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Kris fingered the little slip of paper again, listening to the crinkle and watching the bold writing shift in the light. He'd taken extra care with his appearance today, wearing one of the new tailored school uniforms that his mother had had delivered to him. Fresh from a visit to the hairdresser yesterday, where he got a slightly shorter and yet more full haircut that made his natural curls frame his face in what the hairdresser had called the 'most fetching way'.

He'd gone through his swim suits looking for just the right thing to wear for this first meeting with what he hoped would be his new coach. He'd picked the little green Speedo that he loved so much since it showed off his assets so well, highlighting him with that vibrant green color. Then he'd put it aside and chosen a darker gray suit that covered more of his body, before shaking his head and going back to the bright green one. He felt more comfortable in the Speedo, and comfort was important when you were going to appear mostly naked in front of someone for the first time.

Taking a deep breath, he punched the numbers into his extension of the house phone and held it to his ear with a shaking paw. It rang twice before the person on the other end picked up, and that same deep voice that had been playing over and over in his daydreams said, "O'Brien; what can I do for you?"

He almost dropped the phone, he was so excited and nervous. "Hi, I was told you were the swim coach at St Mary's, is that right?" He sounded a little abrupt - or maybe even a little rude - but it was the only way he could keep his voice from shaking.

"That's me, yes. Can I help you with something?" It was like warm chocolate had just been spilled down his spine. That voice nearly made him weep with longing. It took a moment for him to formulate an answer.

"Yes, umm... I'd like to try out for the swim team. I was told you'd need to check me out before I could join. I have a little while now, if you're not busy?" Oh_god, did he just ask that Adonis of a swim instructor to check him out? What was he_ thinking_?_

There was a pause on the other end of the line and the sound of a car door shutting. . "I'm on my way there now; I'll meet you at the pool. This is Kris, right?" There was an amused sound to the rich chocolaty voice that was nearly his undoing.

How on earth did the horse know his name?"Y-yes, I'm Kris." He managed to get out past his uncooperative tongue.What was it about this man that made him feel like a skittish kitten anyway? He'd had coaches before, and they were all buff from the exercise they did to keep up with their students, but none of them had ever made him feel like he had butterflies loose in his lower intestines.

"Good I'll meet you there in, say... ten minutes?" Without waiting for an answer, the horse hung up, which was all for the best as Kris didn't know if he could speak again. He sat there staring at the phone dumbly for a few moments before a huge smile broke out over his lips, and he tucked the dead phone away. He'd done it; he'd arranged to meet the most handsome male he'd ever seen to come and watch him swim. Oh god... he'd asked the most handsome man he'd ever seen to come and watch him _ swim _!_He jumped up and ran for the door, figuring it'd take him at least ten minutes to get to the school pool. _Could he do this? Could he not_do this?_If it wasn't coach O'Brien, then he'd have to have one of the other coaches, if there even were other coaches, looking at him, and eventually, he'd have that gorgeous horse watching him anyway, better to get it over with in a single rush then have to work up to it in small stages. Like pulling off a bandage, it was better to get the pain of pulled-out fur over with all at once.

* * * * *

His fingers trembled as he opened his locker and put his skateboard into it. With the utmost care, he stripped off his jacket, folded it. and put it into the locker. That was followed by his shirt and pants and finally with his boxer shorts. He was bent over working his Speedo up his left leg when the door behind him opened and someone came in. He didn't pay much attention to who it was... he was too busy trying not to get his fur caught in the tight spandex. Once he'd worked his right leg into the suit and stood to pull it the rest of the way up, he turned and caught the most interesting look on Coach O'Brien's face.

"Coach? I'll be ready in just a second." He turned away before the coach could see that he was starting to get hard just from being in the same room as the very handsome older male. He did the calming exercises that he'd been working on with his mother, and it helped some; at least he wasn't popping out of his sheath and peeking over the top of his suit. There was nothing he could do about his scent though, but perhaps the horse would chalk his excitement up to the coming tryout. He tried hard not to look over his shoulder as the older man started taking his clothing off. Maybe he was going to jump into the pool too? God, he hoped so; it would be so awesome to swim next to that strong body. Down boy, get your head in the game, he's here to watch you_swim._

When the rustling of clothing stopped, he risked a peek over his shoulder and asked, "Should we shower first? Some places require that..." The coach was just pulling his own suit up his legs and it gave Kris a moment to gawk at his bare ass. His tail was lifted to keep it out of the way and for some reason that made Kris all the harder, his breath catching for a moment as his eyes feasted on the perfectly sculpted shape of the older male's backside.

