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A Summer Camp to Remember

© 2011-2013 Twisted_Trisk, Benjamin J Johnson

Contents: Gay Sex in inappropriate circumstances

Sunday

I'd had a great summer, all told. I was working as a camp counselor at a Bible camp on Clearwater Lake, a very lovely, rustic youth camp if ever I'd seen one. I wasn't paid very much, but I had such a great time doing it, I didn't figure it mattered a whole lot. I liked kids and kids liked me, so working with them had been fun, and I was hopefully steering them towards a brighter future, something worth far more than money.

Starting with kids nine through eleven years of age, the camp had weeks for every age up to seniors in high school. Each group of kids was a challenge for different reasons, which kept things always interesting. Nine-year-olds aren't going to be sneaking out at night to meet with girlfriends, but they are constant bundles of energy. On the other side of the coin, the senior campers were more laid back and for the most part could be treated like adults, but had to be strictly monitored for inappropriate behavior.

It was my second summer as a counselor at this camp, and I was planning on making this a regular summer job through college, it was so much fun. The weeks always seemed to fly by, and it was already the final week of camp, the second senior week, the end of another fun summer. I stood watching the kids in the registration lines, picking out who would be the trouble makers, who would be the leaders, who would be on the fringe, and everything else in-between. It was an interesting thing about kids; you could almost always establish the pecking order just by watching them for a few minutes.

There were other counselors standing around too, but to my disgust, they were ogling the girls like a bunch of horny perverts. "Wow! Isn't that bunny there Mary Zimmerman?" I heard one of them say. "She's really grown up since last year, huh?"

My lip curled at that. We weren't here to show off or check out girls, we were supposed to be challenging and overseeing the kids. I considered what they were doing to be the lowest of the low, and showed they were totally here for the wrong reasons.

As I was musing on these things a hand suddenly touched my shoulder. I gave a start and whirled around to see one of the campers, a smallish male skunk. My sudden move had also made him jump, and his fluffy black-and-white striped tale was a bit bushed out, flicking in agitation.

"Whoa! I'm sorry! Didn't mean to scare ya, Phil!" He said, looking apologetic. "I was in your cabin last year and had a great time. My name's Rory." He offered his paw, which I took and shook, feeling his sharp, non-retractable claws prick my skin as I squeezed.

"Hi Rory! Yes, of course I remember you from last year. How was your winter?" I said, grinning at him.

He scowled. "Aww, lousy, but it's awesome to be back here. I wanted to ask what cabin are you in this year, I wanna make sure I'm in it."

It was always nice to know the campers liked me enough to want to be in my cabin again. All year, my cabin had always filled up first, actually. "I'm in cabin eight with Steve this year, Rory." I declared, grinning at him. "You better get in line quick though, I think it's almost full already."

The skunk nodded. "Yipes. Yeah. Thanks for tellin' me! Wish me luck... I hope there's still a bunk left." He said and scampered off, his tail flicking smoothly from side to side. He had a graceful step, and I remembered that despite his small size he was excellent in sports, with balance and poise coupled with flat out speed that made him the best at just about everything. Despite that, he had very little interest in sports and generally had to be begged and cajoled into participating in them by the other boys. He preferred to go tubing on the river, or canoeing, or tenting out in the woods eating hobo dinners instead of playing basketball or volleyball.

I also remembered his cuteness had made him extremely popular with the girls, and it was not uncommon to see him walking around with two or three of them hanging on him, which had always seemed to annoy him. "I just wanna have fun, not worry about dating and junk. That's not why I'm here." He'd told me when asked about it. I'd complemented him because I thought that was a very mature attitude to take.

He'd always been well-behaved, and had always wanted to help me on any project he could throughout the week. A good kid, and I hoped there was still a bunk available for him. I watched him get into the registration line, waiting impatiently. Several times he looked back at me, and I happened to be looking at him, which made him grin from ear to ear. I smiled back at him.

I forgot about him for a moment as the camp director, Dave, stepped out of the lodge and talked with the counselors who were standing around, me included, about some last minute changes and a meeting later this evening. By the time he was done talking and I turned back around, I found Rory standing there looking like road-kill. His tail was drooping and his ears were sagging down to the ground. "Hey pal, what's wrong?" I said, instantly concerned.

"I didn't get here soon enough, your cabin is already full." He groaned despondently. "I'm in cabin seven."

I smiled at him, trying to cheer him up. "Hey, it's no biggie, Rory. I know the counselors in cabin seven... Andy and Jeff are both really cool!"

Not looking the least bit mollified, he moaned "I wanted to be in your cabin. I had so much fun last year..."

"Welllll, I'll still be around the camp, it's not like you'll never see me or something, ya know?" I pointed out.

Shaking his head, he whimpered. "Yeah, but if I'm not in your cabin, I don't get to do anything with you. All the activities are by cabin with the cabin's counselors. I'll see you at meals and that's it. I been waitin' all year for this."

He looked incredibly heart-broken over it as he slumped off towards his cabin to find a bunk. I was truly touched, honestly, that he had enjoyed my cabin so much last year. It was flattering to know that he'd had that much fun. Oh well, nothing much to be done about it now.

* * *

I'd more or less forgotten about Rory until dinner time. While I carried my tray of food over to the cabin eight table, I noticed him sitting alone and forlorn at the seven table, picking listlessly at his food. I just stared at him, realizing he was acting like his whole week was ruined for him. What he'd said at the end there, about waiting all year for this, especially hit me.

I thought about it while I ate with my kids, then somewhere part way through desert made my decision. I went over to where the director, Dave, was sitting with his family and tapped his shoulder. He looked up at me and smiled. "Hi Phil! Need something?"

I glanced about. "Just a minute of your time if I could ask you to step outside quick."

He nodded and stood up, leading me out of the dining hall doors. Outside, he turned around and said "What's up?"

"I've got a problem. One of the campers, Rory, that skunk sitting at table seven, was one of my campers last year and apparently really had fun in my cabin. He came up and asked where I would be just so he could be in my cabin again. Turns out it was already full, which really made him feel... well, look at him."

Dave glanced through the window at the small skunk, sitting alone and droopy at his table while the other boys talked and laughed around him. "That's a shame, but I don't know what we can do about it." He said.

Sighing, I lowered my voice a bit more. "He even said he'd been waiting all year to be in my cabin again. Look, I know it's against the rules, but would you be willing to let me add him to our cabin? I really feel sorry for him, if he had his heart set that much."

Shrugging, Dave said "All your bunks are full, aren't they? You know the policy is that we can't let the campers trade cabins, they're supposed to stay where they are assigned or we'd have chaos."

Silent for a minute, I looked in the dining hall again, then softly said "We could keep it quiet. He could sleep in the bunk above mine."

Having been looking through the window as I had been, Dave turned around, surprised. "Phil, that top bunk is for you to spread your belongings out on, since you have to be here all summer, you need more space than the campers. What would you do with all your stuff?"

I shrugged. "I can make due. Heck, I can dump some of the stuff I don't use much in my car for the week. It's not a problem." He sighed and shook his head, but didn't respond. I added "Please boss. I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was really, really important to him and was going to wreck his week."

Thinking about it for a couple of minutes, he turned to me and lowered his voice. "OK, I'll let you do it. Pull him out right now while all the other kids are eating and have him move his stuff. With any luck, nobody will notice that he's moved. I don't want to start an epidemic of kids asking to be moved around, OK?"

Grinning, I nodded. "Absolutely. Thanks, Dave. You just made that kid's week."

"Tell him to keep it to himself, too! I'll tell the cabin seven councilors." He said in a lowered voice.

Flashing the thumbs up, I headed back into the dining hall and over to the cabin seven table, where the skunk was rolling peas around his tray with his fork. "Rory? C'mere." I said.

He looked up sharply at me and nodded listlessly. I led him out the door and headed for the cabins. "You look awfully sad for a camper on his first night here." I noted noncommittally.

"Yes sir. I... I'm sorry." He said, trying to straighten up and smile.

Scratching my chin, I thoughtfully said "Is there any reason for this melancholy?"

Looking at me dully, he said "No sir."

"Rory, you can tell me, pal."

Swallowing, with his voice a little shaky, he said sadly, "I already told you, I really wanted to be in your cabin. It's the only reason I wanted to come back this year."

I reined him up in front of the cabin seven door. "So your week is wrecked 'cause of that?"

He didn't answer, just looked at his toes, wiggling them through his flip-flops. I patted his shoulder. "Go grab your stuff and come over to my cabin, then."

His white-striped head shot up and he stared in total shock. I grinned back at him with a wink. "Really???" He yelped loudly.

"On one condition: this is against camp rules, so I had to pull some strings to make it happen. Can you keep it totally quiet from the other kids? Otherwise a bunch of them might start begging to change cabins."

He looked absolutely overjoyed. "You bet! Aww man, thank you thank you thank you, Phil!"

"No problem. Go grab all your stuff while I make a spot for you in my cabin." I couldn't help but smile, he looked so ecstatic.

I had just enough time to throw most of my junk into my second suitcase when he eagerly scampered in. "Where'm I gonna bunk?" He asked breathlessly as he trotted up to me.

Indicating the top of my bunk, I told him "Up here. Let me just finish clearing off the rest of my stuff and you can move in."

"Really??" He squeaked, floored. "I get to sleep above you?? I thought that bunk is for you to store stuff on!"

Nodding, I lowered my voice. "Yeah it is, but I'll throw my stuff in my car so you can be in here."

He swallowed thickly and stared at me wide-eyed while I finished clearing off my stuff. Finished, I turned around and a ball of black fur with white stripes suddenly attached itself to me in a furious hug. "Oh Phil, thank you so much! I even get to bunk with you! You're the coolest guy I've ever met... I love you!" He cried through gritted teeth, his voice shaking with emotion.

It was odd to be touched like this by a camper, but I didn't think too much about it, other than feeling how he was pressing his whole body against me, squeezing me tight and nuzzling my neck. I held his shoulder and patted his back, chuckling. He held me long enough that it started to get uncomfortable; his lithe body so close, the scent of his fur... then he pulled back and beamed up at me, his face shining with gratitude.

"Thank you, Phil!" He wavered.

"You're welcome, Rory. Just remember, keep it quiet. We can't let campers change cabins, so if it comes out, you'll probably have to go back to cabin seven in the interest of fairness."

Shaking his head frantically, he fervently stated "No way I'll tell a soul! I'll say I got mixed up or something if anyone asks, I promise! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. C'mon, let's get back to the dining hall before song time starts.

* * *

Nobody noticed the switch, and Rory was now part of our cabin. The repeat campers remembered him as we went around the room introducing ourselves. They were eager to have the all-star sports player in their cabin. The skunk blushed at that and muttered "I'm up here to goof off and relax, not play sports, guys."

"Aww c'mon, Rory!" A youth named Kim exclaimed. He was one of the 'cool kids' and was a natural leader, and was already asserting himself as he put pressure on his co-camper. "You guys gotta see him move. He's like lightning! He runs faster'n anybody I've ever seen!"

"He's really small though." Another kid named Matt noted skeptically.

"He can dunk. Like, easily, too." Kim proudly declared.

There were whispers of surprise and awe around the room. Looking uncomfortable, Rory spoke up again. "I don't really wanna play sports, though. I'll play during activities, but during free time and stuff I just wanna hang out." When he said that, he stared directly and lingeringly at me in a way that oddly made me blush.

Kim shook his head, looking pleadingly at the skunk. "Aww c'mon, man! You gotta play with us! We'll dominate the other cabins with you on our team! Come with us and play some this evening!"

I spoke up. "Go ahead, Rory. There won't be much else going on around the camp this evening, and all the counselors have got a quick meeting with the director during evening free time."

At that news, he reluctantly said "Wellll, alright. Let's establish our dominance!" He looked pleased with the attention as the other boys in the cabin gave him high-fives.

My cabin did just that, and when they came back from free time they were all excitedly talking about Rory's skill with a ball. We got everybody ready for bed and calmed down, then had devotions before calling it a night, lights out at ten. In all, a fairly good start to the final week of camp.

Monday

At the sound of reveille Steve and I got our cabin up, figured out our cabin motto, (Strength in numbers, hope in One...) cleaned up, and headed for breakfast. There was another free time, and after that was morning chapel, then Bible reading followed by quiet time. Rory was pretty much joined at the hip to me all morning. Even during Bible reading and quiet time he wanted to sit with me, even though we were supposed to find a private spot somewhere on the grounds to do it. I insisted he sit at least a few feet from me to uphold the rules. I hoped I hadn't made a mistake by letting him into my cabin. The kid was crazy glue.

I remembered last year the other boys had usually managed to drag him up to the basketball or volleyball courts nearly every free time there was, reluctant or not. This year, he flat-out refused to do it unless I did, insisting that he just wasn't interested. If I went up though, then he would go and show off his skills, overshadowing every other team.

After lunch, it was all-camp activities time, which was monster ball, followed by another free time. Deciding to make the best of the situation I got Rory to go out on a sailboat with me, as there was a nice brisk breeze blowing across the lake. Like everything physical, he was a natural at it and we were soon racing up and down the lake nearly as fast as a motorboat.

I could tell he loved it and was having a blast, letting out whoops as the wind shot us like an arrow across the lake. As we worked our way back across the lake for another run with the wind, he suddenly asked "You got a girlfriend, Phil?"

"Naw. How 'bout you?" I replied. Normally I wouldn't want to talk to a camper about something like that, but I thought perhaps he was going somewhere with it and I needed to bond with him.

"Naw." He replied and was silent. We turned around until we were with the wind and deployed the sail. The little boat picked up speed and we leaned hard to keep it afloat as we sped towards the opposite shore, carving through the water like a knife.

We drew it in at the last minute before we crashed into the sandy shore and, laughing and whistling, turned to head back up the lake. Progress was slower going this direction. "You got a boyfriend?" He asked very quietly.

I blinked in surprise at that, and for a moment was stunned into silence. "Th... thats a sin, Rory." I replied after a pause.

"Oh. Sure." He grunted blankly, betraying nothing. Perhaps if I'd been smarter, I would have put two and two together at that point, figuring out what he was talking about, what he meant by the question. Feeling uncomfortable about it though, I pushed the question from my mind and we went back to sailing, this time circling the lake and trying to maintain our speed.

As we passed by the camp, I saw everyone heading for the dining hall. "Oops, looks like free time is over and the dinner bell rang. I'm starving, how 'bout you?" I said, turning our boat towards shore.

Looking none too pleased, Rory muttered "Yeah, I guess. This was really fun, ya know? I've never gotten to sail before. Can we go out again tomorrow, Phil?" He asked breathlessly.

I smiled at him. "Sure Rory, I had lots of fun too. You really picked it up quick and we made a great team."

Blinking up at me with his large brown eyes, he smiled. "Thank you! You're the greatest, Phil."

* * *

After dinner was another short free time followed by evening chapel. After that was evening activities, which ended up being go-carting today. As typical for him, Rory won the tournament, beating out all the other campers with perfect racing lines and clever tactics. He was now drawing the attention of the girl campers as I remembered he had last year, and again seemed annoyed by it. A lovely long-hair collie was all over him after he won the go-carting race. He was polite and friendly to her, but I could see when she wasn't looking he grimaced and tried to sneak away from her over to where I was standing.

He seemed relieved when we got back to the camp and split up to our cabins. We had evening devotions, then tried to get all the guys to calm down enough to go to sleep. Several of the seniors were again working on Rory, begging him to join them tomorrow for basketball; it sounded like they hadn't fared well after he left. He kept staunchly refusing, repeating that he was just here to have fun, not play sports every second of every day.

At last with everyone asleep or at least quiet, I left Steve in charge and slipped out to patrol the campground for couples trying to sneak off to make out. We split up this task, with one of the female and one of the male counselors working each night in a rotation. I was paired with Julie, a cute Persian feline counselor. "Hi Phil! Ready to make the rounds?" She said happily.

Holding up my flashlight and nodding, I said "You betcha. Although we never find anybody except on the last day of camp, so this is usually a waste of time."

Giggling, she said "Yeah, but it's what we're paid to do! I'll take the waterfront, you check the forest, k?"

The lake that the camp was built on was deep in a basin that rose up on all sides. That meant that the camp was basically built on a huge, gentle hill that rose up all the way to the edge of the property and the road beyond. It was a lovely spot, with lots of trees that made it feel secluded and magical. I walked along the back of the property, high up by the road, trying to be as quiet as I could and look for movement with my flashlight off.

I envied Julie. She'd had no flashlight because she didn't need it, and she could move like a ghost through the campground making nary a sound. In fact, as it neared one o'clock a.m., which was time to quit and go to bed, she snuck up behind me and pounced on me, scaring me half to death and making me yell.

"Gosh, Julie! What was that for!?" I yelped as she helped me back up.

"You were complaining that it's boring doing this, so I was giving you a little excitement to spruce things up!" She said, laughing.

Feeling my heart to see if there was still a pulse, I grumbled, "Yeah, thanks a lot. Now I've got to try to go get some sleep with my heart hammering in my chest."

"Aww, poor baby!" She laughed and scampered towards her cabin. "Seeya tomorrow, Phil!"

"G'night." I said, though she was already pretty much gone.

I slipped back into the cabin feeling very tired. Wakeup call was in six hours, so it was time to try and get some sleep. As I slipped into bed, Rory leaned over and softly whispered "Hey! Where'd you go?"

I jumped a little bit and looked up at him, then softly breathed "Oh, hey Rory. Did I wake you? I'm sorry. I was out looking for couples trying to sneak out and neck."

He snorted a bit in laughter and I could see in the light from the window that he was grinning at that. "Find anybody?"

Lying down and stretching, I shook my head. "Nah. It only happens ever on the last night, but we patrol every night anyway. G'night pal, seeya tomorrow."

"G'night."

Thinking about it later, I wondered if he'd actually been woken up, or if he just laid awake waiting for me.

Tuesday

We were into the thick of the week by now. Breakfast, free time, morning chapel, quiet time and Bible reading were all routine, with Rory again sticking close with me. Tuesday was cabin eight's turn to go camping, so sometime in the afternoon we'd be piling the kids into the bus and driving out to another plot of forested land the camp owned that we used for tenting out with the campers. I was very tired from being up half the night, and was making preparations for the trip somewhat on autopilot. At a request from Rory, I managed to find time to go out with the eager skunk for another turn at sailing.

Today was fairly windy, and with a powerful gust we were suddenly cruising at a terrific speed, enough to outrun many motorboats. "Yeaahooo!" Rory shouted as we held on to the sail for dear life, leaning all the way over to try and keep the boat from tipping over. His beautiful black fur shimmered in the sparkling sun, blowing every which way with the stout breezes that were propelling us across the water.

We sailed around the lake quite a few times, having a blast doing it. It was relaxing out here, just the wind and the sound of the sail coupled with the splash of water as our little boat cut through the waves. In spite of the activity, I became a little drowsy.

That was a mistake. I had my eyes closed and didn't realize the wind was grabbing us wrong until the boat lurched crazily and overturned, sending us flying into the water. I came up incredibly embarrassed, but Rory bobbed to the surface, laughing in delight. "Aww man! I'm sorry! I let my guard down!" I said as we paddled for the upside-down boat.

Still laughing, he shook his head. "That was awesome! The boat like, threw us ten feet through the air! Now we can say we took a spill while sailing... it was worth it!" He finished, rolling over on his back and putting his paws on his life preserver, paddling with his feet and tail.

"I'm still sorry. We'd made clean runs 'till then. I was getting dozy from being up all night last night." I apologetically mumbled.

"Ah, don't worry about it. It was fun!" Was his relaxed reply.

We made it to the boat and I showed him how to arrest the sail and flip it back over. We drained the water out and I glanced at my watch. "Whoops, we gotta make for shore. We're supposed to leave for our camping trip in a little while. Rats! Sorry to end the day off so stupidly, Rory... I hope nobody saw that."

We sailed back to the docks and stowed the boat, then headed for our cabin to shower up before we had to leave. He was still gleeful that we'd spilled and was talking about it happily as we grabbed clean clothes and squished wetly into the bathroom of the cabin.

