitedly than I meant to.

"Chase, how're you?"

"I'm good. We were just talking about next week."

"Ah, right. I suppose you're going to ask me to bring beer for you all, too, am I right?"

I began to blush, embarrassed by Joel's forwardness.

"Here's hoping," replied Chase, taking a sip of his Sprite.

"And you, I take it, are Blake." Joel extended his paw to the Doberman, and they shook quickly. "I'm Joel, Donny's brother. He's told me a bit about you."

I blushed harder, wanting more than anything to just vanish instantly off the face of the Earth. Oh god, I thought to myself, eyes closed. I kept a horribly fake smile on my face as Joel mingled with my friends.

"Nothing bad, I hope," replied Blake.

Joel laughed, and I sunk deeper into my shoulders. "No, no. Nothing like that. He says you two get on quite well, though I was beginning to wonder whether or not he'd just made you up. But now, I see, you are real."

Blake laughed now, and I had to roll my eyes. I thought my parents were bad...

"Well, Donny, I suppose I'll leave you guys alone."

"You can join us if you want," Blake piped up. "I don't mind."

Joel and I shared a glance, though I think he didn't even have to look at me to see how uncomfortable his horrid small talk was. But he sat down anyway, on a round, deep chair to the left of the couch. He and Blake talked some more while I tried my best to ignore them by battling Chase at Modern Warfare again, bored of Halo.

Joel mostly talked about his work, Blake profoundly interested. He spoke, like usual, of how boring it actually was, but went on to say how it could actually be fun, like when they were testing new games. The boring parts was mostly when either the game sucked and became repetitive, or when he actually had to fill out detailed reports on all the bugs and whatnot he finds. Even still, I wished I had his job.

Blake, not surprisingly, wanted to get into fashion design, though he said he was looking into interior decorating as well. He was my age, though, still in high school, but did quite well at all the fashion courses. Joel seemed genuinely interested in what Blake had to say, though whether or not he truly was I couldn't say. I then realized with no special talents of my own, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

The only thing I seemed truly good at was playing video games, though as Chase would attest, I wasn't very good at that, either. I did okay in all my classes, but never excelled. I was an average student, in my own opinion, and like I said, I didn't have any special talents. I couldn't draw or paint or anything, I was an okay writer but not the best. I couldn't play any instruments and I couldn't act, and clearly I wasn't very athletic. Math sure as heck wasn't my thing, nor science. I shuddered at the thought of doing manual labour for the rest of my life, though I think part of me was holding out that Joel would get me a good job.

"There's a few beds up there, but we can cram a lot in. Plus there's the trailer," Joel went on about the living arrangements. "Why's your friend getting a campsite?"

"Beats me," answered Chase. "I think in his mind, that'll be more like real camping. Of course the tent he's got, he might as well just stay at home."

Joel chuckled. "Well there's space for him if he wants. Maybe I'm too much of a city dweller, but I'd choose a bed over the lumpy ground any day." My brother then looked at me. "You being a good host, Donny? You kids need anything?"

"I'm good," answered Blake.

"Another Sprite would be nice," admitted Chase, though he glanced at me. I didn't move.

"Go on. They aren't my guests, Donny." Joel leaned forward with a smile and gave my arm a smack.

I grumbled silently to myself, then got my friend his Sprite. "It's your house," I argued, despite I'd already done it.

Another hour or so passed with more talk of jobs, cottages and camping. Neither Chase or I had jobs yet, though we both knew it was sort of expected. Blake, on the other hand, worked in some trendy clothing store I couldn't remember the name of. It had a number in the name, though, I think. Either way, it was clothes I would never wear, though he assured me on several occasions it couldn't possibly hurt. He was even so bold as to tell me I'd look good in a lot of their stuff, but I remained skeptical.

Much to my surprise, despite how fashion and health-conscious Blake was (and how skinny), he enjoyed a lot of camping-like foods. He loved hotdogs, he admitted, which was strange coming from anybody. But he also really liked s'mores, though he'd never made one over an open fire before. I also learned that his one major downfall was almost anything salty, most typically potato chips. He couldn't get enough, he said, though he did eat them in moderation. Then Joel told me I should try that sometime. Everybody laughed but me.

Soon enough, though, as the sun inched closer toward the horizon, Chase and Blake decided they had best get going. Apparently Blake's father, who was a professional chef, was "making something special," so understandably he'd have to be there. Chase, on the other hand, didn't have to be home, but he knew dinner would be being served soon and his parents liked it when he was home.

When at last they were gone, I sighed quietly and picked up their empty pop cans.

"So you excited, little brother?" asked Joel.

"About?" I threw their cans out, in the trash under the sink.

He shrugged as he came closer into the kitchen. "You're turning seventeen, man. What's not to be excited about?"

I smiled as Joel's paws began to massage my shoulders. "There's nothing special about seventeen. I'm already old enough to drive, but still too young to drink. So what?"

"Well, this year you'll get to spend a week with your friends. And with me." Last year, I remembered distinctly, Joel wasn't able to come to my birthday. Before I could recollect more, Joel turned me around, nose nearly touching mine. He was smiling at me.

I put my paws up around Joel's waist, then seconds later he gave me a short kiss. Last year I wouldn't have imagined in a thousand years I'd find myself so close to my brother, who at the time I rarely got to see. "So what's for dinner?"

Joel laughed quietly through his nose, then finally pushed away. He sighed happily as he opened the fridge, peering in. "Well, let's see... We have tons of leftovers. I can make pasta pretty easily."

"We always have pasta." I looked at my brother's rear as he got to his knees and dug around a little more. My tail began to slowly wag.

"I'm sorry, m'lord," Joel responded sarcastically. "I'm not a gourmet chef, you know. I have some burgers left, if you want. Umm. Probably some chicken wings. Do you want a salad?"

I shrugged, though he couldn't see it. I just kept staring at his butt, blush creeping onto my face. "Yeah, I guess. But none of that vinaigrette stuff, I can't stand it."

Joel sighed and glared at me. "You can make your own salad, then, if you don't like it."

I pushed my ears back.

"I'll make us burgers, how about that? And a Caesar salad, okay?"

I nodded quickly, smiling. I appreciated Joel cooking for me far more than I ever really expressed, and admittedly I felt a bit guilty about it. After all, he'd been used to cooking for one for so long, and now he was forced to feed me, too. He'd done so since I was just a pup, yet it still felt somehow like I was taking advantage of him.

Soon Joel had everything he needed set onto a tray and he took it outside. I followed him for all the good it did, carrying the buns. Outside, I leaned back against the small plot of flowers next to the stairs leading up to ground level as Joel lit the barbeque, something I was never comfortable doing; I was always afraid the flames would jump up at me when I lit it.

At last the burgers were sizzling and brown, done on both sides. I had to smile when Joel threw one pair of buns on the top rack to toast, while also throwing a slice of cheese on one of the burgers. Clearly he still remembered how I liked my burgers, having made them for me what felt like aeons ago. When they were finished, he scooped the burgers into the buns and turned off the barbecue. I held the door for him then sat at the part of the counter that was more like a bar, tail wagging as he placed my food onto a plate.

He then went into the fridge and pulled out a bag that was quite clearly a prepared salad. He tore it open and poured it into a large bowl, then showered it in some "boring old" Caesar dressing. After tossing the salad, he dumped some on my plate and his own, then finally sat down.

"Thanks," I said after taking a bite of the burger. It was juicy and delicious, despite it came from a box, and though to Joel it was extraordinarily strange, I preferred it with no condiments besides the cheese slice. Arguably, the cheese slice wasn't even real cheese, but a condiment all the same.

"How is it?" he asked, mouth full. Neither Joel or I were particularly table-mannered, but neither were our parents.

"Good." I made quick work of my meal, even downing the salad with relative speed. I licked my lips at least a dozen times before I was truly satisfied, then finally helped Joel push as many of the dishes into the dishwasher as we could. Thankfully they all went. Finally he and I retreated to the couch, sitting close to one another as we watched a rerun of House. Much to my delight, there was another on immediately after.

It didn't take long for Joel's paw to reach mine, and with a smile I latched on. He leaned into me and yawned, while my other paw came around to gently hold on to his left forearm, brushing my pads gently through his fur.

"Hey Joey?" I said quietly, looking up at him. It was during commercials.

Joel glanced at me.

"Uh... I really appreciate you taking care of me and stuff. I know you don't have to."

"I'm your big brother, Donny, 'course I've gotta take care of you. Besides, if I wasn't here for you, you'd probably just starve to death."

I ignored that last comment and gave his paw a squeeze. "Really, Joey... You've been making me breakfast and lunch, and dinner for as long as I can remember. And you never seemed to mind, either. You...You've been taking care of me my whole life, practically raised me. I wouldn't be able to do half the stuff I can do now if it wasn't for you. So, like...thank you."

Joel smiled at me warmly, then with his right paw reached over and pushed it under my shirt and began to slowly rub my belly, which I have to admit I loved. "I've told you a million times, Donny, you're my little brother, and it's my job to take care of you, and to protect you. No matter how old you are, I'm always gonna be there for you, y'got that?"

I laughed through my nose. "Yeah, Joey, I got it." He then kissed me on the side of my head and we went back to relaxing into one another. When our show finally finished, I yawned loudly and Joel turned off the TV. Together, however groggily, we made it into the bedroom where I promptly stripped down to my boxers. I kind of wanted to find his lacrosse jersey to wear to bed again, but I couldn't see it immediately, and was too tired to bother searching. I climbed to my place in bed next to the wall, and happily accepted my almost-nude brother as he lay next to me.

He yawned now, lying there on his back while I lay half on top of him, listening to his slow, heavy breathing. "Do you ever think about how crazy this is?" I found myself asking. My left paw idled itself around Joel's ribs.

There was a slight pause before Joel said, "All the time."