After a long pause "Ah, yes. The school requires that you shower before you enter the pool area to make sure that all the dust and anything else has been removed from your fur." It looked as if the coach was staring down at himself, black swim suit pulled up past his knees but still bunched up just below his butt. There was a scent on the air that Kris had never smelt before, something earthy and rich that tickled his nose and made him want to lick his lips. It also seemed to be having an effect on his little problem, and not a good one._Good god, what's wrong with you this morning? He's a grown man, for god's sake, he isn't interested in a half grown boy!_He dropped a paw down to cover his groin, tearing his eyes off the stallion's backside just as the coach managed to get his suit up to cover it.

Kris grabbed a towel and headed for the showers, hoping the cold water would do more for his physical condition than the calming exercises. Once he got the water going, he faced the wall and let shiver-inducing needles of water stream down his chest and belly. Another shower turned on, and he closed his eyes trying not to think about what was happening behind him. Having his back to the coach seemed to make things worse; his mind kept suggesting images of those strong hands sliding up and down over that broad chest... Before it could become an issue that even cold water couldn't deal with, he turned around and let his eyes play over the older male for a moment, to wash away the inappropriate thoughts with the rude reality of him standing with his head thrown back letting the water course down over his totally uninterested - If his swimsuit was to be believed - body.

_There, see? There is no reason you should be acting like this; the coach isn't even remotely interested in you. Shower and get going. You still have to impress him enough to get him to let you join the team._With the cold water and those sobering thoughts in his head, his body started to obey his desire to calm down, and he was able to soap up then sluice down without any more embarrassing biological urges.

* * * * *

Venn O'Brien walked into the locker room as he had on any of a number of days, expecting to see a boy getting into his swim suit in preparation for the coming trial. What he didn't expect was to see the most adorable ass bared with a lifted tail staring him right in the face. He'd had a few boys throw themselves at him over the years, but never in all that time had he been confronted with a sight that made the lust stir in his veins like this boy's innocent display was doing. Before his body could get the better of him, he turned and unlocked his own locker, drawing on his years in the military to calm his natural urges and focus on the task at hand.

He knew, when the boy turned around, that the kit was having a similar problem, from the strong scent of adolescent arousal that nearly filled the space between them. It must be a psychosomatic reaction to the boy's arousal that was the cause of his own momentary difficulty in that area. A few deep breaths and a refusal to allow his cock to drop down into his sheath, and he was able to finish changing. The boy had already moved into the showers, so he simply follow and allowed the water to rinse the remaining scent of his momentary distraction from his body eradicating all traces of his inappropriate arousal.

He let the warm water course down over his body, blessing the fact that he'd learned how to control his physical reactions as he aged, something that the boy across from him was having difficulty dealing with right now. Turning the water off, he shook his head to get the droplets out of his eyes and looked at the boy. "Ready?" He was amused to say the least that the boy kept trying to hide that he was excited by the prospect of being on the swim team, a fact that his much younger body wasn't afraid to advertise.

Venn had never been attracted to boys, which was a good thing considering how many of them he had in his charge. He'd heard rumors around the school about some of the teachers that made him cringe. He knew for a fact that some of the boys tried to catch his attention after they found out that he was gay, but boys were boys, and he was more hard-wired toward men. The boy's fur coloring and tail pattern brought back memories of the last man he'd been with. He still felt bad about what he'd done to Yoel, but there wasn't much he could do to fix it at this point.

He waited for the boy to grab a towel and leave ahead of him, before he shook himself and put his teacher face back firmly in place to follow him out into the pool.

* * * * *

Kris headed for the diving platform with a single mindedness that wiped all other concerns from his mind, only checking to make sure there wasn't anyone in the way of the lane he chose before stepping up onto the platform. "Do you have a stopwatch, Sir?"

The horse nodded slightly and held up the watch he'd retrieved from his locker. "Ready?"

Kris nodded taking his position, crouched down with his hands at the front of the pad and his feet placed correctly in the center "When you are, Sir."

Kneeling down, O'Brien slapped the concrete, yelled "Now!" and hit the button on the stopwatch all at the same time.

