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_Here's another long story that I wrote with a friend who wanted me to write more about otters. Which led to [Snow Days](%5C) when another friend saw this one ...

This is the story that begins the sequence published as "Waterways" through Sofawolf Press. The second part, "Streams," is online here a_

t http://sofurry.com/page/20718/. You can buy the full novel at http://www.sofawolf.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=37&products_id=81 or on Amazon.com for Kindle. As always, check out my writing LJ at http://kyellgold.livejournal.com/ to keep up with the latest on my writings.

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"Aquifers"

Under the water, everything else disappeared. Up above were all his problems, the heavy, dry world that dragged him down. The water was his element. He wished he could go to school in the water; in the northwest, he'd heard, there were aquatic schools for otters, beavers, marmots, and water rats. But he didn't live in the northwest, and there were no aquatic schools in Hilltown.

Only two public pools, even, and they were always crowded with non-aquatics, usually kids, splashing around and screaming. But under the water, in the deep end, he couldn't hear them or see them. He cut from one side of the pool to the other, holding his breath as long as he could so that he could knife through the water, eyes open but unfocused, just reveling in its rush through his fur, the low rumble that was all the outside world filtered through its insulating layers. In the water, he could go anywhere, do anything.

He angled to the surface for a breath, and just that quickly was back under the water again. There were a couple other swimmers in the deep end, laboring near the surface to the end of the pool, doubling over and kicking off to struggle back to the other end. He slid under them with ease, swimming in circles, touching one wall after another.

A shadow lurched towards him. He changed direction fast, to avoid the shape, and stars exploded around his head as he hit something much harder than water. Air bubbled out of him as he pressed both his webbed paws to his head, bobbing to the surface. Kicking to keep himself afloat, he leaned against the edge of the pool as the shock wore off and the pain started to set in. "Ow. Ow ow ow."

"Man, I'm really sorry," said a low tenor voice behind him. He smelled wet fur and musk. "You okay?"

"Yeah." He found the spot on his head that had hit the wall, probed with his fingers, and winced. It wasn't swelling up yet, but he had a feeling it would. Experimentally, he ducked under the water, but the cool water only soothed him a little, and his head started to throb. Time to get out, definitely.

He broke the surface again, hung there, and sighed. To his surprise, the same tenor said, "It doesn't look too bad."

Kory turned, surprised. He'd figured the guy would've taken off once he said he was okay.

Crouched on the side of the pool, a young fox about his age smiled back at him. His fur was the color of night, glossy with water, except just under his throat, where a shock of white dripped. His long tail lay curled behind him, plastered to the tile, and his long legs were tucked under him. "I mean, there's no blood in the water," he went on. He had dark eyes that Kory thought were black at first, and his smile was warm and genuine.

Reflexively, Kory looked at his paw. "No, I'll be fine. Just need some rest."

"If there was blood," the fox went on, "you'd have to watch out for the sharks."

Kory blinked at him. "Yeah," he said slowly. "those pool sharks are bad news."

The fox laughed. "Well, a sense of humor is a good sign. You probably don't have a concussion."

"Concussion?"

"My mom's a nurse," the fox said. "Concussions can be pretty bad. And the victim might not know he's got one." He stroked his chin with a paw. "Look, I don't think you should swim any more. I know it's not my business."

"Wasn't planning on it," Kory said. He rested his elbows on the edge of the pool, looking up at the fox.

"Then, uh," the fox looked away, "can I buy you a coffee or something? I feel really bad about that still. Besides, if you've got a concussion, you might lose consciousness in the next hour."

Kory was about to say no, but the clock on the wall behind the fox caught his eye. It wasn't even three yet, and he'd hoped to stay out until at least four, which would get him home just in time for dinner. And then he looked at the fox again, at the deep black fur and the patch of white fur on his chest, and the smile under the dark eyes, and something made him say, "Sure."

"Great." The fox stuck out a paw. "I'm Samaki."

"Kory." The otter lifted a paw and grasped the fox's. Samaki had a strong grip, confident, but not too hard.

"I'm gonna hit the shower," the fox said, releasing Kory's paw and standing in a fluid motion. "Takes me longer to dry than it does you, I bet."

Kory just nodded. Now that the fox was standing, he could see two other patches of white on the nearly-nude obsidian form. Dangling just above the floor, the tip of the long black tail was white, grimy from resting on the dirty tile, but no less striking for that. And beneath the trim stomach on the left hip, a small patch of white fur poked out above the dark blue speedos the boy wore, matched by two triangles below, one pointing down the inside of each thigh. Kory blinked, abruptly aware that he was staring at another boy's groin, and looked up. "Yeah, I'll, uh, I'm done too."

He bounced up out of the water, clambering onto the side of the pool and hating the clumsiness he always felt when getting out of water. He still had to look up at the fox, he found; Samaki was a good foot taller than his five feet one inch, which left Kory's eye level right at the bottom of the white patch on the fox's chest. He must be an athlete, Kory thought to himself. Good chest, good shoulders, good arms, good heavens, am I really thinking this? But it was natural, he told himself. Musculature showed up much better under the fox's wet fur, and he could see the curves of the chest and where the shoulders flowed gracefully into well-toned arms. Maybe he was a basketball player, with that height, but all of the foxes at Kory's school were in track, and he guessed Samaki was too.

"Haven't seen you at this pool before," Samaki said as they walked to the locker room. "New to town?"

"Nah," Kory's short legs had to hurry to keep up with the fox's long strides. "I usually go to the Caspian."

"Oh," Samaki said. "I hear that's nicer."

"It's okay," Kory said. "Pool's bigger and there's a section just for aquatics there."

"Not many 'quatics in this 'hood," Samaki said.

Too late, Kory realized that Samaki must live around here. "This is a pretty nice pool," he said. "Water's clean, and there aren't too many guppies."

"Guppies?"

"Oh." They'd reached the locker room. "My buddies and I call them that. The non-aquatic cubs, their parents bring them to the pool hoping they'll learn to swim, or just to get rid of them, and they splash and run around and shriek and get in everyone's way."

"Guppies." The fox grinned. "I like that. Mind if I use it?"

"Be my guest." Kory was oddly pleased by the request.

He hesitated outside the large group shower. Normally he'd take his suit off, but he was feeling shy around Samaki; ironically, shyer than he would if he hadn't met the fox. He decided to keep his suit on, and was relieved to see Samaki walk in behind him, also suited. They didn't talk in the shower; Samaki rubbed shampoo all over himself, while Kory just rinsed. This pool didn't have the shampoo for his fur, whose natural oils kept most of the chemicals off anyway, so a good rinse would have to do until he got home.

The dryers were six individual booths. Kory selected one of the two that was not occupied nor marked out of order, stepped in, and closed the door. Now he took his suit off, stood in front of the blowers at the back of the stall, and hit the switch. Warm air poured over him in waves. The throbbing in his head even eased somewhat as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth.

When he emerged, Samaki was nowhere in sight, but the other dryer was occupied, and Kory could smell the fox's musk. He padded around a beaver who was cleaning his long, flat tail, and opened his locker.

Just as he was getting his shirt on, movement caught his eye. He looked up to see the black fox emerging from the dryers, naked and holding his blue bathing suit in one paw. With dry (or mostly dry) fur, he looked puffed-out and comical, and he must have known it, as he smoothed down his fur with his paws. Still, he was as striking as he'd been by the pool, especially his long, fluffy tail with a newly-clean bright white tip. Kory could also see the full patch of white between his legs now, but didn't let his eyes linger there long.

Samaki waved cheerfully to him and walked over his way. "I'm right over here," he said, indicating a locker on the other side of the beaver, who was just finishing up. Kory looked back at his own locker, getting the last few things out of it, and when he looked back, the black fox was just pulling a pair of black briefs up his legs, hiding the white patch again.

He wasn't looking at Kory, but the otter didn't want to just walk out without saying anything. On the other paw, he didn't want to call attention to the fact that he was watching the fox put his underwear on. So he waited until Samaki had tugged on a pair of shorts that ended just above the knees, and then coughed and said, "I'll just hang out outside."

"Hold up, I'm almost done." The fox grabbed a white tank top from the locker and forced himself into it, then threw a light jacket over his shoulders. "Okay, let's go."

"Getting too warm for this already," he remarked, sliding the jacket off and swinging it over his shoulder as they stepped out into the street.

The light breeze felt good against Kory's damp fur, but the day was still surprisingly warm for late March. "It's been warmer lately," he said inanely.

"So, where do you want to go?" Samaki asked, turning to him.

Kory looked around the street. He knew the half block between the bus stop and the pool entrance, which he'd seen for the first time that morning. That was it. He glimpsed a familiar green sign a block in the other direction. "Starbucks?"

Samaki's ear flicked. "Sure," he said. "But that one's kinda crappy. There's a better one a block and a half that way." He jabbed a finger towards the bus stop. "You mind?"

"Nah, go ahead. I don't really know the area," Kory said.

"It's not quite Caspian around here," the fox said as they started walking.

"But you've still got Starbucks."

Samaki laughed shortly. "They're pretty ubiquitous, don't you think?"

The four-dollar word surprised Kory. "Yeah, I guess they are," he said. He rubbed his head.

"Still hurt?" The fox's ears sank.

"Don't worry about it," the otter said. "Really, it's just a knock on the head. I've had worse."

"I still want to make sure it's not a concussion." They rounded the corner onto a smaller street, connecting the wide street they were leaving with one a block down. On either side of the street were closed metal gratings and faded awnings. Only two stores looked as new as the Starbucks on the corner of the large street a block away, and one of those was an adult book store tucked into an alcove, set back from the street.

They walked past a small pizza place whose smells made Kory's stomach growl. He looked around at the litter on the street and the faded window signs, then back at the fox. Samaki was looking ahead at the Starbucks, but Kory caught him glancing sideways, though he looked away quickly when he saw the otter looking at him. In the outside light, Kory saw that his eyes were not black, but a deep violet. He'd never seen eyes that color before.

"So what'll you have?" Samaki said as they pushed the door open and entered the cool, familiar coffee shop.

Kory took a moment to look around at the art, the scattered chairs and tables, the rack of newspapers and the items for sale. This Starbucks was much the same as all the others he knew. They were a comfortable, known environment, and he felt safer here. Even if he didn't know where he was when he walked out that door, he knew where he was in here. "Uh, just a tall coffee, I guess." He usually ordered a hot chocolate, but that sounded like a kid's drink.

Samaki shook his head. "No caffeine."

"Oh. Decaf, then."

"Milk and sugar? I usually dump a lot in mine."

"Yeah. Lots," Kory added with a grin. "Sounds good."

"Okay. I'll get it. Go ahead and sit down." The fox waved him toward the chairs and walked up to the counter.

Kory walked slowly to the only padded chairs in the shop, fortunately empty now, and swept his tail aside as he plunked himself down into one. He watched Samaki order, leaning against the counter, smiling at the barista, big fluffy tail arched confidently behind him, and thought about the midnight fox with the violet eyes. He was good with words, no question, and he seemed earnest enough about his clumsiness in the water. The thing that bothered Kory was that the fox seemed a little too solicitous, as though he expected something from Kory.

Problem was, the otter had no idea what that might be.

All he could do, he decided, resting his aching head against his paw, was find out more about the fox. So when Samaki returned with two cups and set one down in front of him, the first thing he said after "Thanks" was "So what school do you go to?"

"Hilltown P.S.," Samaki said, blowing on his coffee. "You?"

"Carter," Kory said.

"So what brings you to Hilltown Municipal? Caspian closed today?" The fox took a sip and leaned back.

"Uh, no." Kory looked around. "Just felt like a change of scenery, you know." He certainly didn't want to tell Samaki about the poem, or about Jenny. "How about you? I don't see many foxes at Caspian usually."

"Oh, I like to mix it up. Can't spend all my time running. Swimming's easier on the knees, I hear."

"So you run?"

Samaki nodded. "Along with every other fox in HPS. You do any sports?"

"Nah." Kory drank his coffee. It was sweet and milky, but the coffee taste came through clearly, a nice nutty flavor. "Only thing I'm good at is swimming, but I never wanted to do it all organized with rules. That ruins it."

Samaki nodded and smiled. "I'm not very good at track, if that helps."

"I don't have anything against jocks," Kory said. "My best friend's on the swim team."

"Good. We're not all peanut-brains. Some of my teammates have actually learned to read."

Kory chuckled. "I know. Just..." He shrugged, taking another drink of his coffee to think of something else to say. "Never that interested in sports."

"Me neither, if you want the truth." Samaki tipped his cup to his narrow muzzle again, and then looked at the otter, his long tail twitching at the tip. "I'm just a decent runner. If you're good at something, you should go ahead and do it and not be ashamed of it, don't you think?"

Kory frowned, but the fox's eyes were casual and innocent, and it wasn't possible that the remark had been pointed. Still, the words made him squirm slightly. "Yeah, I guess." He looked back. "So what else are you good at?"

The violet eyes widened slightly. "This and that. I do okay in classes. How about you? If not sports, then what?"

"Classes. Books. I like to read."

The fox cocked his head. "What do you read?"

"Science fiction and fantasy. And some biographies."

"Nice." Samaki nodded and took another drink. "What's the latest thing you read?"

"Uh...I'm reading the Foundation trilogy. Just picked it up a month ago." Kory remembered that he was supposed to be asking the questions. "What about you? Do you read much?"

"Some science fiction. I haven't gotten to Foundation yet, though. Asimov, right? How is it?"

"Not bad." Kory relaxed. Telling someone you read science fiction often got you a glazed look, an uninterested nod, or a smirk. Either that or they would ask if you'd seen "Event Horizon" or some such drek. Most kids considered books something you needed to read to pass English, not something you wasted precious free time with. "Some interesting theories, I guess, for the fifties. Story's a little slow."

Samaki grinned, and they talked about books for another half hour. The fox knew Clarke and Heinlein, liked McCaffrey and Lackey, and adored Harry Potter, as Kory did. They discussed whether Hermione would end up with Ron (Kory's opinion), Harry (Samaki's), or neither, until Kory's cell phone rang.

He took it outside, flipped it open, and said, "Hi, mom."

"Hi, honey. Where are you?"

"Just getting out of the pool. I'm heading right home."

"All right. See you when you get here."

"Okay, mom." He snapped his phone shut and headed back in.

"Sorry," he said, picking up his empty cup. "Parents. I should get back."

Samaki stood and nodded. "Me too. It looks like your head's okay, so I feel better." He paused. "Just in case, though, maybe I should call to check up on you."

Kory hesitated only a moment. "Sure," he said, and gave the fox his number. Samaki took out his own phone and tapped the number into it. "How do you spell 'Kory'?"

"K-O-R-Y." The otter peered at the phone. "Can I get your number?" The question popped out and Kory couldn't quite figure out why he'd asked, so he added quickly, "So when I have to go to the hospital, I know who to call when they ask if there's anyone I want to sue."

Samaki laughed. "You got it." He rattled off his number and Kory tapped it into his phone, getting the fox's name right on the first try.

"Thanks for the coffee and for being concerned about me," he said as they walked back to the bus stop.

"Least I could do," Samaki said. "I still feel like a total stooge. Guess I need to practice swimming a little more."

"Come down to Caspian sometime," Kory said. "I'll show you our Starbucks there."

"Ooh, I can only imagine. Is it fabulous?"

"Oh, so fabulous." Kory grinned. "Hey, there's my bus."

"Nice meeting you, Kory!" Samaki shook his paw quickly. "Take care of that head!"

"Thanks again! See you!" Kory ran for the bus and made it to the stop just as the bus pulled up. He got on, paid his fare, and sat down on the side of the bus facing the sidewalk. Samaki was standing on the sidewalk, one paw tucked in his pocket, the other waving to Kory, his black tail flowing behind him.

"Where have you been?" his mother snapped as he walked through the door. He could see her craning her head from the kitchen to look at him as he came through the door. "Dinner's almost ready. Go clean up."

The lightness he'd felt on the bus vanished, and now he felt the throbbing in his head acutely. He walked across the living room, skirting the edge of the central pool that joined all the rooms of the ranch-style house, and walked across the small bridge that led to his and his brother's rooms, opening the door on the left and closing it behind him.

His room was a ten by ten square, with a part of the floor to the left of the door open to the central pool. To the right of the door was a window looking onto the back yard, where he could see his brother walking up towards the house. He dropped his stuff on the bed under the window and flopped down on it.

Outside, he heard the splash as his brother dove into the pool from the back yard, and a moment later the younger otter's head bobbed up in his room.

"Hey, Kory," he chirped.

"Hey, Nick." He turned his head to look at his brother. Nick had the same broad muzzle and dark brown fur that Kory did, but where Kory had his father's brown eyes and small ears, Nick had inherited their mother's blue eyes and his ears stood up over the tuft of fur on the top of his head even when it wasn't lying flat and wet, as it was now.

Last year, Nick had insisted that they stop calling him Nicky; at thirteen he wanted to grab whatever dignity he could. At the time, Kory hadn't thought he would be able to, but now Nick had grown into the name, both in stature and, surprisingly, maturity. Kory almost felt that the little screaming brother who told tales and threw dirt at him had been exchanged for a wiser, quieter brother when he'd dropped the 'y' from his name.

"Dinner's almost ready."

"I know. I'll be there in a minute."

Nick rested his arms on Kory's floor. "Where'd ya go today? I went to the pool but I didn't see ya there."

"Yeah, I just wanted to get away for a bit. Who was at the pool?"

"Nobody. I just went there to look for you. I was over at Mickey's."

That meant Mom had called him, asked him to check up on his brother. Kory lay back again. "You going to swim to dinner?"

"Well, I don't have time to dry off." Nick snorted.

"Mom'll flip."

"So what else is new?"

"Okay, hang on." Kory rolled out of bed and stripped down to his swimsuit. "Race ya," he said as he dove into the water beside Nick.

His brother yelped, but he only heard the first part of it as the water closed around him.

Nick was getting faster, and he was lighter than Kory, to boot. He was on the swim team, and only by tricking him could Kory hope to win.

He did this time, popping out of the water and scrambling to the kitchen table, dripping. He slid into his chair an instant before Nick, across from him, sat down in his.

Their mother had given a little squeak when they'd jumped out of the water, and now stood glaring at them. "Kory James," she began, but Nick interrupted her.

"Cheater," he said, and stuck his tongue out at Kory.

Kory glanced at his mother, feeling the flush in his neck and chest he got when he'd done something fun that he knew was wrong. "Nick did it too."

"And how much older are you than him?" She huffed and turned back to the counter, picking up a dish of potatoes and carrying it to the table. "I wish you boys would get dressed for Sunday dinner. I try to put something nice on the table, and you're sitting there dripping all over the furniture."

"Mom, we dress up five days a week," Nick said, his wet tail slapping the floor as he rearranged his seat.

"Don't slap your tail," his mother said immediately. "Weekdays we don't have much time because you have homework to do. Sunday it would be nice to sit around as a family."

"We can do that wet," Nick said, shoveling potatoes onto his plate as his mother put the fish down next to them.

Kory shifted one of the fillets to his plate and scooped the buttery sauce over it, then took the potato spoon from Nick and scooped mashed potatoes next to his fish. His mother, meanwhile, had sat down with the bowl of green beans. "Don't forget your greens," she said, shoveling a pile onto Nick's plate.

"Mom," he said, "Not so many."

"Don't fill up on potatoes," she told him, and piled beans on Kory's plate as well before taking some for herself. They waited until she'd arranged her own plate and then bowed their heads.

"For what we are about to eat, may the Lord make us truly thankful," she said.

They chorused, "Amen," and dug in.

"So, Kory, Nick said he didn't see you at the pool," his mother said after a minute. "You said you were going to the pool, and when I called, you told me you were just leaving, but you didn't get home for another hour."

"I went to the municipal pool," Kory said.

"Why on earth would you do that?"

He shrugged. Nick said, "I know why."

Kory glared at him. His mother said, "Nick, let Kory tell me. Kory?"

"Just felt like going there," he said. "Okay?"

"Did it have anything to do with Jenny?"

"No." He chewed a bite of fish far longer than he needed to.

She looked down at her plate and took a small bite of green beans. "I ran into Jenny's mother at the market this afternoon."

In the pause that ensued, Kory knew she was waiting for him to tell her what she already knew. He took another bite of fish and said nothing. After a moment, his mother continued.

"She told me you and Jenny aren't seeing each other anymore. Is that right?"

He took another bite, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook this time. He swallowed. "I guess."

"I see. When did this happen?"

"Yesterday." He focused on getting his dinner down as fast as he could, so he could leave the table.

"We saw them in church this morning, and you didn't say anything."

He didn't see a need to reply to that, so he crammed potatoes into his mouth. "Don't bolt your food," his mother told him. "I just don't know why I had to learn about these things secondhand. Do you know how embarrassing that was? Mrs. Kish asked if you were doing all right, and I didn't know what she was talking about."

"Sorry," he mumbled through flecks of potato.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." She paused. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, mom," he said. "Can I be excused?"