We jumped into the cabin's single shower and started to clean up. I was busy with myself, so I didn't notice Rory stealing glances at my naked body, nor did I notice him getting erect as he watched me. As we toweled off, he suddenly blurted out "Thanks again for getting me into your cabin, Phil. This is so fun!"

"Ha! No problem, I'm havin' fun too, pal!" I said, genuinely meaning it. Rory was a nice kid, and his sleek black fur was very hypnotic to watch sometimes. He shimmered and glistened when he moved with his usual grace and poise. I secretly wished I knew a skunk girl just like him... that fur was sexy.

* * *

We cleaned up just in time and got our stuff packed to go camping. The camp director drove the camp's old bus, taking us out to the land and dropping us off with several coolers of supplies, then Steve and I were on our own with the boys. We set up the tents and got a fire going, and the campers immediately discovered the sand-lot volleyball court and wanted to play. Steve and I captained the two teams and started the game.

I was distracted for a bit and only when we were partway into the game did I look for the familiar shiny black fur and realize that Rory hadn't joined either team. I looked around and saw him sitting by himself by the fire, which was strange, as he usually joined in the sports if I did. "Bill, take over as captain, I'm gonna make sure Rory's OK." I said.

Bill, a mutt of indeterminate origin, looked over at Rory and shook his head. "Aww, who cares, man? He never wants to join in any sports. We're winning, Phil! You leave now we might lose!"

"I'll try to be right back. Hold the fort, Bill!" I climbed out of the sand pit and put on my flip-flops, making for where Rori was sitting.

As I neared, I saw he had a long stick and was poking at the fire while sitting well back from it, since the day was warm. He looked a little troubled about something, so as I came up behind him, I called out "Hey Rory? You doing OK, pal?"

He looked up at me and smiled his giant, cute smile, clearly very pleased to see me. "Hi Phil! Yeah, I'm OK..."

Plopping down next to him on the log, I grabbed another long stick and joined him poking the fire. "Doncha wanna join the volleyball?"

"Naw."

"How come?"

"I'm just thinkin' about some stuff... and more directly, I don't like playing in sand, frankly. It gets hopelessly lodged in my fur and takes literally weeks to come out, no matter how hard I scrub and rinse."

That was the first I'd ever heard of that. "Oh really?" I looked up at Bill and the other furs, all playing barepawed in the sand. "Doesn't look like it does that to any of the other boys with fur..."

He gave me a bit of a pained look. "They must just not care about it. I take pride in how I look, and I like my fur to be shiny and clean."

Not sure what to say to that, I hazarded "Well, you do have very nice fur..."

He looked up at me with large eyes and stared, only looking away when I became conscious of it and looked back at him. He looked then at the fire and didn't say anything. After a bit more silence, I said "Well, you ever been back into the land and found the artesian well?"

Looking up at me as I stood up, he said "Huh? No. What's that?"

I offered a hand and hauled him to his feet. "An artesian well is a spot where the ground water pushes up through the earth and bubbles out. It's unbelievably cold, naturally clean-filtered, delicious water that tastes better than any soda-pop you've ever had."

Falling into step beside me, he sounded dubious. "I've had bottled artesian water before... it wasn't that great."

It made me chuckle. "No, trust me, that's not the same. It loses all of its flavor when they bottle it. They might as well bottle toilet water and call it artesian, it tastes so different. C'mon, I'll show you the secret place where it is."

We walked down the trail that had been cut to give access to the river for tubing and canoeing. As we neared the riverbank, the thick forest turned to pines, which were easy to travel through with no undergrowth, and I led him off the camp's river path towards a small hill. We picked our way through the exposed roots of the massive old pines and made our way over the hill into a tiny basin right at the river's edge. There was a small pool of water, bubbling up through the ground and feeding into the river.

I hunkered down and drank straight from it, while he watched, still looking dubious. It was so cold it burned, and tasted sweet and addicting as only fresh artesian water can taste. I drank and drank, unable to stop it was so good. At last I pulled back, wiping my mouth. "Doncha wanna try some?"

He wrinkled his black nose a little. "Is it safe? Can we get sick from it?"

"No way. It's filtered up through the ground and is incredibly pure. It's perfectly safe, trust me. I drink from here every chance I get."

Carefully he knelt down in the pine needles and touched his muzzle to the water, taking a single lick. "Oh!" He said and began to guzzle as eagerly as I had at the perfect water.

"Toldja it's nothing like the bottled junk. Awesome, huh?" I said, sitting back on the embankment. From here we were hidden from the path, from all potential interruptions from anywhere except the river, gurgling gently along next to us.

"Mmmhmm!" He enthused without breaking his drink. He drank for even longer than I had, at last pulling back and licking his glossy black lips with his cute pink tongue. "Wow! I've been a camper here since I was a kid and never knew about this spot!" He enthused. "How did you find it?"

"When I was young I was a camper here just like you are. My seventh grade year, my counselor took me out and showed it to me, just like I'm showing it to you. Not many people know about it and I kinda always wanted to keep it that way, so it doesn't get wrecked or something. You're the first camper I've showed it to, in fact."

He looked at me wide-eyed, then suddenly dove on me and hugged me furiously tight. I laughed and patted his back, giving him a friendly hug back. He lingered for a moment, until it was almost getting uncomfortable, then reluctantly pulled back.

We sat watching the water bubble up from beneath the ground for a while before he softly spoke. "Phil? Can I get some advice from you, and have you promise, promise, promise you won't tell another soul on the planet?"

I leaned forward and looked at him, trying to read his face, but he looked impassive. The breeze caused a faint hiss through the pines overhead as I responded. "Of course I promise. I am your counselor, so I can try to help, but I don't know everything, so I can't guarantee success. I can sure pray about it with you though, no matter what it is."

He nodded, and for a kid who seemed to love staring at me, he was sure having trouble meeting my eyes right now. "Umm, OK. Let's hypothetically just say that I've got someone who's really, really special to me, who I think the world of and am in love with. This person is so awesome, so perfect, super cute and capable, but is also so sweet and giving and treats me so well I just feel special all the time we're together..." He paused, breathing heavily with apparent emotions.

I tried to imagine which girl it was. He didn't seem to be gravitating towards any of them that I could see. Perhaps she wasn't at the camp... yes, that was it. "That's awesome! But I take it there's more to the story? Does she not even know you exist?" I asked.

Scratching an ear, he nodded again. "Exactly. She doesn't even know I exist. I mean, we're good friends, at least I'd like to think we are, but she just doesn't look at me that way in the slightest. The thing is, I don't know if it's because she thinks of me like a kid brother and would have no interest, or if it's just that she doesn't really understand how I feel and is missing it totally. I feel so lost and confused. What do you think I should do about it?"

"Does she have a boyfriend already?" I asked.

"Nope. Nobody."

Inwardly, I sighed. I was no kind of relationship guidance counselor... I had no experience there myself and was always shy around women I was interested in. How in the world should I help him? "Well, that's a hard situation, I guess. First off, I'd pray about it... Not that God's gonna go and bash her over the head with a rock and she'll wake up loving you or something, but it can give you peace about it. Second, I guess this is just my personality, but I feel like it isn't worth living in torment over something like that."

"My suggestion to you would be to sit her down in private and seriously tell her how you feel. I mean, don't lay it on thick or anything, but just tell her 'I like you and think you're special. Would you like to go out on a date?' you can figure out exactly how you want to say it, but somewhere around there." I reached down into the water and idly splashed it a bit, dripping some of it on my face. "I'm not a huge ladies man, so maybe that isn't the best way, but it is direct and honest."

Looking up at him, I said "Now you better not expect her to instantly jump on you, 'cause that isn't going to happen unless she has strong feelings for you already. It may be she'll say she has to think about it and go away for a week before responding. After that, there's still the chance she'll say 'no.' But there's also the chance she'll say 'yes,' right?"

He folded his paws in his lap and wiggled his toes again. "If I know her, I'll have my response immediately. But... I feel... if she rejects me I'll die. I don't know if I can live without her, I really don't. I've not thought of anything else since I first met her."

That was always a hard thing for everybody in situations like this. I reached out and put my hand on his fuzzy shoulder. "Rory, I know there's always that possibility, but my feeling is that the potential for a rejection is better than living day after day not knowing, feeling sick and bitter about it, rotting through and through inside because you can't get up the nerve to say what you feel. If she rejects you, it'll hurt really, really badly, but at the end of it you'll be able to heal and move on. To just sit here on the outside looking in seems worse to me. Worse still, it seems like you'll inevitably lose her that way because she'll move on while you pine away."

We were silent for a moment, then he slowly nodded. "You're right. I've been miserable all year over this, I should find closure, one way or the other, huh? I can't imagine it will end well, but I'll have peace then."

I chuckled. "Don't be so pessimistic, Rory! All the girls love you, you know? You're so good at everything you do, I can't imagine she won't be really flattered by it. You're very cute too, you know."

He blushed and looked away from me for a moment. "That's so shallow. I don't want somebody who likes me because of stupid stuff like that. When I'm eighty years old, she isn't going to be impressed anymore that once upon a time I could dunk a dumb basketball. I want a real relationship that will stand the test of time, and that's why I love her so much, because I think she sees me as more than sports, and isn't really impressed by that part of me at all. She's my friend just 'cause I'm me." He drew a shuddering sigh, which made me put my arm around him.

"Pal, that is a remarkably mature, wise attitude to take about it. You're so special, Rory, and I'll be the first one to say she's an idiot if she rejects you. She couldn't find a better boyfriend than you, and I mean that."

He shifted his weight uncomfortably and looked at his paws. "You're so nice to me, Phil. You're absolutely right, I'm gonna just get it over with. 'I like you and think you're special. Would you like to go out on a date?'"

I nodded and smiled. "Something like that, exactly. You might figure out a way to say it in your own words, but don't think about it too long and hard. That's what I'd always do when I was your age; rehearse what I'd say over and over and over again until by the time I'd say it the whole thing would be so forced and stilted the girl would practically run screaming from me. Remember Anakin in Star Wars: Episode Two? When he was in front of the fire? That was totally me. I thought that movie was brilliant because of how much he sounded like an unsure, self-conscious kid who'd rehearsed his speech a million times, just like me."

He nodded, his left eye twitching a bit in annoyance. "Yeah, I know it does. 'I like you and think you're special. Would you like to go out on a date?'"

Laughing, I grinned. "You got the idea, bud." I checked my watch and realized we'd been gone for quite a while. Steve would be working on preparing the Hobo-dinners before too much longer. "Whoops, we better get back to camp or we'll miss supper!" I started to clamber to my feet.

Suddenly I felt my shirt tug back, throwing me off in my precarious balance and making me flop back onto the soft pine-needle embankment. Rory had grabbed my shirt and yanked me backwards on the bank. "You aren't listening!" He said crossly, still not looking at me, though his brow was furrowed.

Trying to comprehend what he meant, I asked "What? Did I miss something else you wanted to talk about?"

He rolled over and gracefully vaulted over me landing on all fours above me, pushing my head back into the soft mat of pine needles. He narrowed his eyes and moved so close I could smell his sweet breath. "I like you and think you're special. Would you please go out on a date with me, Phil?" With that, he turned his head ninety degrees to mine and pressed his muzzle to my lips, deeply kissing me. I felt his warm, silky pink tongue slip into my mouth and swirl around, exploring me and my stunned, wide open lips.

I froze, my brain completely unable to deal with what was happening to me. A gust of wind blew up, making his glossy black fur shimmer. It was cool, blowing off the nearby river, and I shivered a bit. The temperature was dropping as if it was going to storm. Sweetly, he curled his thick, coarse furry tail against me, shielding me from the wind with its warmth. I felt his fingers travel over my body, caressing and exploring me in ever more intimate ways.

At last I pulled it together enough to reach up and grab his shoulders, firmly pushing him away. His lips separated from mine with a smack. "Ohhhhhhhhhh gosh. Rory, what are you doing? Are you joking?"

He looked at me with deep longing. "No, of course I'm not kidding about this. I'm so in love with you, Phil, I can't hardly breathe when I'm around you. I'm in agony over you."

I swallowed the sweet taste of him out of my mouth. "You're quoting Star Wars, now?"

His large, sexy eyes grew heavy lidded and he began to swirl his hips around. "Sure. You brought it up." He whispered. I felt his soft paw move down to my pants and begin to stroke my cock delicately. Slowly his touch became more firm until he was working my crotch intensely with a gentle yet insistent paw.

"G...Good gosh! Rory, cut it out! This isn't good! You can't... I shouldn't... I don't want..." For some reason I couldn't finish my thoughts.

He touched his delicate finger to my lips "Shhh. Yes I can, and yes you should. And more than anything else, yes you do want it, or at least, that's what this is telling me." He pointed down and I realized I was sporting a massive hard-on. I stared in shock, feeling like my own body was rebelling against me.

He reached up and whisked my shirt off, then pressed his warm, soft, furry body in close. It was tickly and oddly comforting to feel his furkind body pressing against mine. I could smell his natural scent, spicy and appealing to me. He was so cute, and as I watched him throw my shirt away from us, I deep down thought he was amazingly sexy. I shivered again, but I wasn't sure it was from the cold, even with my shirt off.

Seeing it, he pressed himself close again and wrapped his tail around me too, enveloping me in a warm cocoon of his silky fur. "Phil, I know you think being gay is bad, but... I've always been in love with you since the moment I first saw you last year. It was like a bolt of lightning that just about knocked me over when I first saw you. I truly do care for you and would do anything in the world to make you happy. You are so sweet and make me feel so special. I... don't have any friends really, here or at home or at school. My best friend was my older brother, and when my parents got divorced, my Dad took him and ran away, and I've never seen either of 'em since."

Tears formed in his eyes as he spilled his guts to me. Cuddled into his warm fur, I just lay there and listened. "Since then I have real trouble reaching out to people. I'm always popular because I'm good at sports, but I know that is shallow and stupid, and I'd be an outcast if I wasn't, so I don't consider a single one of them to be real friends. I feel like I can see right through the airs people put on and see their hearts, and how empty they are... devoid of caring for anyone but themselves."

Wiping tears out of his eyes, the little skunk pressed on. "But you are so different from most people! I can see that you care for me, Phillip, and that you are a sweet person. Can't you just give me a chance to prove that I'm OK? That maybe you could even love me back?"

Barely able to find my voice when he at last allowed me to speak, I managed "Rory, it's wrong! It's a sin!"

His eyes burned holes right through me as he pleaded frantically with me. "But whyyyy? Why is it OK to be in love with a girl but not a boy? Why is it wrong to have feelings for someone just because they're the same gender? Don't you think we can care for each other just as deeply? Don't you think we can be just as good friends? If you come home from work and your lover greets you at the door with a kiss and asks how your day was, hugging you and comforting you after a hard day, why does it matter if they're a boy or a girl?"

I couldn't think of one single thing to say to refute any of that. I stared at him, working my jaw but making no noise. He reached down a paw and resumed playing with my cock through my pants. "Please give me a chance Phil. Don't you like doin' stuff with me? I always have so much fun talking and laughing and living with you close, I'd like to think you feel the same way. At least, it feels like you have fun when we're together." He looked at me hopefully.

"I do... I mean, I don't... I... do..." I whispered and fell silent again, just staring at him. My brain felt like it was covered in tar. Part of me was horrified, but part of me was flattered and feeling very strong feelings for him. His body was sexy, and he was so graceful and shapely, part of me was burning on fire with kinky lust at the thought of the kiss he'd given me. It had tasted far sweeter than any girl had ever tasted to me... or rather, the one time that I'd actually kissed a girl...

He pulled off his shirt, revealing his white chest fur and black back with two lovely white stripes passing along it. He wasn't done there, though. He undid his pants and squirmed his round, masculine hips out of them and freed his penis for me to see. He was hard and throbbing, and looked unbelievably luscious in frightening ways that I'd never felt before.

"Can I show you, Phillip?" He whispered, hooking his paws into my zipper and snap.

I almost sobbed as I spoke. "I can't! I'd lose my job, and be in such huge trouble with everyone I've ever known!"

"Only if they know, baby; only if they know." He murred to me. "Let me show you, and if you really don't like it, I swear to you I'll stop if you ask me to." He caught my face in his paws. "I love you, Phillip. I would die for you. You are all I have in this world, and all I ever want. I need you so much." He again deeply kissed me, and while I didn't participate in the kiss, I didn't push him away this time.

Somehow he'd undone my pants, and now pulled my throbbing penis free of my clothes. He slid down and looked up at me for confirmation, and when I didn't resist or say no, he groaned happily and leaned down, kissing my dick. I felt delicate, furry lips trace my throbbing, silky skin, then his wet, warm tongue slid along it, so slippery and exquisite.

The feeling was indescribable to a virgin like me. I felt wild emotions raging over me the likes of which I'd never, ever felt before. I was shivering in equal parts of fear and raging desire. His touch was truly the most delicious thing I'd ever felt. Oh, he was SO cute.

He licked up and down the underside of my shaft, never taking his eyes away from mine. With gentle nibbles he went around the tip, stimulating the sensitive glans and making me almost scream with the intensity of it. He lifted it up and pressed it to my stomach then, and drew his tongue over my balls, slurping them into his mouth gently, then sucking down, rubbing his rough taste buds all over everywhere. I got goose bumps it felt so amazing.

"Mmm! You taste really sexy, Phillip." He cooed gently. "Tell me what you think? Does it feel good? Do you like it? Do you like me touching you? Can you give me a chance to show you more, so much more?"

I was confused and frightened. I didn't know how to respond to him, to his gentle touch, to his soft, silky fur. He was so cute and sweet, and suddenly I realized how he'd been trying to seduce me since arriving Sunday. I almost wished I'd just left him in cabin seven instead of giving him the all clear signal by inviting him into mine.

Seeing me still frozen, he apparently decided I needed more persuasion. His eyes twinkled and he gently began to lap at my glans like an ice cream cone. My body tensed, but I welcomed the exotic, exquisite feel of his wet tongue as he began again to lick me. "Rory... it's so wrong..." I whispered.

"What makes it wrong?" He confidently whispered back in between licks. "Is it wrong to love each other? Is it wrong to give each other pleasure and company? Phillip, my life sucks. The only thing that kept me going this year was thoughts of you. Please don't push me away simply because we're both boys, that's just stupid. Let me into your heart and I'll give my all to make you as happy as you make me."

The words he kept saying were confusing me more and more because they were wonderfully appealing. They sounded right all of a sudden, but I'd been taught this was simply horrible and terribly wrong. It was a dichotomy of word and deed that I was wrestling with in my mind. Suddenly all my thoughts froze as he took my penis in his paw, working my balls with the other. He opened his mouth and began to slowly, maddeningly-slowly suck my throbbing cock into his warm, wet, silky muzzle.

I could feel the roughness of his taste buds, the sleekness of his soft palate, every millimeter of his warm mouth as he slowly slurped me into his muzzle. Every muscle in my body tensed up, and I curled almost into a fetal position around him. I gripped his fuzzy head in my hands, wanting to pull him off but instead pulling him deeper. "Aaaa....aaaaaaa! AaaaAAAAAAA!!! Rori!" I shrieked as he slid the last inch in and had me balls-deep in his luscious mouth.

He hummed a low pitch, adding the luscious vibration to his already potent sucking. I squirmed in ecstasy, causing him to gag on the iron hard rod pushed deep in his throat. The muscle convulsion blew every capillary in my brain and just about knocked me out cold with pleasure. I wanted to tell him how good it felt, but I only managed an incoherent gurgling sound.

He pulled back, tears streaming from the gag reflex, grinning up at me. He reached a delicate paw up to my cheek and stroked it. "I love you soooo much, Phillip. I would do anything to make you happy, absolutely anything. You're the only dream I've ever had for myself. You're my whole life."

His words were perfectly gauged to make me freeze in indecision, to make me want to acquiesce because of his intense devotion and need. He was a manipulative little dickens, whether he meant to be or not. All I could do was stare down at him in mute horror and fascination.

Still receiving no negative reaction, he sucked my cock back into his mouth and began to give me a full-on blowjob. My cock was swollen tight, a lattice of beautiful veins covering the sides and top. The head was swollen until the skin was stretched so tight it was shiny, and my balls were tightened and screaming for release. I'd never felt so horny in my life. Being here at a Bible camp, working with kids day and night, I obviously never had any time to masturbate, so I was incredibly charged up from all summer of no relief.