In a blur of motion, Kris was off. He cut the water cleanly, coming up a good ten yards from the starting platform and swimming strongly. He was graceful in the water, using his tail like a rudder, with just the tip of it moving to keep him on course while his arms and legs provided the power. And such power! He was barreling down the lane faster than any of the boys currently on the swim team. Smooth, sleek lines, economical motion... This was a body that had been trained for many hours to swim like that. He hit the wall at the shallow end, flipped in the water like an eel, and headed back the way he came, all with the same tightly controlled motions. In what seemed like an impossibly short time, his hands hit the wall at the deep end, and he surfaced, yelling, "Time?"

There was a pleased note in O'Brien's voice as he gave the raccoon his time. "75.29 seconds." He was justifiably impressed, since his fastest swimmer to date, Audio, could only do 80, and he was about half this kid's size. Of course, the scouts had nearly picked this one out of the water for him, encouraging his father to bring him to the district with promises of scholarships and a specially-tailored program that would allow for additional training. Though the father had forbade them speaking to the kit directly about his selection, he had agreed, and they'd set the wheels in motion to move him to St. Mary's.

Kris growled in frustration. "See what missing two weeks of practice does to you? I've lost ten seconds already!" Heaving himself out of the pool he shook the water out of his coat and tail, lashing the later in suppressed anger. He felt like everything was totally unfair, like his Dad didn't care what his moving across the country had done to him. His training schedule was thrown way off track by this move, and he missed his coach. Andrew would have understood this; he'd have commiserated with him about the unfairness of it all and gotten out his notebook to help work out a schedule to get him back on track! But Andrew was a part of what he'd had to leave behind when he came here, so now he was left with a high school swim instructor who likely did this as a hobby and didn't have a clue what it took to train every day until you wanted to puke! He just wanted to hit something!

As if noticing something different in him, the horse came closer and sat on one of the other diving platforms looking at him. "Is something bothering you? You look a little poofy." He said indicating the puffed up fur along Kris' spine and tail.

The boy hissed at the older male, then got a hold of himself and sighed. "Sorry, I just... I find that adults don't really care about what's happening in my life. They just brush my problems off as nothing." He wouldn't look the horse in the eye; something about this solidly built man kept making him want to open up, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that opening up to strangers was a bad idea. Besides, his body was acting strangely around the horse, and he didn't want to risk another episode like the one in the locker room where he had to argue his errant penis back into complacency.

A sadness came over the horse, and he found himself wanting to reach out and pull the boy into his arms, something that was strictly forbidden as it could lead to inappropriate relationships between teachers and their students. "I care. Look, I know we just met, but a guy doesn't get to be that fast in the water without working for it. I know it must seem pretty odd for you to be talking to a perfect stranger, but if we're going to be working on the same team you're going to have to trust me." Venn did his best to find the boy's eyes and make that connection with him, needing to prove to this young man that he was sincere in his concern for some reason that was beyond his understanding. "Come on, Kris, you have to trust someone."

Kris took his time examining the older horse's face carefully, almost as if he was trying to see behind those eyes into his brain for the reason the horse was pressing him. After a few moments, during which the horse didn't seem to breathe at all, Kris sighed and nodded once. "I miss my coach, I miss my friends, but most of all I miss Sean. See, Mom and Dad had this huge fight, and he basically blackmailed her into letting me stay with him, then he moved us across the country to this godforsaken little town. All because he caught me and Sean on the couch kissing and stuff..." He watched the horse for some kind of negative reaction to his revelation, even as his ears folded back in embarrassment for just blurting it out like that.

It took a little longer before the horse finally broke the silence. When he did it, wasn't to tell Kris he was a freak of nature and that he had to stay away from that boy for his own good, like his father had done. Instead: "That's a really f--... a messed up situation." The boy offered a half grin at the man's mental edit in the middle of a sentence. "You must be really confused and lonely." Again, Venn found himself wanting to physically comfort this young man, to hold him in his arms and rock him gently until the tears he could hear in the boys voice ran freely down his cheeks. He shook his head to clear it of that nonsense.