"Are we, like... Is this fucked up?"

Joel shrugged, his right paw clasped around my shoulder as if to hold me there. "Depends on who you ask, I guess. Most people, I think, would say so."

I sighed quietly. "It doesn't feel fucked up."

Joel rubbed my shoulder a bit. "I know, Donny."

I loved my brother, more than anything. More than I was supposed to. I would have done anything for him. And yet when I thought about it long enough, I couldn't help but feel as if I was condemning myself in some way. It wasn't that I believed in God or heaven or hell or anything, but something inside me just felt...wrong, I guess. Immoral. Yet as I cuddled close to my brother and squeezed him tight, everything felt so amazingly right. Though there was a bit of a pit in my stomach from considering it so much, eventually Joel and I did find sleep, and it was wonderful.

When I opened my eyes again, it was to the sound of a coffee grinder ringing noisily in my ear. Well, not right in my ear, but from the kitchen. I covered my head with a pillow, groaned, then turned around, trying my best to ignore it. Thankfully coffee beans weren't the hardest thing to grind, so in just a few moments it was over, and I could relax again. While the bedroom door was only two feet from the bed, it was still further than I wanted to reach to close it.

Soon enough I smelled the coffee percolating, then breakfast being made. I was hungry, I suddenly realized as the smell of bacon wafted through the room, but my desire to sleep was that much stronger. I turned again, and despite it being the middle of summer, pulled the sheets up over my head. Quickly my nose became acclimated, though a hint of bacony goodness remained in the air, and my hunger calmed down enough so I could relax. With my eyes closed, I could almost feel the edge of sleep right before me, so soft and soothing and inviting, and so, so close.

But like always, it was interrupted. This time by Joel barging in, though he wasn't as noisy as usual. "Hey Donny," he said softly, mouth close enough to my ear where I felt his breath. "You awake yet?" He wouldn't have asked me if he knew I wasn't.

"No," I groaned, turning away from him. I still covered my face with sheets.

He then kissed the side of my head and left. I wouldn't ordinarily have minded, but somehow I suspected he was up to something. But before I could investigate further, he was back, and from his footsteps I could tell very slowly.

"Get up," he said, standing close. "I made you something."

Now I was intensely curious. When I turned back around to look, I saw he was holding a tray full of food, some of it still steaming. I blushed brightly. "What's this..?" A smile quickly spread across my face as I sat up, and carefully he placed it before me. My heart nearly skipped a beat.

"Breakfast In Bed," he announced, then rubbed my head. "Made it for you, Donny, for your big day."

Though it was just another birthday - and not even a milestone birthday - I was almost overjoyed at the thought and obvious effort he put in. "Thank you," I blushed, gazing at all the food. There was plenty of bacon, thankfully, some eggs though not a lot, probably because I had some yesterday. Beside it was a bowl of Corn Pops, then a slice of buttered toast and half an orange beside it. Admittedly, I wasn't as thrilled about the orange as I was for the bacon, but I loved it all the same.

"I made some coffee, too, but I frankly don't want you drinking coffee in the bed."

"I'm not going to spill," I argued, a dopey smile still on my face. I ate a crispy, almost black piece of bacon, made just the way I liked it. "Mmm..." I said, then began on the cereal. Corn Pops had a nasty habit of getting soggy quicker than other sugary cereals.

"This is so great," I gushed, a drop of milk sliding down my chin. I wiped it off with my arm, then continued to eat. "Thank you so much, Joey. You so didn't have to do this..."

My big, awesome brother shrugged as if it was nothing. "Of course I didn't, but...you know. I love you." Though I couldn't be certain, I thought I saw a bit of blush on his face this time.

"I love you, too, Joey!" I said excitedly, right after slurping up the milk and having more drip down the sides of my mouth. I was quick to wipe it away, then shove some more bacon in my maw. Though my brother had made me breakfast hundreds of times before, never once had he brought it to me in bed. That seemed to make it taste even better.

"Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday."

I laughed, then ate the eggs, then the orange - it was surprisingly delicious - then scarfed down the toast and finally finished off the last of the bacon. I wiped my mouth with the back of my paw, licked my lips then rubbed my belly. It was a very good meal, and very filling. "That was fantastic," I told my brother, who had joined me on the bed to watch me eat. "Thanks so much."

He put his paw on mine and leaned in, and together we shared a very sweet, long kiss. Much to my surprise, when the kiss was over he paused briefly before pushing back in, this time kissing me a bit deeper.

I moaned quietly as his paw gripped tighter and I felt his tongue, and with eyes closed I returned the favour, pushing forward a bit myself. I tilted my head and opened a bit, pushing my tongue against his while he did much the same, and soon I felt his paw against my chest and he pushed me onto my back. Immediately my arms went around his shoulders, and not once did we break our kiss. My boxers were thankfully loose enough to allow plenty of room for a full, stiff sheath.

Finally, though, the kiss did end, much to my disappointment. Panting a bit, Joel hovered just inches above me, paws on the bed next to my head. "God damn," he huffed, partially smiling. He was wearing track pants, but he looked to be as hard as I was. In fact, the dark, wet spot at the end of his tent told me even more. "You have no idea how badly I want you right now..."

I blushed heavily. He was wearing only the track pants and a tight, white undershirt, which I found strangely arousing. Or perhaps it was from the kiss. Either way, my paws gripped his forearms and ran upward, up over his biceps to feel his hard, strong muscles, then slid over his deltoids and back around his shoulders. I made an odd noise vaguely resembling a moan, but the lust in it was palpable.

"We can't," my brother shook his head. I think he closed his eyes so he would stop seeing the want in me. "Not right now, I mean. God damn..."

I pushed my ears back. "Why not?"

"My buddy's coming over shortly to drop off some stuff before he goes on vacation. It's stuff for work, some reports I'm supposed to finalize."

"You're going to work while we're on vacation?" I growled. I was frowning now, though still hard as a rock.

"It won't take long, Donny, but it needs to be done. Frederick wants me to do it 'cause, well...I get the feeling he's moving on to bigger and better things, which means I'll probably become the next lead."

That was good news for Joel, and I really was happy for him, but with him still hovering over me, I wanted him bad. I gave his shoulders a squeeze and ran my leg up his thigh, lightly touching his balls with my toe, and when he made a noise I giggled and blushed. He cursed quietly, but made no moves to stop me.

"You're a very cruel brother," he huffed. He gave me a kiss, then a second longer kiss. I liked to think I was a better kisser now than I had been, but I really had no way to tell. Joel sure liked to kiss me either way, so the thought never bothered me. I kissed him back with the best of my ability, pushing my tongue forward and blushing hard.

"Mm...Joey... Why do you have to kiss me like that?"

"Because you're such a tease, Donny, and teasing begets teasing." Suddenly, Joel was off me, standing in front of the bed and readjusting his shirt. His tent was still pitched, the spot of precum slightly bigger. I touched myself almost immediately after, groaning hard and staring at my brother.

Joel just laughed.

"You're a way bigger tease than I am," I said, turning away. I squeezed my legs together and tensed my cock in frustration, tail smacking against the bed sheets.

Suddenly there was a loud rapping at the door, and after Joel cursed, he marched out of the room with the breakfast tray, trying his best to readjust himself. I just sighed loudly and closed my eyes, relaxing. I still felt full from my breakfast, the breakfast Joel had made just for me. I wondered if he'd eaten, figuring he probably had. I gave my belly a rub as if to console the fullness, a strange smile stuck upon my face.

When my brother at last returned, ten or so minutes later, he first sat on the edge of the bed with a paw on my side, just gently rubbing me, then lay right down beside me. He curled up next to me and held me close. His body was very warm and our legs tangled together. He had me in a perpetual smile.

"You're such a great kid, Donovan," he said softly. "Maybe what we're doing is fucked up, but I'm not gonna let you go, y'hear?"

I nodded, face burning red. "Yeah, I hear. And I'm not going anywhere, either."

Joel then began to lick lightly at the back of my neck and my shoulder, which always drove me crazy. I moaned quietly, eyes closed and soaking it all in. There was something strangely feral about when Joel licked me, and yet it was so much more meaningful than any kiss. I moaned softly as his tongue brushed through my fur, back around my neck again.

At last Joel rested his chin against my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. "All right," he said, "guess we should start getting ready to go. You don't even have your things packed."

I sighed quietly, but long. "Can't we stay like this for a bit longer? There's lots of time..."

But mean old Joel was insistent. He gave the back of my head a kiss and got up. "It's after eleven. If we stay like this, one thing'll lead to another..." I couldn't quite see why that was a bad thing.

This time I groaned, wanting nothing more than to stay in bed. Staying in bed with Joel would be even better, but I was willing to accept just the bed. I turned around and pushed myself up on one paw with just enough time to watch my big brother push his track pants and boxers right off and remove his shirt. He stood before me totally nude like it was nothing at all, nowhere near as hard as he was before. However much of my cock had managed to recede back into my sheath, it was all back out again. I think he was teasing me on purpose.

"Well?" he asked, turning to face me. I couldn't stop staring at his sheath and balls, then his abs and chest, then his balls again. "You getting up or what?"

With a different sort of blush on my face, I embarrassedly dragged my lazy beagle butt out of bed, hard as ever. Joel just looked at the tent I was pitching and laughed quietly.

"Shut up," I said.

"You are too cute, Donny."

I frowned.

"I'm not ashamed of my naked body, and you shouldn't be either."

"I'm not ashamed of my naked body, Joel. I just...I dunno. It's embarrassing."

Joel smiled warmly at me, the kind of smile that always seemed to melt my problems away. "We've done things far worse than being nude in the same room together, Donovan. Honestly, I'm surprised at your modesty."

I shrugged. "Can you just get dressed already?"

Joel laughed then kissed me on the forehead. "Happy Birthday, Donovan."