Not only that, I tried to be a good Christian kid, so I'd never had sex before, and my first experience was blowing my poor mind. I was horrified and electrified as his rhythm began to increase, and he began to gurgle and choke a bit, ramming his mouth down repeatedly on my cock. Tears dripped down my cheeks. They were tears of fear, but also of intense emotions, confusing feelings of desire for a very sexy young male.

I stroked my fingers through the soft fur on the top of his head, tracing the white lines down his neck and scratching behind his ears. He gave a delighted coo at my physical acceptance of him and gave me an amazingly loving look, considering he didn't break the rhythm of his blowjob to do it. He looked overjoyed that I was responding to him. He drew his paws up my chest and stroked me, tweeking my nipples and tracing his fingers over the contours of my body, using just a tiny bit of his claws to add a delicate scratching feeling to the touch. Goose bumps made me shiver in delight as he touched me as a lover.

I stared down at his body, suddenly feeling crashing waves of lust for him. He was so very cute and sexy, and this was the kinkiest thing in the whole world, all of a sudden. He was laying on his side while he sucked me off, letting me see both the shape of his masculine hips, and the phallic beauty of his erect, throbbing pink cock. He had his legs spread out wide, one laying on the ground and the other held high in the sky to further expose his sex to me.

I gulped as I stared. He wanted me to see him; he wanted to make me desire him... and it was working. Boy-oh-boy was it working. "Rori... it feels... it feels really good..." I moaned.

He nodded a bit and again mumbled "MmmmHmm!" through his mouthful. He grabbed my hips firmly in his hands and began to go full speed then, sucking down hard every couple of dives, making me twitch and spasm each time he did it. I arched my back. The pleasure was reaching crescendo, and I was not only powerless to resist him, I was desperate for more.

"I... I'm gonna cum Rory! I can't! Ohhhhhhh. Ah! AHGNNNNnnmmmm!" I wailed as I felt like I was crashing into a brick wall. I lurched and humped involuntarily, pumping my cock deep into him, making him gag. I sprayed a thick shot of semen right down his throat, which made him gag even harder, and afterwards he pulled back and grabbed my penis in his hand and started working me frantically while licking and sucking just the swollen tip. I shot an impressive amount of cum into his mouth; months of pent up drive, all emptying into his warm, slippery muzzle.

I could see him eagerly swallowing what I was shooting into him, though he was struggling because it was so thick. He simply gathered it in his mouth and let his cheeks puff out so he could keep it all internal and swallow it down. I squealed and shook and squirmed, gripping his head, feeling the most powerful, lovely sensation I'd ever felt in my life. I was completely in love with him right then.

He lowered his muzzle, still thickly swallowing my cum, letting several pearly-white streaks of semen squirt across his beautiful muzzle. I'd never even heard of something like that, and it was almost as horrifying as it was erotic to see him letting my cum spray on his face. "Yeah..." He groaned. "Shoot it all over me, baby." He muttered, horny.

The pleasure slowly relaxed, leaving me trembling and warm with the afterglow. He finished swallowing my semen and crawled back up, pressing his warm, tickly fur against me, warming me as the temperature continued to drop. He hugged me, wrapping an arm around my neck and the other around my back, nuzzling his face into my neck and gently beginning to lick my throat while cleaning off the streaks of cum on his face "I love you, Phillip." He whispered. "I love you so, so, so, so much."

My trembling fingers stroked down his back, feeling the incredibly soft fur that covered his slender, lithe, sexy body. I could not believe it, but I was finding him attractive. He looked so sleek, so beautiful in a masculine way, a way I'd never seen before. "Rory..." I whimpered in a trembling voice.

He squeezed me tight and gently shushed me "Sshh. I'm here, darling. Rory's here, and he loves you so much and wants to take such good care of you. Mmmmmm... your body is so incredibly sexy. I love you soft human skin and your lovely fingers and toes. You've got the most luscious ass I've ever seen, too."

It was wonderful, and yet my face burned with fright, and I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle and stand up in horror. How could I possibly both love and hate what had just happened? Yet that was how I felt.

I was at an impasse, but in the end a glance at my watch revealed we were probably missing dinner. "Please... please let me go... we're missing dinner and I'll get in trouble." I moaned.

Tenderly, he rolled off of me. "OK, let's get back." He stared lovingly at me the whole time we dressed, but I couldn't look at him. I couldn't even look anywhere near him. I hung my head in shame.

We walked back up the path, and I felt like my life was over. I'd succumbed to temptation, I felt I'd sinned, I felt wretched. As if he could read my mind, he leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek. "It's OK, sweetheart. How could something that sweet and gentle and loving be wrong? You've been programed to think it's wrong, but think about it. What part of that was bad, exactly? My embrace? My touch? My kiss? My... my love?"

I slowly shook my head, unable to look at him, and quickened my pace, desperate to be back at the campsite. In the distance, I heard thunder rumble. Clouds had moved in overhead and it no longer looked like it was going to be a pleasant night for camping. Chilly wind was picking up around us.

We came into view of the camp. Indeed, it looked like everyone was around waiting for their hobo dinners to come out of the fire. Several kids looked up and saw us approaching. We must have looked quite the pair. Rory had a triumphant look on his face, mixed with elation and joy, while I looked sober and sullen and despairing.

"Hey, I was yelling for you, Phil! Where were you two?" Steve asked, looking a little miffed at me.

I swallowed and tried to hide my distress with only partial success. "Rory and I took a walk and had a heart-to-heart about some things. Sorry Steve."

If he registered my misery, he didn't comment on it and instead said "Well, hurry up and make your dinners and get them in the fire. We're racing that storm, you know." I looked up at the darkening sky and felt it somehow reflected my feelings right now.

I grabbed some tin foil and began filling it with cut meat and vegetables, then putting on the ketchup and spices. Rory was right there beside me working on his, seemingly unable to remove the grin off his face, glancing happily at me every so often. I suddenly had a chilling thought; he had me cold with blackmailing material now. He could order me to do whatever he wanted and I would have to do it, at the threat of losing my family, my job, and everything I held dear.

Over and above all my other feelings, I was now gripped with fear and nearly shrank from him. I was his unwilling slave from now on, if he desired it. Wrapping up my food, I haphazardly stuck it into the coals and turned away, suddenly desperate to get away from him. What had I done? My life was over. This kid had manipulated me and now controlled me like a puppet. I walked aimlessly towards the sandlot and the archery range beyond.

It was all so awful... I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up. I glanced around dizzily and saw I was over enough of a rise that the rest of my cabin couldn't see me, and sank to my knees and began to wretch. Thunder rumbled long and low, masking the approach of my nearly constant companion. The first I knew he was there, he said "Hey Phil, please don't be upset. I wanted to make you happy, not sad... I love you..."

I gave a cry and spun around to face him, scuttling back from him on all fours with my eyes wide. "Stop following me!" I cried. "Please leave me alone! Oh my gosh... what are you going to do now? You're going to blackmail me aren't you?"

He'd looked sad, and as I spoke he looked crushed. "No! I love you so much." He whined softly. "I would never, ever do something as selfish as manipulating you with blackmail. Do you really think that poorly of me? I thought... I thought we were friends. I love you, Phil, I'm not going to hurt you."

I shook my head, but couldn't find my voice to answer, instead rolling around to my knees again with my back to him. He stepped softly over and knelt down beside me. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, gently squeezing. Softly, he whispered "I wouldn't hurt you like that, baby. Please, can't you believe that I really love you? Someone who loves you wouldn't do that. You're safe with me even if you tell me you never want to see me again. I... I'm sorry I went too far, Phil, I think the world of you... I sure didn't mean to hurt you."

"Please... just leave me alone..." I begged through tears.

I felt him pull his arm back off my shoulders and stand up. "Alright. I'm leaving." He softly whispered, sounding heartbroken.

Somehow, when he left, I felt doubly miserable. His words were comforting, but could I believe him? What was I going to do? Trying to pull myself back together, I slowly made my way back to the campfire to check on my food.

I had to try my best to hide my rampant emotions, but I don't know that I did very well.

* * *

The sky continued to darken, thunder began to rumble, and the wind was picking up. I choked down my hobo dinner, usually one of my favorite meals but tasting like rot to me now I felt so ill. I gathered up the junk while Steve stepped away to try and use his cellphone to figure out if we needed to go back to camp because of this storm. I did my best to clean up all our trash and stow our gear, running on automatic.

After a bit, Steve came back and said "Well, it's a thunderstorm, but it's borderline whether we would need to go back to camp because of danger. What do you guys want to do? It can be an adventure, camping through a storm; but it can also be a bit scary and dangerous. If anybody wants to go back to the cabin, I'll call Dave and have him bring the bus to pick us up, and I'll go back with you. Anybody who wants to stay the night can stay with Phil."

Everybody looked around at each other and friends started muttering to each other. Steve gave them about two minutes to discuss, then said "OK, anybody who wants to go back to the cabin, step over here with me." Nobody moved. "Really?" He asked. "There's no need to feel embarrassed, those that stay aren't going to get any sleep, and it'll be too noisy to even talk. No shame in wanting to go back to the cabin, guys."

Still nobody moved. "I wanna stay and camp through a storm! It sounds fun!" Bill declared, and there were mumbling agreements from the other boys.

"OK!" Steve chuckled. "We'll all stay, then! Let's double check that all the tents stakes are good and deep, and everybody gather up your stuff and make sure it's all in your tents or it might get blown away. Storm's coming up quick, guys, let's get ready for it!"

We all did as he suggested, and I went to throw my suitcase in my tent. When I zipped open the flap, there were two sleeping bags in it. I turned around in shock, and of course there was Rory, looking uncomfortable. "There wasn't any room in any of the other tents, 'cause I'm an extra in our cabin, the number of tents don't allow for me. I... I asked Steve if I could tent in yours and he said sure, but that was before... y'know..."

I grimaced and gave him a sharp look. He hung his head and wilted. "I'll move into Steve's tent." He said in a shaky voice.

I went to the bathroom while he moved his stuff so I wouldn't have to stand around watching him. They were nothing more than port-a-johns, but it was private, and I wanted that right now. I looked down at my penis, flaccid now. Oh man... he'd been sucking on that. He'd... licked me, kissed me, made me cum harder than I ever had from my hand. It had felt amazing, and he was so gentle and sweet... Oh man, I'd participated in oral sex with him; it seemed like a crazy nightmare that just couldn't be true.

I loitered around for a while until I heard a few scattered raindrops. I knew if I didn't get into my tent now, I'd get soaked. He should have had enough time to move his meager belongings by now, I decided.

I headed out and washed my hands in the pail of water we had set outside the john. When I turned around, Steve was standing there with a very odd look on his face. My immediate reaction was terror; Rory had told him for revenge. Steve spoke quietly, which made him hard to hear over the wind and thunder. "Phil, why did you tell Rory to move to my tent? He wanted to tent with you."

I was so relieved I felt dizzy. "He's getting too clingy. It's getting uncomfortable." I said, knowing that it was the grim truth, at least.

Steve shook his head and looked soberly at me. "I shouldn't have given you a hard time about going off to talk with him before supper. I'm sorry, Phil. That kid thinks the world of you, you have absolutely no idea what it means to him." He glanced up at the dark sky as there was a loud peel of thunder.

"Steve, it's too much for me. I can't have him getting that smothering." I insisted.

That only made him shake his head again. "Phil, he goes to the same church I do, and let me tell you about him. He's a complete loner, shy and quiet. He's almost afraid of the other kids in the youth group. There was some kind of really messy divorce between his mom and dad, and I guess there was an incredible amount of fighting and bitterness, and it really scarred him. Selfish parents." He sighed. "He sits alone in Sunday school. He sits alone in church. He sits alone on the bus, and in activities. I don't know why, but he's opened up to you, and I think it's very wonderful. It may be a bit smothering, but it's only for a week, OK? Can you do that for me?"

I wanted to tear my hair out and scream. Why was he being so obstinate about this? "You have no idea what you're asking, or you wouldn't ask me to do that." I gravely said.

"Whatever is the problem, talk it out with him, Phil. I told him to go back into your tent, and that I'd have a talk with you."

Shocked beyond words, I gaped at him. "What? No! I don't want him in my tent!"

At that moment there was a deafening crash of thunder and several brilliant bursts of lightning, and the storm hit. We both dove for our tents. I thought I heard him shout "Talk it out, Phil!"

Inside my tent, there was Rory, curled up in a ball, smushed into the side of the tent to take up as little room as he possibly could. He looked pathetic, and his fur was wet. I thought for a moment he'd been out in the rain, then I realized he'd been crying, and crying hard. My heart broke to see how miserable he looked.

"I'n sorry..." he sobbed. "I tried to move into Steve's tent but he wouldn't listen and wouldn't let me. I won't get in your way, Phil."

Wednesday

With little else to do, I'd gone to bed, facing away from him. I knew he was crying, and although I couldn't hear his sobs over the noise of the storm, knowing he was behind me, curled into a ball and crying made me incredibly uncomfortable. I don't know how I managed to fall asleep, I honestly don't. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep the night before, but I slept for several hours.

I shot awake being pulverized inside with guilt over Rory's misery and absolutely desperate to try and comfort him. I lit my flashlight, pulling the focusing cone out so that it created an ambient light instead of a direct beam, and gingerly sat up. It was still raining and rumbling, but not as severely as before. Checking my watch, I saw it was three o'clock in the morning.

I leaned over where Rory was curled up, still trying to take up as little space as he possibly could. His pillow was wet, and it looked like he'd cried himself to sleep. I thought about not waking him, but his sadness had been too great. I didn't want him to wake up in the morning still feeling it, I wanted to... I didn't know what. Yes, deep down I did; I wanted to hug him to me and kiss him until he stopped crying.

I squirmed over behind him and laid down, spooning him with my body. He stirred a little but didn't wake, and I gently wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tightly to me. I leaned over his fuzzy round ear and softly murmured to him "Rory, wake up honey. I need to talk to you."

He stirred and took a deep breath, opening his eyes. Realization slowly filled him, and he suddenly turned his head and stared at me over his shoulder, saw me smiling gently, and scrambled around to face me, sitting up. I sat up too and looked into his wide eyes. "I'm dreaming?" He squeaked.

"No, you aren't. I had some time to think about it and calm down, Rory. I'm sorry I was upset at you." I took a deep breath "You went too fast for me, pal. I couldn't process that many things so fast."

Looking down at his wiggling toes, he nodded. "I've never done something like that before. I... totally lost control. You didn't resist no matter how intimate I got, and I just got horny and wound up and felt like we could do anything. I really, really didn't mean to hurt you, or scare you, or make you afraid of me."

Nodding, I added my own side. "That's alright, and I'm sorry I didn't rein you in even when I was getting really upset. I guess, to be honest, deep down I'd been thinking you were totally cute and hot and sexy, and a large part of me was loving it and wanting more even as I was going crazy with fear. Quite a mixture of emotions, huh?"

He swallowed thickly. "Yeah. Umm... so what are you feeling now, then?"

A faraway look defocused my eyes and I considered that question. I'd wanted to make peace with him but now what? "I guess... I need to know more about you Rory, OK? Can you come here and snuggle and answer some questions?"

"Snuggle?" He repeated hopefully.

"Yeah. I'd like to hold you close, pal."

Hesitantly, he moved and crawled up to me, turning away from me and letting me spoon against him again. He let out a groan. "You have no idea how wonderful it feels to be held by you, Phil." He whispered.

"How long have you been gay, Rory?" I asked without preamble.

"Uhhhh... well... " He hesitated, stiffening and pulling a bit away from me.

"A couple can't have secrets between them, Rory. I need to feel I know and understand you to have any peace within myself over this. You said you loved me, if you really feel that way, don't you trust me?"

He turned to look at me over his shoulder. "I do, Phillip... it's just not easy for me to talk with people about myself. As far back as I can remember, I enjoyed playing with dolls and playing dress up in my mommy's clothes and had crushes on boys."

Thinking about that, I slowly nodded. "And have you ever..."

He held up his paw, silencing me. "It's hard for me to talk about because... uhm... well, both my brother an' me were super close to our Dad, and not so much to our Mom. Dad saw me doin' stuff like that and realized I was probably gay, and blamed my mother for it, thinking she'd somehow turned me gay just to wreck our relationship because we were both closer to him. They fought over it worse and worse, finally even violently."

"My Dad beat my Mom up pretty bad the last time I saw him. When he calmed down and saw she was a bloody mess, he took my brother Mitch and ran away to avoid being arrested, and he left me. He left me because I was gay and he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. Since then, I... I suppressed it, hiding my sexuality from everyone and trying to be hetero, because it ruined my life, and my family."

It was my turn to begin to cry. "Rory, I'm so sorry..." I moaned, pressing against his neck and soaking his fur with my tears. I realized that after that trauma, my rejection of him must have been doubly crushing, for it had seemed as if again his sexual orientation was going to ruin his relationship with me.

Through sheer willpower, I regained control of myself in order to say "Pal, what your dad did was in no way your fault, and was in no way just because you are gay. You realize that now, don't you?"

He shuddered in my arms, and I squeezed him tighter. "Sort of. It's what I believed for over thirteen years, so it's hard to shake that feeling even if I know better now."

"It sounds to me like your dad was a monster." I hesitated then softly spoke again. "Rory, did he sexually abuse you?"

"Huh?" He asked, sounding puzzled. "No, he didn't."

"Did someone else abuse you, then?"

"No."

I took his paw in my hand. "Are you sure? Are you telling me the truth? You can trust me, pal."

It was enough to make him roll over in my arms so he could look at me. "No, of course not! Why are you asking that, Phillip?" He said, sounding confused.

Surprised, I answered "Well, I thought I heard that most gay people were abused as kids."

He blinked at that. "What? Where did you hear that? I haven't ever heard that... maybe it's true, but that sounds to me like one of those made up facts that go around the schoolyard, like the one that says there are a hundred bugs in every peanut butter jar. Stupid stuff like that."

"Huh. Maybe, I dunno." I said, noncommittally.

"Were you sexually abused as a child? He asked, a bit pointedly.

"No, I wasn't. I have a very happy family." I answered.

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure? You just let me perform oral sex on you, you know. By your reckoning, that means you were abused, right?"

Blushing and feeling sheepish, I muttered "Oh. Good point. I'm sorry, Rory. I wasn't trying to be insulting. I believe you."

He stared at me for a moment longer, then smiled. "Issa OK." He said and turned back so I could snuggle up to his back again. "Nope, I just liked boys as far back as I can remember."

After a few minutes of silent reflection, I spoke again. "Have you had boyfriends before?"

He heaved a big sigh. "No, like I said, my Dad ran away when I was seven, and after that I pretty much blamed my sexuality for it and hid it from everyone and even myself. He told me I had no life and no future because I was a fag. I believed him, and that really messed me up."

"Oh Rory! That wicked man... it was all lies, pal! You have a wonderful future ahead, I'm sure of it!" I was silent then, thinking about what he'd said. Cautiously, I added "Why did you develop feelings for me then, Rory?"

Shrugging in my arms he said "I dunno. I fell in love with you last year and for some reason I wasn't ashamed of those feelings. I spent the whole year afterwards dreaming about you and trying to figure out how best I could make you love me back. I was overjoyed when I read you were going to counsel again this year."

"So, you were really trying to seduce me all along here, weren't you?" I said, guarding my voice from letting on the fact that I was feeling manipulated.

Sounding apologetic, he slowly whined "Yeeeeaahh... but... I never meant to try to force you into sex. That was never part of my plan, Phillip. I lost control and went crazy there. I've never done something that impetuous in my life, and I don't blame you for being really angry at me for it. I really thought you'd never speak to me again after that. Actually, I'm curious why you are willing to talk now, in fact."

"I don't know." I mused, feeling momentarily very clear. "I just woke up and felt sorry for you and wasn't angry, and... I'm really feeling... drawn to you. I can't explain why, other than that I think you're sexy; so exotic and alluring."