Too wrapped up in his own misery to notice the coach's odd behavior Kris went on, "Yeah tell me about it. I miss my coach; he always had time if I needed to talk, you know." He kept a close eye on the horse's face as he turned to watch a pair of girls come into the room, both dressed in identical black bathing suits, one a vixen, the other a white rodent of some kind, likely a mouse. The vixen waved to him, and he realized with a start that it was Kittara. With a shy smile, he waved back to her.

Venn acknowledged the girls with a nod of his head before he turned back to Kris once more. "I honestly don't know what to say, other than I'm here if you need to talk." A pause while he seemed to search for words, and then, "I remember growing up and not being like everyone else. It was hard enough with supportive people behind me, but to have a parent like that..." He trailed off turning to sit on the edge of the pool with his long legs dangling down into the water. Without seeming to think about what he was doing, the horse put his hand on the raccoon's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Around here, you'll find that there are a lot of people who feel the way you do."

Kris pulled his legs up as he felt the stirring in his loins at that simple touch from the handsome older male. He fought not to let the emotions that were whirling through him show on his face, and tried to keep his voice calm and level. "It's... been a long time since anyone touched me. Mom was into hugging, but Dad... He's been acting real funny lately and won't even look at me." He looked down into the pool, watching the little wavelets that the girls made as they entered the water.

The hand on his shoulder slid around until the horse's arm rested across both shoulders in a friendly gesture of support that, if the boy took offense to, could land his ass out of a job or worse. "That is rough. Does your Mom know what's going on? Or is she even in the picture anymore?" Somehow it felt right to have his arm over the boy's shoulders, offering that little bit of physical support while talking about such a delicate subject.

Since it had been so long without any kind of contact, Kris leaned into the warmth of the horse's side without even realizing what he was doing. "Yeah, she knows. I talk to her all the time on the phone. She says she's going to send me a cell phone, so I don't have to use the house phone, just in case something happens, you know?" Even wet, the horse smelled good, strong, masculine in a way that felt safe to Kris. It wasn't making his body respond in the same way now, seeming content to just let him enjoy this moment of physical contact for what it was.

Venn nodded. "Well, you have my number; don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. And I mean anything." He smiled at the boy reassuringly, then bumped him with his shoulder. "Ready for another lap, now that you're warmed up some? I think the girls could use someone to challenge them." He lifted his nose toward where the two girls were doing laps of the pool, moving well but much slower than the Raccoon had. "That is, if you're up for a little competition..." He winked at the boy and dropped his arm from around those slender shoulders, heaving himself up off the edge of the pool and heading back to where he could have a good view of the water.

Kris grinned and nodded, standing up in a single smooth motion, then turning suddenly away from the pool and readjusting his swimsuit a little. After a few moments of hurried conversation with parts of his body to behave, he shook himself to settle his fur and turned back to step up onto the starting platform. "Hey, Kittara?" He waited for the girl to look at him and grinned a challenge at her. "You want to see who can make it to the other end and back fastest?"

The girl's ears came up, and she had a hushed conversation with the mouse girl then nodded and called out, "Loser buys the winner a shake at Stallion's?" She didn't wait for an answer just headed for the side of the pool and hauled herself out in a smooth lift. "Krista says she wants in, too."

The mouse was only a breath behind the vixen and both girls hurried around past the horse to the starting platforms. "Will you time us, Mr. O'Brien?" she said as she passed him, her unfurred tail curving up in a question mark behind her back.

The door of the boys locker room opened and out walked the smaller, big-eared fox that Kerris had called Audio. Kittara called out, "Audio, we're having a race do you want in? Looser buys the winner a shake at the Stallion!"

The boy seemed to brighten when he saw the stallion standing with a stopwatch in his hand, but then scowled when he saw the raccoon. "Only if I get a warm up first, 'cause it looks like the rest of you already have!" He moved to stand beside the coach with his arms over his chest and glared at Kris. "Besides, I want to see him in the water first. I know I can beat the two of you girls."

O'Brien patted the boy on the shoulder and smiled down at him. "Sounds fair to me, Audio. Go do a few laps, all of you, then we'll have your little race." He grinned at them all impartially and moved to sit in the lifeguard's chair.

Kris was amazed at how quickly this had snowballed out of control. He was just thinking he could match himself against Kittara, who seemed to be the best of the two girls, and now he was going to be racing the scowling little fox and the mouse girl as well. He just hoped it didn't upset them too much when they lost.