I just grumbled to myself and watched him get dressed. He pulled open the bottom drawer of his dresser and quickly slipped into a new pair of boxers, boring old plaid ones, then a pair of tan-coloured cargo shorts he got from the middle. He grabbed his phone and his wallet and pocketed them quickly, then wrenched open the top drawer to fish for a shirt. First he pulled out a fresh white undershirt, which seemed to cling to his body nicely, then grabbed a black t-shirt with some lacrosse gear logo on it in red. When at last he was ready, he turned around to see me staring.

"Enjoy the show? Now how about you get dressed, Donny, and we'll see where that leads."

I frowned at my brother and punched his arm. "Shut up." I was still hard.

"If you want, I can try to take care of that for you." He gestured toward my tent.

My heart skipped a beat. "R-Really..?"

Joel nodded.

"But..."

"Your friends won't get there until around five, right?"

"Yeah." We had to get there before them so we could open the cottage up and get things aired out and set up. After autumn, winter and spring, the small cottage got pretty musty.

My brother shrugged. "We could probably squeeze in a little bit of fun, if you want. If it'll get you out the door, anyway."

I had to frown at that. "So you just want me to hurry, you don't actually want to pleasure me."

Joel sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "You're reading far too into this, Donny. Either get ready or sit back on the bed. I'm happy with both."

"You're a jerk," I growled, then pushed past him as I went for my bag full of clothes. I wasn't fortunate enough to get a dresser of my own yet, and wasn't sure if I would. Ignoring him now, I changed out of my boxers and into a new pair, then put on a pair of cargo shorts then went past my knees, black but still with a subtle camouflage design. I then put on one of my favourite t-shirts, a nice black one with shorter sleeves than I was used to, and in red letters said "Macbeth" on it. When I turned around again, Joel was gone.

I frowned at the door and zipped up my big duffle bag, figuring I might as well bring the whole thing with me instead of moving it all into another bag. Joel could be so undeniably sweet sometimes - most of the time, actually - and somehow I still found he could be a jerk. Of course I knew deep down he didn't mean it, and I was also aware half of it was my emotions and hormones and so forth in teenaged hyperdrive, so I couldn't fault him too much. His intentions were always good, but as often as not I took them the wrong way, or as he stated it, I'd read far too into them.

With a quiet sigh, I grabbed my phone and my wallet, despite the wallet being horribly empty, then dragged my duffle bag out to the living room, where I saw Joel had already gathered all his things. I also noticed he dumped out all the coffee he'd made that morning, which admittedly made me feel bad. I also felt a little bad for punching him before, though it wasn't much of a punch. He glanced at me.

"Not forgetting anything?"

I probably was, but I shook my head anyway. After a few trips, Joel and I carried out our bags and the big cooler full of food, while I carried a case of beer. I then ran inside to take one last look around, deciding to grab the bed sheets and pillows, folding them quickly and rushing them out to the car. At long last, strapping myself into the passenger seat, our vacation started.

Neither of us spoke much driving through the city, and when we left Joel put on the radio, anyway. Nothing good was playing, and after what felt like an hour of horrible commercials, my brother finally put on a CD instead. It was a band called Tyr, their newest album The Lay of Thrym, which I certainly didn't mind. Though quite a bit different from their previous albums, it still retained a very Norse feel.

With not much to say to one another, deciding neither of us wanted to stop for coffee quite yet, I gazed out the window with a quiet sigh. We passed tons of small, rural houses along the way, and even more farms and fields and forests. Rather than take the highway, we always took the smaller roads, since they passed through less towns and had way less traffic.

All the towns we did pass through, though, were fairly small, the largest taking five or so minutes to get through. The rest were tiny and quaint, each with small general stores or markets and dozens of old homes. We never stopped at them, except for the rare occasion when I was a kid and my parents would get me an ice cream cone, and there wasn't a whole lot to see, much less do.

Similarly, between towns all you got to look at was vast fields of corn, or wheat, or canola, or other long grasses and crops I scarcely recognized. The land itself wasn't particularly hilly, either, but there were dozens of small forests and clumps of trees between fields, and some feral animals grazing. In another field, they were turning the grass into those large round bales you see littering farmlands. Every so often we would pass by a sign for one thing or another, usually a bit of advertising for either a store or firewood.

I then sighed and looked around. Joel was concentrating on his driving and provided little entertainment. Past him were more fields as far as I could see, with one of those large windmills on the horizon, and some massive, metal transmission lines cutting through it all. Along the side of the road were much smaller power lines, too, on wooden posts.

Nearly two hours passed of fairly consistent driving and more farmlands than I could handle. At one point I got a text message from Chase saying he'd be leaving shortly, but since Blake was still getting ready, he wasn't sure how long he'd be. Apparently Vic was going up separately in his parents' car, and bringing Matt and his stuff along, too. Matt's parents owned a minivan, which would have been helpful, but since they had three other kids to look after, he wasn't allowed to take it.

I sighed again and looked out my side of the car, seeing only a small billboard for the nearest grocery store pass by. The grocery stores up this way were miniscule compared to the ones in bigger cities, carrying all the necessities but stocked very few frivolous things. Matt admitted he kind of enjoys going into these grocery stores to compare what they're like to his, or the one he worked at. I never noticed much of a difference beyond size, but he assured me there was one.

At last we came to the last town before Wiarton, which meant we were only a half hour's drive from the cottage. Well past two o'clock, nearing two-thirty, Joel decided it was time to refuel both himself and his car. While he pumped the gas, I got out and stretched my legs, groaning as they cracked and shuddered.

"Ahh," I said, arms stretched above me. I felt a gentle breeze against my belly. Joel was just smiling at me from the other side of the car.

When he finished he parked the car and we went in to the coffee shop. It was busy, of course, like it always was in the summer. It was undoubtedly built very strategically, the company knowing this was an extremely busy intersection. Either way, it took us about five minutes, which is long compared to normal, to order our food, and after it was finally prepared we took it and sat down. Luckily, the people occupying the two-seated table next to the window had just gotten up, as if they'd been saving it for us.

"How're you making out?" Joel asked me, rubbing my leg with his foot. He had his flip flops on, I noticed. "Hanging in there?"

I nodded. "Legs are a bit sore." When I took a sip of coffee, I suddenly remembered the pot Joel had thrown out that morning. I pushed my ears back. "How about you?"

Joel looked at me curiously, evidently ignoring the question. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied. But with Joel staring at me, I felt my resolve weakening. "I'm sorry," I finally said, which made my brother lean back. "For this morning. You were being super sweet, and I was...kind of a jerk." But so were you.

"It's all right, Donny. I was a horny teenager once, too, you know." That comment drew the look of some old couple enjoying lunch nearby. "Of course when I was a teenager, I also had to take care of an extremely adorable pup."

I blushed lightly.

"Anyway, it's your birthday, so you're allowed to be emotional." I couldn't help but feel he was mocking me somewhat. There wasn't anything special about turning seventeen, which I'd stated several times, and despite having made me breakfast in bed, he was being a bit of a jerk. He obviously didn't think so. "So you must be pretty excited now, eh? We're almost there, a full week to just sit back and do nothing. Your friend Blake sure seemed excited."

"Blake's never been out of the city," I said, taking a sip of my coffee. It was still incredibly hot. I had a bite of my doughnut instead, then blew on my chili. I took a bite, finding it was still hot, too, but not too hot to eat in tiny spoonfuls. I decided to cool it down by jamming a piece of bread into it.

"You're not going to be grumpy the whole time, are you?"

I sighed, despite the food in my mouth. "No. You know, you were being kind of a jerk this morning, too. I mean, after the breakfast."

I could tell Joel resisted rolling his eyes at me. "Donovan, chill out, okay? I wanted to get going this morning, get up to the cottage and finally relax. Then you were telling me to hurry, meanwhile you were just standing around half naked."

"Yeah, but then..." I didn't want to say the rest out loud, but thankfully Joel caught on. "You know. You could'a just told me to get ready. Instead you were making fun of me."

Joel sighed. "I wasn't making fun of you, Donny. Honestly, sometimes I wonder what goes on in that teenaged head of yours."

I frowned.

"Donovan..." He sighed again. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad this morning."

"You made me feel horny," I said, a bit louder than I meant to. A few people looked over and I sunk into my shoulders.

"Well whatever. It wasn't my intention to upset you. So can we put this behind us already?"

I gave my brother a hard stare. "Fine."

He and I continued our meals, my chili cooling quickly now and Joel munching on his boring-looking sandwich. Unfortunately my chili had mushrooms in it, so while he quickly finished up his meal, I was still picking out the fungi. It took twice as long to finish as it should have, and I still had my coffee to work on. Fortunately it was in a to-go cup, but we still sat anyway.

"Did you figure out yet where your friends are gonna sleep yet? I assume Chase will be up with us. What about Blake?" There were only three immediately usable beds in the cottage proper, while one of the couches folded out. There was also the trailer with two good beds, an old thing that my grandparents brought up when their kids were my age. It was a permanent fixture now, its tires all but useless. Thankfully it still got electricity.

"I dunno. I think Chase and Blake were thinking about sharing the trailer, though...yeah, I'm not sure. Just sorta thought we'd figure it out when we got there. Vic'll be down at the campgrounds if he actually got one; no one's said anything about that yet. Either way, I'm not sure what Matt's gonna do. He was thinking about camping out with Vic, but you know you've gotta book them way in advance, so assuming they don't have the campsite...I dunno. We might have to fold out the couch."

Joel took a sip of his coffee, staring at me, but sort of through me, thinking about it. "We'll figure something out."

I shrugged. "Vic and Matt don't really know Blake that well, so I dunno how comfortable Blake would be staying with them. He'd probably prefer to stay with Chase, and Chase and me would probably prefer to sleep together."

Joel grinned, and a second later I realized what I said. "Shut up."