He laced his delicate fingers through mine, and I idly began to explore his sharp claws, feeling each of them one at a time. "Phillip, I'm asking you again to please give me a chance. I can be a wonderful mate for you, I know I can. I love cooking and cleaning, I love sex, and I would want for nothing more than to be a housewife. I know everything a man wants and needs, and I can fulfill those things for you to the utmost. I'll satisfy your fetishes, I'll fawn over you and worship you... I want so much to make you happy, like you've made me happy ever since I met you."

I wanted it. I wanted everything he was offering. He was offering me my dreams, or maybe they were everyone's secret dreams in a lover. I don't know, all I know is that my heart burned for him then, just as much as my body burned to be intimate with him again. In my heart of hearts, I desperately wanted Rory to be my wife, or husband, or whatever you'd call it. My mate.

I almost, almost opened my mouth and pledged myself to him right then. I'd taken a breath to speak the words, when I felt a hint of doubt. Wait at least a couple days to be sure you really mean this, I decided in that instant.

"Rory, remember in my scenario, what I thought might happen?" I asked, hugging him to me.

"That you might want some time to think it over?" He replied, turning his head to look at me again.

"Yeah. Can you give me a couple days to make sure I can handle this? I think I'm in love with you, but I gotta be sure."

He rolled over again and beamed at me, grinning from ear to ear. "I knew we were meant for each other. If you can forgive me what I done to you, it's just plain meant to be. Thank you, Phillip. I love you. Oh, I'm so happy to finally be able to tell you how much I love you." He threw his arms around me and hugged me tight. I squeezed him back just as hard, sighing and smiling.

"I forgive you, pal. Let's get some sleep, we gotta be up early to pack up in order to be back at camp for breakfast, you know." I said, nuzzling into his fur as I got comfortable to go back to sleep.

He looked down at me as I nestled into his neck fur. "You're gonna sleep with me?" He asked, his voice nearly falsetto it was so high.

"That OK with you? I love your beautiful, soft fur, and I love how you smell. It's so comforting and relaxing." I sighed drowsily. I felt wonderfully content after the trauma of last evening.

He wrapped his legs and tail around me, entwining his body into mine in an intimate, sexy, and yet sweet way. It was heaven, and we floated off to sleep together, I think both knowing deep down what choice I was certain to make.

* * *

Morning came all too soon. Steve shouted everyone awake and I groaned, wishing I could sleep some more. Then I remembered what had happened, and realized I was still wrapped in his arms, and my head was resting on his chest. I opened my eyes and looked at his cute face, peaceful as he slept. I softly started to kiss his glossy black lips, nibbling on them tenderly. It felt odd, yet kinky and sexy as anything I'd ever felt. How could it be a sin when it felt so wonderful, so comfortable and right?

His eyes opened and he heaved a deep sigh and hummed happily upon seeing me and realizing how I was waking him up. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." I whispered, and he grinned.

We emerged from our tent into the rain-soaked world. The sun was out, and the world was crisp and covered in dew. We broke down the tents, which would have to be opened up and dried out when we got back to camp, and packed them up. Rory was in great spirits, and was so euphoric he was actually reaching out and interacting with the other boys.

Tents packed, coolers drained of rainwater, belongings packed up, we headed for the driveway just as the bus arrived to take us back to camp and breakfast. In the bus, Rory sat down next to me and we smiled at each other. "Howdja sleep?" I asked.

"After we talked, really good, thank you. How 'bout you?"

"After we talked, really good. Ha!"

We chatted on the bus ride back, then stowed our stuff and went to breakfast in time for eggs and sausages and cereal. What a combo. We interacted with the cabin again, and Rory was opening up like a spring flower in bloom. It was beautiful to watch. He would glance at me every now and then for reassurance that I was beside him, but was talking and laughing with the other boys at the table.

After breakfast, during the free time I took him to the side. "Hey pal, Wednesday is my day off. By law I've gotta take one. It's when I do laundry and go into town for any stuff I need."

His face fell. "Awww..." He whined, looking ashen.

Smiling sympathetically, I nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Rory, but I gotta take it. Tell you what, though, I'm just gonna hang around here, so during free times you can come see me. You know which cabin is the counselor's cabin?"

Nodding, he said "Sure, it's right past the cook's cabin."

"Yep. I'm in room three. Just come on in the cabin and knock, it'll be OK. If I'm not there I'll be doing laundry at the bathhouse. Come see me during quiet time and Bible reading too, if you want."

He nodded and grinned. "It's free time right now!" He declared.

We walked together up to the counselor's cabin and relaxed in my room. I'd bought and installed a tiny window air conditioner, which I turned on to cool the room off from the heat of the day, but also to give us a little more privacy in case any other counselors came in. "We just have to listen for the chapel bell." I said, and he agreed.

We sat, him on the end of the bed and me in the room's only chair, staring at each other and smiling. I at last broke the silence saying, "so, where do you live, pal?"

"Hastings. A couple hours from you in Edgebrook." He sadly declared.

"You a senior?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but suddenly fervently hoping he was of age.

"I'm graduated already, actually. I got super good grades, so I was a year ahead of everybody else. I graduated still just seventeen and turned eighteen last month." He explained, seeming to sense I was suddenly nervous about his age. "Don't worry, I'm a big boy."

I chuckled. "Good. So even though you graduated they let you come to senior camp since you're eighteen, huh. Well, what are your plans now?"

He looked down at his toes, kicking off his flip-flops and wiggling them again. "My plans or my dreams?" He mumbled, sounding shy.

"Both. Relax, pal. It's me, remember?" I chirped, trying to set him at ease.

"Well, my plan was originally just to get a job to support myself and get away from my Mother. I didn't really have any hope of college because of... because of my Mom, I didn't see how I could do it. Now that we're... I mean, I hope we'll be together, my dream would be to come and live with you, maybe take a job to help you through college, then worry about my higher education after you're established in a job... only if you'd want me to. I don't have any huge aspirations to do or be anything, I'd love to be a housewife... it's what I've always dreamed of, and the thought of it is really erotic to me. I just want to take care of you, like I said."

I reached out and caught his legs, pulling his cute feet into my lap and massaging them. "Rory, what's wrong with your mom?"

He sighed. "Addicted to drugs and gambling, since just after I was born, I was told. When she's off baked, she talks about finding out my Dad was cheating on her, so I think that's what got her started. I always wished my Dad had stolen me too. I miss my big brother. My aunt feeds me and stuff most of the time. She pays for me to come here, too."

"Oh sweetheart..." I whispered.

Smiling sadly, he nodded. "That's why I would just love to come live with you. I got nothin' much waiting for me at home, and nothing to offer you but my heart."

Hearing that, I hugged him, pulling him onto my lap. "I would love to give you a stable family and home, babe." I whispered.

He pressed his body to me in a way that I could tell was supposed to arouse me, gently squirming his hips and thrusting against me. "Phillip, do you... what do you think of my body? Do you feel any kind o' sexual reaction when you see me?" He whispered gravely.

"Uhh... I don't exactly know yet, pal. I think you're really cute and watching you move is very hypnotic and it makes me wanna touch you... I think I got a fetish for your lovely black fur, because it made me aroused a bit even before this happened." I paused, thinking. "Wanna find out?"

He swallowed and nodded, eagerly starting to stand up and pull at his clothes. "Wait." I countered, then blushed self-consciously as I said, "Why don't I go first so you can uhmm, 'observe' my reaction to seeing you strip?"

Blinking at me for a second, he laughed and grinned. "Gosh, sure! You might not know what to make of me, but I can hardly stand seeing you naked it's so sexy."

Feeling nervous and self-conscious, I checked the door to make sure it was locked, then stripped out of my clothes. I saw his eyes practically glue to my penis as I pulled it free of my underwear, and I blushed shyly. It felt embarrassing and yet very sexy to have a gay boy staring at me for all he was worth in pure lust. It was wonderful and flattering to feel desired. I nervously grinned and sat back down. "OK, your turn."

He stood up and moved over to stand in front of me, yanking off his t-shirt. He sat primly in my lap and reached an arm around my neck. "Hug me, stroke my fur if you like how shiny it is, and feel my body. Let yourself go, enjoy the touch, enjoy my masculine form without any inhibitions."

I gulped and reached for him, trembling as I drew a hand firmly down his chest and stomach. I stroked his back, his sides, the lithe muscles so taut and beautiful. I delicately caressed his neck and his cheeks, tracing his lips. I leaned and nuzzled his neck to draw a deep breath of his beautiful scent, which made him murmur "What do you think? Not so bad, is it?"

Shaking my head, I found I couldn't speak, but I looked down and saw I had a hard-on already. He looked down too and grinned happily at me. "See? Let yourself go and your body knows what it needs and wants. Just let your mind catch up and I promise I'll make you the happiest man alive."

Trembling, I croaked "Take the rest off now, Rory. I want to see you naked again."

He caught my chin in his thumb and forefinger and lifted my head up so he could look into my eyes. Gently, he murmured "I would love to, but I want to make sure you're ready this time. You said you wanted a couple days to acclimate to this, and that was only a few hours ago. Are you sure you are ready mentally as well as physically?"

"Uh-huh!" I managed as I tried to undo his pants.

It was maddening, but that still wasn't enough for him and he pulled my hands away, squeezing them gently in his paws. "Phillip, c'mon. Think about what you are doing. I can tell you just went to automatic again. Are you really ready for this now? Are you ready to have sex? Sex with another male? Be sure, Phillip, I don't want to hurt you again. You have to be sure."

I tried to clear my mind and focus on what he was saying. He was right, my lust was eliminating my inhibitions, but I couldn't help it, and right now I didn't care; I wanted to fornicate with him, to feel that amazing, sexy mouth caress my sensitive flesh again. "I'm sure, Rory, I promise you. These last couple hours I've felt completely comfortable with the thought of sex with you, without any hesitation. If you'll promise yourself to me alone, I promise you will be my one and only too."

He hugged me and cooed. "Oh, that's so romantic! Yes, I'm yours and yours alone, pretty human. Gosh! This was my wildest fantasy! I feel like I'm dreaming!" He bubbled as he stood up and undid his pants, slowly wriggling his hips as he pulled them down off his body.

He turned and showed me his rump through his boxers, bending over to push it out tight in the cotton material. He looked yummy, and I caught the hem of his underwear and pulled it down, revealing a tight, luscious male butt with plump, full round cheeks and a dizzyingly sexy crack with a cute pink pucker shyly peeking out at me. He had a voluptuous rear despite being slender and athletic.

He shook it, making it ripple and shimmer for a moment before turning around and letting me see his fully-erect skunk cock. He was cut, with a beautiful purple head and thick, visible veins swirling up and down the shaft. I hadn't looked at him at all yesterday, but now I drank him in. My own cock was throbbing and lurching, he looked so good. "Oh woww! Oh, can I taste it? Should I taste it?" I asked him, my voice pleading.

He smiled and gripped his throbbing meat in a practiced paw and waggled it at me. "Give it a smell first and make sure you like the idea. This whole thing happened to you very abruptly, I don't want to gross you out of anything."

Nearly diving on him, I stuck my nose in his penis and inhaled. It was a musky smell, very masculine, very not human. Gingerly, I licked a bit with the tip of my tongue. Salty from sweating, otherwise the taste was mostly the smell. His skin was baby-soft, and I could feel the steel-hard shaft underneath that soft, stretchy skin. His swollen head was spongy as I nibbled on it with my lips. He groaned at that, running his fingers through my light brown hair.

I licked him a bit more, then began to lap at his dick, beginning to work my way over his shaft, licking the salt off, making him wet and slippery. "Oh! It feels so good! Oh Phillip! You're just awesome! Your human tongue is so strong when you push against me!" He licked his lips in delirious pleasure.

I lapped all over him, tracing the veins, circling the head, licking up and down the underside of the shaft. I tickled the tip with my tongue, held his cock at various angles so I could eagerly lick him from different directions. I experimented with him at the same time, pulling the stretchy, soft skin up and down the rock hard erection underneath. I'd touched my own penis so many times, but it was so strange to touch another's.

I was so horny, I could do anything without hesitation. I carefully sucked his tip into my mouth and began to bob up and down on him, working to make him feel good as I parroted what he'd done yesterday, while experiencing masculinity to the utmost. I slurped over his soft, fuzzy balls, covered in the same white fur as his tummy and chest. I soaked him down, wanting more and more, burning in lust.

I kept trying to suck harder, while he delicately caressed my face and head with his paws. I felt his claws gently scratch behind my ears, and I figured he probably thought it felt good to me as it apparently felt to him. "Oh yeah. Oh gosh, this feels so good, Phillip. Your mouth is so warm and soft... I've never felt so loved and happy and complete as I do in your arms! I knew this would feel good, but it actually feels INCREDIBLE!"

I panted and groaned and sucked on him for quite a while, trying to take more and more until I was at the limit of my mouth without deep-throating him. At the time, I didn't even know what that was or how it felt or how to do it, so I just stopped, sucking no farther.

Using my tongue on the underside of his penis seemed to make him squirm and moan the loudest, and I tried to do that as I bobbed up and down on him. I was breathing heavily and was so horny I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach.

"Oh! Oh!! Oh Phillip, I'm gonna cum!" He groaned suddenly, his body tensing.

I panicked a little at that; I had no idea what I should do about this. The thought of swallowing his semen was erotic, but also made me feel ill. Then again, he'd swallowed mine, seemingly with little trouble, too... so why couldn't I match him and do it?

He shook and spasmed, and suddenly he was spurting thick, pearlescent wads of cum into my mouth. The flavor was odd, the texture was thick and slippery, and he was shooting copious amounts of it into me quickly. I gurgled and tried to swallow. It was thick, but not terribly unpleasant. I was so horny and it was so kinky, I began to gulp it down as he shot it in.

"Oooo! It feels so good, Phil! Oh my gosh... I've never cum this hard in my life!" He cried. He had fistfuls of my hair and was shaking and twitching, occasionally thrusting his penis into my mouth as his spurts slowed to thick oozing.

At last he stopped, and I sucked the last glob out of him and swallowed it thickly. I pulled back, panting. "Whoa." I weakly groaned, unable to believe what I'd just done.

He stared at me with wide eyes. "That felt better than anything I've ever felt before in my life. I nearly passed out, I felt such sheer ecstasy like I've never felt before."

"Did you?" I gasped, still in shock. "It was really, really... ...intense to kiss and lick your penis. That... that wasn't hard at all! I thought it would be awful, I thought all gay sex was horrible, but it felt so wonderful..."

He nuzzled my cheek with his cold, wet nose. "Aww... I'm sooo glad. You really are still OK with all this so far?"

I had handfuls of his full, round rump flesh and was panting and moaning as I fondled his body. "What? Oh, oh yeah. I can't believe I'm doing this, it's so kinky. I love it though, the kinkiness is only matched by my horniness."

He seemed to sense I was ready for the ultimate, intimate decadence. He caught my head and pulled me back with him to the bed, nose to nose. "Mmm. Cum breath." He chuckled.

He sat down and grabbed his pants from the bed, pulling what looked like a little travel shampoo bottle out of his pocket. In a hushed voice, he eagerly asked "Y'... ya wanna try the other thing?"

I gulped, feeling afraid and excited all at once. I had a vague, tiny notion of what gay lovers do with each other at their most intimate, and the thought was both frightening and intriguing at the same time... My cheeks flushed and I looked down into his beautiful brown eyes, so pure and glistening. He was looking at me for affirmation that it was OK to proceed. The thought was horrible and appealing all at once. I was confused.

Weakly, I managed "Wellll, uh..."

He smiled and I felt him wipe something cold and slick on my penis. He wiped his paw off on a tissue, then leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Hey, reeeelaaaax. There's nothing to be afraid of with me, I'm your lover. Just let yourself go and enjoy the unity of body and spirit. Stop trying to think and reason about this, just feel the pleasure and intimacy we share. C'mon, Phillip, relax! Release the tension in your muscles. Be loose and supple. There ya go."

I did my best to do as he was saying, because I was shaking and trembling hard. He crawled over on top of me, giving me a wonderful view of his flexible body as he squirmed and writhed his way over me. He paused, kneeling over me, and smiled encouragingly. "This is gonna feel really good. Better'n anything you've ever felt, I promise."

He crawled into position, kneeling over me and directing my cock into the lusty crack of his ass. He flexed his muscles, tightening his butt and working my head even though he hadn't even brought me in contact with his anus yet. I caught his shapely hips in my hands and tried to keep relaxed. He was staring down into my face as he reached behind himself to work our bodies towards intimacy.

I was gasping for air and feeling dizzy again. I was horrified and eager, filled with conflicting emotions. With a groan, he sat back, sliding my warm shaft into his luscious butt all the way to his rectum. He poked it around, swirling it over his sphincter and playing with it. "Mmm! It feels good!" He cooed lustily. "Do you like it, honey?"

This was anal sex... very intense and frightening, and was going directly opposed to my upbringing. "Ohhhh Rory, I... I don't know about this... This is really bad..." I whined.

Feeling that he might be losing my support, he again plunged ahead, pushing my sensibilities hard to get into what he wanted out of me. He began to sit back on my penis, keeping it held firmly to his rectum with a paw while sitting down with more and more of his weight. I felt his muscles begin to give, and experienced a wall of sheer, white hot terror. I didn't know much about anal sex, and what I thought I knew was mostly all wrong. I was filled with the fear that this was somehow going to make me sick and kill me.

I took a breath to cry out to him and tell him to stop it, when his pucker suddenly gave with a pop and he sat down on me all the way. He let out a gasp and tensed up, gritting his teeth and bugging his eyes out in shock. "Holy moley!" He grunted.

My attempt to stop him turned to an inarticulate howl of pure shock and pleasure as my penis slickly slurped into his tight, hot tail-hole. His flesh gripped me tightly, his higher body temperature stunning me with the intense heat of his flesh. It felt impossibly good as I screamed.

He dove forward, covering my mouth with both paws. Laughing, he ogled me. "Good gravy, Phillip, you're gonna have the whole camp in here if you do that! You can't be that loud!"

"Mmmph!" I moaned. Somehow during penetration I'd gone from lying back in the bed to now sitting up gripping his shoulders. I didn't remember moving.

Slowly he pulled up, lifting himself up higher and higher. I could see my cock, slick flesh releasing from his sex hole as he moved away from me. It popped loose and was squirted out by his tight muscles, and he let out a sigh. "Whew! That feels amazing! You're so warm and handsome, I love feeling you inside me!"

He aligned me again and sank back onto me. It wasn't nearly as hard this time and I smoothly slipped into his body. Everything was so slippery and slick, his bowels made me groan in pleasure. He kissed me and pressed his body to me as he hugged me, trying to touch every inch of himself to me. "Gawww... So gooooood." He moaned.

He started to sit up and down on me with a smooth, even rhythm that made me hiss and curl my toes. I'd never felt this before, and it was exquisite. Every inch of my cock was alive with sensations unimaginable to me but a few moments before. His fur tickled my balls as he sat down, grinding me deep into his rump. He was mouth-wateringly warm and tight, a young adult's perfect, unspoiled body.

The thick, slippery lube made it all feel incredibly good, and I watched in morbid fascination as his rectum prolapsed a bit with each pull-off. He softly cried "Ohhhhhhhgosh!" as he continued working, lifting his body up and down until he was panting and sweating. His tongue lolled out and his eyes rolled back in his head, making him look like he was passing out from the pleasure.

As last, breathing hard, he paused. "Well? What do you think?"

I stared up at him wide-eyed. His grin somewhat helped relax me and remind me that the little sweetie was comfortable and eager while doing this, and that it was meaning the world to him. How could something that made him this happy be wrong to do? It felt so good...

I was just staring at him blankly as I thought these things, and his smile faltered again as he became worried I wasn't liking what I was feeling. "Phillip, doesn't it feel good? I thought you'd really enjoy this, that it would be wonderful for you?" He gulped. "... do you not like it?" He whispered.

I moved my lips, but no sound came out. His fear was growing again, I suppose a combination of the self-loathing his jerk of a father had pounded into him, as well as my own hesitation previously. "Phil! Don't... please don't be like this! Do you want me to stop? I only wanted to make you happy!" He looked like he was going to cry and pulled off me, removing me from the ecstasy of his body.