She looked at his plate, which was mostly clean. "No," she said. "We've got banana cream pie for dessert, and I want us to sit around and talk. Tell me what the municipal pool is like. Is it as nice as Caspian?"

"No," he said. "It's smaller and more crowded." Then he decided to give her something to worry about, to stop her asking more about the pool, because he didn't want to tell her about Samaki yet. "I banged my head on the wall. I was trying to get out of this kid's way..."

It worked. His mother gasped and leaned closer. "Where?"

He showed her the spot. "Oh, Kory," she said. "It's swelling up. Let me get an ice pack."

She fetched her ice pack, and the rest of the dinner was spent with her fretting over him, because those municipal pools might be full of disease, you never know. He pointed out that he hadn't broken the skin, which only partly mollified her.

The ice did help, really, and the banana cream pie (from the market, not homemade) was delicious. He was in a somewhat better mood when he swam back to his room and lay on a towel on the floor to dry off.

Nick surfaced in his room and rested his arms on the floor, his nose only a foot from Kory's. "You went to the municipal pool because of the poem, didn't you?"

"Shut up, Nick."

"Hey, I think it's cool," his brother said. "I couldn't do it."

"Nick..."

"Why do you care what those dipwads think?"

Kory rolled over and stared up at his ceiling, where he could just see the glow-in-the-dark stars he'd put up when he was seven. "It's complicated," he said. "You'll understand when you get to high school."

He knew that would irritate Nick. He hoped it would irritate him enough to send the younger otter back to his room. Instead, he heard a huff, and then Nick kept talking. "Well, I think it's dumb. What happened with Jenny?"

"Nick..."

"Come on, Kory. I liked her. Why'd you dump her?"

Kory closed his eyes. "I didn't, okay?"

"No way," Nick said, his voice hushed.

"Please, Nick," Kory said, resting a paw over his closed eyes.

"Yeah, sorry, I..." Kory felt his brother touch his arm gently. "I'm gonna go to bed. Hope you're okay."

"I'm fine," Kory said, and then felt bad. "Thanks, Nick. I'll tell you about it later. Just don't feel like it now."

"Okay." He heard the soft ripples of water as his brother slid down and swam back to his room.

The truth was, Kory had thought he'd be relieved to be broken up with Jenny. They'd had a nice summer together, then slept together a few times, and that had changed their relationship. Suddenly she wanted to talk about other people's relationships, like how Sal and Allie were doing, and things Jake Conly had said to Amanda that Amanda didn't understand, and what did Kory think of all that? He didn't care, truthfully, and apart from their double dates with Sal and Allie, he started making excuses to avoid Jenny unless it was in a public place like the pool. He'd discovered a group online, some kids his age that liked to talk about the books he was reading, and now he looked forward to that more than he looked forward to seeing Jenny.

So he'd thought he wouldn't be upset if she dumped him; in fact, he was almost trying to get her to do it so he wouldn't have to. But he hadn't expected her to do it Saturday, when he wanted to talk to her about the previous week of school, when he really needed a sympathetic ear. Instead, it had been all about her, and how this was really too much, and she'd been talking to Chris Stafford--Chris Stafford!--and he'd asked her to the prom and she'd said yes.

He was surprised by how hurt he'd felt. No, he didn't want to be dating her, but he wanted to be the one to decide to stop. He'd been in a funk for most of Sunday, except when he'd been swimming, and when he'd been talking to Samaki.

The black fox crept back into his thoughts, with his violet eyes and easy smile. He turned his cell phone over thoughtfully and wondered if Samaki would really call him. He could call the fox; he had his number and it wasn't even seven o'clock yet. Would the fox be eating dinner? Maybe it was a little too soon to be calling.

Too soon? Kory laughed at himself and set down the phone. It wasn't like he wanted to date the fox.

Though...come to think of it, he wondered now if the fox wanted to date him. He'd certainly been very friendly considering they'd just met. And had he gotten dressed a little too slowly, maybe showing off for Kory's benefit? Kory pulled his tail to his chest and scritched through it with his claws, thinking about the luxuriant ebony tail the fox had. Maybe Samaki had been hitting on him. He should call up and set the fox straight.

But what if he were wrong? He'd picked up the phone and now set it down again, continuing to stroke his tail thoughtfully. Gay guys had a gay-dar or something, didn't they, to let them know whether someone else was interested? Surely he'd have seen that Kory wasn't gay. No, maybe he was just another lonely soul, with nobody to talk to about the books he was reading.

Hard to believe, though, as handsome as he was. Kory couldn't believe the fox would have any difficulty finding any kind of companionship he wanted. So maybe he was gay, and that explained his loner attitude.

"Grrr." He clutched his head. Best just to finish up his homework and worry about it next time he heard from Samaki, which would probably be never. He'd probably just asked for Kory's number to be polite, and walked away thinking what a dork he'd just swum into at the pool.

Though he had waited and waved goodbye to the bus. He didn't have to do that.

Kory sighed and grabbed his math homework. He'd ask Sal about it in the morning.

Like Kory, Sal was smaller than the otters on the high school swim team. They'd been friends since Kory could remember, going to church together, movies together, even playing Ultima Online together a few years back. Then Sal had discovered girls.

Kory had been mostly blind to the changes going on around him, but Sal began to act like he was a tourist in a strange new land. "Check out Jessica," he'd hiss to Kory over lunch. "No, don't turn and stare! She's gorgeous." Her primary claim to beauty appeared to Kory to be the now-prominent breasts straining against her sweater, because otherwise her features hadn't changed. He didn't think that was such a big deal, but the next week Sal had gone out on a date and gleefully reported to Kory how they felt, the first in a long string of kiss-and-tell incidents.

Kory listened with polite interest, but it wasn't until the summer that he finally realized that this wasn't just a new game Sal was interested in, but a change that was happening to all his peers, one he was expected to share in. Then he noticed Jenny, a shy girl a year younger than him who seemed to like him, and it was easy enough to start dating her.

Sal spent the first half of each day hanging out with Kory, and the other half with his other friends on the vocational track, who left the school every afternoon to get training for real world jobs. Sal was going to be a computer technician. "I'm gonna be the guy the big guys have to call to get their machines fixed," he was fond of boasting. "For you, Spike, I'll do it free." Sal still called him 'Spike' after his Ultima Online character, but he didn't want Kory to call him 'Ike' any more.

This morning, he was in a particularly good mood, so Debbie, a pretty sophomore skunk who was his current girlfriend, must have spent at least one of the nights. Sal refrained from telling him about it, though. "Hey, Spike," he said. "I heard about Jenny. You okay?"

Kory shrugged. "I'm fine. How did you hear?" It must be all over school by now.

"Debbie's older brother's dating Jenny's older sister's best friend," Sal said, stretching his lanky form and curling his tail up behind him. "So what did she say?"

Kory dropped into his seat. "She said she didn't understand why I didn't write poems like that to her."

"That's all? That's weak."

"That and Chris Stafford asked her to the prom and she said yes."

"Chris Stafford??"

"Yeah."

Sal shook his head, unable to muster any more words. "Chris Stafford," he said.

"Yeah." Kory saw one of his Warcraft buddies come in and waved to him across the room. Jason waved back and went to sit with Dev. The two of them were hardcore gamers, and though he enjoyed playing with them, he knew they didn't consider him dedicated. He sometimes hung out with them, and they were nice enough in short doses.

"Hey, Sal," he said into the silence. "Say I bumped into a girl at the pool, and she...slipped and banged her knee. If I bought her coffee after, and then asked for her phone number, you think she'd think I was hitting on her?"

His friend turned to him with a grin. "Did you get the phone number?"

"Uh...yeah."

Sal punched him on the shoulder. "There you go, Spike. Back on the horse already!"

"Ow." Kory grinned. "Just tell me, would she think I was hitting on her?"

"Heck, yeah," Sal said. "But if she gave you her number, she didn't mind. You didn't call her yet, did you?"

"No. But what if she thought I was just being friendly, like I said she should give me her number so I could check up on her knee?"

Sal laughed. "She wasn't, like, thirteen, was she?"

"No!"

"Then she knew and she didn't mind. So here's what you do. Call her tomorrow night. Not tonight, that's still too soon. See if she's free Friday night. Me and Debbie will go to the park with you. What species is she? Otter?"

"Uh, fox." Too slow to think of another lie.

Sal cocked his head. "Fox? At the pool? It's not Sharisse, is it? Please tell me it's not Sharisse."

"It's not Sharisse."

"Good. So who is it? Gina's dating that tod from Westgate, Ellen's seeing Jim Brush, and Tanya Torick is dating that foreign exchange student, the fennec. Not one of them, right?"

"No, she, uh, goes to Hilltown P.S."

Sal raised his eyebrows. "She was at Caspian?"

"No. I went to the municipal pool. Just to get away."

A large bear stepped into the room and saw them, walking up to them. "Oh, great," Sal muttered. "Just ignore him."

"I know," Kory muttered back.

"Hey, Rainbow," the bear said in a falsetto, and the class tittered. "I got a pome for ya. 'Roses are red, violets are blue, who's the biggest wuss in school? it's you!' Har har!" He wandered back to his seat, still laughing at himself.

The sad part, Kory thought, was that several of the rest of the class were chuckling along with him. He sank down in his seat.

"Asshole," Sal muttered.

Kory shrugged. "That's why I wanted to get away."

"Don't worry. They'll forget it pretty soon."

"Not while Deffenbauer has it posted in the hallway."

"Oh, yeah." Sal opened his math textbook. "So...did you do the homework?"

The rest of the morning, they talked about school while Kory thought about what Sal had said. So Samaki had been hitting on him--and by giving him his phone number, Kory had effectively said, "Sure, stud, let's get it on." Well, it was nothing a phone call wouldn't clear up, he was sure. The fox was friendly enough, and once he heard it was all a misunderstanding, he'd happily go on his way.

That night, though, when he called up the fox's entry on his cell phone, he was unaccountably nervous. What was he going to say? "Sorry, I'm not gay?" What if Samaki wasn't gay? He paced back and forth in his room, and just as he'd decided to close the phone, that Samaki wasn't going to call him back anyway, it rang.

Looking down, he saw Samaki's name flashing, and automatically picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Kory?"

"Yeah. Hi, Samaki."

"Hey there." The fox's voice was cheerful and light. "How's the head?"

"Oh, fine, as long as I don't think about it."

Samaki laughed. "Sorry."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean..." He laughed too. "It's okay."

"No blackouts or dizzy spells?"

"No, I'm fine, really."

"Well, that's good."

There was a pause. Kory tried to decide what to say next, but the fox beat him to it. "Hey, I was going to try to hit that new movie on Friday, "Planet Death." For a moment, Kory thought, 'oh, no,' and then Samaki said, "It's supposed to be terrible. Want to come along and make fun of it?"

"Sounds like fun," Kory heard himself say.

"Great!" The fox sounded almost relieved. "You know where the Landmark 8 is?"

"I can find it online," Kory said.

"Cool. I'll call you later in the week when they have the showtimes up. It'll be the sevenish one."

"Okay. Or you could just e-mail."

Samaki hesitated. "Sure. What's your e-mail?"

Kory told him, and Samaki gave him his back. Kory went over to his computer and typed it in. "Do you do any stuff online at all?"

"Not much," Samaki said. "Some homework. We only have one computer in the house for all of us."

Kory looked at his computer and felt a little ashamed of having it. His family didn't have much, but they had DSL and they each had a computer. "You have a lot of brothers and sisters?"

"One older sister. She's away at college. Two younger brothers and one younger sister."

"Wow."

"You?"

"One younger brother, that's it."

"Nice not to have to wear hand-me-downs, huh?"

Kory grinned. "I thought you said you didn't have an older brother?"

"My sister wore jeans. And t-shirts with flowers. I shouldn't be telling you this, I just met you."

Kory laughed. "It's okay. My brother hates wearing hand-me-downs too."

"Why, do you wear t-shirts with flowers on them?"

"Worse," Kory said. "Dragons. Oh, I don't think I should be telling you this."

"You went through a dragon phase too?"

"Uh..."

He heard the fox's soft chuckle. "Still kind of in it?"

"Kind of." He looked at the dragon poster on one wall. "Do you ever play online games?"

"Not really. It's hard with not having much computer time."

"Oh yeah." Great, Kory. Nice guy you are. Why not tell him how great the rich kids' pool is while you're at it?

"I play some games. The guys on the team play poker and I join in once in a while. My brothers and I play card games too. I used to read to 'em, but since they got older they don't like that so much. I still read to my sister, though. She's seven. How old is your brother?"

"Thirteen," Kory said.

"Cool," Samaki said. "You got any homework tonight?"

"Yeah. Working on a paper for English."

"Hey, me too. Want to hear what mine's about?"

"Sure." He sat at his desk and listened to the black fox talk about his English paper, and then he told Samaki what his was about, and they talked about homework for forty-five minutes.

The next night, Samaki sent him an e-mail with directions to the theater and a note: "Math homework tonight. Quadratic formulas. You any good at that?" And they spent another hour talking on the phone.

On Wednesday, Sal asked him if he'd called his girl, and it took him a moment to remember what his friend was talking about. "Oh, uh, yeah, she's busy Friday night. Sorry."

"You going to see her Saturday? We could go out to Kern's maybe."

"No, she kind of, uh, blew me off. I don't think it's worth calling again."

"It's always worth calling again. You give up too easy. I bet if you call again, she'd go out with you."

"Look, Sal, just leave it, okay?" Kory slouched in his seat.

"Tell you what," Sal said after a moment of silence. "There's this place I know, over by the college. College women like high school boys. I got laid a couple times there," he lowered his voice.

"You never told me about that?"

"You were dating Jenny. Didn't seem like you needed it."

"You're dating Debbie!"

Sal shrugged. "Yeah, well, what she don't know...so you in? I'll take you there."

Kory realized that his friend was making a sacrifice, telling him about his "special place," but he found the whole thing rather distasteful. "Nah. You know Friday and Saturday are the only nights Mom lets me play Warcraft."

Sal gave him a long look. "So play Saturday night."

"I can't, I...look, there's this group I'm supposed to go out with and...do some mission. Planet Death, it's called. They're going Friday night. I...I'll go with you some other time, I promise."

"Yeah, okay." And fortunately, Sal lost interest at that point.

Friday night, Kory told his mother he and Sal were going out to the movies and then to the burger place. She told him to be back by 11.

"What movie?" she wanted to know.

"Uh..." She'd never agree to 'Planet Death.'

"I don't want you seeing an R-rated movie, Kory. Even if you are seventeen."

"I know. I'm not. We're going to that Schwarzenotter movie, 'Girlie Men'."

Her muzzle turned down, but she nodded. "All right. Have fun."

He caught the bus a few blocks away and rode to the Landmark, feeling a little giddy. He kept seeing Samaki's jet-black muzzle and bright white smile in his mind. They'd talked on the phone every night that week, about homework and games and books and friends, and Kory was really looking forward to seeing the fox in person again, his worries about whether or not Samaki was gay pushed to the back of his mind, if not forgotten.

The black fox gave him that smile and a cheerful wave as he walked up to the theater. "Hey, you found it. I got our tickets already. How's your head?"

"It's fine, thanks." He shook the fox's paw and followed the fluffy black tail into the theater, watching the white tip bob back and forth. "How's it going?"

"Okay." They handed their tickets to the marten in the wheelchair at the door, and he handed them back the stubs with a smile.

"Theater 2, all the way in the back," he told them.

They stopped in front of the concession stand. "Do you want popcorn?" Samaki asked.

"Sure." Kory handed him a ten. "That cover the ticket?"

"Yeah, it was eight...here." The fox gave him a couple ones back. "You know, it's cheaper if we get one medium instead of two smalls. If that's okay."

Kory grinned. "Sounds fine. But I won't share your drink."

He didn't know why he'd said that, but Samaki seemed unruffled by it. "I drink Diet Coke. Most guys don't like that."

"Ugh." Kory stuck his tongue out. "I hate that Nutra-Sweet aftertaste."

"Yeah, but it's healthier."

"I dunno, all those chemicals?" They placed their order and got their drinks.

Samaki took his straw into his muzzle and sipped on the way to the theater. "Mmmm, chemicals."

Kory laughed and sipped his regular Coke. They settled into two seats in the theater and chatted until the theater darkened.

The movie was terrible. Kory had never been big on people who talked in movies, but the first time Samaki leaned over to whisper a comment to him, it was exactly what he'd been thinking, only funnier. He coughed around a mouthful of Coke, and whispered back, and they kept that up through the whole movie.

It was a terrible movie, and Kory couldn't remember the last one he'd enjoyed more.

"Who," Samaki said as they left the theater, laughing, "would be frightened of little chipmunks?"

"They did have bright red eyes," Kory reminded him.

"And claws of...what was it?"

"Diamondine," Kory giggled. "The hardest substance in the universe."

"Still..." Samaki cocked his fingers into a gun and aimed at imaginary chipmunks on the sidewalk. "Pow! Pow! Pow! Problem solved."

Kory chuckled. "No kidding. Man. That was awful."

The fox stretched. "I don't feel like going home yet. You have time to grab a shake? I know a great place."

Kory checked. "Yeah, as long as I get on the 10:15 bus I'm cool."

"Forty-five minutes? Plenty of time. Come on!" Samaki dragged him down the street into a small shopping center, walking fast along the sidewalk to a small shop with a red and white-striped awning. He held the door and bowed. "After you."

The otter stepped into a small ice cream parlor with seven or eight little tables to his right, and an ice cream counter to his left. He swung his tail in to make sure it didn't catch in the door and breathed in the chilly, sweet air.

Behind the ice cream counter, a young goat raised a hand to wave. "Hey, Sammy," he said, looking over Kory's shoulder.

"Hi, Chuck," Samaki said. "This is Kory. First time here."

"Great!" The goat smiled. "You on the swim team?"

Kory shook his head. Samaki chuckled. "No, he can have the full milkshake."

"Usual for you?" the goat said, already starting to scoop some ice cream into a silver milkshake cup.

"Yeah." Samaki turned to Kory and grinned. "What flavor you want?"

"What's a 'full milkshake' mean?"

"Oh, because I run track they make me these frozen yogurt shakes. Almost as good and half the calories." Samaki patted his stomach.

"Almost as good." The goat grinned at Kory. "You're gettin' the real thing." He shoved the cup under the old-style milkshake machine, and the whirr of the mixer filled the room.

When it subsided, he poured the shake into a cup and set it on the counter. "So, what flavor?" he asked Kory.

"Just vanilla."

"Malt?"

"Um...I dunno."

"If you've never had it, I recommend trying it," the goat said.

"Okay, sure." He grinned at Samaki, and the fox grinned back at him.

"My treat," the fox said when the goat plunked Kory's shake down next to his.

"I can get mine," Kory said, but Samaki waved a paw.

"I dragged you here, I insist. You take me to one of your favorite places and you can treat."

Kory had his wallet out, but the fox was handing a ten to the goat, saying, "Don't take his money, Chuck," and when the goat took the ten, Kory thought he saw a brief wink back at the fox.

They sat down, slurping the first cold mouthfuls of sweet vanilla as they went. "Wow," Kory said. "Nice."

"I haven't had a malted in a while." Samaki sucked another mouthful and then clutched his head dramatically. "Ow! Brain freeze."

"Don't gulp it," Kory said. "That's what my mom says."

"I know, I know."

Kory didn't know what made him do it, but he slid his shake across the table. "Want a taste?"

Violet eyes regarded him under one raised eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want to share your drink with me."

"Not when it was a Diet Coke. That stuff's nasty."

"All right," Samaki said, and lifted his straw from his shake, tapped it reasonably dry, and opened the top of Kory's shake to slide it inside. He took a gulp and lifted the straw out, closing his eyes. "Mmmm. That is heaven. Thanks."

He pushed the shake back across, and then said, "Want to try mine?"

"Sure." Kory took a taste in the same fashion. He let the frozen yogurt roll down his tongue, as sweet as the ice cream, but with an acrid flavor behind it. "You're right," he said.

"About what?"

"It's almost as good." Kory grinned.

He felt relaxed and loose, sitting across from the black fox in the ice cream parlor. They talked about school and friends, and he told Samaki about Sal and his string of girlfriends, and that led Samaki to ask if he was dating anyone.

"No," Kory said. "I got dumped last weekend."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was probably for the best."

"What do you mean?" The fox's ears swiveled forward.

"Well, things just weren't going anywhere. I mean, I don't know if you're seeing anyone or if you know what I mean, but sometimes it's just like you stay together because you don't know what else to do, not because you want to."

"That sounds like the wrong reason to stay together."

"Yeah, it probably is." Kory sighed. "But it was easier than breaking up. Until someone else asked her to the prom."

"You didn't ask your girlfriend to the prom?"

"I didn't think of it until it was too late!"

Samaki chuckled. "Then 'scuse me, but I think you did the right thing."

Kory nodded. "I know. But it's not easy." He looked up at the fox. "You seeing someone?"