"Well I can take the couch," said my brother. "Vic and Matt can have the trailer if they can't get into the campground."

I nodded, then sipped my coffee. It was cooler now, thankfully. "That sounds good." Then I sighed quietly, thinking about Chase. Whenever he and I went to the cottage as kids, we'd share the trailer. It was always tons of fun, and we'd play games almost all night. Stupid kid games, of course, like Truth or Dare. Our dares were always pretty lame, like running around the property naked or eating a burnt marshmallow. And truth, we'd admit our deepest, darkest secrets to one another, which of course seemed trivial and silly now. But for me, there was one last secret left untold, and I was beginning to think I might not want to keep it that way. "Lemme ask you something, Joel."

Joel perked his ears, holding his coffee in both paws. "Yeah?"

"You ever...think about telling anyone? About us?"

My brother nearly choked on his drink. "Are you kidding me?"

I blushed.

Joel had to put down his cup. "Donovan, who on earth are you thinking about telling?" I noticed he avoided answering the question.

"I dunno," I answered, obviously a lie. "You answer first."

Joel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, giving me a hard stare. "No, Donovan, I haven't thought about telling anyone. First off, who am I going to tell? Second, and I think more importantly, why would I tell them?"

I shrugged. "Cause we're happy together?"

Now my brother sighed and leaned into the table, arms still crossed but resting against the table's edge. "I love you Donny, you know I do. And I'm thrilled beyond words that you and I can express that love in the ways we do. I love being with you, love having you live with me, and I even love taking care of you. You're...my mate, for lack of a better word, and I don't want anyone else. But unfortunately, there are extremely few people in this world who would accept this relationship for what it is."

"Yeah, but..." I wasn't sure how to finish that thought. "I mean...people are bound to figure it out eventually, right?"

"I'll be honest with you, Donny, I don't give two shits what any of these people think. I'll start having problems, however, when people we're close to find out. Like Mom and Dad, for instance. I know they're both a couple drunks, but fuck... I can't even think about that."

I sighed heavily. "So you're ashamed?"

"No, Donovan, it's not like that. I told you, I'm happy beyond words being with you. I'm not ashamed of loving you, and I'm not ashamed of...fucking you, either. But if our friends and family start finding out, they're the ones who'll be ashamed, and they're the ones who'll have a problem. Like I said, you and I are among the very, very few who find any of what we do acceptable."

I got his point, but I still didn't like it. I wanted the whole world to know I loved by brother, and that we were the happiest couple on earth. "I've... I've been thinking about telling Chase."

Joel gave me an extremely hard look, almost a threatening glare. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Because he's my best friend, and I don't like keeping secrets from him. I dunno, I feel bad. He's always been open with me, and I've always been open with him. But these last few months... I feel awful about it. Plus he keeps asking me why I don't date Blake, and...I'd kinda like to tell him I'm taken." I began to blush horribly.

Joel didn't say anything for a long time, and I had to distract myself with what remained of my doughnut and my coffee. Together we sat as customers came and went. Even that old couple had finally left, and everyone else who could have been listening in. I didn't care what they thought, and wasn't sure why I cared what other people thought, either. I was kind of proud to call Joel my mate. He was strong, confident, athletic. Kind and loving. Yet despite that, there was a profound apprehension whenever I thought of telling someone. Perhaps Joel was right, that it would be far more damaging to tell our loved ones. And yet...Chase was like a brother to me, too, and I hated keeping things from him. It was like a knife twisting in my gut whenever I imagined telling him, made worse by not doing it.

"C'mon," said Joel somewhat solemnly. "Let's just get up there and we'll figure this out later, okay?"

I nodded, ears pushed back. Joel's stance on this was clear, though I was hoping for greater support. I didn't want to tell everybody, just Chase. I trusted him not to tell anyone, though I suppose Joel didn't know him like I did. When we threw out our garbage and got back into the car, I sighed quietly.

"He won't tell anyone," I mentioned meekly. Shortly we were back on the road again, though I feared Joel had ignored me trying to get back into traffic.

"You don't know that," he said at last, driving steadily.

"I know more than you would. Y'know, he might even be happy for me. He's been trying to set me up since grade seven."

My brother shook his head, though kept his eyes on the road. "I'm telling you, Donny, it's not a good idea. There are some people in this world who can't even accept homosexuals. Almost no one, no matter how open-minded they are - most gays, I'd wager - would approve of incest."

Somehow hearing it phrased for exactly what it was made it seem much dirtier, much more foul than it felt. I pushed my ears back and let my head sink toward my chest. I knew he was right, of course, but I hated it. I hated the secret and I hated the taboo. All I wanted was to share my happiness with my best friend, but it seemed I would never be able to. Not really.

"I guess you're right," I muttered, hating the admission, too. A moment later, though, my heavy heart skipped a gentle beat when Joel touched his paw against mine and squeezed.

"You're not in this alone, Donny. I know how you're feeling, all right? I do, honestly. A couple guys on my team have tried setting me up, while a couple others wanted to date. I told them simply while I was immensely flattered, I wasn't looking for a relationship. They left it at that and we're all still good friends. This isn't something Chase needs to know. You didn't sleep with his girlfriend or anything like that, there's nothing to feel guilty about. You just need to tell him what you've always told him, that you aren't interested in dating."

I gave Joel's paw a squeeze back. "I know, Joey. Thanks. It just...it sucks."

Joel held my paw for a long while before he had to take a corner, and soon I saw some familiar buildings appear from afar, hidden behind the trees. In just a few short minutes, the village known as Wiarton came into view, down in a valley that connected to the water. In a short clearing of trees I saw the hospital down below, a relatively new structure that always seemed to stand out in such an old-fashioned town. When we were at last in the village proper, we crawled along the main street as dozens upon dozens of vacationers like Joel and I stopped at lights and waited to turn and otherwise took their time. It didn't help that the boneheads in front of us had to stop and stare at everything, like they'd just stepped off an alien spaceship and was viewing our planet for the very first time.

The buildings themselves were all very closely built, most of them one large structure that'd been split into dozens of smaller stores. There was a Christian bookstore, a furniture store, a few restaurants and some clothes stores that hardly appealed to me, just to name a few. Even a candy shop, which was new to me, and I was eager to go see it. From the split second I saw their sign, I noticed they sold gourmet coffees, too, like lattes and cappuccinos.

As we began the drive up the hill, now leaving Wiarton, I saw the water to my right, the rocky cliffs of the escarpment to the left. Through the trees the blue water shone, reflecting the sunlight and blinding me for a moment, but I had to let out a gentle sigh. I loved going to the cottage, loved the sights and the sounds and the smells, and the peace and quiet. To describe it, it would seem as if there was nothing to do, like it might be boring without TV or Internet, and yet every moment I was up there I was having fun. Even just sitting on the deck for the entire afternoon seemed entertainment enough, listening to the wind rustling through the leaves and the birds chirping away. The air was fresh and clean, and refreshing.

Soon enough we made a few turns, passed through a tiny community along the coast of Colpoy's Bay, and after ten or so minutes of driving past more forests and farmland, Joel finally turned onto the gravel road leading to our cottage. Seeing the water on the horizon, up on the hill as we turned the final corner, sent a shiver up my spine. I took a deep breath as the bay vanished behind the trees, wanting so bad to go down and just dip my feet in the water. It had been a year since I last came up here, but everything was just how I remembered it, nothing new, nothing changing. The fence to the cow field was just as twisted and broken as always, and it amazed me how little cattle escaped.

At last, across from the cow field Joel turned, and though bumpy, he rode through the tall grass and onto the cottage's large front lawn, parking it in a makeshift garage built at the edge of the property.

When I got out, I immediately took a deep breath and stretched all my muscles, sighing happily as I let myself relax. I took a long look around, took in another deep breath, then sighed once more. The cottage was up on the property, elevated by the natural hill we were on. There was a path just past the trailer, which was nestled under a large red maple to the left of our property, made of large flat stones leading to a sort of half-way point between the front lawn and the cottage itself. The patio, as my grandmother called it, was large, rectangular, and made of flat rocks and cement, sort of like cobblestone except with stones roughly a foot in length. The patio itself had been broken and cracked over the fifty-plus years it'd been there, and if the stories could be believed, it had once been where the trailer originally sat. Now there was just large, circular fireplace close to the centre, nearer the edge so people could sit around it closer to the cottage. It, too, was made of flat rocks, though it hadn't been mortared together.

The cottage itself was small, painted green and more than likely, falling apart. So far the roof hadn't caved in from the winter's harsh snowfalls, but it was a threat every year. Inside the ceiling sagged, though my grandparents assured me it was perfectly safe. The deck to the left of the cottage, where a plastic patio table sat, was in reasonably good condition, as was the part of the deck that stretched along the cottage's front. The stairs, on the other hand, could not boast such surprising durability. Fortunately I didn't fall while ascending them with my duffle bag, nor Joel with the large cooler.

Without being asked, I went for the key which we kept hidden near the barbecue, and old rusted thing everyone thought would have snapped off in the lock years ago. But lucky for me, it worked yet again, and I replaced it for another year.

Inside the cottage was, as predicted, dark and musty. After throwing my bag down on the orange rocking chair, I threw open the back curtains, and as Joel struggled to get through the door with the cooler, I thrust open the large curtains in front, letting the light in. I then opened the back window, feeling the breeze almost instantly. I took a breath, then carried my bag past the small kitchen area, which was just at the end of the main part of the building where the couch and chairs and fireplace was, and into the bunkhouse.

The cottage was basically split into three small parts, getting smaller as you go. When you get through the main door, to your immediate left is a stone mantle of sorts where the old television sits, and in the corner an even older fireplace, made of metal. The living room was the main area of the cottage, a big bay window looking out to the front yard and the two enormous poplars in front of the deck, while a smaller back window gazed out upon the farmer's field behind. Just past the pillar holding up the flat roof was a stove, a microwave and a convection oven. Between the stove and the small counter in the corner was the door to the bunkhouse, and in front of the door was a large round table where we typically ate dinner.