That at last helped me find my voice. "R... Rory, it feels so good... It feels unlike anything I could have dreamed." I gulped. "Is this safe, baby? Is it gonna hurt us or make us sick to do this?"

Still looking very worried, he shook his head rapidly. "Of course not! People do it all the time, you know; heteros too. Phillip, being in love with me isn't going to hurt you, I keep telling you that."

I swallowed. "I thought I'd heard that..."

He cut me off with a kiss, then traced my lips with a claw as he said "Whatever you heard, it was wrong and stupid. This is perfectly safe, so stop _worrying_about everything!"

Nodding, I managed, "I'm sorry, Roars... It feels better than anything I could have ever imagined. God gave us an incredible gift when he gave us the ability to have sex..."

Giggling laughter at my comment made him relax and smile again. "Yes, He sure did." He said as he rolled off of me and went to all fours. I stared at him wide-eyed, and he wriggled his full round butt to make the flesh shimmer and ripple as he pointed his gorgeous, heart-shaped bottom at me. His invitation couldn't have been clearer; it was my turn.

I crawled up behind him, and he spread his legs out wide so I could crawl right up in-between them. I grabbed my penis at the base and lined it up with his stretched sphincter, took a deep breath, and pushed back into his guts. He was warm and slippery and comforting, and I clenched my fists and stifled another cry, squeezing my eyes shut.

He looked at me over his shoulder and smiled; the master observing his pupil. "grab my hips with your paws, Phillip. It gives you much better control of my body, and feels very sexy and dominant, too." He groaned.

I did as he asked, his masculine, lithe hips filling my hands with soft fur and warm flesh. I clumsily began to try and have sex with him. After a few thrusts, instinct took over and I began to thrust properly, though gently and slowly.

"Faster!" He groaned, panting with his tongue out like a dog.

I sped up a bit, but he laughed and reached back a paw to stroke my hand. "You won't break me by loving me good and hard, sweets, don't worry. I'm not made out of tissue paper, so go ahead and get rough and physical with me."

Tightening my grip on his hips, I began to slam against him much harder, afraid still of hurting him. My dick slurping in and out of his lubed up butt, which began making the most luscious, naughty sounds I'd ever heard in my life. They made me blush, but also made me incredibly proud; I was rough-riding him hard enough to make noises. He tipped his head back and squeaked happily. "Oh yeah! Now there you're getting the hang of it!" He grinned. "NNnnnn. What do you think, lover? Good?"

"Oh yeah. Really, really good! Rory, this is so crazy. I love how it feels to be intimate with you. You're so tight and warm! I love... I love gay sex! I'll never get enough of this!" I pulled back all the way and slurped out of him again, then eagerly pushed in, reveling in the sensation of deep penetration.

"Harder still. C'mon, I know you're holding back. Go full speed and rock our world." He growled at me.

I leaned over him and shortened my thrusts so I could pummel him properly. His tail spasmed as I went finally as hard and fast as I could, and he let out a whoop, burying his face in my pillow so he could wail his delight and approval. I screwed him for all I was worth, panting, my eyes wide in shock at my own animal passions.

We bucked hard together, riding an incredibly scrumptious, manly wave of fornication. I timed my thrusts to my heartbeat, and absolutely drowned myself in him. I slid my hands up from his girlish hips and firmly stroked his slender sides, gripping him to plunder him from there for a while.

Banging away, I continued up, gripping his ribcage, then finally up to his shoulders. Using my wrists, I could add extra snap to my thrusts by jerking his body back in time with me. He arched his back and helped me drive his body backwards, pursing his lips.

I was gasping for breath by now, both from the kinkiness of the act, and also the effort of using my muscles in a totally different way than I was used to. "Slow down and lay your body against my back. It feels really good and intimate. You won't be able to pound me very hard, but you can rest and catch your breath, my darling." He said in a syrupy voice.

I followed his instructions and rested my weight on his soft, fluffy back, panting, but still thrusting as hard and fast as I could manage. I was getting too close. His body was so tight and warm, and I'd never experienced anything that felt even remotely like sodomizing him before. I couldn't hold back my orgasm much longer.

"Kiss me, Phillip." He whispered, turning his head. I reached around and caught his cheek as I delved my tongue into his sweet muzzle, tracing his lips and nose as our tongues swirled together. I drew my free hand all over his body, and from this position I closed in on climax.

I began to grunt with each thrust, doing it harder, but clumsier than I had been. My lips fell away from the kiss, and I was now only aware of his hot, slick guts slurping over me with each thrust. "Finish me hard! I'm close too!" He yelped.

Not needing to be told twice, I came back up on my knees and grabbed his sides again, madly pounding at him with all my strength. He wailed and chewed on my pillow, and reached down to his own meaty cock and started pummeling it with his paw. "OhhhhhRory! Rory! I'm losing it! I can't take it anymore! I'm... I'm cumming!" I whined through gritted teeth, and spilled a rush of human semen into his hungry, gulping butt, exploding into an ocean of pleasure.

I squirmed and wriggled, but couldn't find the strength to pump into him through my ejaculation, and I just focused on spilling what had to be over a hundred gallons of my seed into his bowels, making them even slipperier than they had been. He squawked and began to squeeze his rectum on my cock, flexing his muscles and milking me with unbelievable intensity. I found out later the splashing and swelling throb of my cock had been enough to push him to another orgasm. He was in ecstasy being intimate with his dream boy and complete obsession of over a year.

I wrapped my arms as far around his tummy as I could and pulled him up, straightening him out into a kneeling position so I could hug his sexy body tightly to me as he gave me the orgasm of my life.

Jet after jet pulsed into him, slowly decreasing in volume and force until it was thick, oozing globs of cum filling his gut with my love. He shivered and moaned, swaying his upper body from side to side as he worked his own dick through an orgasm. A few more spasms and my orgasm released into the most relaxing, contented feeling I'd ever experienced. The after-sex was so comforting, I heaved a shuddering sigh and fell off him to the side, rolling over on my back to stare at the ceiling.

He grunted as my erection pulled loose from his abused butthole with a 'Ssschchchtt' sound. "We did it! We really did it!" He squealed quietly. "We mated! We bred! We had sex together and both came! Phil, you're all I've ever desired, and you just gave yourself to me! I love you!" He was bouncing up and down with a glowing beauty coloring his cheeks.

I looked over at him with wide eyes, still panting. "I can't believe I did that." I managed to admit. The glow was now fading again, leaving my ears burning and my scalp tingling with fear over what I'd done this time.

He looked over at me with a hint of concern on his face. "You're OK, aren't you? You promised me, Phillip..." He softly intoned as he stared at me.

I swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. "Everything's just happening so fast, I'm kinda shocked. Whoa. That felt sooo good!"

Looking relieved, he grinned at me. "It did, didn't it? I can't believe how much better it felt to have you inside of me. I've only ever played with toys, so this was just plain marvelous. Aww Phillip... I love you more than I can say. My dreams have come true, and my life is complete." He sighed happily.

I closed my eyes and tried to deal with it again. This time I hadn't been frozen by indecision, I hadn't been unwilling and immobilized, I had actively taken him and sodomized him. I was awakened from my reverie when something cold and wet was applied to my cock. I jumped and looked quickly down at what he was doing. He had a baby wipe and was cleaning me off with it. "The heck?" I said.

"Cleaning us up so we can cuddle." He grunted in response.

Thinking about that, I couldn't believe it. "Wait, you brought sanitary wipes along in the offhand chance that you and I would end up doing this sometime during the week? And that slippery stuff you smeared on me, too?"

Winking at me, he let out his cute giggle. "Uh huh! I fell in love with you last year and had an entire year to plan for seeing you again. I brought everything you could want. I've got all the pockets of the pants I brought filled with lube, condoms and wipes. You weren't going to catch me off guard, no sir!"

Talking with him was already calming me down. He was so cute and sweet, I just couldn't believe that what we were doing was wrong, that our love was a sin. My instinctive responses to these situations were severe, but they were wrong, too. I just had to work through those feelings and flush them out of my system. Rory was not evil or bad, he was a little sweetie, and was so nice... not to mention sexy and wonderful to make love to. Ohhhh man... he'd made my first sexual encounter fantastic, something I'd never forget.

Finished cleaning the external surfaces of the various equipment we'd just used, he gave a sigh and snuggled up to me. I reached up and stroked the side of his face and crooned gentle words of affection to him. He closed his eyes and smiled and buried his face in my neck. "That was so incredible, Rory, thank you for giving yourself to me. I hardly feel worthy of your feelings."

"You are worthy, more than you know. I love you, pretty human." He murmured sleepily. We were both getting drowsy from not getting much sleep last night, coupled with glowing contentment in each-other.

Off in the distance I heard the chapel bell. His ear flicked, and his brow furrowed. He let out a displeasured sound and pressed tighter against me. "Don't wanna leave." He declared.

I sighed and sat up. "C'mon Rory, you gotta. You can't hide from the camp activities, it would be noticed. You're the only skunk here this week, so if you play hooky, it'll raise questions and pretty soon I'd get in trouble and you'd be back in cabin seven and the lake would flood the camp and the sun would explode and we'd all die screaming and melting."

Mock horror in his twinkling eyes, he gasped. "Oh my! It's that critical? I'd better go then!" He stood up and started gathering up his clothes, chuckling.

I stood up and started getting dressed too, only to notice he'd traded underwear. "Hey, what...?" I started to say.

He held a finger up to his muzzle. "Shh! Don't tell my boyfriend! I wanna wear his undies."

I blushed. "That is so weird, you goof."

"It'll make me feel closer to you while we're apart. Besides, I wanna see you in that skimpy thong. You look luscious with your package hanging out." He said matter-of-factly as he headed for the exit. I said goodbye at the door to the cabin and watched him scamper towards the chapel, his tail switching happily through the air, an outward expression of his euphoric, overjoyed mood. Looking beneath it, I could see his round, sexy bottom, the bottom that I'd just tapped for all I was worth. What had I done? Whether I liked it or not, Rory was now a permanent part of my life. He was my lover, and I wasn't sure I could handle it.

* * *

I had some time to think and cool down while he was gone, and by the time he showed up again for quiet time, I had come to a decision. When he'd entered my room, I sat him down and said "Rory, I don't want to have sex anymore while we're here at camp. It's completely against camp rules and would get me fired. Even if nobody finds out, I don't feel it's right to do it while I'm here, OK? Just for the rest of the week?

He looked crestfallen. "Aww... I... I suppose so, but geeze..."

I gently chucked his cheek. "Hey, don't be sad, pal. You came here trying to capture my heart and you succeeded, right? I don't know what will happen in our future, but we'll be together if you'll have me, I promise you that."

His large eyes shot up to stare at me with longing. "You mean that? C... can I come to live with you?" The emotion in his voice was incredibly deep.

"Yeah. I want you with me, Rory, not hours away. I've got a nice little apartment on the campus where I'm goin' to school, perfect for two. I'm a poor student so I don't have much money, but if I talk to my parents, I think they'll help us and we'll get by until I can graduate and get a real job."

As I spoke, tears began to pour from his large brown eyes. "Oh Phil!" He sobbed and dove on me, smothering me in wet, teary kisses. I hugged him back and smiled. I could get very used to this. I felt so contented with him, so comfortable and warm.

We hugged for a minute or so, and when he pulled back to look at me, he kept ahold of my hands. "It still feels like I'm dreaming. I've been so empty inside for so long, feeling full and content is almost painful, it's so amazing. I'm scared I'll wake up from a dream and it'll all be over."

"Rory, look at me; it's not going to end, it's not a dream. Don't be scared, OK?" He nodded and grinned, cooing softly. I smiled happily at him. "Come with me. I gotta get some laundry done or I'm out of clothes tomorrow."

I gave him a hug and we headed out, walking towards the bathhouse so I could throw some clothes in the camp's machines. "Your mom gonna be OK with you leaving?" I asked.

"Eh, frankly, no. She takes all the money I make working my jobs and gambles or worse with it, so she's not gonna like me leaving. I long to get away from that environment so much it's hard to describe. She'll probably try to break us up so she can keep controlling me. She never out and out said being gay would ruin my life like my Dad did, but she's subtly supported that feeling in me in order to keep me under her thumb. I've lived with misery so long that now, feeling happiness... It's like I'm a bird spreading my wings for the first time to take flight! The world seems to stretch out before me with promise and hope... I still can't believe you like me."

"I do like you." I glanced around to make sure we were alone. "I love you, kid."

I unlocked and opened the laundry room and threw some stuff in the machine. As I was working, Rory said "Steve saw us and is coming."

"K, thanks. Keeps me from saying something stupid." I said, winking at him. He stuck his pink tongue out at me.

A moment later Steve came around the corner to see me loading soap into the machine. "Hi Rory!" He said to the skunk, who was sitting on top of the dryer, idly kicking his long, shapely legs and sexy little feet.

"Hullo Steve!" The skunk chirped happily back with a smile.

"Ya got a second, Phil? Can you give us a minute in private, Rory?" Steve asked, eyeing the two of us.

I nodded and said "Sure. Pal, ya wanna meet me back at my room?"

Looking back and forth between us with a little bit of suspicion, the young male nevertheless nodded and padded off, his lovely tail switching hypnotically with each sexy step. I loved how he walked... it was so graceful and flowing and sensual, it was a total turn-on for me. After watching him go and staring at his luscious butt while feeling pride that he was mine, I asked "OK, what's up, Steve-o? Dave call another meeting?"

"Well, no. I wanted to ask you about Rory, but he never seems to leave your side long enough to do it. Did you work out the problem last night, by the looks of it?" He asked.

Frowning, I realized I hadn't exactly thought through my alibi in my mind. "Uh... yeah, we talked it out in the night, no thanks to you."

"What?" He asked, chuckling a little nervously.

"It was a messy situation and I really needed some time to think it over, but you wouldn't give me that time. Geeze Steve, you could have trusted me." I grunted, finishing with my laundry and leaning against the machine.

Looking a little embarrassed, he shifted his weight. "Well, I was right though, wasn't I? You needed to talk it out with him? What was going on, anyway?"

"It's private." I grunted. Then, when he gave me a suspicious look, I added "Unless he's told you more, you don't know the half of his bad home life. The poor kid is so miserable it's amazing."

Stepping inside the room, he lowered his voice. "Really? What did he tell you?" He sounded a little bit too eager to know, and it made me wonder if he was a gossip.

I scowled at him. "I told you, it's private. He spilled his guts to me in confidence, and I'm not about to betray that confidence. I was overwhelmed by it all. He's so lonely..." I trailed off, thinking about the things he'd said. "He's eighteen, so I've asked him to move in with me so he can get away from it all. He's already accepted, and he's ecstatic about it."

Shocked, my co-worker stared at me. "Whoa! Are you sure you're ready for that? I mean, if he's really messed up... it might end up being a really bad situation, ya know?"

Grimacing, I nodded. "Yeah, well, I wanted to think about that stuff last night, but you wouldn't let me."

Hanging his head, he mumbled "I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't realize you were as far along with him as that. I thought he was just following you around with hero worship in his eyes. I didn't realize he'd opened his heart up to you."

Putting my hand on his shoulder, I sighed. "It all worked out, Steve. It's OK."

Gratefully smiling, he tilted his head. "I did talk with Dave, though. He says it's OK if you need to keep spending one-on-one time with him. He said you can take as much as you need, but asked you not to abuse it and keep him with the group as much as you can. I hope I didn't push that too far, too? I should keep my nose out of it, huh?"

"I think it'll be OK. He and I have had some conversations about a bunch of issues. I think I can trust him. He's very well-mannered and sweet. We'll be OK to rejoin in things, I think." I said, pondering.

"Ya sure it's OK that he's moving in with you? That's bold for a kid you hardly even know..." He muttered, worriedly.

Yawning, I nodded. "Like I said, I think I can trust him. I feel like I know him quite well now; we've had a lot of... 'intimate sharing' that really got us on the same wavelength, I think."

He nodded. "I guess. After all, it's not like you're marrying him. Whoops, there's the bell, talk to you later, Phil." He turned and left, so he didn't see my lurch as he stabbed me with those words.

* * *

The rest of my day off was fairly quiet. I let him spend about half the time with me, but got him to join in the activities for the rest of the time. As I was walking to do another load of laundry, I looked up at the basketball court when I heard cheering, and saw him tearing up the asphalt in a game with the other boys. There was a sizable group of girls watching and cheering him on.

I smiled and shook my head.

Thursday

I rejoined the cabin at revelry, in time to help with cabin clean up. When the breakfast bell rang, everyone piled out, except for Rory and I, who hung back and waited for everyone else to leave. "I missed you last night. I already had trouble sleeping with you not there." He proclaimed proudly, and descended on me for a hug.

I embraced him, finding his sweet lips already pressing against mine, and we shared a lingering, tender kiss. When our lips parted, he nuzzled my neck, and I buried my face in his fur and smelled his wonderful scent. "Yeah, I was lonesome too. I almost snuck into the cabin for the night just so we'd be close. I thought I was just being silly, so it's great to here you had the same trouble." He kissed me again, swirling his tongue through my mouth with a contented sigh.

"Breakfast is on, pal." I murmured as we hugged.

We stepped outside and right into the eager grasp of about five of the girls who'd been waiting for him. "Hi Rory!" They all chorused, glancing at me with looks that told me my presence was not appreciated.

Glancing at him, I saw his left eye twitch a bit, involuntarily, which I took to be a sign of displeasure. There was no way out of this, so I let them surround him and headed for the dining hall alone. "Phil!" He squawked as he saw me leaving him.

I turned back and shrugged to him, looking quizzically at him as if to say, "What can we do that won't let on too much?" Seeing this, he nodded miserably. All five girls were trying to complement him and impress him and whatever else a teen girl wants to say to a boy they have a crush on.

* * *

When at last Rory and his bevvy of fans entered the dining hall, breakfast was nearly over. He managed to grab a tray and load up some food, making it to our table and plopping down next to me with a scowl. "Geeze. You left me!" He growled, accusingly.

"I'm sorry pal. What can I do? It's just for three more days, then things all change up."

His head shot up at that, and he saw me smiling at him. It made him beam delightedly to me. "Yeah, good point! I'm really, really lookin' forward to that!"

"Me too, but let's just take the time to appreciate being here. I love camp, you too?"

He nodded.

* * *

Now Rory was surrounded constantly by a bevy of girls. I remembered it being like this last year for him. His proficiency in all things sports and super cute looks made him the target of all the shallowest females. The number of adoring fans following him kept increasing, leading to some of the boys wanting to hang out with him so they could try and impress some of the girls who were always floating around him. "This is why I keep to myself all the time." He told me miserably on a rare occasion that we were alone together.

Even sailing was not an option. All those girls had seen us out there and were begging and pleading him to take them out. He ended up farming sailboat runs to half the girls at the camp. He looked at me glumly as we headed for our cabin to grab our Bibles for chapel. "Hey, most kids would love to be this popular, Rory. Look on the bright side, it at least means that there's something about you people like. Shallow or not, it's nice to be liked. Look at the alternative."

Sighing, he straightened up. "I know. I just... I have other people I'd rather hang out with right now."

"I know, me too. We'll be OK."

* * *

Nothing much changed for the rest of the day. One odd thing that happened was many items started to go missing, from clothes to toothbrushes and combs, even pillows. I thought there was a bit of a pattern to it, that it was happening to the girls hanging around Rory and nobody else, but I wasn't sure so I said nothing. Dave asked all the counselors to be watching and listening for any clues, as some of the girls were very upset about it.

The activity of the day was minigolf, which as usual my boyfriend dominated at. The groups playing had been randomly picked, and while I wasn't in his group, I walked over and muttered to him "Why don't you help the kids who are struggling? I'm sure they'd really appreciate it, pal..."

He looked up at me and nodded somberly, and I went back to my team. After we were done, I found him helping one of the skinny, un-athletic kids, who was looking up to him in awe and hero worship, shocked that the most popular kid at camp was being nice to him. The kid beat the rest of his team, and Rory had a new friend.

As we were getting ready for bed, he looked like he was pondering something. "That felt good." He declared.

