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The pizza began to disappear as we stuffed ourselves. Most of us had two or three beers by this point, so the group was nicely buzzed. Once everyone had eaten their fill, Alistair began to clean up. I stood to help, but he placed a paw on my shoulder and gently pushed me back into the couch, with a smile and a dismissive "I've got it." The others took note of this interaction and looked at me for explanation as he walked toward the kitchen with garbage in tow.

"Well, look at you, pup," Ian began. "Not everyone's so lucky to spend an evening with their idol, much less get touchy-feely with them." He gave a soft, nudging elbow to my side, and there was no mistaking the insinuation.

I laughed nervously. "T-touchy-feely...? No, it's not like that... He can tell how nervous I am, and he's just a really nice guy who wants his guests to feel comfortable...."

Harold chimed in, "Maybe he wants to make you real comfortable...." And then he put his hand on my thigh and locked eyes with me, which caused me to blush.

"C-come on, guys, you shouldn't talk about Alistair behind his back. He's not gay...." My voice was tinged with disappointment, my mind holding steady to realism. Yet my heart yearned for the impossible (as hearts tend to do), and my eyes were bright with optimistic visions.

The three gathered Barracudas were awkwardly silent. Maybe they'd misheard me?

"He's not gay...." I repeated. They exchanged knowing glances, but said nothing.

I couldn't believe it. I just could not believe it. But I had to ask; had to know. "He's not g-gay... is he?!?" All my hopes and dreams were bursting out of me like confetti. Please let it be true, please let it be true, please let it be true--

The trio laughed heartily in unison.

Victor stated the obvious: "Jesus, Lex, you really do want him."

"I'm surprised you're not in the kitchen right now trying every trick in the book to give him a hard-on. It probably wouldn't even matter to you that we could hear you sucking him off."

"Heh, of course it wouldn't, Harold. He definitely looks like a more-the-merrier sort of guy. Not that I'm judging you: Must be a lot easier to arrange that sort of party when everyone's attracted to the same thing."

"Things," Victor corrected. "Don't forget the balls."

I scrunched up my muzzle and gave them a little growl. "Shut up, you guys! I'm serious! You're avoiding the question!"

Suddenly we heard Alistair call from the kitchen, "Would anyone like another beer? Or something else to drink?" Victor asked for one; Harold requested water. Apparently he'd been drinking earlier, and was worried about driving home, although he didn't seem too drunk to me.

"Lex?"

"Sure, Alistair. Thanks!"

As soon as I heard movement from the kitchen, I directed my attention back to the group and put on my best serious face.

"Okay guys, be real with me now: Is Alistair gay or not? And don't lie to me, or beat around the bush, or act like you can't talk all of a sudden, or--"

"We don't know, Lex," was Victor's matter-of-fact answer.

I was, needless to say, skeptical. "You don't know? You don't know? How the fuck could you not know? You hang out all the time, take showers together, rough each other up in the pool... You mean to tell me you've known him for months and months and you don't even know if he likes cock or clam? Are you serious?"

Ian chuckled to himself.

"This isn't funny, Ian. I need to know!" And at that moment, I really did need to know. My body was quaking, my muscles were tensed, and my mind was racing so fast I imminently expected to hear a sonic boom.

Ian, who was sitting on my left side, lifted his claw up and flexed his fingers. The talons that tipped them gleamed in the living room light. His speckled yellow eye leveled a glare at me, and he flicked his nictitating membrane for good measure. Instantly I was reminded of the fact that I was sitting next to a deadly predator. I kept my mouth shut and sat up nicely, then tried to play it off as position adjustment. He laughed again, but this time with more of a sigh.

"Listen, Lex: I told you I don't know if he's gay, and that's the truth. He never makes comments about guys or girls; he's never gotten a boner that I've noticed; he doesn't talk about his dates, or if he even has them; and I've never just flat-out asked him because I don't really need to know. Okay?"

I suddenly felt foolish. " ... Okay. Well, what about you two?"

Harold just shrugged.

"All he's ever told me is that he thinks talking about his sexuality is ungentlemanly." The tiger looked almost uncomfortable with his uncertainty.