The bunkhouse was smaller than the main cottage, and older, too. It was apparently built first. It had two cots, one new and one older, and two normal beds, but bunk beds. The top bunk was currently holding pillows and comforters and bed sheets. There was another pillar in the centre, and very little room to move around. On the wall that connected the bunkhouse to the main cottage was a shelf full of all sorts of junk, from bug spray to bug repellant; pens, pencils, erasers, and various other goodies like paperclips, pushpins and so forth adorned the shelf, rarely getting touched. There was also a fair-sized dresser in the bunkhouse, a basket on top for dirty laundry.

The final room was the bathroom, the tiniest of them all, understandably so. It had a window that opened so you could see the trees outside, and a shelf on the opposite side of the sink. Bear in mind, there wasn't any running water. The sink was more like a basin, and the toilet...well, its contents flowed by gravity down to the septic tank, which got drained every year or two, depending on its use.

We did have electricity, thankfully, if not running water. And heating, which in the middle of summer didn't see much use except sometimes at night. They were old electric heaters, which worked amazingly well. Sometimes on especially cold nights, it got too hot and you'd have to open a window. Turning them off would do little good, as the heat tended to stay trapped inside.

Anyway, I at last threw my bag onto the actual bed, finding the cots too uncomfortable. Chase and Blake could have those. I sat on the bed for a moment to relax, but when Joel caught me he made me go back down to the car with him and grab the rest of the stuff. When all was said and done, I simply sat on the couch, which sat against the back wall and faced the large window (and consequently the two chairs and side table between them) and watched Joel unpack the cooler.

"Feels good to be up here again," I said, gazing at my brother's bum.

He grunted and continued to unpack, until at last he finished. "What should I make for dinner?" he asked me, shutting the fridge door.

I shrugged, and my brother sat beside me. When I glanced up at him, he put his paw on my leg and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. I groaned quietly and held my paw to his shoulder, until we finally departed. "What was that for?" I blushed.

"Because you're so god damn cute."

"I'm always cute," I pointed out. "To hear you tell it, anyway."

"You disagree?"

I blushed some more. "I dunno..."

"You were the cutest puppy I'd ever held, and the cutest kid growing up. You're still a kid, but you're a cute teenager, too, if not overly emotional."

I ignored his last comment. "If that's the case, then..." I wasn't quite sure how to state it. "Like..." My brother just cocked his head, still staring at me waiting for me to finish. "If you've always thought I was cute, then, like... Well, when did you start having these feelings for me..? Y'know..?"

Joel gave me a soft smile and leaned back against the couch. He remained silent for a good long while. "I don't know if I can pinpoint the time exactly."

I held onto my brother's paw. "When you came over that one day, when you had your game... I dunno, but, like... I hadn't seen you in so long, and I didn't really feel anything for anyone else, and your lacrosse gear... It's weird, Joey. I just sorta started feeling it then, after your practice. Just felt right, I guess. Never felt anything before that. You were always just my big brother, then, like...I dunno. It was really super confusing."

"Well," Joel began, still thinking on it. "I've wanted you for...longer than I care to admit, actually. The earliest memory I can recall of having these very strange feelings for you was when I'd just turned nineteen, and you were eight; I had to deny these feelings, of course, not that I could make much sense of them anyway. I mean...I'd taken care of you all that time, practically since you were born. I was nineteen and as usual mom and dad were totally out of it. I remember there were no gifts that year, like most, and my friends were away. Only one I had was you, Donny. You woke me up that day, jumping on the bed and screaming 'happy birthday,' pulling my ears, my tail. Biting me." Joel then laughed a little. I barely remembered any of this. "You took me to the movies that night, a kid's movie, but I enjoyed it all the same. I paid, of course, and since it was my birthday you let me buy you nachos. Most guys go out to the bars to celebrate their nineteenth birthdays, but I was just as happy spending it with you. Anyway, after I tucked you in that night, you gave me a hug and told me you loved me."

Joel was smiling, staring at the floor in remembrance, then laughed through his nose. "You were so small, so irresistibly cute... Of course I didn't make any sort of move or anything, as the feelings at the time were still fairly new, and I felt pretty fucked up for even thinking it. And now we're both fucked up."

I rubbed Joel's stomach gently and leaned into him, while he put his arm around me and held me close. My paw ventured up toward his chest, and as my fingertips drew closer to his left nipple, I heard him take a deep breath. When my pad ran over the hard nipple, he sighed loudly. Feeling somewhat devilish, my finger tips massaged his nipple gently, flicking it with my claw and otherwise providing stimulation, which Joel reacted to immensely.

My brother squirmed and held back moans as my paw switched to the other. Soon I was gently pinching his nipples and twisting them carefully, making sure to give them a good massage afterward to relieve any sort of pain I may have inflicted.

"God damn," he huffed. Much to my surprise, he threw off his shirt and with both paws pulled me onto his lap, so I was facing him now. I could feel a hard lump below, the heat undeniable. "Ah, Donny... Why? Why tease me so?" He was smiling at me, a particular fire in his eyes. I was extremely turned on by his gaze, hoping it would go exactly where I wanted it to for the last few days.

"Because," I said in a low, husky voice. I was trying to sound sexy, which made my brother laugh, then me right after. He rubbed my legs and I rubbed his shoulders, then we kissed. Unlike the first kiss, this one was very long, and became steadily deeper.

At first he sort of pecked at my lips, but quickly he held them there and opened his maw, and I did the same to the best of my ability. Amongst the quiet sounds of kissing, Joel tilted his head and opened wider, and the moment I felt his tongue I eagerly pressed my own forward, greeting his with great pleasure. I closed my eyes and embraced my brother, pants as tight as ever and no doubt dripping with precum. I suddenly wanted him bad, pushing my maw forward fervently, one paw up on his cheek, the other on his shoulder. I ground my rear into his crotch and writhed sexually, our tongues rolling together and both of us making increasingly more noise.

My right paw suddenly left Joel's shoulder and ran over his hard, muscular chest, fingers back at his nipple and teasing it mercilessly. I moaned loudly which broke the kiss, my brother and I both panting heavily. We were both rock hard, and though in the back of my mind I knew we shouldn't be doing this, nothing was able to stop me.

Before Joel could kiss me again, I pinched his right nipple with my other paw, working both of them to make my brother yelp. He just closed his eyes and rested his head back, paws on my hips and running up toward my ribs as my fingers twisted, pinched, and rubbed his poor nipples. Joel moaned with pleasure, almost a howl, but when I pushed my head down toward his chest and greeted his right nipple with my tongue, I gave him pause.

"Oooh, Donny," my brother moaned, paw on the back of my neck.

With a smile, I happily licked at his nipple while my right paw simply massaged his other. I formed a bit of a seal around the nipple while my tongue flicked at the hard flesh, which he seemed to enjoy a lot. I then began to lightly suckle upon his nipple, then nipped it perhaps a bit harder than I meant to, but his loud yelp somehow told me he didn't mind. With a quiet giggle, I moved my maw to the other side of his chest, licking the other nipple and biting it when I felt it was necessary. Every bite was followed by my soothing tongue gliding over it, all while lightly twisting the other one with my paw.

"God damn you, Donovan," gasped my brother. I laughed, and when I glanced down I saw an enormous wet spot on his crotch, at least two inches in diameter if it was circular. I almost found it impossible to believe that I was able to inflict so much pleasure upon Joel, that little old me was capable of doing this to him. I'd never seen him so wet before. His breath was hot and heavy, and his paws dug into my sides as I worked his hard nipples, all while moaning as if there was no one left in the world to hear him.

When I pulled my maw away from his left nipple, I found I was breathing heavily and with my tongue still out, a long string of saliva dangled between his tip and my tongue. His maw was hot and slavering, taking long deep breaths. When our gazes met, we pushed our wet maws together and kissed deeper than ever.

I ground my body into him, head tilted and tongue constantly pushing and rolling against his. We both moaned quietly together, horny as hell yet still mostly clothed. Our heads tilted the other way and we continued to kiss, my paws cupping his jaw as if to hold him there, meanwhile I felt something against the belt of my shorts. This was going where I wanted it to.

As my belt slipped apart and button popped open, it was cue for me to pull away. Again, with our mouths slavering, long strings of steamy spit dangled off our tongues, and we were both breathing very heavily. Neither of us spoke, but knew exactly what was going to happen next. No force on the planet was going to stop us, made all the more clear when Joel suddenly pushed down my shorts and pushed his crotch up into my rear.

I moaned loudly, eyes nearly closed but still gazing at my big brother. I pushed back down into him, despite he was still wearing his shorts, and cried out again. "Fuck me," I rasped loudly, which surprised even me. But my brother just growled bestially and stared at me with hard, fiery eyes.

In a moment, he pushed me carefully off his lap so when I stood, my shorts fell straight to the floor. I still had my boxers on, but it was hard to believe they were still able to contain my throbbing dog-meat. Joel then grabbed onto me and kissed me hard, pulling me forward and picked me up so my legs wrapped around his waist. Feeling weightless, my brother carried me into the bunkhouse and plunked me down on the newer cot next to the windows, standing before me in just his shorts, but as horny as ever.

I watched as he loosened his belt and unzipped, pulling down his shorts and boxers and kicking them aside to reveal a far more intimidating cock than my own. It was red hot and dripping with precum. It looked slick and wet, and his knot was at least the size of my fist, probably a bit smaller. And of course his shaft was only punctuated by his tall, muscular body, the body of a beagle who was much stronger than myself. He was still panting a bit, staring at me lustfully. I just stared at his cock and balls, the latter of which was full and hot and sweaty, dangling heavily, more than ready for release.