Samaki shook his head. "Nah."

"Really? I'da thought the vixens would be beating down your door."

"Why?" The fox tilted his head, and the otter began to feel a little warm.

"Well, because you're an athlete. I mean, all the jocks in our school have women hanging around them like...like a cloud of comets or something. You never know which one is going to be coming close at any particular moment, but they're always there."

Samaki leaned back and laughed. "That's great. I'll have to remember that one. No, the track team rates pretty far down on the list. Plus, uh..." He hesitated, taking another drink of his shake.

Kory waited patiently, and then started to feel the nagging suspicion again, that Samaki was about to tell him he was gay. He changed the subject. "How long have you been coming here?"

"Oh, years. My mom and dad used to take us out here for a treat, and when I starting working, I always put aside enough for one shake a week."

"You have a job?"

"Just on weekends. I help stock at the grocery store."

"Nice. I had a summer job at my mom's office, just doing filing and stuff. She won't let me work during the school year, though."

"Too bad," the fox said with a grin.

"Yeah, I...oh, no, is that the time?" The clock on the wall read 10:13.

Samaki sprang into action. "Come on," he said, jumping to his feet. "We can make it if we run."

"Maybe you can," Kory said, but he got up anyway, and waved to the goat as they ran for the door. "Nice to meet you!"

"Come back soon!" Chuck the goat said as the door swung closed behind them.

They ran together down the dark street, paws slapping the sidewalk in time. Kory, a few paces behind the fox, admired the fluid grace with which he strode, and the billowing of his tail behind him. I bet he'd be a track star if he put his mind to it, he said to himself. He felt clumsy and awkward by comparison, his tail a heavy weight behind him. Where it was very useful in swimming, it was a burden to run with.

They rounded the corner and saw the bus sitting at the stop. I'll never make it, Kory thought despairingly, but the bus stayed there as they drew closer, and closer. Then it started up with a rough cough, lurched forward, and pulled away just as Samaki reached the back corner and slapped it with a paw, yelling, "Wait! Wait!"

To no avail. The bus chugged down the street. They saw it stop at the next stop, two blocks down, as if taunting them to follow, but Kory was already winded. He rested with his paws on his knees.

"I'm sorry," Samaki said, his long tail curled under his legs. "Maybe my mom can drive you home."

"It's okay," Kory puffed. "There's...another bus...fifteen minutes. I'll be a little late."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind. We're about a fifteen minute walk from here, and then it'd be about half an hour."

Kory considered. His mom would freak out, absolutely have a conniption, if she found out he'd taken a ride with a strange woman. Strange, to his mother, was anyone she hadn't shared a meal with. On the other paw, she didn't need to know.

But his mom didn't have to find out. And he would get to hang out with Samaki a bit longer. "Okay," he said.

The fox's muzzle lit up with a bright smile. He put a paw on the otter's shoulder, rubbing briefly. "Great! Come on, this way."

They walked down the street together at a more leisurely pace, through a few blocks of the main shopping district, passing only a few people here and there.

Samaki turned down a dark street and strode confidently ahead, only his light shirt and white tailtip visible as he was swallowed by the darkness. Kory took a couple steps in and hesitated, letting his eyes adjust. He heard the fox's steps stop, and saw eyeshine as Samaki turned.

"Oh, you don't have good night vision, do you? I'm sorry. Here." He reached out a paw. "It's just this one stretch. It's a shortcut."

Kory placed his paw in the fox's and felt the warm pads close around his fingers. The warmth was nice in the night air.

"It's not dangerous," Samaki said as he padded slowly down the street. Kory felt more confident with the fox's paw around his, and matched his pace. "The people who live on this street are all nocturnals--foxes, raccoons, mice, possums, one skunk family down that way--so they petitioned the city to get the street lights turned off on the street. It's not dangerous, either. They do a neighborhood watch. A couple years ago there were some drug dealers that tried to set up shop here, but they ran 'em off."

Kory was a little surprised at the casual mention of drug dealers. That was something he read about online or heard about in health class, not something that was part of his life. "Are there a lot of drugs around here?"

"Bout average, I guess," Samaki said, and Kory felt him shrug. "I don't bother with 'em."

After a long pause, the fox said, "You ever try 'em?"

"Jeez, no!" Kory shook his head. "I heard about one kid in my class, this mouse who tried some stuff, but I didn't know him real well. None of my friends ever had any."

"I know some guys on the football team who tried some steroids."

"Does that stuff really work?"

Samaki shook his head. They were arriving at the end of the dark street, and his form was visible now as a dark patch in the grey twilight. "I guess it does, sort of. If that's what you want out of life."

They emerged onto a quiet, residential street. Though the houses were smaller, it reminded Kory of his own street. They walked past a well-trimmed lawn and a low white fence, past a small cottage and a four-unit apartment with wood-fenced balconies from which plants and bird feeders hung. Kory hadn't seen many apartment buildings, but this one looked pretty nice, in keeping with the rest of the street. "Like budding houses, waiting to fully blossom," he said, inspired by the sight.

"That's great," Samaki said. "I really like that."

"Oh, it's just a thought," Kory said.

"It's a nice image," the fox said, and Kory shrugged.

"I used to know a kid in one of those apartments, but he moved away," Samaki said after a moment.

Walking past the building, the otter saw a masked face in one of the windows looking out at him, and realized that he was still holding onto Samaki's paw. He let go, trying to be casual about it, and Samaki didn't comment. Kory stuck his paw in his pocket.

"Just around here," Samaki said as they reached the end of the next block. They crossed the narrow street at the stop sign and walked half a block down to a small house with an old VW Fox in the driveway. Samaki turned up the driveway and led Kory up the wooden steps onto a white painted porch. Lights burned in the first story and Kory could hear the television on, but the second floor was all dark. As the fox opened the front door, he caught a whiff of the musk of several foxes, a strong but not unpleasant scent.

"Hi, guys," Samaki called softly as he walked in. Kory followed him and looked into a living room where he could see the arm of a sofa and a television set showing an old movie he didn't recognize. His paws sank into plush carpet, clean but worn, and he looked around at the framed prints on the walls, not as large or as elaborate as the ones his mother owned, but interesting. A stairway directly in front of him led up into darkness, and the room to his left that smelled strongly of food was also dark. Before he could look around any longer, Samaki grabbed his paw and pulled him into the living room.

"Who's your guest, hon?" a female voice said from the couch before Kory even made it into the room. He walked in and saw a short, slender red fox on the couch, leaning against a pillow, the television reflected in her eyes. She turned to look at Kory and gave him a broad smile, then paused the movie and got up, smoothing down her jeans. She wore a blue shirt with a faded flower pattern on it and had several beads of various colors woven into the fur between her ears.

"Hi, dear. I'm Samaki's mother, Mrs. Roden." She said it "road-in."

"This is Kory, Mom," Samaki said. His tail was swinging from side to side.

"Hi," Kory said, and stuck out a paw. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

She smiled and took his paw. She was barely as tall as he was. "Pleased to meet you too, Kory. I didn't expect company this late."

"Kory missed his bus, Mom," Samaki said. "Can you give him a ride home?"

"I think so, sure. Let me find my keys and leave a note for your father in case he comes home while we're gone. Samaki, you'll stay here to watch the kits?" She walked over to a side table and rummaged through her purse.

"Do I have to, Mom? They're asleep, they'll be okay."

She considered that for a moment. "No. I don't know when your father will be home."

"Oh, all right." He sighed. "Thanks for coming down, Kory."

"Thanks for the movie," Kory said, and smiled. "I'll talk to ya soon."

"Bet on it." The fox's tail was wagging, and he gave Kory a good shake of the paw that made Kory think of the dark street they'd walked down, paw in paw.

Mrs. Roden had found her keys, and she gave Samaki a kiss, russet muzzle to black. "I'll be back soon, sweetie."

"Okay, Mom." The fox waved as the two of them walked out to the car.

"Kory, where do you live?" Mrs. Roden said as they walked down the drive.

"Over in Westmont," he said. "On Strawberry Lane back of Lincoln Highway."

"I know about where that is, but you'll have to guide me when we get close." The vixen smiled. "You want to call your mom and tell her you'll be a little late, Kory?"

"Uh, no, that's okay." Kory would then have to explain where he was calling from and why it was going to take him half an hour to get across town. "I think we can make it in time."

Mrs. Roden laughed. "I appreciate your trust!" she said. "All right, here we go."

Kory slid into the passenger seat and drew the seatbelt across, looking around the car as he did. There were several bare patches on the seat itself, and both the seat and the back of the driver's seat that he could see bore numerous claw marks and gouges. Kory pulled the seatbelt across himself, aware of the strong foxy smell in the car that was older and deeper than just Samaki and his mother. He inhaled again, searching for Samaki's scent, but it was hard to pick out of the mixture.

"So how was the movie?" Mrs. Roden said as they backed down the drive.

"Terrible," Kory said. "We had a great time."

"So you like bad movies too? I know Samaki's quite a fan of them."

"I liked this one," Kory said. "He really made it fun."

"You don't go to Hilltown P.S., do you?"

"No, Mrs. Roden. Carter High."

"How do you like it?" She turned onto the main street.

"It's okay."

She glanced at him. "How's your head feeling?"

He shrugged. "It's fine, thanks. I guess Samaki told you about that."

"Yes, he did. He felt terrible about it. I'm glad there was no harm done."

"Really, it was nothing. I wasn't used to the smaller pool."

"Samaki made it sound like it was pretty bad. I don't see any sign of swelling, though. He was really worried about you." She asked him about symptoms for a few minutes, and Kory remembered that she was a nurse. He asked about her job and the hospital where she worked, and they passed most of the freeway drive like that.

"Okay, Kory," she said as she steered the car down an exit ramp. "Here we are at Lincoln. Where now?"

Kory guided her through the small suburban maze and to his driveway, noting with a little embarrassment the contrast between the larger, nicer houses on his street and the smaller, pushed-together houses on Samaki's. Mrs. Roden didn't seem bothered, though; she said only, "Such pretty lawns!"

"Thanks so much for the ride, Mrs. Roden," he said when they stopped.

"You're very welcome, Kory. Come back and visit with us sometime. Samaki's been telling us about you and we'd be happy to have you over."

Kory grinned widely. "I'd like that, Mrs. Roden. Thanks again.," he said, getting out and waving.

Mrs. Roden waited while he walked up the driveway and then left as he tried the door and found it open. He waited until they'd rounded the corner and glanced at his phone before opening the door. Good: 10:54. He sighed with relief and walked into his house.

As he closed the door, he heard his mother call from the living room. "Kory?"

He walked in. She was sitting on the couch, paws folded in her lap. Only the lamp on the end table was lit; the TV and ceiling light were off, and the circle of light cast by the lamp threw shadows across her muzzle.

Something was wrong; he knew it immediately, even before she said, slowly, "Sal came by looking for you."

It took him a moment to remember that he'd told her he was going out with Sal. "Mom..."

She turned large brown eyes on him. "Kory..." The words were difficult for her to get out. "Are you...are you on drugs?"

"Mom! No!"

"You'd tell me, though, if you were, right? We can get help for you. There's a group I read about, I could go look up information on them." Now the words were spilling out as though she couldn't stop them.

"I'm not on drugs, Mom." He took a step forward. "Really."

"Then why..." She sniffed the air. "You smell like skunks."

"It's not skunk, it's foxes," he said, annoyed.

"Well," she said. "You're grounded for a week for lying to me. Now tell me the truth."

He said, "Mommmm..." to buy time while he figured out the minimum he needed to tell her.

"The truth, Kory, or it'll be another week at least."

Glancing across the water, he saw Nick's door crack open. The light was off inside, but he knew his brother was listening. "I went out to a movie, Mom, just not with Sal."

"Whom did you go with, then?"

He could feel the current of the conversation, tugging him inexorably towards what he knew would be the result. He battled it anyway. "This other friend of mine."

"What's his name?"

He stalled for time. "You don't know him."

"That's why I'm asking you. What's his name?"

"Samaki."

"Samaki what?"

"Roden."

She mulled the name over in her head. "I don't know him."

"I told you," he said.

"Don't snap at me, cub," she said. "Is he a school friend?"

"Not really." He squirmed under her stare. "No."

"I see. Where did you meet him? It wasn't church."

"No. At the pool."

"Hm." He could see her thoughts; the pool was at least a place you had to pay to get in, and it was a Good Place. "When was this?"

"Last weekend. We talked on the phone a bit and he invited me to a movie tonight."

"Which movie?" She said it casually, but Kory wasn't fooled.

"I told you," he said, suddenly aware of the ticket stub in his pocket. "'Girlie Men.'"

She relaxed a little more, and then said, "Last weekend...so it was at the municipal pool."

"Uh...yes." He saw her stiffen again. The municipal pool was not as Good a Place as Caspian. "He's really nice, Mom. We talk about schoolwork. We have a lot of the same subjects."

"What school does he go to?"

"The public school."

She didn't like that either. "So you've been helping him out? I'm sure your classes are more advanced than his."

They weren't, but Kory realized that she thought Carter was supposed to be better than the Public School System, even though it was part of it. "Uh.. yeah."

"The Lord does smile on charity," she mused. Kory sighed. At this point, the worse of the two outcomes had been avoided. She would let him remain friends with Samaki. But she would want to meet him. And that meant dinner.

"I want to meet him," she said. "Invite him to dinner next Friday night."

"All right," he said immediately. It wasn't good, but he'd take it.

"I just worry about you boys, growing up without a father. I can't be here all the time for you."

"I know, Mom," he said.

"I worry because I love you, Kory. You know that, right?"

"You and God, Mom."

Now her muzzle broke into a smile. "That's right." She stood up and hugged him. "Oof. Go clean that stink off you before you go to bed. And give me your cell phone."

Whatever lightness had crept into Kory's mood vanished. He liked the smell, and he didn't intend to wash before bed. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Good night, Mom."

"Good night, sweetheart." She kissed him on the nose, since she couldn't reach the top of his head any more, and and waved a paw in front of her nose. "Whew! I hope he'll wash before he comes over."

Kory rolled his eyes and walked across the little bridge to his room. When he climbed into bed, he could still smell the scent of the foxes on his fur.

He dreamed that night, perhaps from the scent. He was sitting in school with Samaki, and they were in a history lesson. He realized that he wasn't wearing any pants, and he hoped the fox wouldn't notice. Then he saw the fox's thick tail fall away from his lap, and saw that the fox was naked as well, his white patch gleaming in the midst of his black fur. Samaki was smiling at him. "You can touch if you want," he said softly.

"What about the teacher?" Kory said back.

"Let's teach each other," Samaki said.

Kory reached over and touched the gleaming white fur, and then felt the fox in his paw. He felt the same warmth he felt when holding the fox's paw, and an extra jolt. "It's all right," Samaki said, and Kory looked deep into the violet eyes.

"You can touch me too," he said.

The fox wasted no time, his paw reaching over. Kory felt an electric thrill and shuddered, and jerked awake in bed, panting.

His room was dark save for the stars on his ceiling and their reflection in the water. He looked around, the residue of the dream pounding strongly through him. It took him a minute to slide back from the dream world, but his body took longer. What did that mean? He didn't even know if the fox was gay. Was he? He scrabbled through his mind to recall the psychology chapter of his social studies class. Was it rationalization or projection if he was suspicious about the fox being gay because it was really what he wanted?

That was ridiculous, though. It was just a dream, it didn't mean that that was really inside him or anything.

But his body was still responding to the dream, no matter how much he thought about it. That doesn't prove anything, he told himself. I wake up like this most mornings. It's not related to the dream.

Even so, he tossed and turned until he looked up and realized that dawn had crept up on him without him realizing it.

He went for a swim to clear his head, and when he came back and logged in, he found an e-mail from Samaki asking if he'd gotten home in time. Seeing the words typed on the screen, he could almost hear the fox's voice, and that brought back the memory of his dream. In the daylight, fully awake, it seemed much sillier to be worried that the dream represented secret desires inside him. Samaki was a friend, that was all.

He sent a quick response telling Samaki about his grounding and the invitation to dinner, and was excited to get a quick answer back. The fox must have been on the computer checking first thing in the morning. He said he would ask about dinner but he thought it would be okay, and sympathized on the grounding, offering to be online at certain times in the evening so they could set up a chat via IM. Kory felt much more relaxed at the prospect of being able to chat with Samaki online, and sent him his IM info immediately.

Sal came over in the afternoon, but was intercepted by Kory's mother at the door. He heard only her sharp, "I'm sorry, Sal, Kory's grounded and can't have guests." He turned up the music in his room and nodded silently when she came to his room later to tell him that Sal had stopped by and would see him at school on Monday.

Homework occupied him for only part of the day, even when he tried to work on some things due beyond Monday. He wasn't supposed to play games or surf the web when he was grounded, but his mother rarely checked and he felt he was being punished enough to allow himself a little bit of surfing.

It wasn't until that night, lying in bed, that the images of the dream flashed through his head again, unbidden yet unstoppable. "Let's teach ourselves." A long, black tail whose white tip traced an arc to the ground. White island in a black sea. "You can touch." The feeling in his paw.

His body strained painfully, feeling like it was about to burst. Fists at his sides, he stared at the ceiling, trying to focus on something else. If he touched himself while he was thinking about the fox, that would make his whole dilemma much worse. He tried to remember Jenny, the way her body had felt, but he kept seeing Samaki over and over, and finally he knew if he didn't do something, he would lie awake all night. He slid his paw inside his pajamas and gave himself a quick, panting release.

After that, sleep came quickly and was dreamless. But the morning was troubled.

He got ready for church, the dream still on his mind. He knew that there was a whole parcel of sin tied up in having impure thoughts, let alone about other boys, and now it was worse because he'd not only had the thoughts, he'd acted on them. Kind of.

After Mass, his mother liked to stay and talk with the priest, a tall Dall sheep who liked to be called "Father Joe." He'd come to their church only a couple years ago, and Kory liked his sermons in general. He'd never gone to confession with Father Joe, but he'd talked to him a few times and always found him sympathetic and friendly.

His mother and the Jeffersons, a wolf couple who lived a few blocks from them, were talking to Father Joe about an upcoming bake sale. Nick had run outside to talk with a couple of his friends, and normally Kory would have done the same, but now he loitered by the door, hoping to get a moment alone with the priest before leaving.

His mother and Mrs. Jefferson wouldn't shut up, though, and after a few moments he lost his nerve and started outside.

Father Joe's deep voice stopped him. "Kory?"

He turned and saw the sheep's large, dark eyes and gentle smile. "Yes, Father?"

"Would you help me pick up the hymnals? I could use a paw."

Kory shuffled. "Uh..."

"He'd be glad to," his mother said, taking his paw and pulling him towards the priest. "Go on, Kory, we'll be outside when you're done. Thank you, Father Joe."

"God bless, ladies, Mr. Jefferson," the sheep said, bowing his large curved horns gracefully.

The church was empty except for Kory and Father Joe once his mother left, still chattering with the Jeffersons. The sheep smiled and waved Kory down one row while he took the next one forward, keeping pace with the young otter as they collected the books. "So how's it going, Kory?"

"Okay." Kory's stomach was churning. One second he wanted to blurt out his problem, the next he didn't want to say anything.

"School all right?" Father Joe gathered books easily into his large arms.

"Yeah."

They reached the end of the pews and circled around to the next two. Father Joe didn't look at Kory, just walked along the row picking up books. "Anything bothering you?"

Kory's throat seemed to close up. He tried to say, "Not really," but it came out as a squeaking sound, and he clammed up, embarrassed.

"It just seemed like you wanted to talk to me. Are you having doubts about faith?"

"Uh, no." He breathed a little more easily.

"Rats. I was hoping. That would be an easy one." The sheep looked down with a smile, and Kory couldn't help smiling back. "Problems at home? I know having a single parent must be hard on you."

"Oh, it's not that...I mean, it's okay." He reached the end of the pew and they turned one more time.

"Your mother really wants the best for you." Father Joe chuckled. "Sometimes what parents think is best isn't always what kids think is best."

Kory nodded. "I know."

"So...is one of your friends doing something you think is wrong, and asked you to join them? Maybe you're wondering whether to turn them in, if it's illegal, but you still want to be a good friend?"

Kory shook his head and said, "No," before it occurred to him that the priest was getting closer.

They walked to the end of the pews in silence and then turned to start the frontmost two rows. "Well," Father Joe said, "I do greatly appreciate your help with this, and I wish I could help you in return. But we're down to the last two rows, and if it's not faith, family, or friends, I'm not sure what's left. I can't imagine you'd come to me with girl trouble." His eyes twinkled a bit as he said that.

"No," Kory said, and laughed softly, and made up his mind. "I had...a dream," he said.

"Oh, dreams." Father Joe shook his head. "Nightmare?"

Kory shook his head. "Not really."

They reached the end of the pew and stood silently for a few moments as he struggled to find words. "It was about...doing something...I don't think I want to, but it was..."

