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“Oh, settle down,” Demmy said in a calm tone. “You’ll be free and running through the woods in a few minutes.”
“Lucky rodents,” Cody said. He sighed and wiped a hand across his grimy-feeling forehead.
Demmy slid the carrier toward Cody, who hefted it from the truck. They walked out into the woods a good distance, and Cody set the carrier down between two large oak trees. A gentle breeze rustled the green leaves overhead, sunlight sparking between them. The breeze was apparently prejudiced against those forced to obey gravity, because there was no hint of air movement at ground level.
“Okay, little ones, have a good life,” Demmy said, popping the carrier door open. The squirrels streaked off across the ground and darted up different trees, chattering between themselves from branches high overhead.
“Watch out for hawks and bears and stuff,” Cody said.
“Good life advice.”
Demmy closed the carrier door and picked it up and they returned to the truck. Cody lifted the carrier over the side of the bed, then secured it in place with the bungee cords so it wouldn’t bounce around on the drive back. When he’d finished, he leaned an elbow on the top of the truck bed’s side wall and found Demmy looking across the trail toward the glittering surface of Parson’s Pond.
“Wanna go fishing?” Cody asked.
“No,” Demmy said, turning to him with a tired smile. “But…”
Cody raised his eyebrows. “But…?” He looked around in an exaggerated manner though they were completely alone, and leaned in as he lowered his voice. “I’m way too sweaty and gross to fool around in the truck.”
“Oh, yeah, me too. But…” Demmy moved a step closer and lowered his voice as well. “We could go skinny-dipping to cool off.”
Cody’s surprise hit him with the same timing and impact as his arousal. “Demetrius Barnaby Singleton-Bower, you wicked scamp.”
“I mean, we could get back in the truck and drive to the office and check voicemails and emails and see if Jugs is there, and then after that go back home and shower. Or…” He looked over his shoulder toward the water, then back at Cody. “We could take a quick dip and cool off before doing all of that.”
“I am impressed, aroused, and alarmed all at once.” Cody took his hand, leading him across the trail and through the trees toward Parson’s Pond. “How often have you been swimming out here?”
“A few times,” Demmy said. “When I was a kid. Actually, I think all of them have been with you.”
“I was out here a lot in the summers,” Cody said. “Mostly with my brothers. Roman was an asshole even back then, dunking all of us and splashing us in the face and telling us stories about things that lived in the pond that would bite our feet or dicks or swim up our assholes or dicks.”
“Sounds like a lot of things were supposed to happen to your dicks.”
“That’s what it’s like to have brothers.” Cody squeezed his hand. “You dodged that bullet.”
“Yeah. But I missed out on a lot, too.”
“Sure. But I’ve got lots of experience to share with you.” Cody made a face and cocked his head. “But not in a brotherly way, because that wouldn’t be right.”
Demmy laughed. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“I just meant in a lover kind of way, where it’s not inappropriate for our penises to touch.”
“You know, it’s okay to stop talking sometimes.”
They reached the edge of the water and stood to look across the smooth surface, still holding hands. Demmy’s smaller hand felt so good and natural in his, Cody didn’t want to release him. The sun shimmered along the water, gleaming like fire, and for a moment Cody thought jumping in might burn them alive rather than cool them off.
“No one comes here that much anymore,” Demmy said. “At least not that I’ve seen all the times we’ve released animals out here.”
“Yeah, kids are all up in their Instagram feeds or Snapchats or WhatsApp. They don’t have time to do kid stuff.”
“Is Snapchat still a thing?”
“I don’t know,” Cody said. “I’ll have to send Summer a text and ask.”
Demmy grinned at the mention of Cody’s niece. “She’s going to college soon. That’s crazy to think about.”
“I try not to.” Cody faced him. “Still want to skinny-dip?”