All four of the kits lined up on the starting platforms in the center of the short side of the pool. "Alright you four here are the rules, ten warm up laps then I want you back on the platforms and ready to go, we're going to treat this like it's one of the swim meets. You may begin when you're ready." He leaned back into the back brace of the chair and watched the four of them his eyes sparkling. He hadn't seen Audio so determined in weeks, even Krista was frowning in concentration. Maybe they'd heard about Kris' background and were going to actually take this seriously for a change.

Kris dove in first, but while his dive was clean and well executed he wasn't moving as fast as he could. Then Krista was in the water, she'd always had trouble with her dives and threw up way more splash back then she needed to be making. O'Brien shook his head; he'd have to work with her on that some more. Kittara was next, her dive sweet and splash free, but her form was off today -- slow and pulling to the right slightly so she had to keep correcting herself.

Audio waited, watching the raccoon boy for a full length of the pool before he dove in. The Fennec was one of O'Brien's star divers, and he had good form in the water, if only he'd practice more and build up his speed. All four kits were doing well today, focused on their technique and form, which was a good sign. In short order, all of them had completed their laps, Krista finishing last because her tail got in the way and tangled with her feet on one of her turns so he made her do an extra lap to make sure she was in good form before letting them line up for the race.

"Alright, on your marks..." Four kits stepped up onto the starting platforms. "...get set..." Four heads came down, backs and knees bent in preparation for the dive. "GO!"

They were off,.Krista had another bad dive, but the other three were flawless. Kris pulled ahead of the others, but surprisingly, Audio was right on his tail, with Kittara not a half length behind. The coach stood up on the top rung of the chair, watching excitedly as his star pupils started to live up to their abilities. At the shallow end, Kris turned first, but Audio and Kittara were seconds behind with Krista only a few moments after. His eyes widened as he watched the streaks of dark that were his students. Audio was inching up on Kris. Could the raccoon be holding back? Then Kittara pulled ahead of her cousin, pouring on speed that he didn't know she had. Within moments, she was even with Kris, Audio only a hand span behind them. Krista's tail flashed back and forth behind her and she was only a breath behind Audio now.

Then the unbelievable happened. Kittara's hand touched the wall, followed in unison by Kris and Audio. O'Brien's thumb hit the button automatically, and a third time when Krista's fingers hit the wall. He stared at the results in amazement, his voice shaking just a little as he called out. "Kittara 61.76, Audio and Kris 62.35, Krista 62.89. Well done, kids, very well done!" He didn't point out that it was a personal best for all three of his current athletes; they all knew it, and it wouldn't do to make them self-conscious around the new boy. "Not only that, but I think since you all did so well, I'll buy shakes for everyone!" He jumped down and headed to the deep end of the pool.

Kittara was the first out, rolling on the floor and giggling like a fool as she realized that she'd bested herself! Krista was out next with a whoop of delight, bouncing around like a maniac. The boys however stayed in the water glaring at each other. Either they had come to an instant dislike of each other, or they were taking their personal problems out on each other. Either way, that had to stop right now; if he was going to have peace on his team those two had to work together!

"Girls, hit the showers! I expect you back out here in 15 minutes, ready to go." Both girls sobered up quickly and scampered into the showers. The coach was well aware that giving them only 15 minutes meant they would be pressed for time; girls that age needed about a half hour to make themselves what they considered "presentable." Heck, some boys their age needed that long. He reached down and held his hand in front of Audio's face, waited while the boy looked up at him, then grasped his hand and pulled to lift him from the pool. "Kris, out of the water. We're going to have a talk, boys."

As the raccoon clambered out of the pool, O'Brien stepped back, pulling the Fennec with him. "Audio, I know things are hard right now, what with you adjusting to being in a new home, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on Kris."

He frowned down at the smaller boy for a few moments until his eyes dropped and he whispered, "Sorry, Coach."

Then he turned to the taller boy. "Kris, you've told me some of what's happening with you as well, and I can see where that would make things difficult, but Audio isn't the source of your problems."

He watched those chocolate colored eyes go from fighting mad to contrite before they lowered as well, and he got another whispered, "Sorry, Coach."

"All right; both of you, into the showers to cool off. I'll be along in a few minutes. I need to put the stopwatch in my office." He gave Audio a gentle push on the shoulder, then did the same to Kris, heading them both for the locker room. As the boys disappeared into the locker room, he muttered something about raging hormones and shook his head, pushing open the door to his office and disappearing inside.