"But in the dream, you enjoyed it?" Father Joe said gently. "And now you're wondering if that means you would enjoy it outside the dream?"

Kory stared at the sheep. His mouth had gone very dry.

"It wasn't anything violent, was it? No, I don't think..." and then he paused. "Did you have a dream about another boy?"

Kory felt his legs shake. "No!" he said, hearing the lie echo in the church.

Father Joe looked right at him. "It's all right to have dreams, Kory," he said. "They're messages, but they don't always mean what they show on the surface. Sometimes they're just God's way of asking us to think about some part of our life. If you want to talk more, come see me next Saturday morning, okay? I'll clear some time for you."

"Okay," Kory whispered, though all he wanted to do was run for the exit.

Father Joe put a hand on his shoulder. "Adolescence is a confusing time, Kory. Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"Okay," Kory said again, "thanks." He was afraid to say any more.

"Thank you for the help with the hymnals." Father Joe smiled and released his shoulder. "Don't worry, Kory. It was just a dream."

Kory nodded and backed into the pew, then turned and walked quickly out the door.

He nodded at his mother when she asked if he wanted tuna fish for lunch, and mumbled, "Nothing," when she asked what he'd talked about with Father Joe. He was remembering all the stories about Catholic priests molesting young boys and suddenly wondered why Father Joe was so eager to set aside time for him. He didn't seem like that sort, but then he supposed that they never did, that boys were easy prey for someone they felt they could trust.

But it didn't matter, because he wasn't gay.

After chatting online with Samaki about math and confirming that the fox could come to dinner on Friday, he worked on a little more homework and then crawled into bed. Visions of the black fox danced through his head again, but without the urgency of the previous night, and he managed to drift off to sleep.

On Monday morning, he found that explaining to Father Joe had been a walk in the park compared to explaining to Sal.

"So you blew me off for another guy," the other otter said after Kory had told him what happened, sitting alone in a corner of the cafeteria eating lunch.

Kory sighed. "I forgot," he said again. "I'm sorry."

"So why didn't you tell me about this guy? Is he like a spaz or something?"

"No, he's really cool." Kory told Sal about the movie, about the books they'd talked about, about the conversations over the phone and the ice cream parlor.

"You meet this guy, what, a week ago and suddenly he's your best friend?"

"Course not, Sal, you're my best friend," Kory said.

"Then what's this guy?" Sal squinted at him. "Hang on...ice cream? That sounds like a date. Are you trying to tell me you're gay?"

"Jesus, no!" Kory covered his mouth and looked around, but nobody was paying attention.

Sal blinked at the vehemence of his response and then shrugged. "Cause you know, that's cool. It would explain a lot."

"Well, I'm not," Kory said. "And neither is he."

"All right, all right," Sal said, and started telling Kory about his weekend and what he and Debbie had done, to which Kory made as little response as he felt he could get away with.

Things with Sal remained cool all week, but the thugs who'd been harassing him about the poem seemed to finally grow tired of it, so Kory felt that things had balanced out. He talked with Samaki over e-mail during the week, and once on IM, and got increasingly nervous about the fox's visit Friday night, for no reason he could determine. If his mom didn't like Samaki, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Nevertheless, he paced around his room Friday evening as six o'clock drew nearer, and at 6:01 he began hovering in the living room, watching the doorway. When the doorbell finally rang two minutes later, Kory ran the five steps to the door and flung it open.

"Hello, Kory," Mrs. Roden said. She wore a pale blue dress and a bright smile. Samaki stood to her left, grinning in a collared white shirt and khaki slacks. Behind her, holding onto one black paw, was a small vixen who looked to be about four. She peered shyly at Kory from behind her mother's tail.

"Hi, Mrs. Roden. Hi, Samaki," Kory grinned.

"This is Mariatu," Mrs. Roden said. "Come out and say hi, sweetie."

Kory grinned. "Come on in."

They walked into the foyer, where after some coaxing, Mariatu was persuaded to remove the paw from her muzzle and say a soft "hi."

"I shouldn't stay too long," Mrs. Roden said. "I left Ajani and Kasim out in the car."

Kory's mother came out and greeted the brush of foxes, and Kory was glad to see her smile as Samaki shook her paw very politely. He noticed that the black fox had combed his fur and was wearing some sort of flowery scent to conceal his musk. His mother said, "Welcome, Samaki," but then turned to his mother, delighted that she had come along.

"It's so nice to meet you. Kory doesn't tell me anything," she said.

"Oh, at that age they can be very difficult," Mrs. Roden said, ruffling Samaki's headfur. "Is he your only?"

"No, he has a younger brother. I don't know where Nick is. Do you, Kory?"

"Probably in his room." Kory said, halfway to showing Samaki the living room.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be out eventually. So you live over in downtown, Kory tells me."

"That's right." Mrs. Roden settled against the wall. "Samaki, could you go keep an eye on your brothers?"

"Sure, Mom. Kory, wanna meet my brothers?"

"Yeah." Kory followed the fox outside, listening to his mother lob more questions at Mrs. Roden.

"How you doing?" he asked Samaki, aware that he was wearing a big grin.

"Doing good. Glad to see you." The fox's tail brushed his as it wagged.

"Me too." He saw the old Fox at the foot of his driveway and a couple shapes moving around inside. Snarls and yips floated out through the open window.

Samaki trotted the last few steps. "Hey, stinkers, cut it out!" he called as he got near the car.

Two reddish muzzles poked out of the open window. "Where's mom?" the older one said. He looked about Nick's age.

"She's talking to Kory's mom. She told me to make sure you don't rip each other's tails off while she's gone."

The other cub, about eight, said, "Why did Mariatu get to go in and we hadda wait in the car?"

"Because you smell so bad mom was embarrassed," the older one said, kicking off an exchange of "Shut up!" between the two of them, which Samaki broke up with a grin to Kory.

"Hey, you two. Say hi to Kory."

"Hi." "Hi, Kory."

"Hi," Kory said. "You guys are..."

"Ajani," said the older one.

"I'm Kasim," the younger said, and tilted his head. "Are you gonna be Samaki's boyfriend?"

In the silence that followed this remark, Samaki's ears folded back, and Kasim said, "Ow!" as Ajani elbowed him and said, "Shut up, dipwad!"

"What?" Kasim said.

"No, he's not," Samaki said. "Why don't you both sit down now?"

They grumbled, but did so. The black fox turned to Kory. "Little brothers," he said with a grin that looked just a little forced.

"I know how it is," Kory said. "Wait 'til you meet Nick."

"Yeah." Samaki reached back and scratched his ear. He looked into the car. "I love 'em, though."

Kory looked in, too, at the four shining eyes looking out at them. "They're cute. Are you the oldest?"

"Now I am. My sister, Kande, she's off at college."

"Where's she going?" Kory itched to ask him about his brother's remark, his heart speeding up a bit, but if Samaki didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to bring it up.

"State. Main campus, though, not Hilltown campus."

"That's cool."

"You looked at colleges yet?"

Kory shrugged a bit. "Mom sent me some links to look at. None of 'em grabbed me."

"I was thinking about--"

The door opened before the fox could finish his sentence, and his mother and Mariatu walked out, with Kory's mother behind them. Mrs. Roden was saying, "Thank you so much, and thank you for having Samaki over."

"Pleasure to meet you," Kory's mother said, smiling as the vixen waved and then walked down the driveway.

"I get to sit in front," Ajani said from inside the car, scrambling through the two front seats and getting halfway before his brother grabbed his tail. Ajani yelped, and Samaki reached in to pull Kasim back.

"Hey," he said, "Mom said Ajani could sit in front."

"I don't wanna be in back alone with her," Kasim said sulkily.

"She's your sister," Samaki said, and ruffled his ears.

Mrs. Roden reached them and opened the door. "Scoot over, Kasim, and help your sister in." Kasim slid across the seat and didn't otherwise move at first, then grudgingly reached out a paw, which Mariatu took. She kept looking at Kory with wide eyes, and then smiled and waved her other paw and said, "Bye bye."

"Bye," Kory said. "It was really nice to meet you."

She giggled and then climbed into the back seat, where she sat and watched him.

"Bye, Sammy," Mrs. Roden said, and kissed him on the muzzle. "Mrs. Hedley's going to drive you back home. That way I don't have to wait for your father to come home to come pick you up. I know you know the way, Kory, but I gave her directions anyway."

"Okay," Kory said. "Thanks for letting Samaki come to dinner."

The vixen laughed, and her eyes sparkled as she put a paw on Kory's arm. "Oh, bless you, Kory, but I couldn't have kept him away. I think he'd have snuck out and taken the bus if he had to."

"Mom!" Samaki protested.

"Sorry, dear," Mrs. Roden said, but she gave Kory a quick wink and he grinned back widely. "I told your mother we want to have you over for dinner too, so maybe next week or the week after."

"Thanks." Kory liked Mrs. Roden a lot, he decided. "I'd love to."

"All right then. Be good!" She waved to them and got in the car.

They waited until she'd rounded the corner and then went inside, where the smell of salmon was already pervading the house.

Nick showed up, dressed but still damp, and waved as they all sat down at the table. When his mother had finished grilling the salmon, she started on Samaki, asking him about his school and his family before she'd even gotten all the food on the table.

"And what does your father do?" she asked as soon as they'd said the "Amen," in which Kory saw Samaki join.

"He works at the Ford factory outside town," Samaki said, "and over at the Hilltown campus of the state U. at night."

"Oh? What does he do at the University?" Kory saw his mother's interest perk up a little.

"He's a Facilities Maintenance Technician," Samaki said. "He started there so he could get benefits for my sister to go to State."

"That's great." They ate in silence a little longer. "What's your sister studying?"

"Sociology," Samaki responded promptly.

"Do you know what you want to study?"

"Not yet." He smiled. "I'm interested in lots of things."

"Are you going to go to State too?"

"That's my backup." He gulped down a bite of fish. "This fish is terrific, Mrs. Hedley."

"Thank you." She smiled, took another bite herself, and said, "Where are you thinking of applying?"

He rattled off a few colleges whose names Kory recognized, and she nodded. "Good luck. Those are good schools."

"Thank you, Ma'am," he said.

Over the rest of the meal, she asked about his church, his neighborhood, his family, and his school. Kory and Samaki told her how much overlap there was in their subjects, and Samaki said he was taking some advanced work in school, which seemed to make her happy.

He remained poised, polite, and proper throughout the meal, and actually seemed to be enjoying talking to Kory's mother. Nick stayed quiet for the entire meal, except to ask to be excused, and Kory didn't say much more. He felt a strong relief when his mother finally said, "Well, you boys probably don't want to sit here talking to me all night. Go on. I'll clean up, Kory."

"Want me to send Nick in?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll be all right."

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Hedley," Samaki said. "It was delicious."

"Thank you, Samaki," she said. "Go on, go play."

"I think it is so cool that you have a pool inside your house," Samaki said as they walked back through the living room. He stooped by the edge and trailed his paw in the water, his tail resting on the living room carpet. "Why would you ever go out to a pool?"

"To get away," Kory said. "This pool's small, too. Even the municipal is bigger."

"Caspian's pretty big, eh?" Samaki stood up.

"Yeah." Kory started across the bridge to his room.

"I love this bridge, too. It's like a little Japanese garden."

Kory grinned. "Watch your footing. It's always wet."

"A railing would be nice," the fox said.

"Then we couldn't jump up onto the bridge and tease the one underneath. I used to put my brother in jail and he wasn't allowed out from under the bridge until I let him out."

Samaki laughed, stepping safely onto the far side between Kory's and Nick's doors. "I used to make my brothers be chickens and put them in the 'coop.'"

Kory felt a flutter of worry, opening the door to his room. He watched Samaki's muzzle as the fox stepped in and looked around, watched the violet eyes take in the posters, the computer desk, the bed, and the pool.

"This is awesome," Samaki said. "The pool comes in here, too. So you can just slip in and out through the water. It's like having a secret base!"

"Everyone else can get in, too," Kory pointed out.

Samaki grinned at him, padding from one side of the room to the other, looking at everything, his tail wagging. "I think it's really cool."

Kory saw only the room he'd grown up in. Then he looked again at Samaki's expression and looked around and saw the pool, the posters, the computer, and slowly, he smiled.

Samaki ran his fingers along the posters on the wall. "Cool dragon," he said with a grin, his tail wagging. "ELO... haven't heard them. Good?"

"Yeah!" Kory turned around to put on ELO's Greatest Hits, and when he turned back, Samaki was at his computer desk, looking at a scrap of paper. "Hey, uh..."

The fox read slowly, "Water spills from the morning / coating the grass to start the day / the night is washed away ..." He looked up. "That's good. You wouldn't let me read any of your poems before."

"Now you know why," Kory grinned. "That's not good, really. Just some stuff I was scribbling."

"It is good." Samaki put the paper down. "You have anything else?"

Kory weighed the question. "I've got a couple things."

"I'll show you some of the stuff I wrote, if you show me more poems." The black fox leaned against Kory's desk and swished his tail.

"The articles you were talking about for the yearbook?"

Samaki nodded. "And some stuff from the school paper." He flicked an ear. "This is ELO? I like this song. I never knew who it was."

Kory nodded, and sat down at the computer. He stalled, pretending to decide which files to open, really wondering what he should show the fox. He badly wanted to show him the poem, but the fox might misinterpret it. After all, he hadn't even shown it to Jenny.

Of course, he hadn't wanted to.

No, he would start with some earlier ones, about dragons and swimming. Those weren't too bad. He pulled them up and let Samaki sit down.

While the fox leaned forward, eyes scanning the screen, Kory paced behind him. If he doesn't like them, he told himself, it's okay, a lot of people don't like poetry. He found himself pressing his paws together, and sat down on his bed, trying not to look anxiously at the fox and failing.

Samaki turned his head and saw Kory on the bed. He smiled, his tail wagging behind him in the chair. "They're good. I like them."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Why would I lie?" The fox chuckled. "You could enter a poetry contest or something. This is as good as anything I've seen in our school."

At the mention of a contest, Kory stiffened. "I, uh...I don't think I'm good enough to win a contest," he said.

"Sure you are," Samaki said. He grinned. "I'll make it my mission to make you believe in yourself enough to win a poetry contest. I hate seeing talent go to waste."

"No, really, I..."

The fox slid from the chair and was sitting next to Kory on the bed in a moment. "I told you, I think if you're good at something, you shouldn't be embarrassed about it."

The proximity of the fox brought his musky scent back to Kory. The otter tried to ignore it, but couldn't help jumping a little when the fluffy black tail brushed his long brown tail on the bed. His whiskers twitched, the dream returning to his mind until he forced it out. Don't think about that now, are you insane?? But he had to keep his paws held firmly in his lap to keep them from wandering over to the soft black fur.

"It's just not..." He struggled for words, forcing his other desires down. "You're the first person who's really liked them."

"Your mom doesn't?" Samaki spoke softly.

Talking about his mom helped. "Oh, mom doesn't count. I could write 'the cat sat on the fat mat' and she'd think it was Milton. I mean, my friends...you know, maybe if I wrote poems about sports, or boobs..."

The fox laughed, and patted his knee. "You have to write about things you're interested in."

The warm paw on his knee, the scent, the brush of the tail, and the residue of his dream were making Kory's jeans tight. "Strange Magic" was playing on his stereo. "I'm interested in boobs," he blurted out. "Uh...I mean..." He looked at Samaki's expression as the fox withdrew his paw. The vulpine muzzle was smiling, but the smile seemed forced and a little sad.

"Look, Kory," he said. "Uh...I didn't want to bring it up, but I don't want you thinking and wondering about what Kasim said..."

"It's okay," Kory said. His heart was pounding.

Samaki was quiet for a bit. "I'm not interested in boobs," he said, and only then did Kory register the stiffness in his posture and the way his paws were clenched together tightly. He realized how hard it must be for the fox to tell him that, like his experience showing the poems to him. He reached out and rested a paw on the black-furred wrist closest to him. He could feel the fox's quick pulse beneath the warm fur.

"I was wondering," he said. "It's okay. I don't care."

Samaki's shoulders sagged, his smile brightened. "Really?" And then he chuckled. "You mean you can tell?"

Kory grinned. "You were kinda hitting on me at the pool."

The fox's large ears flicked and violet eyes smiled. "I tried to be subtle. I figured if you were interested, you'd pick up on it, and if not, you wouldn't notice. Most straight guys couldn't even imagine another guy hitting on them."

"I had to ask," Kory admitted. "I wasn't sure."

Samaki laughed. "You asked someone? Who did you ask? Someone online?"

"No," and Kory now found himself embarrassed to admit that he'd asked Sal.

"Your mom?"

"Oh, no." Kory looked at the bedroom door and his smile faltered. "She'd freak."

"So who?" Samaki poked his side. "Come on."

"Hey!" Kory giggled. "My friend Sal."

"Sal?"

"He is an expert in flirting. I kind of pretended you were me and I was a girl...he said I was getting a lot better at flirting."

"I guess that's a compliment." The fox swished his tail against Kory's again, and the otter felt that shiver. His tail was sensitive, that was all. Jenny used to like to stroke it, too.

"If you want to take a compliment from a guy who goes to college bars to get laid..."

"I'll take whatever I can get." Samaki smiled. "Hey. I appreciate you being cool. I know it could be awkward and all. But really, if you're not interested, I won't hit on you any more."

"Okay." For some reason, Kory's heart was still racing. His paw still rested on the fox's wrist, warm black fur under his pads. He was remembering the fox taking his paw down that dark street.

"Too bad," he thought he heard Samaki murmur, and the fox certainly had a coy smile on his muzzle as if he'd said something like that. But Kory couldn't be sure, and the next thing Samaki said was to talk about Foundation, which he'd picked up and started to read.

"I wanted to be able to talk to you about it," the fox shrugged when Kory asked why he'd started to read it.

After that, Kory showed him some of his games, and before they knew it it was ten o'clock and Kory's mother was knocking on the door to take Samaki home.

Kory scooted into the back seat with Samaki rather than ride shotgun. The fox bunched his tail up on the seat between himself and the otter, and gave Kory a grin. They started off talking about books again, but his mother intervened at the first pause in the conversation. She took up where she'd left off at dinner, and the half hour dragged on, Kory staring at the fox's white tailtip on the seat between them, forcing himself not to reach out and touch it. Twice he looked at Samaki and caught the fox looking back with a bright white grin.

At the Rodens' house, Kory got out to say goodbye. As they shook paws, Samaki said, "My mom was serious about you coming for dinner. Let's set up a time."

"Okay. I'll talk to my mom and work it out. Maybe next weekend."

"Sure. Hey, Kory...thanks again. For being cool." Samaki squeezed his paw.

"No problem," Kory said. "I don't want to find someone else to talk to about Foundation."

Samaki laughed and waved, walking back to his house. They watched him until he was safe inside, and then pulled away. Kory felt warm and good, a feeling that lasted exactly halfway home.

His mother was talking about how nice Samaki seemed, even though she hoped he wouldn't visit often because the scent lingered, and that made Kory think of the scent as the fox had sat on his bed and told him he was gay. He started to wonder if they could remain friends, with one of them potentially interested in the other, and when he felt his heart speed up and he had to shift in his seat to adjust his pants without his mom noticing, he stared morosely out the window. Samaki was gay, he thought, and I could've asked him to try something, but I acted like an idiot. Not that I wanted to try something, he thought, though he knew he was only saying that to reassure himself. His body knew what he wanted more than he would admit to himself, and whenever Samaki was around, it seemed, it was telling him loud and clear.

If this happened every time he thought about Samaki, he would have to stop seeing the fox, and he enjoyed the fox's company more than he enjoyed being with any of his other friends. To cut himself off from that friendship felt wrong. But the alternative...he didn't, he couldn't.

He barely noticed when his mother handed him his cell phone. "I'm tired," he said, and went to his room, but instead of going to bed, he sat at his desk surfing the web, looking for high school kids attracted to the same sex. The only two relevant things he found that made it through the parental filter were both stories of boys in high school talking about how they'd realized that they were gay. One was a wolf; one was a muskrat. Both of them said the same things. I liked looking at boys. Girls didn't do it for me. I finally had to admit to myself that I was gay

Frustrated, he switched off the computer. That's not me, he said to himself, but he was agitated, pacing around the room. Finally, he undressed and dove into the water, letting its silence surround him. His mother rarely swam anymore, and Nick was already in bed, or else had snuck out as he often did. He had the indoor pool to himself, and he swam round and round in circles, thinking about nothing, rushing through the warmth and looking around at the uniform blue all around him.

After a ten minute swim, he'd relaxed somewhat. He climbed out and lay down on his mat on the floor, and fell asleep while he was drying off.