"What did?" I asked, taking my shirt off and trying not to stare at his body as he stripped for bed. How had my taste in beauty and sexual feelings changed so drastically?

"Helpin' that kid, Mike, play miniature golf. He was so grateful... he thanked me like, golly, fifteen times for helping him."

It made me proud of him to hear him say that. "You can bet Mike wouldn't be shallow if you befriended him, pal; he'd think the world of you. Doncha think he's lonely like you said you were most of the time?"

His eyes unfocused and he stared at my pillow. "Yeeeeaaaahhhh..." He said slowly. "You're tryin' to teach me something, aren't you? I guess I spend a lot of the time thinking about myself." He admitted.

I shrugged. "You've had to for survival, but you're a sweet kid, Rory. I'm not the only person who would really think you're a great guy. Don't let your past obscure that fact from you."

I couldn't help staring at his jiggly, luscious round rump as he climbed up to the top bunk and got in bed. He saw me staring as he snuggled down in and smiled knowingly at me with a wink. Clearing my throat and swallowing thickly, I muttered "My assertion is becoming unappealing quickly. Why did I say that, now? I can't remember."

He stuck his tongue out at me, and I tried to compose myself enough to lead devotions for the night. Every time I glanced at him, I could see he was staring at me intently. It made my brain not want to work, but I managed to challenge the kids anyway, and we had a great conversation together with our Bibles open, then spent some time praying together. A good end to the day.

Friday

The highlight of Friday's activities was tubing down the river that flowed passed the camp's land. Dave dropped all the campers off in shifts, filling the bus with kids and tubes several times to get everyone there. He hoped to comb the camp with the remaining counselors for the missing items, as more and more was going missing and nobody could figure out who or why.

Rory and I went out with the last group and even hung back, hoping to steal a drink at the artesian well, but there was no luck there. Mike, the kid he'd helped in mini-golf, along with several of his adoring female fans were in our group, and they wouldn't leave us. Rory even gently tried to get them to go, promising he'd catch up, but they just declared they'd wait for him.

We looked at each other and wordlessly agreed that it was our special spot, so we would not let the others see it, even if it meant we wouldn't get to drink from it again. The last campers out, we entered the water and climbed on our tubes to float down the lazy river.

One of the girls was a very cute chipmunk named Mercy. She was nice, if a bit air-headed, but as was often the case with rodents, she was stuck permanently in high gear, constantly overwhelming poor Rory with babble and questions and things she wanted him to do. Mike was very eager to please and looking up at him like he was a hero, eyes wide through his pop-bottle glasses.

At first, several of the prettiest girls treated Mike with open disdain, which made him blush and look humiliated. To my surprise, Rori and stood up for the kid immediately, declaring that Mike was his friend, and demanding they apologize or he wanted nothing to do with them. They were shocked to befuddlement, that a popular guy would stick up for a nerdy kid like that, and sheepishly apologized to the young human.

It made two of the girls immediately lose interest in Rori, which pretty much disgusted me, but I'd never been so proud of someone as I was of him for doing this for Mike. The rest of them warmed up and started being nice, including Mercy, who now was all over both of them. The chipmunk girl was very sweet, actually... but her fixation on my lover was irritating me.

Even if she was dominating his attention, at least he and I were able to enjoy tubing together.

Dave picked us up several miles down the river at a landing point, and we headed back to camp to get dressed before heading to an ice cream parlor called Ceasill's for "Pig's Dinners," their ultimate ice-cream sundae. It was always one of the favorite camp activities, and it was always a contest for some of the campers to see who could finish the giant monstrosity of ice cream, bananas, fudge, fresh nuts, caramel and fruit. "You gonna try to eat a whole one?" I asked Rory.

Shaking his head, he stuck his tongue out. "Yuck, I don't wanna get sick. I'm gonna order something smaller."

"Wanna share one? My treat?" I asked him with a hint of a naughty grin.

Wide-eyed, he stared at me as he realized the connotations of the public display of intimacy it would be, no matter how mild. He nodded, looking excited. "Oh yeah! For sure!"

Later on, when we were in private, he told me how romantic that had felt. "There we were, in public, sharing long range kisses through our food. Every time you took a bite, I would take a bite out of the same spot, feeling as if in a way our lips were touching over and over each time. It felt so intimate, and... to be doing it in front of everyone, it felt really sexy, too."

Unfortunately, one of those who attempted to eat the whole twelve-scoop sundae was Mercy, and though she didn't manage to finish, the resulting sugar rush had her literally running around on the ceiling using her sharp claws. She was an army surrounding Rory all by herself, and to hear her talk they were already dating, or maybe married with kids... she was moving so fast it was hard to understand her. The sexy skunk looked like a dying castaway, swirling in the epicenter of a whirlpool of rusty fur and black stripes.

By the time we got back to camp, I was getting fed up with his popularity, and we quietly agreed to ditch them all and meet at my room during the remains of free time. We split up, and he assured me that he had a plan to get away from them.

He finally showed up five minutes later, panting. "What'd you have to do to escape?" I asked, chuckling.

"I went into the cabin, then went out the back door and ran around the whole edge of the property to get here from behind so they couldn't see me or follow me." He said, flopping down on the bed.

"Well, it worked. They'll probably be there waiting for you for the whole rest of free time." I chortled.

Looking pained, he sighed "Probably. I really don't like all that attention. I just wanna spend time with you. Well, I guess I like that Mike kid... Not LIKE like, just as a friend-type of like. You've already made me a better person just with that one suggestion, Phil... Thank you so much."

Looking at him with lust in my eyes, I got up and turned on my air conditioner, then sat beside him on the bed and eagerly murmured, "You are very welcome, though I can't take any credit... You know how I said we shouldn't have sex while we're here at camp anymore?"

He stared up at me with a look of sweetness and innocence and nodded. "Uh-huh?"

Nervous but excited, I softly whined "I'm wishing I hadn't said that, now. Uhhn, ya wanna... well do 'it' again?"

Apologetically, he looked up at me. "You had an awfully good point about that. I don't want to get you in trouble or get you fired, and we'll be living together so we'll be able to make love as often as we want. Let's just wait 'till then."

I hung my head and moaned. "Aww Rory, I don't want to have to wait... I love being with you, and it's so exciting and new and sexy, I'm getting incredibly horny. I'm sorry I laid down that ultimatum, it was stupid. Can we please forget what I said?" My eyes were pleading with him.

Shaking his head, he smiled softly. "C'mon, Phil. You were right, this isn't the place for that, wait until we go home."

"But that's two whole days from now, Rory!" I protested. "I can't last that long! I'm addicted to intimacy with you now that I've experienced it... I loved it! It felt so... so wonderful..."

Folding his arms and looking obstinate, he shook his head. "Phil! Get a hold of yourself, now." He said firmly.

I was completely unable to believe he was doing this to me. For a kid who'd jumped me like a horny slut, he was suddenly being remarkably chaste. I hung my head. "A... alright. I'm sorry." I whispered.

His stern face broke and he giggled and hugged me. "Relax, Phil! I'm just teasing you! Yes, I'd kill to make love with you again, so please don't be sad. I honestly guessed the ultimatum wasn't going to last very long, we're both too horny and new and in love."

Blushing, I playfully swatted his lusty butt. "Hey! No being mean to me this week! This is 'Be nice to me' week."

"Oh!" He laughed. "Well, in that case, getch'er clothes off and screw me silly, sexy boy!"

I stood up and he met me on his feet, roughly grabbing me and kissing me. I grabbed him back, pulling him close and grinding my body against his. Clothes went flying everywhere in a mad rush to get naked and have sex. We didn't have a whole lot of free time left since we'd spent a good chunk eating ice cream and getting here to the privacy of my room.

I reveled in the soft warmth of his fur and carefully eased him backwards onto the bed, kissing his neck and chest. He smelled so nice, I breathed deeply his scent. Naked, the two of us began to explore and caress each other, breathing heavily from lust. "Your naked skin is so smooth and soft." He sighed.

"Mmm, thanks Rory. I totally love your soft, warm fur. It's so beautiful and glossy and snuggly... just like you. Your body is so different, I can't get over how good it feels to be naked with you." I murmured back.

I felt a velvety paw begin to play with my sex and I let out a happy groan as it lurched and swelled even tighter. My own fingers found his round, sexy rump and I began to work the flesh, massaging and squeezing his delectable booty. "Let's get you fired up." He somberly declared, then squirmed around and started to lick me. I shook in delight as I felt his impossibly slick, sexy tongue slurp over me.

I drew my hands around to his warm, rock-hard meat and started to stroke and play with it. The glossy purple head, his fuzzy sheath resting down at the base of his sex... he was so different and juicy, I loved it. I stroked him for a while and enjoyed his tongue, then was suddenly filled with a burning desire to gulp him down myself.

Leaning over, I began to lick the head of his cock, heaving a happy sigh at the now familiar, yet so unique taste of his erect, throbbing sex. We licked and tenderly explored each other with the tips of our tongues, gently growing to cover and lick more and more of each other. I kissed my way down the underside of his beautiful penis, nibbled on his furry sheath, then continued down to his perfect, warm balls.

I again breathed deep the musky scent of malehood that clung so deliciously to his body. I enjoyed again how wonderful his body smelled compared to a human's, pausing just to take deep breaths of his nice scent. There was little room for me to pause though, and I began to firmly work his balls in my hands, licking them wherever my tongue could reach around my hands. He lowed like an ox at the sensation, and I buried my face into his taint, kissing and smooching all over him.

I was craning my neck to reach him from where I was, laying on my side next to him. Giving my swollen glans a lingering kiss, he pulled back and rubbed me, speaking with a voice tight with lust and passion. "Baby, let's sixty-nine this time. Whaddaya think?"

I reluctantly pulled back from sucking on a mouthful of his balls. "I don't know what that is, pal."

How sounded bewildered as he softly said "Are you kidding? You don't know what sixty-nine means?"

My cheeks flushed a bit and I defensively said "No, I wasn't really planning on having sex before marriage, so I haven't gone out to try and learn everything I could about it. Not only that, I know even less about gay sex."

"But... kids at school must've said something? Guys always talk about it. It isn't exclusive to gay sex, any two lovers can do it." He softly intoned, obviously still in awe over my square-ness.

"I went to a private school, Rory. You're embarrassing me. If you want to do it, just tell me what and how, OK?" I testily grunted.

He shook his striped head. "I'm sorry, Phil. You don't have to be embarrassed with your lover... I was just surprised, and I thought you might be pulling my leg, since I keep teasing you. Think of how the numbers six and nine look, then imagine that the hole on the number is your mouth and the line is your..."

Nodding, I hurriedly said "Oh, I get it, I get it."

Leaning over to kiss my cock, he added "We were doing it already, pretty much, but we'd get more comfortable, maybe with you on all fours above me, then we just work to pleasure each other in unison. We get bonus points if we can hold out and bring each other to ejaculation at the same time, or we could even try to outlast each other... but for our first time, I think we should just relax and enjoy bringing each other over the edge and exploring our sexuality."

"OK!" I nodded and smiled. I swung up over him on all fours and found myself face to face with skunk penis. It now filled my senses, the smell and view, the soft skin and fur all dominated my consciousness. I liked this already. "Now what?" I asked, flustered.

Feeling paws reach up and squeeze my ass was nearly enough to make me fall over. He smacked my bottom good and hard a few times, enjoying the smack of his pads against my bare skin. "Now, we enjoy each other to the utmost. We trust each other implicitly and give each other complete control over our sex. We work together and experiment with different oral techniques and show them to each other and try them out. Connect with me, Phil. Unify our bodies and minds as we do this, please? Sound good?"

"Ooohhhhhkay." I hesitantly groaned. His words were so sexy, I was instantly dying to do as he'd said.

"Try this out. Tell me how it feels." He said, and I felt him suck my cock into his mouth, taking as much as he could, then sucking down _hard_before slowly pulling nearly all the way off. Just before the head popped free of the suction in his mouth, he sank back on me, releasing the pressure and slurping up and down on me a couple times. "Did that feel good?" He thickly asked, panting.

"Wow, yeah! You could suck the lacquer off a lamp with that sexy muzzle! It was intense!" I gasped, trying to breathe after automatically holding my breath.

"Show me?" He softly begged me.

"Absolutely." I cooed. I did my best to copy what he'd done, though I was hardly experienced. I slurped his purple, shiny head into my mouth and lapped at the tip a bit, then sucked down it, taking as much in as I could manage. I sucked so hard it hurt and slowly pulled back to just the glans in my mouth.

"Gyaaaakk!" He squealed and bucked like a bronco underneath me. When I finished and released the pressure, he relaxed. "Whoa. That's intense. That's really, really intense." He moaned as I sucked him, bobbing up and down for a bit. I reapplied the pressure again for a single stroke, then released it for more gentle sucking.

He rejoined me in the effort and we did it in unison for a few minutes, grunting and moaning in pleasure as we sucked each other. "MAN, you've got a sexy penis. I love how you taste and feel in my mouth!" I enthused as I paused to catch my breath. I cupped his balls and worked them, feeling them tighten up into his body. "Yaaa... So great."

I clung to his hips as we began to increase our play, working hard and fast to drive each other wild. The more pleasure I felt him apply to me, the harder I worked at making him feel good. I was crazy with lust and sex drive, desperate for release, but also desperate for another drink of his seed, boiling into my mouth from out of his meat.

After several more minutes, I started blowing him hard and fast, moving frantically, increasing and decreasing the sucking pressure with each stroke. I felt him match my speed and intensity, but then also felt him working his tongue in circles and side-to-side on me, increasing the stimulation on my sensitive cock. I tried to do it back to him.

We both began to moan and gurgle in greater and greater ecstasy as we worked harder and harder. I was panting and wild, riding high on adrenalin as I frantically slurped on his throbbing, tightly swollen dick. He squirmed around underneath me, and suddenly I could tell I was losing control.

I gripped his hips and began to hump a bit into his muzzle, I felt his claws bite into my hips, then I squealed past my mouthful and shot a wad of cream into his mouth. He grunted and sucked hard, pulling cum out of my balls. I shuddered and spurted my semen into him, spasmodically twitching. His grunting and moaning approval sounded extra sexy.

I was filling his sweet young mouth with my seed, spilling all my pent up lust and desire onto his cute pink tongue. His tail switched wildly suddenly, and I tried to keep sucking him, realizing he had to be close too. He opened his mouth and cried "Ahhh! So much cum! Gosh, you needed release, baby!" I felt him clamp back onto my shaft as he finished speaking.

My orgasm was making me see stars, and I wished I could watch what was happening between my legs, imagining sperm spraying on his face, into his muzzle, onto his paws... I wanted to soak him down with my jizz, marking him out as mine.

Suddenly he squealed, and without warning shot a thick spurt of skunk seed into my mouth. It was slippery and warm, and my mouth instantly became even more slick than it had been, suddenly effortlessly silky from the delicious lubricant of his spunk. I thickly swallowed his expulsion, listening to him cry out in ecstasy as I came down from my own orgasm.

I relaxed and focused on drinking his seed as he grunted and buried his face in my crotch. His cum was pungent, but I was already finding it easier to swallow, just knowing it was my precious sweetheart Rory made it better than hot chocolate. He looked so cute when he was orgasming, his whole body trembling and shivering, causing his sleek black fur to shimmer and sparkle in the light.

I was relaxed from my orgasm, and heaved a sigh of contentment as his flood of nectar began to slow down. He was panting and groaning, making me proud that I'd given him such pleasure. I stroked his hips and squeezed affectionately. He was impossibly sexy and soft.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced through the window outside. There, I saw Dave walking along the path towards the counselor's cabin. As far as I knew, I was the only person in here, therefore the only one he could possibly be coming to see. I dropped low to make sure I wasn't visible from the window, naked and sucking a penis. I pulled off Rory's cock, exclaiming. "Oh man. Oh no. Oh, no! What'm I doin'?" I gasped, angry at myself for forgetting to keep an eye out. I dove off him for my clothes, leaving him cumming in the air.

Confused and looking crestfallen, he started to say "What are you doing? Not this again! Phil, c'mon! Can't you just enjoy this and stop with the guilty two-facing..."

Cutting him off, I hissed "Getcherclotheson! Getcher clothes on!" as I frantically tried to dress.

He stared at me for a split second, then understood and dove with feral grace and speed for his clothes. Blast! Why had we spread them out all over the room? I yanked my shirt on and wildly tried to dive into my underwear and pants at the same time. There was a knock on the door and I heard Dave call out "Phil?"

"Yo!" I called back as Rory threw his shirt on and made a dive for my chair, sinking into a lounging position so he looked like he'd always been there. He even grabbed a Bible off my nightstand and flipped it open on the bed.

I opened the door, hoping we'd gotten everything back in order. "Hey Dave!" I said, smiling and trying to act natural. We'd just been talking is all, and we'd just been interrupted, I told myself, willing my heart to slow down.

Looking in the room and taking in Rory and the Bible, he smiled and stepped in. "Sorry to bother you guys. The next group is getting ready to go camping and they can't find the coolers. You have any idea what happened to them? I'm worried it's our mysterious gremlin again."

Suddenly, I was keenly aware of the fact that Dave would always stand really close to the person he was talking to, in this case me. That wasn't so bad, but I'd just swallowed a thick load of cum fresh from my lover's body, and could still taste it strongly in my mouth. To speak would be to blow my cum breath right on my boss.

I froze for a split second, then stepped back and sat down on my bed, hoping it would look like I'd been there and gotten up to answer the door. "Uhhhh, our camping trip was two days ago, the group yesterday must've used them, right? I turned them in to the cooks when we got back to camp."

Dave nodded and strode over to me, still way closer than I felt was safe, but at least I was now sitting and he was standing. "Yeah, they had 'em yesterday, but Julie and Kristen are positive they turned them in."

I tried to covertly sniff the air and see if there was the smell of semen there at all. "I don't know where they are, all I can tell you is I didn't take 'em. It was my day off yesterday. I wish we could find who's doing this and why, it's getting serious."

"Alright, well I'm going to keep looking, since the group can't leave without them." The director sighed, heading for the door.

To my surprise and consternation, Rory piped up. "I... uh... I know where they are..."

Dave and I both looked at him in surprise, and Dave came back in and to my horror, sat down on the bed next to me. Right next to me, where not only would he smell my breath, but he might scent cum off of Rory's breath as he was now only a few feet from the skunk. "Where are they, Rory?" He asked, a little bit sternly.

His eyes wide, my boyfriend held up his paws. "Whoa! I didn't take 'em, I just overheard the people who did talking about it. They're in the garage, behind some wooden stage walls or something stored in there."

"The garage..." the older human muttered half to himself and stood up. Over his shoulder, he said "if I find 'em I'll be back to let you know, and I want to know who it was you heard. Thanks, Rory."

I watched him hurry out and back down the path. "Who did you overhear?" I thoughtfully asked.

Again he looked at his toes and started to clench them. "I don't like bein' a tattletale... I just told 'cause I know how I'd feel if I didn't get to go camping because somebody played a stupid practical joke."

"I won't tell Dave. Who was it, Roars?" I prodded. "Please tell me it wasn't you... I've noticed the bulk of it is happening to the girls hanging around you."

Still looking at his toes, he muttered "No, of course it wasn't me. When have I been away from you that I coulda done it? Well anyway, it was Mercy. She was goin' crazy in a sugar rush from the ice cream... got a little careless and I overheard her."

The revelation made me blink and laugh. "Mercy? Wow, I thought it'd be some spoiled brat boy that does stuff like that. Girls usually are too thoughtful to do that kinda thing."

He slouched down in his chair. "Welllll, she sorta tried to recruit me to help her do it, too. I didn't want to, but you saw how she is, she nearly tried to force me. I don't have much of a spine when somebody starts to order me around. I'm sorry, Phil... I shoulda spoke up sooner."

Smiling, I reached out for him. When he didn't move, I softly said "C'mere, sweetheart."

Standing up, he whispered "You aren't angry?"

"No." I shook my head. He stepped over and sat in my lap. I filled my arms with him, pressing our bodies together. "I just don't want you to get into trouble because somebody pushes you to do something you don't want."