Feeling somewhat daring, I pushed myself up onto my knees and with my eyes constantly on his thick, warm shaft, gripped it tightly with both paws. I glanced up at my brother with a red face and wide smile, stroking him excitedly. My heart jumped as a short billow of breath came out with a moan from my brother's maw, and he closed his eyes. I had driven him crazy with the nipple-play, and now I would drive him crazy with this.

Not entirely sure what I was doing, despite the number of times we'd slept together, I stroked his meat with both paws, one working more on his knot while the other worked his shaft. My brother breathed through his nose for a bit, but soon found he had to use his mouth, each breath carrying a slight moan with it, which made me very excited. I wanted to bring as much pleasure as I could to him, and it thrilled me beyond words to see it so clearly illustrated on his face.

"Atta boy," whispered Joel, rubbing my shoulder with a paw. He slivered his eyes and smiled at me, that same fire burning. Somehow I could just feel his horniness, his lust permeating the air between us, drenching me. It was enough to take my breath away, and enough to make me want to try something I had never done yet before.

Carefully I pushed my brother back, eyes met with his. Remarkably, he seemed to know what it was I was thinking, and moved back a couple steps accordingly, leaving enough room for me to slide off the bed and get onto my knees. I stared at his shaft directly now, the gleaming smooth flesh dangling and dripping before my maw. After a deep breath, I opened my maw and looked up. My brother nodded and pushed his cock inside.

I moaned quietly at first as his shaft slid into my maw, and as carefully as possible I sealed my lips around the circumference with both paws on his hips. Trying hard not to scrape my teeth against his flesh, not sure if I was being particularly successful, I found it easier to have one paw still on his length as I bobbed my head. Joel, I realized, despite how insanely horny he was, had stopped moving, I think letting me get used to his dog-meat being inside my mouth before doing anything crazy. And so I took that time to figure things out.

I pushed my tongue up and around the underside of his thick shaft while my lips both encircled his meat and tried to protect it from my teeth. I then began to bob my head, pushing it back and forth slowly, not venturing too far for fear of gagging, though I knew that was a common event. Nevertheless, with my paw sliding along with my lips, I began to work into a fairly steady rhythm, pushing forward a bit more with every push, though I didn't yet feel his tip prod the back of my throat.

Joel, thankfully, was moaning quite passionately. He had a paw on the back of my head but didn't control my movement, at least not yet. I felt he was showing great restraint, and wanted more than anything to just hold me there and do it himself. But he resisted. For now I got myself comfortable with his shaft just being in there, but after a short while I did feel his paw nudge me, and I forced myself to take more.

It was a bit shocking at first, and though I gagged almost right away, my brother allowed me to pull back as much as I wanted. I kept trying, though, trying to take more and more each time, and each time I felt Joel's paw a bit tighter. He was either getting impatient or even hornier, but either way I wasn't very good at this. His knot felt like it was a mile away, even when I gagged a lot it still felt like I'd never reach it, though I suppose that didn't always matter. Though my brother was moaning, I did want to be able to take his entire cock, knot and all if I could. But for now I focused on his shaft.

I continued for what felt like at least fifteen minutes, becoming surprisingly efficient at sucking his cock, and though I felt like gagging the further into my throat his tip ventured, I found after a while I was able to suppress it. It made me especially happy to hear my brother say, "Good boy," knowing he was enjoying it as much as I enjoyed doing it. But it didn't take long for Joel to start getting a bit rougher.

Joel held onto the back of my head with just one paw at first, but soon had both and was controlling my movements a bit more. I adapted as best I could, but he was pushing me deeper than I wanted to go which made me gag, though I continued anyway. I slurped and sucked and choked on his cock as he began thrusting into me now, rather than me just bobbing my head, and I found it was easier just to not move but let Joel do it. He was moaning quite loudly now, and eventually he thrust a bit too hard and I felt his knot bump into my nose, which set me into loud fits of coughing and gagging, and I had to push my brother away.

Joel was panting, but he crouched down anyway. "Shit, Donny, you all right? Sorry, buddy..."

"It's okay," I said with a cough. My throat was a little sore now. "I dunno...if I can do that."

Joel smiled at me and rubbed my head. "It's all right, Donny."

I held onto his shaft again with my left paw, then glanced up to him. "I do wanna keep trying, though..." I blushed ten shades of red when I said that.

Joel growled, which sounded half a moan, then stood up. With my paw still on his shaft, I slid it into my mouth again and began to suck, working just the tip for now. His precum was a little sweet, a little salty, and surprisingly delicious. I didn't know what his cum would taste like, but I badly wanted to find out. I stroked him and took his shaft in my maw inch by inch until I felt it at the back of my throat once more. I concentrated on what I was doing and loosened up as much as I could before taking in larger amounts. Soon his cock was sliding into my throat with little incident, though I did keep gagging. Interestingly, every time I gagged I would coat his shaft in especially slick saliva, the biology of which I didn't want to think about, but it made it easier to take more.

I felt his knot inching toward my lips with each thrust, and though my eyes were full of tears and my throat sore, I tried my best to take it. Again and again he pushed his shaft into my throat, but more times than not I gagged on it, and though I was taking his cock up to his knot now, almost every time I coughed it up again.

Tears soon began running down my face as his shaft was forced down, and Joel made it very clear he was enjoying himself - he was moaning and growling very loudly, enough where if the neighbors were listening, they would hear us easily. He was also being rougher with me than I would have liked, but I knew that was a sign of how horny he was. But soon it became too much, and I was forced to spit out his hot, slick, throbbing cock in a second fit of coughing. This was not a skill I was going to master today.

"It's all right, Donny," Joel told me, breathing heavily. "Don't worry about it." I still held onto his shaft, but I think I was done with the blowjobs for now. I was a lot more disappointed than I let on, but Joel really didn't seem to mind. "I gotta say, though, that was an amazing start. I think you're going to become very good at that."

I blushed heavily and looked up at Joel. He was smiling at me, then helped me onto my feet. He gave me a hug, his red hot cock poking me below my belly, then at last released me. "Go on, then, on the bed. I'm not quite done with you yet."

I saw that fire in his eyes again, that intense lust. He gave me a hard stare and a confident grin, and like a good little beagle I did as I was bid. For now I sat on the bed, on my bum and facing him. The tent in my boxers was throbbing lustfully.

"On your paws and knees, Donny," said my brother, inching toward the bed.

I did so obediently, a bit nervous for what was to come. We'd had sex at least a dozen times since we moved in together, but never had I seen him this ferociously horny. The first time was of course the most intense, the taboo of it constantly in the back of my head and the fact my parents were just upstairs, but I'd gotten over that months ago. This intensity was something new, something I hadn't experienced before today.

When Joel got onto the bed, he immediately pulled down my boxers and awkwardly twisted them off from around my knees, then my ankles. Though he hadn't said anything or suggested it, I leaned up and removed my shirt, blushing as his paws came around to caress my belly, then up around my chest. His pressed his amazingly hot shaft into my rear, not poking into my hole but more just teasing me with it, showing me what I had to look forward to. I was blushing heavily now, and found myself pushing my rear back. With a quiet growl, Joel pushed me back onto my paws, then repositioned my hips and my bum.

"You ready, Donny?" Joel spoke in a low, almost gravelly voice, which I hadn't heard often.

I nodded excitedly. When I felt his cock-tip press into my hot, eager tailhole, I couldn't help but push back, which got another lusty growl from my brother. In just seconds he gripped my hips, kneeling on the bed behind me, and pushed forward.

His cock was slick with precum and slid in easily, spreading my poor hole immediately. I yelped as I felt a bit of pain, but remembered to relax myself as he'd taught me to do every time before this. He pushed forward slowly, showing amazing restraint despite how horny he was, though it meant he dug his claws into my hips. Ignoring that pain, I groaned loudly and pushed back, until in no time at all, his steamy, rock-hard knot pushed into my hole. I let out a long, horny moan, grinding backward and blushing like mad. I could feel every inch of his shaft poking around inside me, and I loved it.

"I'm ready, Joey, I'm r-ready..."

My brother put one paw on my upper back, pushing me down a bit as his other paw gripped harder at my hip. He then began to pull out, quicker than he'd pushed in, and began to pump. Though he started off reasonably slow, I could feel his restraint wavering, each thrust pounding his knot harder and harder into me, though I knew I wouldn't get that until closer to the end. For now I enjoyed the ride, far more used to his thick, hard shaft than I had been the first time we slept together.

As Joel worked into an increasingly steady rhythm, I let out a long stream of moans, groans and yelps, pushing back into my brother with every hard thrust. I gripped the pillow in front of me, squeezing it into my chest as my tailhole became alight with both pain and pleasure. Every powerful thrust was an amazing sensation, his shaft gliding smoothly through my tight hole and hot insides, as well as grinding into my prostate mercilessly.

Streams of precum shot from my shaft as my brother pounded me, growling every time he pushed forward. The longer it went, the more feral it began to sound, which both frightened and excited me. His growls slowly turned into snarling, both paws again on my hips as he blasted forward with as much strength as he could muster. And in tune with his wild snarling, I cried out in ecstasy, tailhole burning with delight. Upon my back I could feel his hot slaver pouring onto me, and in just moments I felt his hot body bend forward until his elbows were on my back, paws gripping my shoulders.

I was on my elbows now, too, face pushed into the pillow as Joel fucked me ferociously. We had never done it in this position before, but there was something wildly feral about it. Not only did it send me to places I hadn't known existed before now, but it somehow felt...wrong. Dirty, almost, like we were animals. Beasts. And I was amazingly turned on by this. I howled and moaned as Joel filled my body with incredible pleasure, intense pain. He snarled at me, nipped at me and dug his claws in, but I could hear him moaning, too, like a piece of himself was still with me.