Everyone else had brought their swimsuit to the pool, but he was naked. If he got in the water, he thought, they wouldn't notice. And nobody seemed to, until it was time to do the couples swimming. He looked around and grabbed Jenny's wrist, but when he looked into her eyes, they were violet, and her muzzle was black and slender. 'Hey,' someone said, 'are you gay or what?' No, no, he tried to say, but he was holding Samaki's wrist and they made him get out of the pool. But when he got to the locker room, Samaki was Father Joe, looking sternly at him. The sheep said, 'you know better than that, Kory. It's only okay if you come see me.' He made Kory lie down. 'no, no,' Kory moaned, shifting back and forth on his mat. The pool, the locker room, he could smell them, and he just had to get up...

Dazed, he opened his eyes, expecting to see the big sheep's horns. Instead he saw his ELO poster and felt his own mat under his damp fur. He got to his paws and knees and crawled into bed, where he pulled the covers around himself, shivering. His room was dark; his mother must have looked in on him and turned out the light. He closed his eyes, willing himself to get back to sleep, but as soon as he did he saw the locker room again. His eyes shot open. He tried tracing the patterns of the stars on his ceiling, but they brought him no rest.

Jenny had given him a small stuffed dragon, and because they couldn't stay overnight together, he held it to remind himself of her. He'd pushed it to a corner of the bed when she dumped him, and now he reached for it and held it close. It gave him no comfort. Her scent lingered on it, but Samaki's was still in the air, too. Kory moved around to smell it, and then realized what he was doing and shoved his pillow over his muzzle. It wasn't fair. He wasn't equal to this kind of temptation.

He didn't sleep. All night he stared at the ceiling, wondering if he would be fighting his body his whole life, as it seemed determined to ruin him. If not, if he gave in...would that be so bad? whispered a voice into his head, as the serpent must have whispered to Eve, he thought. He remembered all the stories of the people who'd given in to temptation and how it was the first step on a slippery slope. I like girls, he said firmly back. He thought about the great times he'd had with Jenny when his mom was away, rolling around on the bed, and the voice came back and whispered, they weren't that great, were they really?

They were, he told himself firmly, and besides, I was never attracted to other guys. I never wanted to sleep with Sal.

Oh no? the voice mocked him. What about that time at camp when you got him to go skinny-dipping?

That wasn't...

Or the time you slept over at his place and managed to work it so you were in the same bed?

I was nine!

Or the time...

Stop!

He pressed his paws to his eyes, feeling the dampness leak out through the pressure in his head. Was it...could it be? Could it be that he wasn't upset about Jenny dumping him, not because he didn't love her, but because he didn't like girls? That the signs had been there his whole life that there had been this thing inside him, and he'd never known? He wished he'd never met the fox, never gone to the municipal pool.

He would find out how to fight this. The dream was just a dream. As the pearly light of morning crept through his windows, he decided to go see Father Joe.

The church was very different on Saturday morning. Empty of the Sunday crowds, it felt larger and more imposing, yet at the same time more personal because he was the only one there. Father Joe wasn't anywhere about, so Kory took a moment to look around.

He'd never been in the church by himself. To him, it was just the place where he was dragged every Sunday. As much as he knew his mother would like him to feel more, he didn't. The smells were familiar and the light through the windows was very pretty, but he didn't derive any comfort from being here. His mother did, but she needed it more than he did.

Until now, anyway.

Towards the front of the church, he found a sign that showed the way to Father Joe's offices. They were actually in a small building beside the church, he discovered when he followed the signs and found himself outside. He knocked on the door and heard the sheep's cheery, "Come in."

Father Joe smiled when he saw Kory, and motioned for him to sit down. Warily, Kory did, taking the small stool closest to the modest desk. The office was very sparsely decorated, with two certificates on the wall, a crucifix, and a simple nameplate on the desk. The crucifix depicted a Dall sheep Jesus, but the portrait on the wall opposite the certificates was a popular rendition of Jesus Lion, with the medieval-style halo and a tear visible on the tawny cheek ruff.

"How are you, Kory?" He spoke softly, though Kory knew he could project his booming voice when he wanted to.

His idea that Father Joe might want to take advantage of him seemed ridiculous now, in this placid and proper office. "I'm okay," he said automatically, and then said, "well, not really." Fatigue pulled his shoulders down; he slumped in the chair and stopped, confused about what to say next.

"Want to tell me about your dream?"

"No." He couldn't talk about that with anyone, not yet. He had to start somewhere, though. "I want your help. I want to fight it."

The sheep nodded, large yellow horns bobbing sympathetically. "Why don't you tell me what's been going on?"

"I met this guy...this fox...I want to stay friends with him, but I keep thinking...see, he told me he's...you know..." He hissed in frustration and wrapped a webbed paw around the chair arm. "He's, you know, he doesn't like girls."

"He's gay," Father Joe said.

Kory met his eyes, seeing no judgment there, nothing but understanding. "Yeah. So anyway, he, uh, I really like talking with him, but not..."

"Did he make a pass at you?"

"No. Well, sort of, the first day we met, but not like touching or anything."

"Are you worried that he will?"

"No." He looked at the sheep, begging him to figure it out so he wouldn't have to say the words.

Father Joe inclined his head slightly. "Are you worried he might 'turn you gay'?"

Kory could hear the quotes around the words, and the otter squirmed slightly. "No. I mean, I keep thinking...but it's not his fault, I know people are just born that way."

"You think you might be gay?"

There it was. He squirmed in the chair, looking at the Lion on the wall. "I still like girls," he said defiantly.

"Kory," Father Joe said gently. "This is a confusing time of life for you, and a confusing issue to be dealing with."

"How could you understand?" he snapped. "You should be telling me to fight it. I know what the Church says."

The sheep's horns bobbed again. "I know what the Church's official position is. I also know how I want to minister to my flock." He reached into his desk and pushed a small card across the desk. "I happen to hold out hope that the Church will moderate its views. In the meantime, these people can help you out. It's a Catholic group. I know David." He tapped the card. "He used to be a priest. He felt he could better serve by leaving the Church. He's a good wolf."

Kory stared at the card. He could read the words Dignity/USA on it, but nothing else from his position on the chair. He made no move to pick it up. "You're supposed to tell me I'm going to hell if I give in."

"Yes, I suppose, but if you knew that, you wouldn't have needed to come see me." The sheep looked shrewdly at him. "You came here to ask my help, and it may not be what you wanted to hear, but it's the best I can do. I believe the Lord made us all in a certain way, and in this day and age, it's not a crime to be gay. The best thing you can do is find out whether you are or not. It's possible you're just feeling experimental. There are a lot of things out there in popular culture that give us all sorts of ideas, and they might be right for us or they might not. It might just be that in meeting a gay person for the first time, you're curious about what it's like. Or it could be that for the first time, you're opening yourself to something that's been hidden in you all along. What's important is that you find out what God's plan for you is. Remember the Gospel of John?" He grinned when Kory shook his head. "Upon seeing a blind man, the disciples asked Jesus whether the man was blind because of his sins, or the sins of his parents, and Jesus told them it was neither, that he was blind 'that the works of God may be made manifest in him.' Jesus was saying that his affliction was not a punishment but a part of God's plan."

"But doesn't that mean that it's something I should fight? I mean, don't blind people want to see?"

"They do, but sight may not be granted to them. In that case, of course, it was; Jesus healed the man and restored his sight. But I don't think homosexuality is an affliction." Kory winced at the word being said out loud. "Yes, God does set trials for us. But I believe God loves us, and the trials he sets for us are designed to make us better people. I have seen the ordeals people go through trying to fight their own nature, and I do not believe that those trials are set by God."

"Then why would He do this to me?" Kory hated to hear himself whine, usually. He barely noticed.

"It is not for us to know God's plan," Father Joe said. "It is for us to live the best we can. Please take the card, Kory. They can help you more than I will be able to."

Kory reached out and took the card in his fingers. It had a name and a web URL on it. He slipped it into a pocket and stood up. "Thanks, I guess," he said. He'd been hoping for more, something definite, something supportive, rather than just vague 'we can't know what God wants for us.'

"One more thing, Kory. I just want you to hear again: God loves us. Maybe this is His way of showing you love."

Kory nodded, and, unable to think of a response other than to repeat his thanks, waved and walked out.

Sal had invited him out to celebrate the end of his grounding, but he put him off 'til dinner. He wanted to be away from people he knew, and in the water. Samaki worked Saturday afternoons, so the municipal pool it was. Rather than swimming and racing through the lanes, he floated on his back with his paws behind his head and closed his eyes. Here, it was peaceful, and with his ears under the water, he couldn't hear the shrieking of the guppies running around. The water helped settle his thoughts, helped him organize and sort through them. He kicked lazily off of one wall, paddled gently to the other, turned around without using his arms, and kicked off again. For over an hour he drifted back and forth, tail waving lazily in the water below him.

He couldn't believe that Father Joe hadn't offered to help him fight. It was wrong, he knew it was wrong, and it was wrong of him to want it.

Wasn't it?

The black fox's image floated before his eyelids. He hadn't pressured Kory at all, except with his eyes, and his sleek black form, and that tempting patch of white fur...and that long, fluffy tail that begged to be stroked and held. It didn't feel wrong; it was the fact that he wanted it and knew it was forbidden...but why was it forbidden, exactly?

Samaki would, presumably, not mind. And Kory had finally admitted that he wanted to try. So what was he afraid of? God? Maybe, at first, but after talking to Father Joe, he wasn't so sure. His friends? They didn't have to know, and Sal said he wouldn't care. Though what people said and what people did weren't always the same. Nick? Nick wouldn't care.

His mother?

Yeah, his mother would freak.

If she knew.

But since turning about eleven, had he let that stop him from doing anything?

He opened his eyes and stared up at a blue and white tiled ceiling, fifteen feet above his head. Could it be that simple? He could just try it once. He could try it, and then maybe the dreams and the images would go away.

Maybe they won't.

But maybe they will. And if they didn't...he would deal with it then.

He opened his eyes. Had he just decided to sleep with another guy? It had happened so smoothly and quickly that he hadn't even been aware of the decision; he'd just turned around from the other side and was looking back across the line. What surprised him, too, was how the tension had drained from his body, as though he were one with the water. He dropped his arms to his sides, felt the eddies ruffle his fur as his arms slid downward. Sleep with Samaki. Well, not necessarily that; at least let himself go a little further than just touching paws. He rolled the idea around in his mind, getting used to it, finding that the shivers of wrongness were fading. It didn't have to be anything sexual, even, come to that. Just hugging, maybe. He'd give the fox a hug.

Yeah, right. He snorted at himself. At least, he felt, it was important to draw the line between experimenting and actually being gay. He just wanted to experiment. Nothing wrong with that.

Having made the decision, though, he found that it was unexpectedly difficult to work out how to carry it out. Because of his clumsy protestation of heterosexuality, he felt embarrassed enough; on top of that, how was he to initiate anything in the first place? He tried to recall how things had happened with Jenny, and was annoyed to find that his memory had gaps in it. They'd gone to dinner, something they'd done many nights before, and then that night at the movie theater, they'd kissed, and groped, and after that it was natural that the next time his mom was away, Jenny would come over and they would go further.

What had happened at that dinner? Or just after? He couldn't remember. The time had just been right. Or maybe she'd made the first move. He tried to picture scenarios in his head, but each one seemed more awkward and bumbling than the last. When he realized that his thoughts were getting to the point where his swimsuit wasn't hiding them very well, he got out of the water and walked slowly home.

There was a message from Samaki, of course. It had arrived right after Kory'd left to see Father Joe, and he hadn't checked before heading to the pool. He smiled, reading it. The fox didn't ask if things were still okay in so many words; he talked about what a fun night he'd had and how he'd checked with his mom and they'd be happy to have Kory over the following Friday night if he was free and still wanted to come. That last part made Kory write back right away. Of course I still want to come, silly, he said. I'll check with my mom, but I'm pretty sure as long as I'm not grounded I can come.

The problem wasn't that he wouldn't be allowed to come over, the problem was that he wouldn't be allowed to stay over. It'd be easier if they had time, if they didn't have to separate by ten. Then he wouldn't be rushed into doing more than he wanted to. He thought about that while doing homework, and then chatted with Samaki about Foundation for a couple hours after dinner. Only once did the previous night's topic come up, when Kory assured Samaki that everything was cool, even though they wouldn't be double-dating anytime soon. He said it jokingly, but Samaki responded seriously that if they both had dates, he wouldn't mind going out with Kory and his date, and Kory said that of course that would be cool, he just meant they wouldn't both be dating females (or males). Then he felt flushed, because Samaki seemed a little hurt, and also because that wasn't precisely what Kory had meant, so he changed the subject.

Sunday he went to a movie with Sal, the Schwarzenotter one for real this time. It was nice to sit with his friend and watch the film and push his other concerns temporarily away. They walked out of the movie laughing about it, and after the movie they went swimming, and only twice did Kory glance at his friend and think, wow, nice body. How many times had he thought that and not realized what it meant? He couldn't remember and the thought made him uncomfortable, so he pushed it away.

They talked about school, and about Debbie, and when Sal asked about Samaki, Kory steered the conversation away. That didn't stop him thinking about the fox, though, especially when Samaki called him on his cell phone in the middle of the conversation. He took the call without thinking about it, then realized where he was and told the fox he'd call him back later. The next time the phone rang, he just turned the ringer off, a little annoyed that Samaki was calling again.

He arrived home to find his mother and a cold dinner in the kitchen. "Kory, are you aiming to get grounded again?"

"No!" He checked the time. "Sorry, I'm a little late, but..."

"I tried to call and you didn't answer your phone." She had her arms folded, which was always a bad sign. If she had her paws on her hips, you were okay.

"I didn't hear it," he protested, and then remembered the call he'd shut off. Uh-oh.

"What did I tell you about the phone?"

He sighed. "Always make sure I can hear the ring. Always pick up if you call. I'm sorry, Mom. I really didn't hear it. We were in a loud place and I didn't think..."

She put her paws on her hips. "All right, Kory. Cold dinner will be your punishment. Then get right to your room and finish up your homework."

It was already done, but he didn't tell her that. He'd just gotten an idea. "Hey, Mom," he said as he walked into the kitchen, "Samaki's mom invited me to dinner this Friday. May I go?"

She considered that while he sat down at the table. "I suppose so. I'll call her and find out when I should drop you off."

"Thanks, Mom." He took a bite of the cold mackerel and peas. "This is really good."

She sighed. "Oh, let me heat that up for you." She whisked his plate away and tossed it in the microwave. "Don't chew your claws," she said as he put a paw to his muzzle to cover his grin.

After dinner, Kory went to his room and called Samaki. He told him that he'd be coming to dinner and that their mothers would be talking, and they went on chatting for over an hour. He told Samaki about the movie, and Samaki told him what he'd called about earlier: this cashier at the grocery store where he worked had been caught half-naked with a stockboy in the back room. They'd both been fired, and so he was going to get to be cashier for a while. "Rabbits," the fox chuckled. "Can't keep their paws off each other for more than an hour."

Eventually, the fox had to go get his homework done; working most of the weekend didn't leave him much time. Kory thought as they hung up that he must have more time than he let on, given all the time they spent talking, but he was glad the fox was devoted to his work. He stripped to his boxers and dove into the pool, swimming a couple laps and spinning easily through the water before surfacing in his brother's room.

"Hey, Nick."

Nick looked up from his television. Kory didn't want a TV in his room, but Nick had pestered their mother for nearly two years until she finally broke down and gave him one. He had on some extreme sports show where a snow leopard was racing down a hill on what looked like a toothpick. "Hey, Kory," he said, turning the sound down and raising his eyebrows in mild surprise. "What's up?"

Kory floated on his back in the water, looking up at Nick's posters. He had sports figures on his walls, and Kory knew that in one drawer of his dresser was the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated: Otters from a year ago. He turned his head to look at Nick. "Remember those pictures Sal gave me that I wouldn't let you see?"

"Yeah?" Cautiously more interested, Nick slid to the floor and lay on the towel that he'd spread out there, facing Kory. The towel was wrinkled and stained, and hadn't been washed in a while. Kory was surprised his mother allowed that, and that Nick could stand it.

"How'd you like to see 'em?"

"Yeah! I...what do you want me to do?"

"You got plans for this Friday night?"

"Uh-uh."

Kory spun lazily in the water. "I'll give you ten bucks to go see a movie and stay out past curfew."

"You're bribing me to be grounded?" Nick's tail switched back and forth.

"Kind of."

"Make it twenty." Nick grinned as Kory stared at him. "I gotta buy popcorn. And a drink."

"Fifteen."

"Aw, Kory, that'll only buy a ticket and popcorn."

Kory sighed. "All right, all right. Twenty."

"Cool." Nick lifted himself up onto his elbows. "Why? What'cha got goin' on?"

"Oh, nothin'," Kory said. "I just want Mom to be worried about you and not me."

"Why? What are you gonna be doing?" Nick squinted. "Am I gonna get in more trouble after Mom finds out what you're doing?"

"No," Kory said. "I'm going over to a friend's for dinner and I...I don't want Mom to pick me up at eleven. I just wanna hang out longer. She won't leave if you're not home. You know how she worries."

"Yeah. Well...okay. Who you going to have dinner with?"

Kory hesitated. "Samaki."

"Oh, yeah. He seemed pretty cool. For a fox." Nick shrugged. "Okay, 'sa deal." He extended a paw, and Kory shook it. "You guys gonna play games or something?"

"Yeah," Kory grinned. "Or something."

Kory coasted through the week, talking to Samaki in the evenings and Sal and some other friends during the week. The poem had finally come down from the hallway display, the ripples it caused fading from the kids' memories, and he was able to relax again at school, little by little. Life was returning to normal, except for the fact that it was anything but.

Twenty dollars was more to Nick than it was to Kory, but it was still difficult to hand over the crisp bill he'd gotten out of the ATM. His plan had seemed perfect when it was all conceptual, but the execution filled him with doubts. He was no longer confident that everything would go as he predicted, nor that he would be able to do anything with the extra time he hoped to buy himself. Nevertheless, he shoved those thoughts aside and the twenty into Nick's paw, and got into the front of his mother's car for the long drive over.

Samaki greeted him at the door, and Kory thought the wagging of the thick black tail was very cute. "C'mon in," he said. "You already know the family, right?" Kory stepped in ahead of his mother and saw three russet muzzles upturned and looking at him in a row.

"Of course." He turned to his mother. "You remember Mariatu, and that's...Ajani and Kasim." All three little red tails wagged, and Mariatu moved from the shelter of Ajani to stand behind her bigger black-furred brother, closer to the two otters.

"Hello," Kory's mother waved, smiling. Kory noticed with some annoyance that her nose was wrinkled. He could smell the strong scent of fox, but it didn't bother him at all. He turned away to smile at the cubs as his mother addressed Samaki. "Is your mother in the kitchen?"

He nodded, and she said, "I'll just have a couple words with her. Um..."

"It's actually downstairs, Mrs. Hedley" he said, pointing to the left. "Through the dining room there and down the stairs."

"Downstairs?" Her brow furrowed faintly, but she walked off to the left and Kory heard her clump down the stairs a moment later.

"I'll have to give you the tour," Samaki said to Kory, smiling, and then it was as if Kory's mother had been holding back a flood of noise and her departure let it loose.

"I wanna give him the tour!"

"Come see our room!"

Even Mariatu joined in, squeaking "Hi, Kory! Hi, Kory!" over and over.

"Hey," Samaki said, grinning, "settle down, everyone. I'm giving the tour, but you can all come along." He swept them into the living room and then beckoned Kory in. The otter couldn't help grinning too, at the exuberance of the kits. Ajani and Kasim bounded into the living room while Mariatu skipped behind them. They clambered all over the sofas--there were three, all looking quite well worn--and while Mariatu and Ajani bounced on one, Kasim ran from one to the other.

"Look what I can do!" he said, and jumped from the arm of one almost all the way across the other one.

"Wow," Kory said. "That's great!"

"Pff," Ajani said. "I can do that too, but I don't wanna right now." His tail twitched, though, and Kory suspected that he did want to, but was trying to mind his manners.

Samaki laughed. "Kasim's going to be a long jumper, he says."

"What do you want to be, Ajani?" Kory asked.

"An astronaut!" the cub said. "I'm gonna go into space and discover a new planet. Didja hear about the one they found around Gliese 876?"

"I did," Kory said. "Pretty interesting! I used to be into astronomy too."

"He's got stars on the ceiling of his room," Samaki said, and Kory turned to look at the fox.

"I didn't know you'd noticed," he murmured with a smile.

"Let's go upstairs!" Kasim was already bored with the living room. He bounded from the couch to the floor, ran over to Kory, then to Samaki, and then out to the stairs. Ajani rolled his eyes and Samaki chuckled.

"Well, there's not much more to see." He waved towards the side table. "There's the computer."

It was an older desktop, not as nice as the one Kory had in his room. The chair wasn't even comfortable; at least it didn't look it. He pictured Samaki sitting there and typing out conversations to him over IM, then looked around at the room.

Ajani stood up and took Mariatu's paw, helping her down off the couch. "We going upstairs?"

"Yeah," Samaki said. "Go on."