* * * * *

Audio entered the locker room first, slamming the door hard enough that it bounced back and nearly hit Kris on the muzzle. He grinned to himself as he headed for the showers. _Cool off,_Coach had said; well, he'd show the big lug behind him how cool the showers could get. He paused and flicked a switch on the wall separating the showers from the lockers before he turned and made a show of remembering to go and grab a towel.

Kris, distracted by just barely catching the door before it hit him in the nose didn't realize anything was up as he watched the smaller boy head for the towel cabinet. He passed the waist-high wall and went to the closest of the shower stalls, flicking both the hot and cold on in equal parts before he stepped to the side to take his swimsuit off and toss it over the wall. Glancing to where the coach was showering before, he bit his lower lip, remembering how the water cascaded down over his strongly muscled form, the way his hands followed the water, the tightness of his swimsuit... He blushed furiously as his cock sprang to life, driving up out of his sheath in a mad rush that would not be denied. Suddenly, he was aware of being watched and looked up to see Audio staring at him with open mouthed astonishment.

With a soft whimper, Kris stepped under the shower, expecting the warm water to help wash away the images in his mind that are making his body react. His paws covered his arousal hiding most of it from the fox's sight, but he had been blessed with a large endowment, and his paws couldn't cover the whole thing. The rush of cold pouring down onto him was a better solution, but it pulled a roar of surprised protest out of his young throat.

The sound of laughter hit his ears, and he spun on the smaller boy. "What did you do!" Every trace of his previous arousal vanished in that instant. He lunged forward, paws outstretched, intent on murdering the little bastard where he stood.

* * * * *

Tucking the stopwatch into the top drawer of his desk, Venn realized that he needed to add Kris to the rolls of his team and make sure that the practice schedule found its way into the boys paws. He sighed and settled into his chair, turning his computer on and punching up the relevant files. Humming softly to himself, he started to add the boy's information into the registration page. He flipped to the schedule and hit the print button, then jerked his head up as he heard a roar from the boys locker room!

Forgetting the printer that was busily working away, he jumped from his chair and ran for the door, bursting through just in time to see the larger boy shoving the smaller against the wall with his forepaws around his throat. He didn't waste time wondering what happened, just dove in and pulled the raccoon off the Fennec, shoving him back a few steps and putting a paw on both heaving chests.

To his amazement, Audio tried to dodge around the coach, aiming a punch for Kris that nearly connected before Venn got a paw back on his chest and shoved him into the wall. He had to put pressure on both boys as they tried to go for each other again. Once he was sure they were going to stay away from each other, he slowly let his paws drop. "Okay... what in hell is going on in here?" He looked from one shivering naked boy to the other slowly.

"He did something to the water!" Kris declared in a dangerously angry voice.

"He was jerking off!" was Audio's retort.

The raccoon's eyes widened and he shouted, "Was not!" though from the scents in the room, he'd at least been aroused before whatever happened occurred.

Audio seized on the taller boy's surprised face and snapped back, "Were too! And I bet you were thinking about Coach while you did it, too!" His lips curled up to bare his teeth in a show of dominance, or was that anger? Not being a canine, Venn sometimes had trouble telling the two apart.

From the chagrined look on the raccoon's face, that was at least partially true, and it made Venn's eyes widen for a moment. "Enough!" One thing stuck in his thoughts, and he looked at Audio with a frown. "Audio, did you mess with the cut-off switches?" He stepped from between the two boys and checked the cut-off on the half wall, noticing that the hot had been cut while the cold was still on full. Giving the smaller boy a pointed look, he flicked the hot back on and leaned back against the half wall watching him. "Audio, what on earth possessed you to turn off the hot water feed?" He politely ignored the comments about Kris pawing himself because that was a harder thing to deal with and it seemed he'd found what started the whole mess anyway.

Audio suddenly looked away shrugging his shoulders and whining softly. "You said to cool off... and well... he was... I just..." He fell silent staring at his hindpaws which shifted nervously on the tiles.