"Aaah!" I cried, pushing into his strong thrusts, now beginning to feel his knot gradually stretch me out. "Ah, god, Joey!" I screamed for some reason, wanting his knot terribly.

"I hear you, Donny," growled my brother. He was panting heavily along with me, and I could smell his thick breath wafting around my head, mingling with my own. The air in the bunkhouse, though still a bit musty, was twice as thick as before, and reeked of both sweat and precum, though mostly sweat. I loved the smell of my brother's body, of his sweaty fur and his strong musk. He filled the room with it in this incredibly feral state of his, and man did it make me hot.

My shaft felt as if it was close to bursting with beagle-seed as Joel hammered my hole. It was on the edge, a constant state of intense tingling that threatened to erupt every time he pushed forward, and yet all it did was spray precum all over the sheets and flop around uselessly, though it was hard as a rock. My knot ached horribly for release, begged for it without mercy, but I knew it would have to wait. Joel would have to have his turn.

"Fuck!" I yelped, the last thrust particularly painful. I shut my eyes tight while my brother pounded me, and though it hurt, I helped by grinding back. His shaft was just as slick as ever, and would hopefully be wet enough to knot me, since every time before this we'd used lubricant. Joel always had some with him, and I made a point of bringing some as well, but with any luck we wouldn't have to stop to use it. With any luck, my brother would be able to knot me without.

Joel growled ferociously with the last few thrusts, I think close to the edge, if not right on it. I yelped and cried, and his paws held onto me even tighter. "This is it," he snarled, to which I responded with a loud, pathetic whimper. But it was a horny whimper.

I gripped onto the pillow and pushed my hips back, perfectly in tune with his thrusts. Though my eyes were closed, my maw was open and letting out loud, sharp cries each time his knot pushed forward, body jostling. Even Joel was making a bit more noise now, pounding fast and hard, and each one I could feel he was using just a bit more power.

Then at last I felt it. The pain grew immensely, and my pleasured cries turned into that of pain. Joel snarled and gripped tight, the peak of his enormous knot stretching me to my limits. Like every other time, it seemed as if the rock-hard flesh wouldn't push through, but after a long moment of moans and cries, Joel pushed through, howling as his cock completely filled my body.

Immediately after the audible pop of my brother's knot, he began to howl without reserve. He thrust and thrust despite having knotted me, holding onto my shoulders and digging his elbows into my back. I felt him shudder and moan, and felt an intense warmth flow into my bowels, and soon it was over.

Joel was panting heavily, tired and sweaty, the two of us basking in the hot afterglow of the most intense sex I'd ever had. My tailhole hurt, having never just dove straight into such strong thrusts before, but it was an amazingly good pain. The room stank of sweat and cum and our steamy breath.

Between heavy breaths, I moaned quietly and loosened my grip on the pillow, and Joel loosened his grip on me. He then began to lick the back of my neck, slow and gentle, which made me giggle. Neither of us spoke for a long while, my brother just licking me and myself relaxing, despite his knot.

"Sorry if I was a bit rough on you," said Joel. He finally leaned up and helped me up, too, so my back pressed tightly against his chest. He held onto me firmly, rubbing my belly and kissing my shoulder. He was licking it a bit, too. "You were such a tease this morning, and it'd been five days since we last mated. I was good and god-damn ready."

I blushed. Joel would be stuck inside me for a while, though of course I didn't mind. Sometimes I wished his knot would remain engorged for even longer, though usually it just took a few minutes, give or take. I ground my rear a bit to get an extra feel for his cock, which made me whimper.

Joel laughed through his nose. "I love you, Donovan," he whispered in my ear. Immediately after, his right paw slid from my belly and gripped my shaft, which made me gasp. He rubbed his fingers all around my knot as if studying it. "You've got a fair-sized shaft, too, y'know."

I moaned in response.

Joel laughed. "Perhaps I'll have to see what it's like some time." He then began stroking it a bit more vigorously, still slow but he finished examining it. I moaned and moaned, pushing my head back into his shoulder and he rubbed his face next to mine, very lovingly. He shifted slightly, which pushed his knot into my prostate and made me squirt some precum. "Ooh. Donny... I think I'm going to be stuck like this for a bit longer than usual." He then nipped my big, floppy ear which made me giggle.

My shaft, like Joel's had been, was wet and coated now in my own precum, spread over the smooth, red surface by my brother's paw. He moved his paw slowly along my shaft, almost torturously slow, and I knew somewhere near was my orgasm. But if Joel was looking for it, he sure wasn't in any hurry.

"Mmm," I moaned, eyes closed. His paw was so soft and warm, caressing me with the gentlest of touches. It was almost therapeutic, tranquil. Enough to drive me crazy. "Aah, Joey... You're so cruel to me."

Joel laughed. "Yeah, but you love it."

I did love it. A lot. "Don't stop," I told him, eyes closed and just relaxing in front of my brother. My breathing was starting to increase again, long deep breaths. Slowly but surely, my inevitable orgasm was creeping up on me, more especially because of the great big dog cock shoved inside my rear. I pushed my bum again into Joel and yelped, more precum oozing out. I blushed hard and ground back again, groaning heavily. "I could do this forever," I moaned, lost in the gentle ecstasy.

Soon, Joel's paw began to speed up. "Hah," I gasped, eyes opening. There was an intense tingling deep inside me, stirring horribly and becoming stronger. I moaned with every breath, leaning back into my brother as his paw worked my shaft. I then felt his other paw join in, grasping my knot while the other stroked, meanwhile Joel nipped at the back of my neck and my shoulder, as well as my ears.

Each time he bit me I yelped, and yelped when a sudden surge of pleasure took my shaft, sending out another small spray of precum, but I wasn't quite there yet. I gave a loud moan and a quiet howl as my brother pushed his hips into my bum, grinding forward without mercy and stroking my hot, slick shaft. I was very close to the edge now, and though I tried everything within my power to hold it back, nothing was going to stop it.

In just a few more minutes, Joel bit down on my left ear and gave my knot a terrible squeeze, paw pumping quickly as he drove his cock forward just a small amount. A second later, my orgasm hit me harder than it ever had.

My paws suddenly gripped tightly onto Joel's hips as if to pull him in further, just as my shaft and balls erupted in a torrent of cum and pleasure. I cried out loud enough to wake the neighbors, moaning horribly and shuddering as my cock hammered my body with the most terrible, most incredible and unbelievable orgasm of my life, spraying long, steamy ropes of beagle-juice all over the bed. I cried out again and bucked into my brother, a second, less intense wave washing over me. I was panting heavily, face flushed and warm and still gripping Joel, not wanting to let go. I just gazed down at the mess I made, surprised not just by the volume, but how far it'd sprayed - I managed to hit the pillow from a couple feet away, and I noticed a few bits on the wall, too.

"Holy fuck," I moaned. I didn't often swear, but I think this called for it. "That was crazy."

Joel just laughed. "It was a good one, huh? Well you made me bloody horny, I guess it had the same effect on you."

I then sighed happily, leaning back into my brother. He was still inside me, and I could still feel his large knot. He then put his arms around me and I held onto his arms. "I love you too, Joey," I said at last. Somehow I found we began to sway lightly in our calm, gentle tranquility.

But that tranquility came to an abrupt end when I suddenly heard a voice. My eyes shot open and my stomach turned and my heart began to race. I heard another voice, both of them familiar though faint from through the glass window. The curtains were closed, but I knew who it was. I didn't even need to look at the time; they had to be early.

"Shit," I said, and could tell Joel heard it, too.

"Oh fuck," he said, and gave a slight tug.

Then I heard a bang at the front door, someone struggling to get in. "Donovan!" I heard Chase call, probably wondering where I was.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I cried quietly, pushing back on my brother.

"Donny, wait, no, no!"

But it was too late. With an insanely rapid heartbeat, I growled and snarled and groaned as I forced my brother's full knot out, crying as quietly as I could as an immense pain ripped through rear, seeming even worse now than when it'd first entered. But soon enough my brother's cock was out, flopping back toward him, and immediately I smelled the hot, steamy musk of Joel's cum, which was currently running down my thighs.

"God damn," he snarled, then without much thinking leapt off the bed and bolted into the bathroom.

Just as he shut the door, Chase walked into the bunkhouse.

"Ho- Fuck!" he cried, no doubt shocked to see me nude. He turned away and covered his eyes, but slowly looked back. "What the fuck?"

I just stared petrified at the dingo, no idea what I was supposed to say. With my heart pounding like a jackhammer, I didn't even think to cover myself. A billion excuses ran through my mind at once, but I couldn't think of any to say. "I...I..."

Then he caught a whiff of the warm, musky air. "Wait, were you just..?" He sniffed again, then glanced at me a bit more thoroughly, suspiciously. He looked around at the clothes below, then glanced around the room. "Donovan... Where is... Where the hell is Joel?"

I could hear Blake approaching, and soon he appeared, too. He face went immediately red, but he kept his eyes on me. "What's going on?" He asked with a laugh, obviously checking me out. But soon his smile vanished as he, too, glanced around the room. "Oh my god," he said, smelling the room and looking closer to my rear. I think he knew I was just having sex, as opposed to just masturbating.

At last I found the nerve to cover myself, covering just my half-hard cock.

"Where's Joel?" asked Blake. "Were you..?" He couldn't finish his question, but I knew what he wanted to know. He wore a face of confusion and disgust, which spoke volumes.

Don't look at the bathroom, I told myself again and again. I was sweating like crazy, heart racing but I managed to keep my eyes on my friends. My face was beet red and my heart heavy, ears drawn back as far as they could go and head lowered. The shame was no doubt clear.

"Joel..?" Chase called toward the bathroom. He then looked around, kicking Joel's pair of shorts away. Even if he didn't know whose shorts they belonged to, he no doubt already realized there were two pairs, and probably two pairs of boxers and two t-shirts. And he would have known Joel was around somewhere.