Kory was looking around the room, and met the fox's questioning glance. "Oh," he said, "just nice to know where you are when I'm typing online to you."

Samaki grinned. "I know what you mean. I can picture you in your room, now, too."

The otter swung his tail back and forth. "What's upstairs?"

"Just our rooms. Wanna see?"

"Yeah." Kory grinned.

Up the creaky staircase, where Kory followed Samaki's light step with a wincingly heavy (to him) tread, they came to a small hallway with three doors off it and a trap door in the ceiling. The floor was worn hardwood, but spotless, and it felt smooth and cool under Kory's bare feet. On the walls, framed finger paintings showed off the talents of all five kits, apparently. He saw the one with the green signature "Samaki" on it and studied it.

"Oh, don't look at that," the fox said, trying to pull Kory away.

"No, it's cute. Is that the Six Million Dollar Fox?"

"Yeah." The fox rubbed his ears.

Kory looked at the violet eyes and grinned. "The Bionic Fox?"

"I wanted to be bionic too."

"I never even saw any of those."

"Oh, they were on old syndication when I was growing up. I used to come home from school and watch them."

"Kory!" Kasim ran out into the hall clutching a pawful of cards. "Look! I got Renamon in all five phases."

"Digimon," Samaki murmured to the otter.

Kory nodded. "I never got into that, but cool." He took the brightly colored cards from Kasim and examined each one before handing them back. "Are those hard to get?"

"Yeah." The cub nodded. "I do chores so Dad will buy me the cards. Wait, you gotta see the Giga Claws, I just got them!" He raced back into the room excitedly. Kory and Samaki, smiling, followed.

After the strong scent of fox, the first thing Kory noticed about the room was how full it was. Little bigger than Kory's room, it seemed to be a jungle gym of beds and tables. To the right, Ajani was sitting on the top bunk of a pair of bunk beds, straightening up a stack of comics on the small board attached to the side of his bed that served as a night table. Kasim was rummaging through the bottom drawer of the tall, thin dresser wedged between the beds and the wall. Clothing lay scattered on the floor; Kory thought it was mostly or all belonging to the two younger cubs, from the size, but he couldn't be sure. Opposite the bunk beds was an unstable looking structure that Kory could only describe as bunk desks: one desk stacked on top of another, the top desk attached to the wall, and the chair hung from the ceiling. An old pillow had been strapped to the front of the chair, and as he watched, he saw why: Ajani jumped from the bed to the chair, his momentum sending the chair into the desk where the pillow muffled the impact. He put two of the comics away in a drawer and held one down to Kory. "You ever read Red Lightning? He's in the League of Canids."

Kory shook his head. "I collected the X-Men for a while, but haven't been into comics really."

"Oh, the League of Canids is cool. They used to be the League of Crimefighting Canids until a couple years ago, then they changed their name. There's this one episode where..."

"Here's the Giga-Claws!" Kasim was thrusting a card up at him.

"Hey, hey," Samaki said. "He's my guest, okay? Settle down."

"I would like to see the comics," Kory said, adding, "and the Giga-Claws," because Kasim's ears fell at Samaki's remark. He threaded his way through the clothes on the floor to the back of the room, where a wardrobe filled the space under a loft that looked homemade but sturdy, leaving just enough room for the window. Another window opened in the wall above the loft, letting more light into the room than Kory would have expected. He looked out at the red sunset and then at Samaki. "Pretty."

The red light made streaks in the black fur as the fox nodded. "I get the nice view," he said. "Come on up, it's big enough for two."

Kory froze for a moment, but Samaki was already on his way up the ladder. What did that mean? Kory thought frantically, then looked back at the cubs. Kasim was rummaging through his dresser drawer again, and Ajani was reading a comic at his desk, swinging back and forth on the chair. Samaki wouldn't do anything with his brothers in the room. He followed the swinging black tail up the ladder.

The loft, he saw when he arrived, held more than just the bed. The futon mattress occupied only part of the space. A carpet remnant had been carefully applied to the remaining wood, so it was comfortable for him to sit there while Samaki sat on his bed. A small alcove with a slanted roof, looking like it fit the eaves of the house, extended beyond the other side of the futon, piled with papers and a small alarm clock.

"You share the room with your brothers?"

Samaki nodded. "I moved up here when Kande went away."

"Where does Mariatu sleep?" Kory caught sight of the little vixen cub standing in the doorway, clutching a small stuffed rabbit and chewing on its head. He waved to her and she wagged her tail and waved back.

"In our parents' room. She used to sleep with them and Kasim slept on the cot there, until Kande left. Then Kasim moved in here."

Kory began to see the unraveling of his plan. There was no way he and Samaki would get any time alone in this small house.

"Kory!" He heard his mother downstairs.

"Oh, Mom's leaving." He clambered quickly down the ladder, with Samaki following. Kasim and Mariatu ran down the stairs with them, while Ajani kept reading his book.

His mother was waiting in the entryway, and Kory was glad to see that her nose wasn't wrinkling any more. "I'm going home. I'll be back at eleven sharp to pick you up, okay?"

He nodded. "Thanks, Mom." She'd obviously enjoyed her talk with Mrs. Roden, or she wouldn't have stayed so long. Kory felt buoyed by that. "See you then."

She pecked him on the cheek and left, moments before a bell clanged somewhere in the house. "Oh, dinner," Samaki said. "You can sit down. I'm gonna run down and help Mom."

He showed Kory the dining room, with its large wooden table in the center. The table was beautiful oak, finely crafted and bare. Four of the chairs around it had obviously come with it, but the other two were very individual, one a dark reddish wood, a captain's chair with arms, and the other a small, light chair. Matching the oak was a sideboard with drawers and two nice candlesticks, silver ones shaped like graceful foxes. Walking past them, Kory saw that they were a matched set, a male and female nude with arms outstretched and paws held up, each paw supporting an orange candle. The smells of cooking fish, some vegetables, and a spicy sauce wafted through the dining room from the far end, making Kory's stomach rumble.

Samaki pulled out the dark chair. "This is Dad's, but he won't be home for dinner. You can sit there."

"I'll help too," Kory said.

"You don't have to," Samaki said.

"I want to." Kory felt a little flutter at the bright smile he got from the fox. That white-on-black crescent, the small upward curve of his lips, and the matching sparkle in his eyes that told Kory he was happy made Kory happy too.

Never got that with Sal, did you?

Oh, shut up, he told his inner voice. Just leave me alone for this evening, okay?

He followed Samaki down a curved set of stairs, the delicious smells getting stronger. "Does your Dad make it home for many dinners?"

"Thursday nights, Saturday and Sunday," Samaki said. "Saturday is Family Night. I don't get to see him much. I work Saturdays, and Sunday mornings. He works two jobs Monday through Friday." He paused. "I wanted to work evenings too, but they wouldn't let me. Said I need to be able to get my homework done."

Kory nodded, feeling faintly guilty at the fact that he didn't need to work. He pushed the thought aside as he followed the black fox into the kitchen at the base of the stairs.

Heat and the aromas of food washed over him. Mrs. Roden was just taking something out of the oven, a large whitefish. On the island in the middle of the kitchen were two dishes full of vegetables and potatoes, and it was, oddly, from the bowl of vegetables that the spicy sauce aroma seemed to be emanating. Two large old refrigerators bookended the stove and sink, and a huge pantry that looked as homemade as the lofts in the cubs' room spanned the opposite wall. At the far end, another door led into a room that was dark at the moment. Mrs. Roden set the fish on the small kitchen island and looked up brightly at them.

"Oh, Samaki, could you get Ajani to help you set the table? Dinner's almost ready. Kory, dear, just have a seat."

"No, I'll help Samaki," he said, and when Mrs. Roden turned around, he saw a little of where Samaki had gotten his smile from.

"You're a dear. Go on then," she said. "Then Samaki, come help me bring the food up."

Samaki and Kory set the table with silverware from the sideboard, and then Samaki asked Kory to get the cubs from upstairs while he helped bring the food up. The job was an easy one; alerted by the bell, Kasim and Mariatu were on their way down the stairs when Kory started up. He found Ajani still swinging from the ceiling chair in the bedroom.

"Dinner's ready, Ajani," he said.

"Kay." The cub tossed the comic book on his desk and slid off the chair, landing on the floor perfectly in a crouch. He grinned at Kory as he stood.

"Very nice!" Kory applauded, and let the cub scamper downstairs ahead of him, a satisfied smile on his muzzle and a proud arch to his tail.

Samaki and Mrs. Roden were putting the food out as they all drew up chairs around the table. "I don't know if you like halibut, Kory, but Samaki said you told him you mostly eat fish."

"Oh, I'd be happy with anything," he said. "Halibut's great. Everything looks good."

The mixed vegetables were cooked broccoli and green beans, with a red pepper sauce. Kory wasn't used to spiced food, but he ate as much as he could, until his tongue felt like it was on fire even when he wasn't eating the veggies. "Is it too hot for you, Kory?" Mrs. Roden asked anxiously.

"No, no," he said, "it's fine." He found that if he interspersed bites of the vegetables with bites of the potatoes, that cut the heat down. The potatoes were wonderful, creamy and cheesy, and the fish was delicate and just as delicious. The red pepper added a nice tang to the whole meal, and while it was, truthfully, a little strong, he was glad to have tried it.

The meal itself was raucous and chaotic. The kids and their mother all talked at once, all over each other, and Kory didn't even try to get a word in edgewise, just listened with a smile. It wasn't until the meal was mostly over that he realized that they hadn't even said Grace, he was so busy listening and looking at the animated vulpines around the table. It was amusing to see Samaki's black fur in the middle of all the red foxes. Fox coats were odd things, he mused, but pretty. All the red foxes had black ears and paws with white underbellies; Samaki had only the black and white, as though the other foxes had had their ears and paws just dipped in ink, and he'd been dunked.

Muzzle still tingling from the veggies, he thanked Mrs. Roden for the meal. She wouldn't let him help clean up, instead sending him and Samaki down to the rec room and recruiting Kasim and Ajani to help clear the table.

The rec room was the dark room on the other side of the kitchen. Samaki flicked on the light and showed Kory the worn couch and old gaming table, with an old console television set in one corner. The room was cool and smelled slightly of must below the musk of the fox family. "Feel like playing a game?" Samaki said. "We got checkers, Foxopoly, Careers, and there's a Scrabble game that I think has all the tiles. We haven't played those in a while. Kande and I used to play Scrabble and Foxopoly all the time." He looked down at the boxes. "I think the Foxopoly is missing some houses, but we could still play it. Or we could play checkers. Maybe you'd let me play red? The others never do."

Kory looked around. "Any video games?"

"Ooh, yeah." Samaki grinned, pulling out an old PS1 from beside the TV and spreading out a pad on the floor. "You wanna try Pounce Pounce Revolution?"

Kory looked at the game. It looked like a dance game he knew, but the pad was larger and had more squares on it. "I'll watch you play first," he said. "It looks like fun."

"It is. You should see Kasim play it. He's better than I am." The fox fired up the PS1 and Kory watched an animated fox dressed in shiny purple clothes with gold trim appear on the screen and say, "Pounce Pounce Revolution!" While the instructions came up, Samaki took his shirt off and rubbed his paws together.

"Let's POUNCE!" the animated fox said. On screen, a mockup of the pad appeared as music started playing, a dance number with a driving beat. A small animated mouse danced out onto the pad on screen; Samaki leapt, coming down with both paws on the pad on the floor, and the mouse squeaked and vanished. Another one came out, then another and another, and soon the black fox was jumping and landing all over the pad, spinning to change direction and pouncing on mouse after mouse. As he did so, the animated fox shouted out encouragement, like "Got 'im!" and "Nice pouncin'!"

The song ended, and the animated fox came back out, dancing a little himself, and said, "Amaaaaaaazin'!" Kory clapped.

Samaki turned, panting a bit, and bowed, tail arching behind him. "That was an easy level," he said. "I'll put on a harder one."

The otter grinned and settled back into the couch, watching the fox tap some buttons. "I like this song," he said over his shoulder, and when it came on, Kory couldn't resist tapping his feet to the infectious beat. The mice were dancing and spinning this time, even leaping in imitation of Samaki himself, and were harder to pin down. The shouts of encouragement were interspersed with disappointed interjections, like, "Don't let 'em get away!" and "That mouse is playin' you!"

Samaki jumped and worked much harder, but at the end, as his tongue hung out, the animated fox just walked onscreen and said, "Keep tryin'! You're doing great!"

Kory clapped again, but Samaki waved him off. "Nah, I'm no good. There's another level where you just hear them under the pad. That's insane. I can hear 'em, but I can't react fast enough. Kasim can't even do the hard ones on that mode."

"Over the music, you mean?"

Samaki nodded. "Yeah, music's goin' and you hear scratchings under the buttons." He panted. "You wanna give it a try?"

"You got a setting for 'blind and deaf'?"

Samaki laughed. "I'll give you a training mode."

"Well...okay." Kory didn't want to look clumsy in front of Samaki, but he didn't want to reject the fox's offer, either. He walked up to the pad where the fox was selecting a training mode, and said, "I'm gonna suck at this."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Samaki said. "Just have fun." He showed Kory the controls and padded back to the couch to collapse.

The animated fox said, "Here's how you pounce!" He showed Kory the basic moves and let Kory practice them, then gave him a choice of training songs.

"Which one should I take?"

Samaki was still panting. "Whichever. They're all good."

Kory picked one, and the fox clapped his paws and said, "Let's pounce!"

The first mouse danced out slowly, and as he got under one of the buttons, the fox said, "Now, POUNCE!" Kory got both paws on the pad, and the mouse squeaked and disappeared. Another came out, and he slipped, but caught it on the second pad. By the end of the song, he felt more confident, and when he was done, the animated fox on screen and black fox on the couch clapped together. Kory saw from the stats that he'd gotten 27 of 30 mice.

"Not bad for my first time," he said, delighted that he hadn't embarrassed himself.

"Pretty good," Samaki said. "Do another?"

"Nah. I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead." Kory chuckled. "It's fun, though."

"Yeah." The black fox eyed the screen. "Mind if I do one more?"

"Go ahead." Kory enjoyed watching Samaki jump around, tail flowing behind him, springing fluidly back and forth around the pad, and he sat happily on the couch while the fox did another song, then put the gaming setup away.

"Sorry," Samaki said as he slipped his shirt back on. "That's the only game we have."

"It's okay," Kory said. "I like just sitting down and talking to you."

"Great." The black fox wagged his tail and grinned. "Let me put on some music. Some quieter music."

Kory sat on the couch, curling his tail around beside his leg. He was starting to get nervous again, because he knew Samaki would sit down in a minute and the kitchen was right there. He didn't feel private enough to be comfortable, but he felt like he wanted to talk to Samaki, at least try to reverse some of the image he'd presented the previous weekend. Still, with his mother just in the next room...

Samaki sat beside him as the room filled with quiet classical music. "One of my dad's," he said. "Just wanted something kinda quiet." His tail was curled up between him and the otter, resting on top of the otter's tail. Kory twitched his tail, his heart beating a little faster.

"That's nice," he said. "I know nothing about classical."

"It's Bach." Samaki shrugged and grinned. "That's about all the more I know."

"It's nice," Kory repeated. "So do you usually talk to me down here?"

"Nah. Reception sucks. I sit in the bedroom, up on my loft."

"It's pretty up there. I like your house a lot." He laughed. "You know what I just realized?"

Samaki grinned. "What?"

"Your family reminds me of the Weasleys from Harry Potter."

Samaki laughed. "Yeah, I've heard that before. Kasim likes to pretend he's Ron. Ajani likes Fred and George, but I won't play them with him."

Kory dropped his paw in what he hoped was a casual manner and let it rest on Samaki's tail just below the white tip. It twitched below him but didn't move otherwise. He sighed inwardly at the soft fur tickling up between his pawpads, being pressed down by his webbing, and said, "How was that test you had yesterday?"

For a while, they talked school, and then the cubs came in and climbed all over the couch and Mariatu fell asleep in Samaki's lap. Kory removed his paw from Samaki's tail, then, and fortunately it wasn't much longer until Mrs. Roden came in to collect the cubs for bed.

Putting his paw on the fox's tail was easier the second time he did it, and again Samaki didn't make any indication that he'd noticed. The conversation stayed away from relationships, but they talked about movies, books, and school, and though Kory had been tensely thinking about his mother's impending call when Mrs. Roden came in to collect the cubs, he was so lost in the conversation that he was surprised when Mrs. Roden came back, her ears down but not flat, a phone in her paws.

"Kory? Your mother's on the phone. She says your brother isn't back yet and she can't come pick you up."

He got up and walked over, feeling tense again. "If you need to stay here," Mrs. Roden said, "we can work it out."

He nodded and said, "Thanks," as he picked up the phone. "Hi, Mom."

"Oh, Kory, Nicky's not picking up his phone and he was supposed to be back. I'm sorry, I don't want to leave in case he's hurt."

"Mom, I'm sure he's okay." Guilt flushed his neck. "He's got a key."

"But why isn't he answering his phone? Nicky always answers his phone."

"Maybe he's not getting good reception. Like down here, Mom. I'm sure he's okay."

"God willing, Kory," she said, "but I just don't feel comfortable leaving. Listen, Mrs. Roden said you can stay there overnight. Will that be all right, sweetie? I'm sorry."

That was what he'd wanted. His plan had worked to perfection, and now that it had, he hesitated about accepting it. "I guess..."

"If you don't want to, then I'll call you a cab and you can take that home. I don't want you taking a bus at this hour."

"No, no, that's okay. I'll stay here, and I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yes. I'll be there at nine. Can you put Cynthia back on? Mrs. Roden, I mean."

"Sure, Mom. And don't worry. I'm sure Nick's fine."

"God bless, Kory."

He handed the phone to the waiting vixen. "She wants to talk to you again."

"Okay." Mrs. Roden smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure he's okay, Kory. He probably just turned off the phone or something."

Kory nodded, and went back to the couch. "Samaki," Mrs. Roden called as she took the phone. "Can you figure out somewhere for Kory to sleep? He'll be staying with us tonight."

Samaki's ears were straight up and he was grinning. "Sure," he said. His mother went back into the kitchen, and Kory padded back to sit on the couch with the black fox, whose violet eyes were sparkling.

"So your brother's missing?"

"Yeah. Late getting home and won't answer his phone." Kory sagged back against the couch, still feeling a little guilty. "Mom was really upset."

"I'm sure he's fine," Samaki said, putting an arm around Kory's shoulder and patting the otter.

Kory leaned back automatically. "So do you have an extra bed somewhere? I don't wanna kick Kasim or Ajani out of bed."

"How about this?" Samaki gestured with his free arm to the couch. "I've fallen asleep down here a couple times. It doesn't suck."

"Yeah, that'd be fine," Kory said. "Too bad there's not another couch." He grinned.

"Oh, I'll bring some blankets down and sleep on the floor. Actually, if you wanna help, I can drag the futon mattress down, but I don't need to." The fox grinned at him. "I wouldn't leave ya down here all by yourself."

"Cool." Kory finally realized that the paw on his shoulder was a response to his paw on the fox's tail. Upping the ante a bit. And it looked like they might have some privacy after all, now. He started to get nervous again, which confused him because he hadn't been nervous when the fox put a paw on his shoulder, only when he started thinking about it.

Maybe you shouldn't do so much thinking.

Hey, he thought sharply. What did I say?

Sorry.

"Well," he said, getting up. "Let's go get that mattress."

They brought the futon down, starting with Samaki pushing it down onto Kory's head and then jumping down onto it. He was light, probably no more than a hundred pounds, even though he was a foot taller than the otter, who weighed in at a solid one-thirty. No wonder foxes had such an advantage at track. Less weight and the same amount of muscle to push it.

They had no trouble getting the mattress down both flights of stairs, though maneuvering it through the kitchen was a little tricky. By the time they got it down, Mrs. Roden was bustling in with bedsheets for both the couch and futon. "Now don't stay up too late," she said.

"Just 'til Dad gets home?" Samaki said. "I want Kory to meet him."

"Sure. I'll send him down." She kissed him on the cheek. "If I'm too sleepy to come down too, you both have a good night." She gave Kory a hug too.

He hugged back and smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Roden."

They made the beds, and then Samaki picked up something else from the pile his mother had brought. "Heh. She brought you a spare pair of my pajamas," the fox said. "If you want."

"Oh, I...sure." He didn't really want to sleep in his clothes. But as soon as he'd said it, he was worried about putting on something of Samaki's. Well, it was too late, he'd said it already.

"I'm gonna go upstairs to brush and put on my pajamas. Back in a bit."

Kory watched the fox's tail wag as he disappeared into the kitchen, and he took his time changing, half-hoping that Samaki would come back and catch him half-undressed. But the fox, for whatever reason, was not back quickly enough, and Kory lost his nerve, pulling the pajama bottoms on and then stripping his shirt off. He remained shirtless; the pajamas were more than enough to keep him decent.