They suddenly looked utterly ridiculous to me, and their ignorance of their own friend left me thoroughly disappointed. "Fine..." I leapt up off the couch and moved with determination towards the kitchen. "I'll just ask him myself!"

Victor put out a paw to stop me. "Lex, you can't just--"

Harold put his hand on Victor's arm. "Just let him go. He can find out for all of us... and then we can decide if we want to stay on the team."

Victor looked at Harold in mild shock. "You'd quit just because we had a gay guy on our team?"

"Well, yeah... Wouldn't you?"

Victor and Ian said nothing, although I couldn't see their faces. I was already halfway to the kitchen.

I walked in the room, and Alistair had his hands full with beers and sparkling water. He was bent over a bit at the waist, which gave me a nice look at the contour of his ass. His tail meandered behind him like the blue ivy on his house, searching for something to latch onto.

"Um, h-hey, Alistair." I leaned against the side of the refrigerator for support, physically and psychologically. It was a simple question. He'd know I meant no harm. Or so I hoped.

He looked up and smiled. "'Ey, Lex. Those boys not entertaining enough for you?"

I gave a nervous laugh. "No, they're all great guys. Thank you for doing this for me. I really, really appreciate it." I tapped the shiny nametag hanging from my collar and smiled back as I let the fingers of my other hand trace inconsequential patterns on my jeans.

Alistair didn't seem to react in any way.

"So... Alistair...?"

He put down the bottles and stood to look at me face-to-face. "Yes?"

"Well, I was just wondering... Are you...."

He crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Am I...?"

"Are you... Are you really uncomfortable with me watching you in your swim briefs?" It wasn't quite what I'd wanted to ask, but maybe it was close enough.

"... No. Not really." He laughed and uncrossed his arms. "I've been playing water polo for going on four years now. Plenty of people have seen me in those water pants; all types, all ages, all sizes. Any awkwardness I had about it is long gone."

"Oh. Well that's good." I grinned sheepishly as my tail wagged furiously behind me.

"Was there... something else you wanted? I guess there's some fruit juice in there as well, if you're having second thoughts on the alcohol."

"Oh, no..." My mind lit up with a brilliant idea. If this didn't work, nothing would. "Actually, yes. The other guys... they feel uncomfortable at game around me?"

"Well..."

"Could I ask you for a favor?" I was as devilishly smug with my own brilliance as a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

"Er, sure... what is it, Lex?" There was a note of concern in his voice.

I gingerly walked over to him and whispered my plan in his ear. Immediately he burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha! Well, that would certainly lighten the mood, and might get a good rise out of them!"

"So you're okay with it?"

"Sure, why not? Let me tell you where to go...." He whispered his instructions to me, and I could feel his breath on my ear. Our faces were so close together, it took everything in me not to grab his face and kiss him. But this next stunt would tell me once and for all if that would ever happen. And then we parted: He, back to the party; and I, around the kitchen the back way and up the stairs.

I was probably gone for about ten minutes. I got turned around a bit in the hallway, but then I found what I was looking for. I wondered how Alistair was explaining my absence as I tried to think of distinctly non-sexual things.

Finally I was ready. Quietly I tiptoed back to the staircase and made my way to the group, trying to get as close as possible before anyone saw me. As I approached, I could hear Victor asking Alistair about what games he had available. I got about five feet away from the couch when Victor caught a glance of me and stopped mid-sentence, and almost dropped his beer. The others quickly turned around to see what had alarmed him--all except Alistair, who smiled knowingly at Victor.

As I rounded the edge of the couch, it became clear to everyone that I was wearing my collar, a pair of Alistair's swim briefs, and nothing else. They were a bit big on me, my musculature not being half as massive, so they hung a little lower than they were designed to; the fabric rested right at the edge of my groin. I sauntered into the group carelessly, grabbed Victor's beverage, set it down in front of him, and then repositioned myself between everyone.

To Victor, who was still staring at me dumbfounded, I said simply: "Careful, Vic. I didn't want you to spill."