A snort from the other side of the showers drew his attention to Kris who was testing the water, all signs of arousal tucked away neatly inside his sheath -- a fact that Venn was sure came from the sudden and unexpected dunking in ice cold water. "I don't approve of this behavior, boys! The two of you need to find some way to work together, if you're both going to be on the team." He pulled his suit off and dropped it on top of the wall, his body betraying none of the earlier issues he'd been having around Kris with Audio as an audience. Taking up a spot between the lads he flipped on both the hot and cold water. "Now, shower off, so we can meet the girls and head for the Stallion." He turned his back on the two of them reaching for the shampoo to get the chemicals out of his fur. His ears stayed focused on the sounds behind him making sure that both boys were following his orders.

Kris stepped under the already warm water beside him and started soaping himself up, trying not to think about the little monster and what he said. It was way too close to home for his liking. The other boy took a few moments to regain his composure before he turned on the water and stepped under the spray.

* * * * *

All four kids piled into the coach's car, since none of them had their own vehicles (unless you counted Kris' skateboard). He put Kris in the front because of his longer legs, and had Audio sit between the two girls in the back, where he could keep an eye on him. They piled out after the short ride to the pizza parlor, darting into the building while he was still locking the car. He joined them in line and looked from one eager face to the next. "I know the deal was shakes, but how would you feel about some pizza? I haven't had dinner yet, and I think you all worked up an appetite."

That suggestion was greeted with enthusiastic agreement, and he smiled as he placed an order for two large pizzas (one vegetarian and one meat-lovers) with the young looking deer behind the counter. "And four shakes of whatever flavor they want." He noticed that Kris stayed as far away from Audio as he could and still remain part of the group, while Audio was ignoring the raccoon completely. Not the best situation, but at least they weren't at each others throats anymore.

Shakes acquired, the whole group moved to one of the circular booths to await their dinner, chattering in the way that kids had about anything and everything. Mostly, Venn just sat back and watched them talking. It was interesting to see how Kittara kept trying to pull Kris and Krista, the two shy kids, into the conversation she and Audio were having about some video game. It wasn't until they compared it to a totally different game that Kris actually said anything, and then his words were carefully chosen and well thought-out. But the time the pizza arrived, the four of them had moved on to music, which was a topic that Venn had some experience with.

Audio came out with, "I still say that it's about two guys, one trying to talk the other into spending the night with him behind his girlfriend's back."

"No, it's about a guy who beat his wife and the other guy who wants to beat him up for her." Kittara's voice rose as she argued her point. "In the video, there's that part with the broken glass -- you know, when the lady is at the bar."

"Wait, which song are you talking about?" Venn looked from one to the other of the kids, trying to work out which band they were discussing. When they had all stuffed themselves on pizza, he offered to take them home. Kris was the only one that declined the offer, as he was only a few blocks from home.

* * * * *

"Hey, Edmond! Wait up!" The tall good looking raccoon turned to see a large black mastiff approaching and smiled genially.

"'S'up Duke?"

"Nothing much. Wondered if you're hosting again tonight? The Bears are playing the Cougars." A wide grin spread over his black furred face as he clapped a large hand on the muscular Raccoon's shoulder. "I'll spring for the beer this time. It's the least I can do if you host. Keeps me out from under the old lady's thumb!"

"Yeah, that's cool. You know the Man Cave is always open for company of your caliber. I just wish that kid of mine would take an interest in a real sport." He gave his canine companion a pointed look.

Duke threw his head back letting out a bark of laughter. "Kid still into the swimming, is he? All those wet nearly nude boys does it for him, huh?" He brought his right hand up in time to catch the punch Edmond threw, on his palm. "Man, I know where you're coming from. Relax!"

Edmond growled at the larger man, rubbing the back of his hand and flexing his arm muscles. "It isn't funny! Damn kid is turning into a fruitcake." He picked up his gym bag and headed for the door. "His mother spoiled him. Indulging all those pansy behaviors, letting him join the swim team and spend so much time with that little reprobate of a cougar cub!"

The dog nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. you told me all about it. Hey, did you try girly mags yet? I remember sneaking peeks at my old man's at his age. Might spark a fire in his loins." He nudged his friends shoulder suggestively.

Edmond thought about that as he blew a kiss to the cute bunny behind the membership counter. "It's worth a try, at least. Maybe seeing the real thing will get his blood burning for the right reasons. I still have trouble believing my only son is turning into a fudge-packer." The pair were totally oblivious to the disgusted look the bunny doe threw their way as they exited the upscale body builders gym. "See you tonight Duke." Edmond said as they parted ways.