Samaki came in with two cookies in his paws. "Shh," he said. "We're not supposed to take these, but Mom's upstairs." He gave Kory a sly grin and one of the cookies.

It was chocolate chip, and delicious. "Didn't you just brush your teeth?" Kory asked.

"Mmmyeah, but these were too good to pass up." Samaki's grin was speckled with chocolate.

"Mm. No kidding." He licked the cookie crumbs from his muzzle and looked down at the futon, which they'd placed a couple feet from the couch so he could get up without bothering Samaki, if he needed to. The fox was lying back on his elbows, also shirtless and looking pretty comfortable...well, looking pretty, too, his jet-black fur framing the white patch on his chest, a curl of white poking up from the waistband of his pajamas. Kory felt himself stirring in response, and that made him confused again. How was he supposed to try anything without climbing down into the fox's bed? He wasn't ready for that, not yet.

So he stayed on the couch and talked, trying not to wonder whether the fox was wearing anything under his pajama bottoms. Around 11:30, they heard footsteps on the stairs, and a deep vulpine voice said, "Samaki?"

"Dad!" The fox jumped to his feet and padded to the doorway as a tall fox emerged from the kitchen. He wore blue overalls, a Dragons baseball hat, and a tired smile. Like most of the rest of his family, he was traditional red, though Kory thought he saw darker fur on the back of Mr. Roden's neck when the fox turned to greet his son. The otter got to his feet too, now wishing he'd kept his shirt on, but Mr. Roden didn't seem to care.

He and Samaki hugged, and Samaki said, "This is Kory, my friend from across town."

"The one from the pool, right? Nice to meet you," Mr. Roden said, holding out a paw.

Kory shook his paw and smiled. "Good to meet you, too." Samaki's father had a good, firm grip.

He stayed to talk for a few more minutes, then said, "Your mother said to make sure I turned off the light when I left. Good night, boys. We'll be down in the morning."

"Night," they chorused, and then he turned off the light and left them alone in the dark.

No room in the house is quite as dark as a dark basement. Kory seemed to feel the darkness like a tangible thing, a soft black fox surrounding him, perhaps, but with no white patches to lighten the inky gloom. After a few seconds, though, he looked over and saw the faintest gleam of white a few feet away from him. Samaki's chest.

The fox rustled under his covers. Kory closed his eyes, willing himself to have the courage to reach down. He got his paw partway there, then drew it back. After the paw on his shoulder, he wasn't sure what Samaki thought anymore. The fox's scent was strong. He was just a few feet away, wearing only pajamas. The white patch he could see made him think of the other one he couldn't, and his body took that memory and ran with it, until he had to press his muzzle into the couch, and now there was no question of reaching out to the fox, because Samaki would be able to tell just from his trembling that there was something going on.

And yet...it wasn't like the nights he'd lain awake at home. The presence of the fox made him confused, but also made him happy in a way he couldn't quite figure out. He only was aware of that when he thought that he wished he'd told his mother the truth and gotten her to come pick him up, because then he would be at home in his bed and not lying here staring into the darkness and thinking about the white patch at the center of it. His reaction to that thought was strong and somewhat surprising: he rejected it as soon as he thought of it. He hated the confusion, but not the situation. Like the red pepper on the vegetables, it was new, different, and a little painful, but he was not sorry to experience it.

After a time, he became aware that he could hear Samaki's soft, even breathing. The fox was asleep, and he'd missed his chance. That didn't make the tension in his body--in one specific part of his body--go away, but it did remove the confusion somewhat. He fell asleep on his stomach, tail draped over the side of the couch.

He woke slowly, becoming aware of a touch on his paw. Gradually, he realized that he was still on his stomach, lying on the edge of the sofa with his arm hanging down onto the floor, paw pads up. On top of his paw, another warm paw rested. He cracked an eye open.

The darkness was less absolute than it had been the previous night, though there was no visible light source. He could see the fox as a blacker shape in the room, immobile at the edge of his futon. A curl of black snaked its way towards the couch, ending with his paw resting on Kory's. Kory watched him, not believing that the fox was actually asleep, but he was breathing slowly, his tail was twitching under the covers, and Kory could see no eyeshine.

The otter stayed where he was, watching the fox's shape, enjoying the contact. The moment seemed to exist in a bubble in time, in the stillness and darkness of the early morning. Time outside might be moving normally, but in the rec room, the warmth between their paws was holding them apart from the rest of the world.

Samaki stirred. The paw touching Kory's moved minutely, and then he saw the shine of an eye looking into his.

Eventually, time began to move again. "Kory?" Samaki whispered.

"Yeah," he whispered back.

"Morning."

The otter smiled. "Good morning," he said.

"What time is it?"

"Don't know. Check my cell phone?"

The paw lifted from his. He saw the light of a phone reflected in the fox's eyes. "Seven-thirty."

Kory nodded, leaving his paw where it was. "My mom'll be here at nine," he said. "Maybe we should move your futon back upstairs."

Samaki put his paw back onto the otter's, left it motionless. "We have a little time," he said. "Mom's usually up by now. She'll probably start breakfast around eight." They continued whispering, their voices as soft as the touch between their paws.

"Okay." Kory was happy to let the moment go on. This was nice, this was safe, and he didn't mind when the fox's paw rubbed his gently.

"You sleep okay?"

"Yeah. I had a funny dream." He paused and then decided it was harmless, he might as well tell it. "I dreamed I was a fox, in a pool full of other foxes. I didn't see you anywhere. I was just swimming around, but when I got out of the water, my fur and tail were still dry. I ordered some kind of candy bar at the snack stand, but they were out. So I went with some other foxes to play checkers."

"Were you a black fox or red fox? Or white fox?"

"I don't remember. I was just a fox."

"You'd make a good fox, I think."

Kory wondered whether Samaki could see his smile. Probably. He knew foxes had better night vision. "I'm too heavy," he said.

"I mean, you have the right spirit."

"I certainly don't have the right fur," Kory said jokingly, but he was thrilled at the compliment, or what he thought was a compliment.

"Try taking care of it in the morning," Samaki said. "I'll have to brush it before your mom gets here or it'll be all matted and going every which way. Does yours get like that?"

"Not really," Kory said. "Too short and thick."

The fox's fingers rubbed the back of his paw. "I like that, though. Easier to take care of."

Kory nodded, and didn't say anything for a while. He was aware now of the minutes ticking by; now that the small contact he'd hoped for had been made, selfishly he didn't want it to end. We held paws before, he said. This isn't really anything I didn't do before.

Though I did put my paw on his tail. And he put his arm around me. Kind of. But that was all casual. He noticed with some surprise that the rubbing of the fox's fingers was very nice indeed, making his tail twitch and provoking other responses in him that he didn't know could be elicited just from paws. Amazed at himself, he tried to hold his tail still, with little success. Jenny had never gotten this kind of reaction from him, just from brushing him like that.

"I guess we should get ready," Samaki said finally, his paw resting still on Kory's again. Kory gave it a squeeze, stronger than he'd meant to at first, and Samaki squeezed back tightly.

"All right," Kory said.

The light seemed much brighter and harsher than it had been the previous night. He blinked and shielded his eyes from it, and Samaki grinned at him.

"Good," the fox said. "Don't look at me."

"You look fine." Kory squinted at the black figure, opening his eyes wider. He could see where some of the white fur was matted, and as he grew used to the light, he saw the irregular patterns in the black fur, too. "You look great," he said sincerely.

"You," Samaki said, "look fine. I look like I just woke up."

"You did," Kory pointed out.

"I know," Samaki said. "But I don't like looking this way." He grinned and put his shirt back on, as Kory did the same. "Help me get the mattress up? It's harder than coming down."

"Sure," Kory said, and as they were hefting the mattress, he heard noise from the kitchen and realized that this might be their last private moment. "I had a really good time," he said. "We should do this again."

The fox's smile reached all the way up to his eyes. "Me too," he said. "And you're welcome anytime. Or...I'd love to have a swim in your pool."

Kory grinned. "Sure! I'll talk to my mom. Maybe we could go to a late movie and you could stay over. There are some neat small artsy theaters close to me."

"Cool. I'll check the listings." Samaki's tail wagged. "Now, ready? Heave!"

They dragged the mattress up the two flights of stairs, with only one minor incident when Samaki's grip on the mattress slipped and Kory had to skip down a step quickly. When they'd heaved the mattress up onto the loft, Samaki said, "Bathroom's free. I'm going to duck in and straighten up."

Kory nodded and climbed up to his loft, sitting there and watching the light spread over the city outside the window. Ajani and Kasim were already up and in the living room watching cartoons, so he had the place to himself. It was a nice room, he thought, looking around, an ingenious use of little space to allow three boys to live here and have their own little spaces. Compared to Sal, who lived in a huge two-story house with two rec rooms, five bedrooms, and a hot pool and water slide in addition to the main indoor pool, Kory had always thought of his family as poor, or at least not well-off. Samaki's family would be much better suited to Sal's house, though, and yet they had less than Kory and his family did, and they seemed to be fine with it.

He glanced at the pile of Samaki's papers, and levered himself over to peer at the one on top. It was an article about some center in downtown Hilltown whose funding was being reviewed, a gay support center, and Samaki was writing from the perspective of one of the teens it had helped.

"Hey," the fox called some minutes later. Kory hadn't even heard him come in. He looked down guiltily, but Samaki was smiling. He'd not only brushed his fur; he'd changed into new clothes, or at least a new shirt, and Kory noticed then that the wardrobe was open. He hadn't heard that, either.

"Sorry," he said. "It was right on top. And you did read my poem."

"It's cool," Samaki said. "The article about the Rainbow Center?"

"Yeah. That's really neat. You went there?"

The fox nodded. "I'll tell you the whole story sometime. Not enough time now."

"I'd like to hear more," Kory said as he clambered down. "Do you still go there?"

"I will be this summer." Samaki walked downstairs with Kory. "Helping other kids, this time."

"You'll be good at it." He grinned. "Cartoons for a while?"

"Yeah. Breakfast first?"

"Oh, sure."

Down in the kitchen, the smell of eggs and bacon filled the air. Mrs. Roden bustled from stove to sink and fridge, and back, and greeted Samaki with a kiss and Kory with a hug. "I've got scrambled eggs, bacon, some potatoes, and orange juice. Anything else you'd like, Kory?"

"No, that sounds amazing." Kory patted his rumbling stomach.

She made him a plate, and then made one for Samaki, and after the black fox had sprinkled Tabasco sauce on his eggs and Kory had declined it, they thanked Mrs. Roden and trotted back upstairs.

"We can eat in the living room," Samaki said with his muzzle full. "The good cartoons are about to start. I don't get the Digimon type ones..."

Kasim cut him off. "This is Yu-Gi-Oh," he said, and he and Ajani exchanged superior looks.

"Whatever," Samaki plopped down next to his brother and ruffled between his ears. "I can't get into those. But they still run Looney Tunes at 8:30 and I make them watch before I head off to work."

"I love those," Kory said, and for half an hour the four of them watched Bugs Bunny and Friends together, the otter and black fox occasionally sneaking looks at each other and smiling. Kory tacked one more interest up on the list of things they shared, and that thought made his tail thump against the back of the couch. When Ajani, next to him, turned around, he covered by poking the cub in the side with his tail's tip, and this delighted the cubs so much that Kasim pushed over to get his share of pokes, and they ended up in a giggling heap in the middle of the couch when Samaki joined in and started tickling their paws.

At the end of the half hour show, Samaki had to leave for his job. He walked out to the foyer with Kory, where they had a moment alone.

"Hope we can do this again, like you said," Samaki said.

"We will." Kory grinned. "I'll talk to my mom today."

"We'd love to have you back here." Mrs. Roden was walking in from the dining room, and her husband appeared at the top of the stairs as if on cue. He yawned and stretched, still dressed in pajamas, and waved to the group as he walked down to join them.

"Sammy, you should get going," his mother said. "We'll take care of Kory 'til his mother gets here."

The clock in the hall read 8:59. "She'll be here in a minute," Kory said confidently, and indeed, as Samaki opened the door, his mother's car was pulling up to the curb.

And just like that, the visit was over. He gave Samaki a handshake and a friendly wave as the fox walked off to work; his mother stayed and talked to the Rodens for ten minutes, introducing herself to Mr. Roden and handing Mrs. Roden some recipe she'd apparently promised to bring. Kory was glad to see that. He wanted his mom and Mrs. Roden to be friends, because that would make it easier for him to see Samaki. And then he was in the front seat of his mom's car, they were pulling away from the house, and he was back in his own world.

He told his mom that it had been no problem for him to stay there, told her about the house, and told her that he wanted to invite Samaki over again. His mother, of course, agreed, since they had let him stay over. She said that she liked the Rodens, but said, "I'm sure you'll be glad to get in the shower."

To that, he didn't respond, and he did not head right for the shower when he got home. He went to Nick's room.

Nick held the little CompactFlash card gingerly in his paw. "You want me to copy it and give it back?"

"Nah," Kory said, "you can keep it."

"Really?" Nick's blue eyes widened. A moment later, they narrowed, as he searched for the catch, and then relaxed as he tilted his head curiously. "Hey, Kory... uh..."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you want it?" That obviously hadn't been the first question he was going to ask.

Kory turned around and sat on Nick's bed. For a minute, he didn't talk, fighting with himself about what to say. It didn't take long for him to decide that it would be a relief to talk to someone, and Nick was probably the best one to talk to. "Go ahead and say what you were going to."

"Oh." Nick fidgeted. "You think you're...you know...I mean, do you not like girls any more?"

"Any more?" Kory forced a grin.

"I don't know. You went out with Jenny for like a year, but you weren't ever really happy." He held up the card. "And giving this away...man, I'll never get rid of this. Then you wanted to stay overnight with Samaki."

"Nothing like that happened."

"Did you want it to?"

He looked back at his brother's curious, astute eyes. "I don't know. I think so. Maybe."

Nick patted his arm. "Cause it's cool, you know. I mean, I won't tell Mom."

"She'd freak out."

Nick laughed shortly. "Yeah, no kidding."

"But you're okay with it? I mean, if..."

Nick considered only for a moment before nodding. "Sure. You're my brother, right? So, whatever."

"Thanks, Nick." He wrapped an arm around the younger otter's shoulder.

"It's no big deal, really. There's a gay kid in my class. A couple kids give him a hard time sometimes, but they only do it if nobody's around 'cause if other people see it they get mad."

"Like teachers, you mean?"

"Nah, just other kids. It's pretty stupid, picking on someone for that, don't you think? Jerry Tucker caught Stewy Marchand making a comment one time and told him to shut up or he'd paste him one. Robby's pretty cool. Everyone likes him, except Stewy and his buddy Frank."

Kory sat back on the bed. "He's thirteen and he knows he's gay?"

Nick shrugged. "I know I like girls." He theatrically kissed the CF card. "Don't worry about it. Except with, like, Mom and some of her church friends, nobody really cares."

"I think people care. I care."

"You know what I mean."

"I guess so. I'm not sure you're right." But Sal had said essentially the same thing. So had Father Joe.

Nick got up and put the card down over by his computer. "Well, I dunno. All I know is it doesn't matter to me. Samaki seems pretty cool. And you seem to like him a lot."

"Yeah." Kory had just been thinking the same thing. "I do."

He swam back to his room, doing extra laps under the water, reflecting how odd it was that his brother was so close and so far. They had a great bond, and he knew Nick would always be on his side, just as he would be on Nick's. Then there was the question of being gay, where somehow Nick had acquired an even perspective that Kory could only characterize as mature, while Kory felt a product of earlier decades of fear. Was it possible for four years to mark such a drastic shift in attitudes? Or had Kory kept himself insulated from the world around him?

He sent an e-mail to Samaki, telling him again what a good time he'd had and including the next four weeks of Friday night movies at the theater near him. He didn't pick one, but the movie scheduled three weeks away fell on Memorial Day weekend and it was an old science fiction classic, "Forbidden Planet," one Kory had seen a long time ago, with his father. He felt sure that Samaki would zero in on that one, and sure enough, when the fox popped onto IM that evening, that was the movie he picked.

The only problem, he typed, is that it's three weeks away. :)

Kory grinned. We can get together before then, he replied. Sunday afternoon Starbucks and/or pool?

Yeah! :) :)

The month of May passed in a blur. He met Samaki every Sunday, once at the pool and twice just at Starbucks. Sal was preoccupied with prom preparations, and once Kory assured him that he didn't mind not going, dragged him into helping. Kory was somewhat amazed at the amount of money Sal was willing to spend on the prom, until he finally figured out that it was not to impress Debbie--whom, after all, Sal was already bedding--but to impress his classmates.

Nick took his grounding well, so well that their mother was almost suspicious about the amount of time he was willing to spend in his room. Kory had loaned Nick his digital camera, the one that read CF cards, and he suspected that had a lot to do with it. For his own part, he had his memories of the black fox, and he no longer felt ashamed about calling them up to make himself feel better. That didn't mean he was gay. After all, he wasn't doing anything regular teenage boys didn't do, no matter what images he held in his mind when he did them.

Memorial Day fell at the onset of finals, two weeks before the prom. Normally, Kory would have spent every waking moment studying for exams, but even before he left to meet Samaki at the bus that night, he was too keyed up to focus on his books. His mother had found an old air mattress which she'd made up with sheets and set up on his floor, and every time Kory looked at it and thought of the fox lying there, he couldn't even sit still.

At quarter to seven, he threw on a short-sleeved shirt and waved to his mother, then ran out into the hot spring evening. He spent seven minutes at the bus stop pacing, until the bus pulled up and the black fox stepped down.

He was wearing a white t-shirt that was a little too tight for him, and shorts that showed off his thighs and bare calves. As he stepped to the pavement, he dropped the old backpack he was carrying and clasped Kory's paw. "Hot one tonight."

"Yeah," Kory agreed, and bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet. "The theater has A/C, though. And it'll be cooler when we get out."

"It's already cooler here," Samaki said, falling into step beside him. "It was 95 at my house when I left."

"Wow." Kory shook his head. "With that black fur, I don't know how you manage."

"I wear lots of white and I stay indoors." Samaki chuckled. "Actually, it's not so bad once it gets short, long as I keep my tail moving. That fur doesn't molt. Stays long all year round."

"So I see." Kory swung his own tail over to brush the fox's playfully as they walked. Samaki brushed back, and they played tail-tag all the way to the theater.

"Forbidden Planet" was a fifties adventure, in which a spaceship of adventuring wolves discover a planet where an old rabbit scientist and his daughter live, apparently alone. At night, though, the wolves are attacked by a huge monster crackling with energy, and they must discover its secret.

Some parts of the movie were genuinely creepy, and as their arms were adjacent on the armrest, Kory found his paw entwined in Samaki's about halfway through the movie. That seemed comfortable enough, and they happily squeezed each other's paws during the creepy parts.

"Great movie," Samaki said on the way out. "Wow."

"I'd forgotten a lot of it," Kory said. "Whew! Glad you liked it."

Samaki nodded. "I see why it's a classic, all right. When did you see it before?"

"Seven years ago. With my father."

"Oh." They walked on for a few steps, and then Samaki said, "How about Leslie Wolfson? A serious role, too."

"He was good, too!"

"No kidding." Samaki's tail brushed Kory's and Kory swung his tail back. They chatted all the way home about the movie, and when they got back, Kory's mom made them banana splits and they told her about the movie all over again.

"I'm going to bed," she said finally. "Samaki, I made up the air mattress in Kory's room. Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Hedley," Samaki said. "Oh, do you have a towel?"

"Kory knows where the spares are. You're going to swim?"

They both nodded. "Samaki wanted to try the pool," Kory said. "Just a short swim."

She glanced at the clock. "Wait another twenty minutes, all right? Good night, boys. God bless." She disappeared down the hallway.

"Your mom's really nice," Samaki said.

"I guess." Kory scratched his ears. "She didn't have to tell us to wait twenty minutes. I know that."

"She just cares about you."

"Your mom is cool."

Samaki laughed. "You should have seen her when I broke the living room window. Oh, I thought my ears were gonna fall off."

"How did you break the living room window?"

The fox looked sheepish. "Just horsing around. Kande was outside and I wanted to get her attention. I poked the glass a little too hard."

Kory snorted. "You need to make that a better story. Like you were practicing karate too close to the window and put your fist through it."

The fox stroked his muzzle. "How about... I threw my little brother through it?"

"Now you're talking." Kory grinned, and let his paw come to rest on the fox's tail again.

Twenty minutes later, they walked around to Kory's bedroom. Samaki changed in the bathroom while Kory changed into his swimsuit in the bedroom. He didn't usually wear his suit in the home pool, but with Samaki there he felt he should. He wasn't sure he was quite ready to swim around with the fox in just underwear.

When Samaki came back in his swimsuit, he was grinning. "This feels funny. I never swam in someone's house before."

Kory felt funny, too, but it wasn't from being in his swimsuit. He was trying not to stare at the black fox's body, the slender runner's muscles, the fluffy tail, the white patch on the chest and the other one spilling out of his swimsuit. "Let's, ah, go ahead," he said, and slid into the water.