"Donovan," Chase said in a staggeringly serious tone. He covered his mouth with his paw and closed his eyes, looking like he was about to wretch. "Please tell me you brought someone else with you."

I wanted desperately to lie, to tell them it was someone else, but they would discover very quickly there was no one here but Joel and I. I had to look away.

"Fuck..." Chase swallowed hard and caught a breath. "Jesus Christ." Then he was gone.

Blake looked horrified, paw covering his mouth, too. He glanced at the bathroom door, then back to me, face still full of confusion. He looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, yet knew full well. My silence had told them more than any words I could have tried to blurt out.

When at last they were both gone, I let the sheet drop and I let out a horrible cry, paw gripping my aching chest. "Fucking Christ," I said, tears in my eyes. I had no idea what either Blake or Chase were thinking right now, but their faces had said enough.

They knew.

They knew my terrible secret, knew why I didn't want to date. They knew why I moved in with Joel, and why I was so happy. They saw me for who I was, and they were disgusted. I was fucked up, everything I did with Joel now feeling immensely wrong. I began wishing I had never acted on my terrible impulses those months ago, regretting ever even trying on Joel's lacrosse gear; that was how it had all started. And now my friends knew, and it would only be a matter of time before Vic and Matt knew, and their parents, and eventually mine. I would never be able to see my brother again.

Finally Joel emerged from the bathroom, head poking around the corner. I could see genuine concern on his face, probably as much for me as for the situation. "You all right?" he asked me softly. When I glanced over, through tear-filled eyes I noticed his beagle-meat was all nicely tucked away. He approached me slowly and rubbed my back. He had a towel with him.

"What...are we...gonna do?" All I could think was I had just lost two friends - one of them my best friend - because of my relationship with Joel, and I could only imagine how many others. How many people in my high school would know about this when summer was over? I shuddered at the thought.

Joel shook his head. "Go talk to them," he said. "You have to say something, okay? Go."

Very shakily, heart still racing, I got up and with some help, managed to get myself cleaned up. Slowly I put on my shorts, leaving the boxers for now, then threw on my shirt. I gave Joel a long, sorrowful glance, then finally left the bunkhouse, coursed slowly across the living room and poked my head cautiously out the door. They weren't on the deck, but they weren't by Chase's car, either. When I stepped outside, the sun now crawling slowly toward the trees on the cliffs on the hills in the distance, I saw my friends down on the patio, sitting on the old picnic table and neither one talking. I took a heavy, unsteady breath and climbed down the stairs, slowly, cautiously, sullenly. Neither one glanced up at me, but they knew I was approaching. They sat on either side of the table, facing one another.

My stomach wrenched terribly as I approached, tail low and ears pushed back. My paws were shaking and my heart racing. I had no idea what I was supposed to tell them. For now I sat on the bench Chase was sitting on, about four feet away from him, Blake across from Chase. They were both looking down, though at least Blake had the courtesy to glance at me. Chase, on the other hand, sat with his paws clasped in front of his maw and staring at the old, well-used citronella candle.

And not one of us spoke for what felt like at least an hour. Eventually Vic and Matt pulled in, Vic excited to be there. Matt sensed something was wrong, but Vic couldn't see it. As it happens, someone in the campground cancelled last minute, so he jumped on the site. He was trying to get us all to go down with him and drink beer, but clearly Chase, Blake nor I were interested. Eventually Matt convinced Vic to go "start my birthday without us," and naturally Vic was upset. Matt and I shared a glance, and I saw he was genuinely worried, but he understood it was between us three. Soon enough they were gone, and we were back to our silence one more.

It wasn't until the sun was hiding behind the distant trees when someone finally decided to speak. It was Chase, and I could hear a hint of Australian in his voice.

"I just don't get it," he said, showing amazing restraint. He looked like he wanted to yell at me. "There are...dozens of guys to choose from, even Blake for god's sake..."

I sank into my shoulders. My paws were still shaking. "I-I..." I took another deep breath. "I don't want...other guys..."

"You would seriously fuck your own brother, 'cause you don't want other guys?" He sounded more than incredulous.

Evidently I would, I thought to myself. "Joel makes me happy."

Chase just glared at me, but didn't say anything. He quickly looked away. "This is so fucked up," he said. "I can't believe it... This isn't fucking Alabama, this is fucked up."

There was another long, terrible silence.

"How long have you two been..." Chase paused as if to find the right word. "Together?" He said it as if we weren't actually together, and implied all the perversion and depravity that came with our union.

I swallowed hard and took a breath. "Not long... Since after that party, the one you had to take me home from? It's where Blake and I met."

Blake looked away, eyes closed.

"I'm sorry," I said, though I wasn't sure exactly what I should be apologizing for. "I didn't... I mean, I didn't know it was gonna happen when it did. I didn't mean to lie to you about it, either... It's not really something I'd want people to know. Clearly."

"Christ, Donovan," said Chase, though I wasn't sure what he meant by it. I suspected he would have preferred ignorance, but of course it was too late for that now. "He's your brother. Doesn't that even sound fucked up to you?"

"I know how it sounds, Chase, I know it's fucked up. But it doesn't matter, 'cause I love Joel and I love being with him."

"Oh god," scoffed the dingo, turning away.

"Y'know, I wanted to tell you, 'cause you're my friend. My best friend. I... I wanted to tell you, 'cause I wanted you to know that I'm happy."

My friend sighed, and Blake glanced over for just a second. We were back to another long silence, until finally Joel appeared at the door. He started toward us, carrying what looked like a tray of food. He was wearing a hoodie now, and I was starting to wish I had one, too. My big brother put the tray down, revealing it was a plate of sandwiches, which he probably made quickly since obviously we hadn't had dinner yet. I was so looking forward to hamburgers and hot dogs and a campfire that night, but clearly that was out of the picture. I wasn't sure how the rest of the week would go.

"Happy Birthday, Donny."

I closed my eyes tightly in an attempt to hold back some tears, but it was no good. At least I found a little comfort in Joel rubbing my back.

"How could you do that to him?" Chase suddenly asked, glaring at my brother. Joel was standing at the end of the table and glared back.

"Excuse me?"

"You're supposed to take care of siblings, not...take advantage of them."

My brother frowned, and for a second I thought I saw him flash his teeth. "Don't you dare accuse me of not taking care of Donovan, you hear me? I have done nothing but take care of him, since the day he was god-damn born. Are your parents a couple of drunks, Chase? Because mine sure as fuck are. I've been taking care of Donovan since I was eleven years old because my mother was too damn drunk and my father wasted every night at the bar. I spent my entire teenage years changing Donny's diapers, and feeding him, rocking him, putting him to bed every single night. I played with him because my parents were incapacitated, when I would have rather been out with playing with my friends. I fucking cooked for him, changed him, read him stories before bed and tucked him in at night. I was the only asshole who ever celebrated Donny's birthdays, who made him a cake and helped him blow out the candles. I taught my brother how to ride a bike, for god's sake, and how to skate, and how to throw a god-damn punch. I have never, ever taken advantage of my baby brother, so don't you sit there on your high horse and tell me what I'm supposed to do."

Chase didn't have much to say after that.

"I love Donovan more than you could possibly know. You have no idea the sort of bullshit he and I have had to endure growing up, dealing with our shitty, negligent parents. But never once have I let my brother starve, nor have I ever let him go to school hungry. I stole my parents youth, their lives when I was born, but I was not going to let them steal his."

Chase glanced up at me, then at Joel. "So instead you stole it."

Another flash of anger from Joel, but he managed to hold himself back. "Donovan had come to me about the conclusions he'd made, about these feelings he'd been having, and I helped him through it. There was never, ever any pressure from me, no coercion, no trickery. He made his own decisions and acted on his own desires and impulses, and I acted upon mine. I know this is extremely difficult for you to wrap your head around, and I get your confusion, your anger. But I love my baby brother, and I have never, and will never, do anything to harm him."

Chase glared at us some more, but remained silent. I didn't even realize tears had started trickling down my cheeks, but when I did I found I couldn't stop them. My heart was pounding heavily against my chest, harder when my best friend got up. He shook his head and turned, walking away.

"I need some fucking time to think," he said, no trace of an accent. He walked down the stone steps toward the trailer, and though the sun was mostly down, he continued on past his car, thankfully, probably toward the campground.

When I looked at Blake, though he seemed uncertain what to do or what he think, he did at least give me a nod and followed after our mutual friend. Soon the two were gone and Joel and I stood on the patio alone.

Immediately I began to cry, doing nothing now to stop the tears. I turned and held onto my big brother tightly, crying into his chest. My heart was heavy and I could barely stand, but Joel, my Joey, was there to hold me up. I loved my brother more than I could express, and was grateful he was there for me. Together he and I made our way back up to the cottage with the food in paw, and though it took a while, I was eventually able to eat something.

I had no idea what would happen with Chase or Blake now, whether they would tell Vic and Matt or keep it to themselves. I didn't know if they would forgive me for this, if I truly needed forgiving, or if they would hate me and shun me for the rest of their lives. It broke my heart to imagine a world without Chase, my best friend; I'd always gone to him with all my troubles, my secrets, everything besides what I'd done with Joel. I didn't know if he'd ever be able to trust me again, or if he'd even want to, or if he'd even try. I loved Chase about as much as I loved Joel, and losing him would be like losing a part of me, a thought that made me infinitely sad.

In bed that night I cried for my best friend, begged him silently to forgive me and prayed to a god I didn't believe in that we could move on. My heart was rent in two as I replayed all the anger I heard in his voice, watching him walk away again and again in my head. The only comfort I was able to find came in the form of my big brother's arms, holding me close as I tried desperately to find sleep. Joey, the love of my life, my defender, my brother, the only fur I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He held me tight and protected me, comforted me, loved me. Eventually sleep did find me, but it was with a heavy heart that I drifted away.