Page 41 of Ours
That meant they actually woke up at a decent hour the next day instead of sleeping through the afternoon like they usually would. After spending the morning cleaning themselves up (and out, in Cory’s case), the boys decided to take advantage of the day’s warm weather and head to the nearby lake for the day. They weren’t going to swim—even in Florida, it was too cold for that. The boys grabbed a few blankets and changed into their shorts before they made some sandwiches, threw them in a bag with some sodas, and headed out.
Located in the middle of Hartford Forest, Lake Shepard was a popular hangout spot for kids in the area to throw late night lakeside parties. Derek and Nic had been to a number of such parties, and Cory had been dragged along to a couple of them himself. It was not uncommon to see the telltale signs of empty beer cans and a burnt-out campfire when walking along the trails.
Before long, the boys arrived at their destination, a sandy shore with a nearby cliff that was perfect for jumping off of. At least that’s what they always thought when they were kids. The calm waters stretched out before them. The only sounds they could hear were the birds in the trees above. They seemed to be alone with no boats on the water and all the nearby shores empty. Even though the weather was warmer than it typically was this late in the year, it was doubtful that anyone else planned a lake trip for the day.
“Water’s real calm. I can’t even hear anything other than the forest,” Derek said as he walked toward the shore, looking out over the lake.
“Perfect. We’ve got the place to ourselves.” Nic dropped the bag he was carrying next to a tree.
“Good. Remember last time we were here?” Cory put down his own bag, reaching in to take out the blankets they packed. “You kept hitting on those girls from the softball team until you pissed them off so much they threw your stuff in the water. I don’t feel like helping you fish it out aga—”
A pair of shorts suddenly hit Cory in the back of the head mid-sentence. Turning around, Cory caught sight of Nic’s tanned and furred ass as he posed naked with his foot on a large rock.
“See something you like?” Derek chuckled as he teased Cory, taking off his own shirt and shorts and tossing them to the sub. “It is a nice day, after all.”
Cory was slightly red in the face as he stood there, still holding both boys’ clothes.Am I supposed to…?
“You scared or what?” Derek challenged as he laid out one of the blankets. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”
It wasn’t Nic looking that had Cory worried. It wasn’t even about being naked at all—it was the cage. Being caught naked outside might be embarrassing on its own, but how in the hell would he explain the cage around his dick?
“Come on, Cor!” Nic taunted. “Unless you’re really that scared…”
With a sigh, mostly to himself, Cory dropped the clothes he was holding and took off his shirt. Then, after taking a deep breath, he hooked his thumbs into his waistband and pulled his shorts down. Before he had too long to think about it, he took off in a sprint, jumping into the water without warning, splashing both Nic and Derek.
“Took you long enough,” Nic teased as Cory took a seat on the blanket.
“Whatever, bacon-dick.”
Derek only laughed as Nic threw chips at Cory in response.
The boys spent the next hour or so relaxing, talking, and goofing around. It felt like they were in middle school again. Once they started to get hungry, they figured it was time for lunch.
“Go ahead and pass out the food, Cor.” Nic gave the order as he spread his legs wide. He was clearly enjoying the freedom.
Handing some food to the both of them, Cory took his own seat and tucked into his sandwich. The boys ate quietly, the sounds of their chewing barely audible over the rest of the forest’s sounds. After finishing his first sandwich, Derek was the one to break the silence.
“So… Only got a few more playoff games until the regional championships, right?” Derek aimed his question at Nic, unsure of how it would be received. The loud groan in response told him all he needed to know.
“Don’t remind me, dude.” Nic was sitting against the base of a tree, eyes closed. “It’s all my dad talks about when I’m home.”
“Are you worried about losing or something?” Cory asked before starting in on his second sandwich.
“Nah, not really. We’re probably gonna win.” Nic shrugged. “There’s even gonna be college scouts watching, as Dad likes to remind me.”
“That’s good though, right?” Cory knew he was going to have a hard time covering tuition. He’d love to qualify for an athletic scholarship.
“Maybe? I still don’t even know if Iwantto play football in college. Dad sure has his fuckin’ mind made up though. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already gotwhereI’m going picked out for me too.” Nic paused, no longer enjoying being the focus of his friends’ attention. “What about you, Cor? You applied early to schools over the summer, didn’t you?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, a few. I haven’t heard anything back, yet,” Cory lied a little. He had actually heard from them, even got acceptance letters … but he wasalsostill waiting to hear from some scholarship opportunities. Until he had a better idea of what his financial situation was going to be, Cory wasn’t going to be able to accept any offers. If he didn’t manage to win any of them, he might be looking at a few years of community college instead.
Coryalsolied for the same reason the three of them always avoided talking about college stuff. Any of them actually talking about where they wanted to go would confirm something they already knew—that they were going to different schools, and this would probably be the last year the three of them wouldbe together like this. Cory wanted to ignore that information for just a little while longer.
“Any idea where you wanna go?” Derek asked exactly what Cory didn’t want to answer. “You’ve got alotof options for anything computer or engineering related…”
“There’s a few places I looked at…” Cory skipped past any information about his financial limitations. “No matter where I end up going, I’m worried about how my mom is gonna be without me.”
“She’ll be fine,” Derek reassured him. “You know she wouldn’t want to do anything that would screw up school for you.”