Samaki followed, and Kory led him to the outside first, where they bobbed side by side and looked out at the dark yard. "Cool," the fox breathed into the warm night. "Don't you worry about people getting in through this?"

Kory shook his head. "The yard's pretty secure, and that doorway there?" He waved down into the water behind them. "There's a gate that slides down. I'll close it before we go to sleep."

"Nice." Samaki looked up at the moon and the stars. "Pretty night."

"Yeah," Kory said.

"Somewhere up there is a Forbidden Planet," Samaki murmured.

"Hm?"

"You ever think that? Somewhere out there is everything we've dreamed about and invented."

"Yeah," Kory said. "In an infinite universe..."

"Everything exists somewhere."

Their eyes met for a moment, bridged by moonlight. Then Kory said, "Yeah...someday maybe Ajani will find it."

Samaki laughed. "I hope so. He's sure working hard to try."

"Come on. I'll show you the basement. Take a deep breath." The fox nodded, and followed Kory back through the gate, which Kory locked, and down to a small tunnel.

They surfaced on the other side of the tunnel in a dark chamber. Kory turned on the light to reveal piles of sealed boxes and bags.

Samaki looked around. "There's no other way out?"

"Nope. Just through the water."

"Wow. You have such a cool house. What do you use this room for?"

"Sal and I used to play secret base with it. When we were X-Force. That was our fort, and we'd retreat here to plan our attacks on the enemy."

Samaki grinned. "Who was the enemy?"

"Jeff Barnes, across the street and down one." Kory chuckled. "Dunno what happened to him. He went off to some military academy or prep school or something."

"Nice." Samaki rested on the edge of the floor, his body still in the water, and looked around. "Kinda chilly down here," he said after a moment, and sank back into the water.

Kory nodded. "We don't heat it. Back to my room?"

"Sure." But when Kory swam back, he noticed the fox splitting off from him. Samaki headed first for Nick's room, and Kory had to grab his foot to stop him. When they surfaced under the bridge leading to his mother's room, Samaki shook the water from his head and looked sheepish.

"Sorry," he said before Kory could say anything. "I was curious."

"That's my brother's room." Kory pointed. "That's my mom's room."

Samaki nodded. "I like these bridges, too. Perfect for hiding stuff under."

"Your house must be full of little hiding places." Kory remembered all the levels and stairs and angles.

"Oh, definitely. Got to be able to hide things from the others, and Mom and Dad." Samaki grinned.

Kory wanted to ask what kinds of things, but he knew what was in certain files on his computer, and hidden in a small file behind some boxes in his closet. He suspected he knew what sorts of things Samaki had, too, and grinned a conspiratorial grin. "So... ready to dry off yet?"

"Yeah." Samaki shook his head, spraying Kory with water.

"Oh, don't even think about trying that..." But the fox had already plunged back under the water, and Kory followed him, catching him easily and yanking on his tail, then spinning around as the fox tried to turn and intercept him, grabbing the fox's sides from behind, and whirling him around and around before letting him go. Samaki flailed in the water, and it occurred to Kory that, unused to the water, the fox might not be used to the kind of playing he and his brother did. He backed off and watched, but Samaki righted himself quickly and surfaced in Kory's room.

"Whew," he said with a grin and another shake. "Remind me never to fight with you underwater!"

"You okay?" Kory hung next to him in the water.

"Yeah, just a bit dizzy still. Can you teach me that move? That was cool."

Kory laughed. "I dunno if it's a move or what. Just something me and my brother do when playing around in the water."

"I see." Samaki flicked his ears. "I guess I'll have to come over here to play more often, then."

Kory wasn't sure what to say to that, but his heart jumped when he heard it. "Uh...we don't really have dryers, but we have nice towels...I think you can get mostly dry."

Samaki laughed. "Should've known otters wouldn't have dryers. That's okay." He got out of the pool and stood there dripping, blue bathing suit clinging tightly to his body. Kory didn't remember it being that revealing. He wasn't as shy about looking as he'd been at the pool, but he still didn't want to stare. He did get a good look, though, and it was enough to keep him hanging in the water for a bit longer.

"Can I shake in the bathroom?" the fox asked.

"Sure." Kory grinned and pointed. "Out there and to the right. The towels are in the cupboard just outside the bathroom."

"Will I have any trouble finding it?" Samaki looked down at him.

Kory shifted in the water, not quite ready to get out. "Nah, it's right there."

"Okay." The fox padded out, and arched his tail as he was leaving, giving Kory a nice view that he could appreciate, since the fox couldn't see him looking. Fluttery echoes of the worry he used to feel danced around, but he told himself there was nothing wrong with looking, and the black-furred legs with the white patch right up where they met were as nice as any girl's he'd eyed.

He got out of the pool himself and lay on the drying mat, stomach down. He closed his eyes and felt the mat slowly leach the water from his fur. After a few minutes of thinking about the fox and trying to make himself relax, he turned his thoughts away and tried to just blank out his mind until he felt comfortable enough to turn over.

Samaki came back several minutes later, still in his swimsuit, fur sticking up every which way. He was trying to smooth it down with his paws, and when Kory grinned up at him, he said, "Don't laugh. I tried to use one of your brushes, but it kept catching in my fur and I couldn't get it to work."

"You didn't use my mom's brush, did you?"

"Heck no. I can tell yours by the scent. I tried to clean it out, but there's probably still some fox fur in there."

"No problem," Kory said. He looked up and watched the fox watching him, and liked imagining that Samaki was eyeing his swimsuit, and then imagining that made him feel tingly, and he got up abruptly. "So, want to, um, play on the computer a bit?"

"Nah, I'm okay..." Samaki yawned. "Ready to lie down, actually."

"Okay." Kory turned down the sheets on the air mattress, and then padded to the doorway as Samaki got into the bed. He turned out the lights and found his way to his own bed.

His fur was still damp. He listened to the fox breathing in the next bed, and all his tensions returned. Looking was all well and good, but now they were lying a few feet away again. He was more determined than ever to initiate some contact, but that just made him more nervous.

"Thanks for having me over," Samaki said, and Kory heard him yawn again.

"Oh, I'm glad to. I had fun. Hope you did too."

"Definitely. I like your mom and Nick. They're nice."

Kory smiled. "They seem to like you, too."

There was silence in the room. Kory's tail twitched, and he stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.

"Kory?" Samaki said into the darkness.

"Yeah?" He wondered if the fox could hear his heart pounding.

"What happened to your dad?"

The otter exhaled. "Oh. He left."

Samaki sucked in a breath. "I'm sorry. You talk to him at all?"

"Nah. He lives out on the west coast." That was already as much as Sal knew, and more than he told most people.

"How old were you?"

"Nine."

The room was quiet for several minutes. "When was the last time you talked with him? I'm sorry, I don't mean to be asking all these questions."

"It's okay. I don't mind." And he didn't; the subject he usually shied away from felt all right, its sharp corners padded by gentle black fur now. "I talked to him when I was fourteen. Tracked him down and called him. I'd just gotten my cell phone."

More silence, then the fox, softly. "Didn't go well?"

Kory shrugged. "It was okay. Awkward, you know? I wanted to tell him all about the stuff I'd been doing, and he...didn't really care, I know now. I tried calling him back later and he never picked up. So I stopped trying."

He'd never told Sal, or Nick, or anyone else about that.

"I'm sorry, Kory," Samaki said again, and Kory felt fingertips brush his shoulder. He reached his paw down and the fox grasped it gently.

Kory remembered the dark street they'd walked down, the warmth of Samaki's paw then, and it was just as warm and comforting now. He sighed. "It's okay. I'm over it, I really am."

"Still." The fox seemed to be groping for words. "It just sucks."

"Thanks," Kory said.

"Your mom seems okay."

"Yeah, the church really helped her." His feeling, privately, was that it was the devoted churchgoing that had driven his father away.

"Glad you guys are okay." The fox gave his paw a squeeze. "You take care of Nick?"

"He pretty much takes care of himself," Kory said. "But I used to, early on." He remembered painful conversations when he'd been too young to understand how and why to cushion the truth for his little brother, nights when Nicky had fallen asleep crying in Kory's bed, sullen evenings that stretched into weeks.

"Glad he had someone to look after him." For a long time, Samaki's paw remained wrapped around Kory's, the touch enough communication in the silence. Then Samaki spoke again, and Kory was surprised to hear anger in his voice. "Your dad is a jerk."

Kory didn't move. The fox went on. "Look what he's missing, what a great son he has and he doesn't even care. He's..." He went quiet, his breathing harsh.

Go, you idiot.

Kory slid easily down to the floor, crawled up next to the fox, and pulled the fox's arm around him, then gently pulled his paw free and placed it right in the center of the white patch of fur on Samaki's chest. The fur was still damp. He smoothed it down, letting his claws trail through it. "Thanks," he said.

Samaki's arm tightened around him, and his head lifted slightly. His eyes shone in the dark. As the otter's paw dug through his white fur, rubbing and letting his claws scritch the underlying skin gently, he said softly, "I thought you were interested in boobs."

Kory grinned, and then the perfect line came to him at the perfect time, and if that wasn't a sign that he was doing the right thing, he didn't know what else could be. "I am," he said. "You boob."

Samaki laughed, and leaned his head forward until his nose was about an inch from Kory's, then stopped, searching the otter's eyes. "Really?"

Kory closed the rest of the distance, touching his broad nose to the fox's narrow one. "Yeah. I...yeah."

Samaki rubbed his nose gently across Kory's and then nuzzled across to rest his muzzle on the otter's shoulder, pulling him into a closer hug. "I don't want to pressure you into anything."

"No," Kory breathed, "I'm just figuring things out."

The fox's paw stroked his side. "I'm happy to help."

Kory buried his nose in the soft, damp black fur. "You are," he mumbled. "You have." The scent was strange, all vulpine, musky and unmistakably male, not at all what he was used to pressing his nose into. He'd told himself that he might have to get used to it, but he breathed in and let the smell fill him giddily, and it wasn't hard to put his arm all the way around Samaki and hug him back. No, not hard at all.

And it wasn't the fact that the fox was gorgeous, or hugging him back, or male, that made it easy, Kory realized in a sudden flash. It was the fact that this was Samaki, his friend, someone who cared about him, whom he cared about in return. That had always been missing from his relationship with Jenny. He'd listened to her crises, told her about his, but she'd never said anything like what Samaki had just said about Kory's father. He'd never said anything like that to her, either. The connection just hadn't been there.

And it was here, in force. He felt thrilled, terrified, and happier than he'd been in a long, long time.

He pressed his paw through the thick black fur, mimicking the trails the fox's claws were leaving in his fur, down to the small of his back, further and further, but always stopping short of his tail. He let his paw wander more boldly, pressing into the curve between the fox's back and his tail, feeling the bare fur and the reflexive push back against his paw. Then onward to the fluffy mass of tail, his paw sinking into it as the fox let his soft pads wander over Kory's thick tail.

Twice, Kory tried to roll the lighter fox on top of him, but couldn't balance properly on the air mattress. Finally, Kory murmured, "I think my bed is a bit bigger."

Samaki gave him a bright white smile. "Probably softer, too."

"Uh-huh." He started to pull away from the fox, and Samaki grabbed his paw.

"Kory."

He turned, and got a soft kiss right on his nose. Samaki's eyes were reflecting the glow of his stars. He hesitated only for a heartbeat before kissing the fox back, his lips warming the cool nose. Then their lips touched, and he didn't want to do anything else. His paws found the fox's slender form again, pulled Samaki to him as he sat up and leaned with his back to the bed. The fox slid into his lap easily, strong arms sliding behind his shoulders to hold him in return, and the kiss seemed to go on and on and on.

"Wow," he said, when Samaki finally sat back and looked at him.

The fox smiled, one paw tracing the curves of Kory's chest. "Wow?"

"So that's what that's supposed to be like."

Samaki laughed. "I liked it too. A lot."

Kory was aware not only of exactly how much the fox had liked it, but also of the fact that the fox could definitely tell how much he had enjoyed it. He shifted, found that the rubbing was pretty nice, and did it again intentionally. "So...up on the bed?"

Samaki nodded, and got up. "Let me, um, do something first..." As Kory watched, the fox hooked his paws into the waistband of his swimsuit and slowly pulled it down. He watched Kory watching him, and said, "This was getting kind of uncomfortable."

Kory's breathing sped up. Slowly, Samaki's white fur came into view, as did its centerpiece, long and dark and very erect. The otter stared up at it, then up at the fox's muzzle, smiling down at him. He struggled to his feet.

"Yeah, uh..." It was hard to talk. "Mine too." He pulled his swimsuit down, trying to emulate the grace Samaki had shown. As he kicked it aside, Samaki reached out and brushed claws through his stomach's fur, one paw on either side of the otter's stomach. Kory slipped his arms up inside Samaki's and did the same, pressing his webbed fingers through the damp black fur, letting them stray down towards the white patch. As the fox's paws roamed across the outside of his hips, Kory let his fingers tease the edges of the white fur, venturing ever closer to the center.

Samaki seemed to be waiting for him. As Kory's paw circled ever closer, the fox's lazy caresses grew more intense, and his breathing quickened. Kory hardly knew what he was doing, but he couldn't keep his paws away for long. He looked up into the shining eyes and brushed the back of his paw against the fox's maleness.

Samaki leaned forward and kissed him, and Kory could see the white tip of his tail swinging back and forth behind him. Emboldened, he turned his paw around and brushed the pads up the fox's erection, feeling the curves and the slightly different shape. He smiled, and then smiled wider as he felt the fox's fingers brush him, sending tingles down his legs. Together, they explored each other's shapes, shivering at the feelings, until they ended up pressed close and hugging again, arousals buried in each other's fur. Samaki pushed Kory backwards gently until the otter sat down, then lay down on the bed.

The fox straddled him and then slowly lay down on top of him. Kory hugged the fox to him and they kissed again, and nuzzled, while the fox's tail swept back and forth over them both.

"Mmm. What now?" Kory murmured.

"Whatever you want," Samaki said back softly.

"Well, you're the one with the experience."

Samaki laughed softly. "I just know what I want. I didn't say I had any experience."

"You don't?"

The fox paused, and nuzzled Kory again. "Let's just say that I know enough to know we should do what comes naturally. We can keep it simple this first time."

"Okay. That sounds good."

"I mean," Samaki said with a grin, his tongue lolling to one side, "if we just keep doing what we were doing a minute ago, I think that will work just fine."

By way of answer, Kory brought his paw up between them, and did just that.

Samaki panted over top of him, then squeezed himself off to lie on his side next to Kory so that he could return the favor. Kory inched over towards the edge of the bed, using his tail to balance himself, and their paws worked in unison as their breath came hot into each other's fur. Kory tried to keep quiet, a little self-conscious about his panting and grunts, but he felt less so as Samaki squirmed against him, making all kinds of little yips and squeaks. He kicked the wall once, and froze until Kory said, giggling, "That's the kitchen. Don't worry about it."

It was strange, having another paw pleasuring him, and going through the motions on someone else. It was wonderful, too, to feel the effect his paw was having on Samaki, and to feel Samaki's paw and press against him to show how much he enjoyed it. Kory couldn't remember anything so intimate, so personal, in his past anywhere. He felt his breath coming faster and harder, but it was Samaki who jerked against him first. Warmth coated his paw and the musky smell reached his nostrils.

"Oh," Samaki was moaning, "Kory..."

He kept working on the otter while he moaned and climaxed, paw moving nice and quick, and Kory was so wound up that it was less than a minute before he was burying his muzzle in the fox's fur and moaning, "Samaki..." It was an awkward name to moan, so he moaned again, "Foxy..." and that felt much better, a nice thing to moan as the fox brought him off.

For a short span of time, they both just lay there. Samaki was the first to talk.

"I think," he said, "that was more than just fine."

"Oh, yes," Kory said, and pulled the fox on top of him, ignoring the stickiness in their fur. They hugged tightly and nuzzled again and again, paws stroking each other's fur.

"So can I ask you something?" Samaki said, and when Kory nodded, went on, "What made you decide to try?"

"That's easy," Kory said. "You did."

"I hoped you might be gay, but didn't want to pressure you."

"You didn't. And I'm not sure I am gay."

Samaki tilted his head. "You know...I dunno how it is out at Carter, but back in the city, what we just did here is pretty gay."

"Well, I know." Kory grinned. "I just meant, I didn't decide to sleep with you because you're unbelievably gorgeous and I'm attracted to guys. I wanted to sleep with you because you're...because you're you."

The fox smiled and stroked his cheek. "You're unbelievably sweet, you know that?" He kissed Kory's nose. "You want to know a secret?"

Kory grinned and nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Samaki's ears folded slightly back and he looked a bit embarrassed. "That night we went to the movie...I took you through the dark street on purpose so I could hold your paw."

Kory giggled. "I bribed my brother to stay out late so my mom wouldn't pick me up and I could stay over."

"Really?" Samaki laughed. "That's cute."

"Then I didn't do anything." Kory sighed. "I wanted to do, I dunno, this, I guess."

Samaki nodded. "We had a nice night anyway. And you weren't ready then. I'm glad you are now."

"Me too."

After another kiss, Samaki said, "I should tell you one more thing..."

Kory nodded. The fox looked up at the ceiling stars, and Kory felt his tension. Before the otter could ask about it, the fox recited slowly, "Scarlet the passion, the color of my heart."

The otter stared at him. "Coral a sunset, God's work of art." Samaki went on, and looked down into Kory's eyes.

"Oh, no," Kory moaned, a different tone from his moans of a few minutes ago. "Where did you read that?"

"The paper." Samaki pulled back the pillow Kory was trying to cover his face with. "Oh, come on. It's really good."

"How long ago did you read it?" The hot flush of embarrassment was fading, very slowly.

"When it came out. What's the matter? It really was good." The fox's paw brushed his cheek tenderly.

Kory sighed. "My English teacher posted it in the hallway of our school. I got teased for it for weeks, and my...the girl I was dating said why didn't I write anything like that for her, and went to the prom with someone else."

"Oh." Samaki rested a paw on his shoulder. "Well...I'm not that upset about you not having a girlfriend."

"I guess that worked out okay," Kory admitted.

"And...to tell you the truth...that's why I was at the pool that day." Kory felt the motion as his ears flicked.

"Huh?"

"I read about you in the paper and the poem really touched me. I wanted to meet the guy my age who could write like that. I kinda had a crush on you, I guess, without even meeting you."

The warm embarrassment was returning. "Me?"

"Heck, yeah. I cut the poem out and put it up on my wall." He grinned, then, and licked Kory on the nose. "But I hid it before you came over."

"So you were hoping to meet me at the municipal pool?"

"Nah." Samaki laughed, and Kory felt the vibrations in his own stomach, and couldn't help giggling along. "I was just trying to practice so I could be a good enough swimmer that when I went over to Caspian, I wouldn't embarrass myself. I'm glad I didn't know you have an indoor pool, or I probably wouldn't have even tried that."

"Wow. Well...I'm glad you did," Kory said. "Really glad."

Samaki paused for a moment, and then said, "Want to hear something kinda silly?"

Kory smiled. "Only if it's from you."

The fox nuzzled him. "When I read the poem, there was a note of...of something behind it, of longing, or searching...and I thought, uh..."

Kory poked him in the hip, tickling gently. "Go on."

Samaki squirmed and giggled. "I thought, he's looking for me. I felt like you sent that poem out into the world to find me, and I had to find my way to you."

Something was making it hard for Kory to talk, all of a sudden. "Maybe...maybe I did," he said, swallowing. He stroked his paw down the curve of the fox's back, over the swell of his rear, and pulled his tail up to bury his fingers in. "I didn't know I was doing it."

"That's okay," the fox whispered. "I did."

"I fell for you back at the pool, you know," Kory said. "When you laughed at my joke, and then walked out of the dryers, so pretty, so handsome...I just didn't realize it for a while."

Samaki smiled and kissed him. "It's not easy. But I'm glad you did."

"Oh, me too." They kissed, more warmly, and Kory felt the stirrings of interest awaken again. The fur between them was all matted and sticky, so when they parted, panting, he said, "Maybe we should clean up a bit?"

"Mmm." Samaki nodded. "Good idea."

They scampered to the bathroom, naked, Kory looking around to make sure his mother and Nick weren't making a mid-night visit. In the shower, they cleaned up with soap, and in the process of cleaning, found that the soap was quite nice between paws and the parts they were trying to clean, and ended up kissing, and then presently they managed to get themselves sticky again, so they had to clean up all over, panting and leaning on each other and giggling giddily.

Back in Kory's bed, they snuggled up close, exhausted and happy. Kory found that his muzzle fit nicely into the curve between the taller fox's neck and shoulder, and Samaki seemed to like curling his tail around Kory's. They whispered goodnights to each other, nuzzled and yawned, and Kory drifted off to sleep with the feeling that he was floating, insulated from the world and borne up by something much more buoyant than mere water.