Looking ashamed, he mumbled "I don't have any willpower."

"Bull!" I snorted. "You threw every ounce of your will into seducing me, Rory. You succeeded in it, too, not just in raw sex, but making me fall in love with you. From spending time with you, I would guess that you are afraid of making people dislike you, so you'll do what they want just to keep on everyone's good side. That's not necessary, pal. You aren't going to be able to make friends with everybody, and some people will try to get you to do bad, bad things."

"I know." He whispered. "I... somebody at school two years ago got me to try cocaine because of that."

My ears burned in shock, and I felt dizzy. "Oh dear God... are you a drug addict, Rory?" I gasped in horrified shock.

He began to cry, sensing how upset I was. "Not any more, no. I... I used pretty heavily for a couple months though, and I had to go into rehab. It was awful getting off it, and I was really, really craving getting back on..." Swallowing, he at last looked up and met my eyes. "Until I went to camp last year and met you. You were so strong, and you spoke to everyone against using drugs. That was when I knew we were meant to be together, and it was you who gave me the strength to stay off that junk. If I have any willpower, I owe it to you."

Feeling sick, I leaned back in my chair and tried to absorb all that. This kid... was way beyond my ability to cope with. I'd never done anything like that in my life, nor did I want to. Nor, for that matter, did I especially want to have anything to do with people that did do those things. I suddenly found him to be strange and unappealing.

"You're mad at me." He observed after a long silence.

Glancing up, I could see tears silently streaming from his eyes. How had we gotten on this conversation? I realized how little I knew of him, and how foolish it had been to get so intimate with a stranger. "Rory, I want you to promise me that you'll never do that junk ever again. If you truly do love me, I want you to swear you'll never touch drugs or alcohol ever again. I... can't be with someone who does that evil stuff."

Eyes wide and frightened, he frantically nodded his head. "I know! I'm clean, an' I never want to even look at it ever again! I do love you, Phil, and I'm so ashamed that I did those things. I just wanted to tell you because I love you, and I want to share everything in my heart with you. I don't want to carry secrets..." He sobbed.

I felt suddenly bad for being angry at him and hugged him tight. "It's OK. I believe you, Rory."

"I've tried to be strong since then." He cried. "I try to be strong for you, but I got weak again with Mercy. I feel so ashamed, now. I failed you."

I pressed my face into the top of his head, smelling his beautiful scent as I held him in a crushing embrace. "You didn't fail me, honey. It's OK. Nobody's perfect, I know that, and this thing with Mercy is no big deal at all. Listen, I want to help you where you need it, pal. Never be afraid to come to me about stuff. I'm not your counselor or something anymore, I'm your friend and your lover. I know you're better than that, baby. I know. Just be calm. I'm right here and I love you."

He sniffled and sobbed and hugged me back. We were still like that when Dave came in. I didn't hear him until there was a knock on the door. My first inclination was to push Rory off, but he was clinging so tight, and I decided that embracing a crying camper was not going to be interpreted as us being sexually interacting. "That you Dave?" I called.

"Yep." Came the reply.

I kissed the top of Rory's head and hugged him close in a masculine, paternal embrace. "Can it wait? We're kind of busy."

Dave could be pushy and insensitive sometimes. "I just want to talk to Rory quick. I found the coolers right where he said." Without waiting, he pushed the door open and found the skunk sitting on my lap, still crying. "Uh. Oh." He mumbled. "I... I'm sorry."

"Can it wait, Dave?" I gently repeated, looking at him over the top of Rory's pretty head.

"Yeah, sure..." He weakly managed and closed the door, leaving us alone.

"It's OK, Rory. You know it's wrong now, and I trust you're clean. I trust you, honey. It's OK." I kept repeating to him.

"I watch my Mom destroy herself with drugs every day, and I always swore I'd never touch it, and then I go and get addicted anyway. I knew better! It's not OK, because I don't even trust myself." He cried.

This was so beyond what I knew how to deal with. I could talk to other kids about stuff like this, but with Rory, with someone I actually loved, I was helpless. "Rory, honey, you aren't going to be alone anymore. We're going to be together, and we'll say no together, OK? You're out of high school, and that makes a big difference to peer pressure, too. It's OK, pal. I'm not angry, I love you."

It took a long time, but I finally did get Rory to settle down. When he at last pulled back from the hug and looked at me, it was the first time that I felt as if he looked at me with pure, deep love instead of worshipful puppy love. Somehow, I came out of it not mistrusting him because of the mistakes in his past, but loving him deeply because of who he was. I think he grew up in my arms, took on responsibility for his actions, for his life, and for my life as well. At least, I know I sure did.

Our reverie in each other was abruptly broken again with a hesitant knock on my door. I pulled back with a sigh and headed over to see who it was. When I opened the door, there stood Mike, looking scared to be here. "H... hi Phil. Is Rory around...?" He haltingly asked.

I threw the door open and smiled. "Yeah, we're just hangin' out here."

The pretty skunk smiled. "Hi Mike! Sorry I ditched ya... I wanted to get away from all those girls. I was just thinking about trying to go find you so you could join us."

The human youth looked immensely relieved that he hadn't been one of the ones being purposely ditched on. He came in and sat down on the bed. I closed the door and Rory and I shared a look; our hiding spot had been found. We wouldn't be able to sneak off here to make love anymore, it would be too risky that we'd be discovered now.

We reverted back to three guys hanging out and having fun, telling jokes and chatting for the few more minutes before the end of freetime.

* * *

It was the evening free time before Dave caught up to us, as I'd been so absorbed in Rory I'd forgotten all about it. We were more or less wandering around the camp and messing around with the various games and activities without getting too involved in anything. There were girls all around Rory, but when Dave asked to talk to us in private, they all wandered off.

"Rory, there were a bunch of practical jokes played on people all around the camp today and yesterday. It started with toothbrushes and went to clothes and even suitcases, then to these coolers and lots of other missing items. Whoever is doing it is going way, way too far. Now, you know who it is, and we need to know who it is to try and get all the missing stuff back. Some of the girls are pretty upset about it." He looked serious as he spoke. "This is a big deal, Rory. The camp could be in serious trouble with parents if the missing items aren't found.

Glancing at me, Rory softly said, "What's going to happen to them if I tell you?"

"Well, I don't know. It will depend on the person's defense and the return of all the stolen items. They'll suffer the wrath of some of the girls, for certain."

Looking sad, the skunk softly said, "Can I go talk to the person first? Try to get them to turn themselves in? I honestly don't think it was meant to go this far or turn bad. They just weren't thinking."

A bit annoyed, Dave nevertheless agreed to it. "Alright, go ahead, but don't take too long, please."

Rory looked up at me. "Be right back." He said and scampered off.

Dave looked intently at me, but was silent for several minutes. "Seems you two have really bonded." He contemplatively blurted out suddenly.

"Yeah. Why?" I said, feeling very self-conscious under his gaze.

"I hope you are being wise and keeping things professional and appropriate."

"Uh. Yeah, I am doing my best." I lied.

"Did he tell you who did it?" He quietly asked.

I wasn't sure I wanted to answer that, but I couldn't lie twice in a row to my boss. "Yeah, he did, Dave."

"And who is it?" I sighed as he spoke those words. I'd been expecting that to be next.

"Let's just wait to see if Rory can get her to admit to it on her own. He told me in confidence, and I don't want to betray that." I hazarded, feeling a bit upset that he would even ask me.

"Did you know Rory before this week?" He asked, returning to the topic I wanted very much for him to leave.

I forced myself to meet his gaze. Did he suspect something? "Not really. He was in my cabin last year, but was really shy. I guess I was his hero, but he was too shy to say anything. He's opened up to me this year, though."

"Hmmm." Dave muttered, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if his fixation on you is healthy. Maybe you'd better pull away from him for the rest of the week."

Cautious, I told him a bit about my sweetheart without getting into specifics or talking about his sexuality. "...and I can tell he's so lonely because of all that. He trusts nobody, and even if someone tries to be friendly, he is automatically sure their reasons are selfish and false."

"Then why does he trust you?"

Shaking my head, I said "I've been asking myself that all week. Whatever his reason, I just want to be his friend and try to help him."

There were several more minutes of silence, then Dave proclaimed "Alright, you can keep it up. Just don't get in too deep or personal with the kid, that could be bad."

Inside, I reflected on how much deeper and intimate our relationship was than my boss would have ever guessed. I also stifled a snort. The summer was almost over, after all. Even if he'd forbade me to even look at Rory again, it would only be for less than forty-eight hours. "Thanks, Dave." I politely said instead.

Rory rounded the corner of cabins one and two, his arm compassionately around the trembling Mercy's shoulder. I could see the girl was crying.

* * *

Sobbing, Mercy apologized, swearing she'd only meant it to be for fun and hadn't meant to get people all upset at her. Dave handled it fairly well, and she showed him where she'd stashed everything; in a storage area in the rafters of one of the cabins that I hadn't even known was there. With her claws, she'd simply climbed the wooden walls and ceiling to get inside to hide everything.

To my surprise, Rory took half the blame on himself, even though he hadn't actually done it, he's simply been aware of who had. I could tell that Mercy was unbelievably grateful that he stood with her and apologized to everyone on their behalf before evening chapel. A few people were upset, but most forgave them, simply glad to have their pillows, luggage, and other things back unharmed.

I was proud of him for doing it. It showed what a big heart he had, even through all the tribulations he'd endured in his life. I fell in love with him all over again, smiling at him as he begged everyone for forgiveness, which in the end all the campers did.

The only problem that came out of all of it was that before this, Mercy had simply had a crush on Rory, but was now convinced that she was in love with him and he with her. She was all over him with amazing intensity and deep passion. Worse, Rory didn't seem to be able to stand up for himself and try to tell her it was not so.

* * *

That night, in the dark of the cabin, I took the chance of reaching up to the bunk above me and finding Rory's hand to hold hands with him for a while. We'd gotten zero time alone, and it looked doubtful that we'd get any more with both Mike and Mercy joined at his hip.

It felt good to hold his soft, warm paw. There weren't any felines in the cabin, so I was fairly certain it wouldn't be visible to anybody what we were doing there in the dark. We held hands for quite a while, until he fell asleep and his grasp released, letting my hand fall. After that, I rolled over and went to sleep myself.

Saturday

It was the final day of the final week of camp for the year. There wasn't a whole lot special that would happen, at least between Rory and I. We'd both given up trying to have private time. Mike and Mercy were just constantly there with us.

We would have a weenie roast and picnic for supper, there would be the campfire and testimonies out in front of the lake at the end. I had to do several things which took me away from Rory, but he seemed much more relaxed and confident now. When I'd return, I would find him laughing and talking with the other boys, or even playing sports with them while Mercy cheered him on. When our eyes would meet, we'd share a knowing look and smile.

It felt strange to pack up all my belongings after all summer. I would be bidding farewell to this place forever, at least as a counselor. My relationship with Rory was expressly forbidden in the application forms for counselors, and while I now thought it was ridiculous, I would honor the camp board's wishes and not attempt to return. I didn't figure forcing the issue would help open their eyes, and would simply make them hate me.

With my suitcases filled and closed, I decided to leave the air conditioner for whoever would take my place next year. I walked my stuff to my car and stared at it, trying to imagine going back to college and home and family after this last week. I wouldn't be going back alone, thank God, I now had a... 'mate,' furkind call it.

I wandered about, smelling the breeze off the lake, listening to the waves lapping on the dock, cleaning up the waterfront some- all the while thinking about the week and what had happened. I felt like a fish drowning in the ocean suddenly.

* * *

The rest of the day went all too fast for me, and I found myself at the campfire during testimonies, half listening as kids and counselors stood up and shared various things with everyone. I was jolted awake from my reverie when Rory stood up and spoke.

"Hey everyone, I wanted to thank you all for being so nice to me this week. I've always been shy and introverted, but with some close help and guidance from my best friend, I reached out for the first time in my life this week, and I had a wonderful time doing it. I've gone to this camp all my life, and now that it's my final year, I want to thank you all for making me feel welcome. When I'm here, I feel like I actually matter to somebody. I think of you all as my family, and I'll miss you, thank you."

He sat back down, and I couldn't resist hugging him tightly. He hugged me back and gave a little sniffle, whispering into my ear, "Thank you, Phillip."

I took a bold risk and kept my arm around him for the rest of the campfire.

Sunday

It was time to go home. Rory was coming with me, and we decided to swing by his home on our way to mine so he could pick up his belongings. "I don't have much." He said, sounding embarrassed. "Just a few more clothes and a couple things from my brother. Oh, and I got some 'My Lil' Pony' dolls."

Nodding, I smiled. "No problem, pal. I'm just overjoyed to have you coming with me. I feel like it's a dream."

Looking at me gravely, he softly whispered "Phil, my Mom's gonna go berserk over this. She won't care that I'm your lover or anything at all, all that she'll care about is the fact that she can't get money from me anymore for gambling and drugs."

Catching his shoulder, I looked into his brown eyes. "You're an adult now, she can't stop you, no matter how hard she tries. We'll get your stuff and get out of there, OK?"

He nodded. "I wish I could see my brother again." He sighed. "I never did learn what he thought about my sexuality. I'd like to think he would have accepted it. Now I'm cutting all ties, I doubt I'll ever see him again, huh."

I shrugged, a little unsure why he'd brought this up suddenly. "I can't predict the future, pal, but maybe we could sniff around and see about finding him; he's an adult too now, and he can make up his own mind about seeing his little brother or not."

I finished up my exit interviews with Dave, breaking the news that this was my last year. I thanked him and Steve for a great summer, bid all my co-counselors goodbye, and we were on our way home. He lived about an hour from camp, and I lived about two hours beyond him, so we drove straight for his house first.

He was tense and quiet for the whole ride, and when we pulled up to a dingy, dilapidated apartment building in a lousy section of town, he groaned "Aww, she's home. I'd hoped she'd be out someplace getting fried and I could just leave a note. C'mon, let's get this over with..."

He unlocked the door and let us in to the building, then paused to take a deep breath at their apartment door. I reached out and hugged him. "You're OK, pal, I'm here." I softly encouraged.

He looked up at me with grateful eyes. "I know. I still han't got used to the idea. It feels like a great dream that I'm going to wake up from." With that, he stuck his key in the lock and unlocked the door. "Welcome to my pathetic life. Please forgive me in advance for my Mother."

I stepped inside, into a smelly, filthy, squalid apartment. There was garbage everywhere, holes in the walls, mold, broken furniture, beer cans; it was hard to believe that someone could live in this mess. I felt very sorry for Rory, and was about to hug him, as I could tell he was humiliated.

As I looked around, a voice drew my attention to the couch. "There you are!" It slurred, sounding drunk. "Where y' been? Get me a beer, I'm th-thirstly!"

There on the couch was his mother, I supposed. She looked like a drug addict, with skin sagging over a bony, emaciated frame. Her hair was filthy and unwashed, her once-beautiful long tail matted and mangy, and her fur was patchy and dull. She was only wearing some stained underwear and lying in a pile of beer cans. "Aww Mom!" Rory said, sounding disgusted. "Didn't you clean up ever the whole week? Where are your clothes?? We've got company and look at what you did to the apartment!" He cried.

She blinked up at me, slowly focusing her eyes on my face until she could see me. "Well, hello sailor? This your boyfriend?" She sneered dismissively. Looking on the coffee table, I could see various drug paraphernalia, including a crack pipe. I was feeling ill just looking at her. In my world there was none of this, and seeing it, knowing that Rory lived in this, was a nightmare.

Folding his arms across his chest, Rory exclaimed "As a matter of fact, he is!"

She laughed, then saw he was serious and tried to stand up. She was unsteady on her feet. "Name's Chrystal. Nice to meetcha, wha's yer name?"

I felt my cheeks burning. In standing up, she'd managed to have her bra fall halfway off. "Mooooommmm!" Rory whined in horror, stepping forward to fix it for her. She'd perhaps been beautiful once, but drugs and alcohol had nearly completely drained her of it.

Hardly seeming to hear him, she cooed "Ooo, ain't you a lil' cutie! Y' jus' like boys, or do girls int'rest you too? An' ya still havn' said yer name."

"Phillip." I managed at last. "And that's private." Rory looked into my eyes, silently asking me to distract her while he tried to hurriedly pack. I nodded almost imperceptibly, and he smiled gratefully as he scuttled away.

Laughing stonedly, she said "Ya wanna beer?"

"No thank you, ma'am." I replied, trying to think of something to say to redirect the conversation.

Scowling, she growled "Wassa matter? Y' too high n' mighty t' drink with an older woman?"

Ears burning, I shook my head. "No ma'am, not at all, it's just I don't drink."

She stared at me, then laughed heartily. "Y' hear that, Rory? Yer boyfriend's too sophisti... sophosto... he's too high-n-mighty ta drink!"

Sounding cross and defensive, I heard Rory call from another room of the squalid apartment, "I don't drink either, Mom!"

That made her laugh even harder. "Like pickles y' don't! Half a' these cans here are yours, ya lil' liar!"

I stared at her, my heart filling with horror. Had Rory been filling my ears with things he thought I would want to hear, instead of the truth? Slowly, I turned towards the small hallway he'd disappeared down. "Rory, is that true?" I called softly.

"N... no! No that's not true! I don't drink!" I heard him call back, sounding afraid.

His mother sniggered. "Yeah, sure. He's a lil' liar. Alla time lyin' 'bout ever'thing. Go check th' fridge an' you'll find a half-empty beer with his name on 't. He's particular 'bout not mixin' his stuff up with mine."

Still staring at her, I wound my way to the filthy kitchen and opened the fridge. From around the corner, his mother called "An grab me one while yer in there, Phillip!"

There on the shelf was a beer can with 'Rory' neatly written on it in permanent marker. I pulled it out, staring at it. Turning slowly, I found Rory had come around the corner and was looking at me with worry in his eyes. Without saying anything, I held the can up so he could see it, a look of grim disappointment on my face.

He stared at it in fright, then softly squeaked "Phil, c'mere..." motioning me towards his room.

As I passed his mother, I could see a malicious grin on her face as she watched me walk by, the can still clutched in my hand. "Uh oh. Did I get him in trouble?" She chortled.

I stepped into Rory's room, and found it to be night and day different from the rest of the apartment. It was clean and tidy, with everything neatly arranged and decorated, somehow fitting his personality. He seemed to collect "My Lil' Pony" dolls.

Again I held up the can. "Rory, you lied to me. How can you claim to care if you do that? How can you expect me to trust you?"

He looked frightened, his eyes darting from the can to my face. "Phil, I don't drink! Look around this place! Do you think we actually own any cups? I have to use beer cans like glasses, that's all that is."

Relief flooded me, and I let out a sigh. "Really?" I asked.

"Yes really. Taste it. It's just water." He replied. "I told you my Mom would try to drive you away... the moment she heard you say you don't drink she jumped on it. She's got more smarts than you'd think for an addict."

"I'm sorry I was angry. I was just scared that..." As I spoke, I held the can up and took a sniff. The smell was the overpowering stink of spoiled beer. "Gahh! That isn't water!" I yelped, jerking it away from my nose and almost dropping it. My fear and hurt returned doubly hard. He was lying to me!

"What?" He squawked and dove on it, snatching it from me. He took a sniff and wrinkled his muzzle, holding it away like it was diseased. "Auf! Mom!" He yelled. "Did you trade my drinking can?"

Turning back to me and lowering his voice, he began to plead. "Phil, she must've put beer into it to try an' get me to drink on accident! She likes to do things like that to me, she thinks it's funny. I swear to you, this isn't mine! She's trying to make you mad at me!"

I knew so little about Rory, I had no idea if this was the truth or a lie. I suddenly felt like I was being played for a fool. My face darkened, and he shrank back from me. "Don't you think that's a little... implausible?" I harshly growled.

He shook his head. "No! I swear it's the truth! Oh Phillip, why would I admit to you my cocaine problem and then lie about drinking? That doesn't make any sense!" He whined, large brown eyes pleading.

The answer to that was easy. "Because you don't use cocaine anymore, but you do still drink. Rory, I'm incredibly disappointed in you. You claimed you love me, but I think you're just trying to manipulate me so you can use me. People who are really in love don't lie to each other."

"No!" He wailed. "Please believe me! Why do you believe her over me? Can't you trust me?"

"Not when I'm holding a can of beer with your name literally on it." I said quietly.

He sank to his knees and began to bawl his eyes out. I stepped out of his room and found his mother still grinning gleefully, enjoying what she was hearing. It struck me as terrible that she would find delight in hurting her son, and I wondered if perhaps he really was telling the truth. I ground to a halt with indecision.

Suddenly I remembered him saying his aunt was as much responsible for raising him as his mother. Could she be a possible voice of truth to help me find the answers? I walked over to their phone and found a phonebook with notes scrawled around on it. I found 'Aunt Belle' listed towards the front and dialed the number. A moment later a soft, cute voice answered the phone. "Hello?"

I took a deep breath. "Hello, Belle? My name is Phillip, and I was Rory's counselor at camp this last week. Are you the aunt he mentioned sent him to camp?"

She sounded worried as I identified myself. "Yes, I am. Are you the Phillip who he talks about constantly? Oh dear, did he get in trouble this week?"

"Not at all ma'am, and yes I am. He and I became good friends this week and I simply wanted to ask you a few questions about him, if I could. Questions of a bit of a personal nature, if you are willing."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. "What kind of questions?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well, are you aware he had a drug problem?"

Slowly, she sighed. "Yes, but he's been clean for over a year now and constantly swears he will never do it again. I took him in for a urine test before sending him to camp, and he was clean. He... he didn't get caught with anything, did he?" She suddenly sounded horrified.

As she spoke, his mother spoke up from behind me. "Yes, and he still does, too. He steals my crack all the time, the little thief."

I glared at her over my shoulder, but otherwise ignored her. "No, nothing like that, relax. How about alcohol?" I asked.

"He doesn't drink and never has that I'm aware of, though his mother tries to get him to. He was clean of alcohol in the test too, why? Did you hear otherwise?" She said with confidence. Relief flooded me again.

"Yes, from his mother." I replied.

She snorted. "Don't believe anything that husk of a sister of mine says. She lies and steals from him all the time. He's had to be the parent in that house since he was four years old. I've tried to gain custody of him for his whole life, and somehow his mother always manages to block me, which I can never understand, considering the state she's in. I think she sleeps with the social workers or something."

I was overwhelmed with relief. "Ma'am, thank you for the answers. I've got to get going, but I'll make sure Rory calls you soon to let you know what's happening. I'm going to help him from now on."

Sounding surprised, she said "Wait. What?"

"I'll have Rory call you tonight, I promise. I've really got to go, ma'am. Thank you." I said and hung up before she could respond.

I turned around to find that Rory had come out of his room and was standing behind me, his eyes wide and hopeful through the tears. "I'm so sorry, Pal." I whispered in shame and embraced him.

He hugged me fiercely and sobbed, "I wouldn't lie, Phil... Not to you..."

I squeezed him as tight as I possibly could. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I shouldn't have listened to her." I whispered. "I'll never doubt your word again no matter what, I promise."

He squeezed me tight, then kissed me deeply on the lips. I felt his silky and sweet tongue swirl into my mouth. I loved kissing him more than I could express, and gave a happy groan and sigh. Seeing us sweetly kissing, his mother let loose with a string of obscenities which made me remember her and truly feel fury at her for what she'd tried to do to me, and to her own son.

Trying to ignore her, I pulled back and rested my forehead against his. "Got everything packed? I want to get away from her." I said, glaring at her balefully.

Somehow, in spite of her drunken state, and in spite of her tirade of swearing, she heard me. "Packed? What the hell are you talking about, packed?" She hissed.

He glanced at her worriedly, but did not answer her. "Almost. I'm just tryin' to stuff everything in some black plastic garbage bags. I had more than I realized. I got all my clothes, I just need my mementos and ponies and stuff."

I nodded and gently turned him around, giving him a sexy swat on the butt. "Get going then, or do you want me to help?"

His mother was shouting almost incoherently at us as we tried to talk, finally we were speaking directly into each other's ears to hear each other over her yells. "Keep her at bay for just a bit longer. I'll be done in less than five minutes." He turned and scampered to his room again.

I turned to his mother and folded my arms across my chest. "You certainly have quite an extensive vocabulary of foul language for a lady... excuse me... woman."

She stood up and advanced on me menacingly. "_What did he mean, '_pack?'" Her slur was gone and she looked dangerous. My heart began to beat in my chest.

Trying to keep calm, I replied "He's eighteen years old and an adult now. He can choose where he's going to live, and he's coming to live with me, to get away from you permanently."

She stopped and stared at me, comprehension dawning in her eyes. "You are not taking my baby boy from me." She looked and sounded very, very dangerous, and my heart began to beat faster. Looking to my left, I could see Rory frantically running around in his room, stuffing things into garbage bags. I willed him to finish. She continued speaking. "I've kept him in spite of sneaky sisters and corrupt social workers. I've kept him from friends and relatives, and I'm sure not going to give him up to the first faggot that comes swishing in here."

"It's not your choice to make, nor is it mine. It is his choice to make, and he's already made it. We're in love, and we're going to live together from now on." Trying to keep my voice even was a challenge. She began to advance on me again, backing me towards the door.

Her tail flicked, and she had a wild light in her eyes. "I'll kill you before I'll let that happen." She said, grinning.

"Uh, Rory? Little help here?" I squeaked, backing into the wall.

"Mom! Leave him alone!" He snarled, and to my relief, she turned to reveal that he was behind her.

She swayed unsteadily. "Y' stupid brat. Y'er too dumb t' know what's good fer ya. I'ma gonna show ya right now!"

As if it was happening in slow motion, she suddenly lifted her tail and yanked her panties down. I realized a very angry skunk was pointing at me butt first. There wasn't time to move, to even breathe before she sprayed.

I closed my eyes and turned, but there was a thump and no spray hit me. I looked and saw that Rory had flung her sideways towards the kitchen. Then the stench hit my nose, so strong it burned, tears pouring from my stinging eyes. She'd perhaps missed me because of Rory's push, and sprayed down her dining room table and wall, I honestly couldn't tell, it was so strong. The smell was too horrible for words, and even Rory, a skunk himself, grabbed his nose. I fancied it was the unhealthy smell of a very sick skunk. For a second we stared at each other and her, then he turned and ran to his room.

He appeared a second later with a full garbage bag in each paw. "Take!" He gagged and threw them to me, turning and entering his room without even waiting to see if I caught them. He was back before I'd even gotten a good grip on the bags, carrying another two in his paws. He ran to the door and flung it open. I gave one last glance towards his mother who was gagging and trying to stand up, then we were out in the hall, and I was running to catch up to Rory's retreating tail.

I heard her scream something behind us, but couldn't make it out while pelting down the stairs heading for the door. As we ran out the front door of the building, I panted "Wait!" to him.

He paused and turned back to me. "Please tell me she missed you. Please, God, let her have missed you." He said, looking terrified.

I panted and tried to sniff myself, but my olfactory senses had short-circuited from the intensity of her spray, and I could smell nothing but the lingering stink of it in my nose. "I don't know, I can't smell anything right now." I gurgled.

He dropped to his knees and sniffed me over quickly. "She did miss you, thank you Lord." He jumped up again and grimaced. "I'm so sorry about that."

Grabbing my bags up again, I fell into step beside him towards my car. "That was my fault. I shouldn't have said the word 'packing,' or we would have been OK."

"No worries. C'mon, let's go. She'll chase us out here as fast as her drunken feet can carry her." He called over his shoulder, running around the side of my car to the back. We loaded his stuff up in the trunk and back seat, and sure enough, as he had suggested, his mother staggered out after us.

"You made me ruin my apartment!" She roared, brandishing a kitchen knife. "I'll be thrown out for this! I'm going to kill you, human!"

We jumped in and I started the car, peeling out as we hurled out of the parking lot, leaving her screaming and jumping up and down. "Goodbye forever, Mom!" He said, jubilantly.

* * *

Two hours later, as we neared my apartment, Rory suddenly said "I feel like a new creature! I've always felt like if I just stayed the course and survived all the crap I was going through, something good would finally come my way. I felt like God would finally reward me for persevering. There were times I wanted to give up, just kill myself and end it all, but I always told myself I was chasing the rainbow, and that my pot of gold would be there someday, and I would be happy."

"Now I feel like it's finally happened! You just can't imagine how it feels to me. I'll never have to see my Mom again, I've got a new home, someone who loves me more than anything else in the world, freedom, a future that looks bright..."

Sighing happily, he leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder. "Thank you, Phillip. I love you for all you've done for me. In my wildest dreams I couldn't have imagined this having such a happy ending."

I put my arm around him and squeezed. "I love you too, my pretty boy. I'm sure my family will welcome you in too, as long as we don't let on about the nature of our relationship. My parents are incredibly nice; they're paying my way through college, and paying for my apartment, and I'm sure they'll love you like a son, you're such a little sweetie. You have a new family now, I promise."

He grinned and cooed and hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe. "Now _that_was a summer camp to remember!" He happily cried.

I grinned at him. "Yes, it sure was."

I parked in my spot and we walked into my building. It was very different from his mother's apartment; I lived in a nice section of campus, had everything clean and put in its place in a very cozy one-bedroom that we could share. He looked around appreciatively. "Whoa. You've got a nice place, Phil!" He said, grinning.

"WE. We've got a nice place, pal. This is your home too." Hearing that, he melted into my arms, crushing my ribs with a hug.

"Oh, you are SO sweet." He growled through gritted teeth.

I was getting an erection, feeling his luscious body so close to me. "I want you, Rory. I've got to call my folks and let 'em know I'm back, then can we please spend the rest of the evening in bed together?"

"Absolutely!" He enthusiastically agreed, beaming.

He started to unpack as I grabbed my phone. "Ya care where I put my stuff?" I heard him call from our bedroom.

"Not at all. It's your room too, so spread out wherever you want, make it feel like home to you, beautiful. We'll work on rearranging my closet and stuff so you've got space for all your clothes." I sang as I dialed my parent's number.

I checked in with them and told them about Rory. They insisted on wanting to meet him, but I insisted we were too tired tonight. I made arrangements to have lunch with them tomorrow, then extricated myself from the conversation as quickly as I politely could.

I walked into my... or rather, our... bedroom to see how my boyfriend was doing. He'd taken my words to heart and was making himself at home in the room; I found him carefully arranging his 'My Lil' Pony' dolls across the top of my dresser, the top of my bookshelf, along the back of my desk, and the window sill.

He was placing them neatly in a specific order from the looks of it, searching through the pile of them on my bed to find the next one he was setting up. It was a little weird for me, as I hadn't ever associated with a gay male before, I'd never met a boy who liked to collect and play with girl's toys. It also felt strange to see them suddenly surrounding the perimeter of my room, silent sentinels watching over us as we made love.

I picked one up off the bed, trying to think of what to say. "So, you collect these?"

He looked up and smiled affectionately at me, which made my awkward feeling disappear. "I used to. Not anymore, but they're very, very precious to me. When I was a kid I was too introverted to have any real friends to play with, either at school or at home. Heck, I still am, I guess..."

He sighed. "These ponies were literally my only friends for over ten years. I named each of them and had worked out separate personalities for each of them in such detail I would imagine them fighting and having to break it up, or get mad at some of them because I didn't like how they were mean to me. When my Mom would go on a nod, I'd hide in my room and immerse myself into their magical world until I could actually see it with my eyes, and see them moving around."

He paused, touching one of them affectionately, gently picking it up and brushing his claws through its shiny purple mane and tale. Softly, he continued. "I've outgrown that stuff now, but I think these little dolls kept me sane in the world I grew up in. I feel like I owe them for that, and will always display them proudly wherever I live. Having them here makes this home."

He seemed to register that he was insisting on that and looked up at me with pleading in his eyes. "It's OK with you, isn't it? Please Phillip?"

I softly cooed and hugged him tightly to myself. "Aww... Rory, of _course_it's OK, baby! If they are important to you, then they are important to me."

He hugged me back and gratefully whispered "Thanks... I've never had someone who I felt understood me before. It means so much to me, Babe."

He went back to arranging them carefully while humming, and I picked up a brightly colored one that had a rainbow colored mane and tail. It had been carefully placed by itself, away from all the others. Many of the toys looked well played with, stained and missing some hair, but this one was pristine. Seeing me looking at it, he said "That one's name is Rory."

I glanced up in surprise, but found he had his back to me and was fussing over placing a lemony yellow one next to a candy-cane striped one. "Is this one you, then?" I asked.

He nodded, still not looking at me. "Yep. He's always sat alone, away from the others, and I never played with him. None of the others like him."

I let that sink into my brain. "You seriously thought that as a boy?"

Nodding, he said "Yeah..." sort of huskily, still with his back to me.

"Rory, that's so sad! Why were you so down on yourself?" I cried.

He turned and looked at the toy, swallowing thickly and avoiding eye contact. "I was a very sad, pessimistic kid, Baby. Even in my own mind I looked at myself as bad because of my father's rejection over my sexuality. So to me, this one represented me, and the others hated him and were cruel, but always because he deserved it, because he was bad."

I caught him into another hug. "You didn't deserve it, and you aren't bad. I love you, Rory."

He grinned up at me, at last meeting my eyes. "Thank you, Phil, I love you, too! My perspective of myself changed last year when I met you, actually, so you're directly responsible for me feeling better about who I am." He kissed me on the lips. I was horny and wanted to love him, but after the kiss he immediately went back to arranging his dolls.

I looked around at them, then softly said "Well, can one of them be me, then?"

Without looking up, he immediately said "That green one with shiny emerald hair on the bed is you." I saw which one he meant and picked it up, it was old, dirty, stained, and missing more than half its hair and detail stickers.

Not exactly sure how to take this, if it was an insult or not, I managed to neutrally say "Why is this one me?"

"Because it was my first one, and was always my favorite. I love that one more than all the others combined." He softly stated, turning to look at it affectionately in my hands.

I was speechless, but I strode forward and wordlessly hugged him to me, pressing his warm, furry body close, trembling with emotion. We stood there for quite a while, sex and ponies forgotten as we just relished the wonderful feel of holding each other tightly. I tried to imagine the fact that he'd pined for me for an entire year, dreaming of me and naming his favorite toy after me. More than ever before, I was glad I'd chosen him over everything else. He was worth it.

At last, we pulled back and smiled at each other, and I knew what I wanted to do. I stepped over to the rainbow-colored one and set my toy down right next to it, nose to nose. "Can Phillip please stand with Rory from now on? He loves Rory, and doesn't care if being friends makes all the other ponies hate him and reject him too, he wants to be close."

Stepping as quiet as a ghost over to stand beside me, my pretty skunk lover put his arm around me. "Rory's dreamed of that every single day since he laid eyes on Phillip, but it was Phillip's choice to make, not Rory's. He'd like that more than anything else in all the magic kingdom."

I wrapped my arms around him again. "I love you, Rory. I want to be with you. I need to be with you, haven't we waited long enough? Please make love to me, beautiful boy."

He gave a happy whimper and nodded. "Yes, oh yes! I already cleared the bed off, come to me and I'll give you all the pleasure I have to give." He backed up towards the bed, smoothly stripping his luscious body naked before lounging back down in it. I saw he had indeed cleared the bed of the few remaining toy ponies, dumping them haphazardly on my desk.

Eagerly surging forward, I climbed on the bed after him and pushed him over on his back so I could lace my fingers through his, pinning his arms above his head. I began to kiss him everywhere I could reach in this position. I could feel his chest rising and falling, his breathing eager and quick. I kissed him desperately, licking his black nose, stroking my whole body against his soft fur.

He pulled his paws from my hands and began to remove my clothing, starting with my pants and underwear. He curled his tail through my legs and began to flick it teasingly against my sex, a delicious stimulation born on the wings of my angel of love. "Oh! That's nice." I sighed in-between deep kisses.

We stroked, kissed and licked each other, and I felt him use his toes to grip my socks and pull them off my feet. His penis was so erect and throbbing the head would bounce against mine occasionally, deliberate masculine contact. "I love you, Philly! I love everything about you! Most of all, I love, love, love feeling our naked bodies pressed together." As he said that, he yanked my shirt off and wrapped his arms and legs around me tightly, using his weight to pull me down against him, then rubbing his whole body against mine.

I groaned and laughed. "You are so smokin' hot." I smiled and joined him in moving the length of my body against his. For several long, luscious minutes we continued kissing and pressing close, delighting in each other. God, he was so beautiful, I loved him so much it made my chest ache.

I moved over him, rolling around and sucking his penis into my mouth, feeling him eagerly slurp down on mine and begin to lick and kiss and suck me eagerly. "Yum! I love your human taste and smell!" He giggled as he played with my balls. We licked and kissed and sucked and stroked each other.

His cock was such a swollen, warm and throbbing work of art. His skin was so tight over the shaft, his veins were visible blue swells curling randomly all around his precious sex. The skin was a beautiful bright pink, almost matching the color of his tongue, all the way until it reached his glans. The wonderful purple head was flared and fully swollen until it was shiny, the tip wet with precum as it bounced to the quickened beat of his heart.

I turned it all around so I could drink in every angle of his beautiful male body, kissing it and worshipping it with every bit of passion I could muster in my being. He was perfection. His furry white balls were so big and round and beautiful, I could imagine that they contained gallons of his precious seed, waiting to be gulped down by his lover.

I sucked back onto him, bobbing up and down on him, feeling the skin slide and play along his shaft as I did it. He'd been exploring my body as well, but took this as his cue to begin sucking on me again. He hummed a low pitch, and I was shocked at how sexy it felt. I groaned, then joined him, humming a harmony note to the one he was on.

Laughing in delight, he sped up to match my speed and gripped my hips in his fingers, digging his claws into my flesh deep enough to poke through my skin. We sucked and kissed, working hard but trying not to push it too far and cause an ejaculation. We took our time and went slow, spending over half an hour just worshiping each other's bodies with tongues and fingers.

At last, as good as it felt, I just needed to go the rest of the way with my mouth-wateringly sexy lover. I reared up and gasped "Rory. I gotta... please... let me have your cute bottom."

He giggled and nodded. "You lay down beneath me. I'll show you a position I think you'll really like."

Rolling over, I gave him the command position, and he smiled, lubed me up, then turned his back to me and lifted himself up. "Line it up with me, baby." He hissed tensely.

Slipping my head up to meet his cute little anal pucker, I squealed "It's there! Just sit down and I'll penetrate into you!"

He slowly- agonizingly slowly- sat down on top of me, and I cried out in lusty delight. I was fornicating with my male lover! We were uniting our bodies and becoming one flesh with each other! With his back to me, I was getting an unbelievably gorgeous view of his round, jiggly butt cheeks, and his stretched open anus with my hard shaft plunged deep inside.

He humped himself up and down on me for perhaps a minute before stopping and turning to look knowingly over his shoulder at me with a grin. "OK, I did the work last time I was sitting in your lap. This time, why don't you do the honors? I think you'll be thoroughly satisfied."

Laughing, I nodded, and he raised himself up just enough that I would be able to aggressively and easily pummel him without having to thrust too far overhead. He grabbed his full round butt-cheeks, one in each paw, and pulled them open as wide as he could, giving me the most luscious view of his wide open butthole sucking on my dick the world had ever seen.

I cried out in delight and started to hump sharply upwards into him. "Ahhh. Ohhh. Sooo nice and hard..." He moaned as I pumped. This felt amazing, and his tight, sexy body kneeling over me looked so delicious.

I drank in his sexy figure as I humped, running my fingers up and down his lovely, shapely back, tracing the white stripes all the way up his cute head. He was so achingly beautiful, I groaned. "Rory, I... I love you! I've never felt this way about anyone, you are so sweet an' pretty an' nice! Ohhhh I can't believe how good it feels to slip in an' out of your butt!"

He flexed his muscles, making two cute dimples form on his precious, round bottom. He flexed up and down his body, and I was surprised to see how well-muscled he actually was. He was in great shape, with finely sculpted muscles all over his masculine figure that made him look even sexier. "Wow! Your body is so chiseled and sexy! No wonder you rock at everything! You're built like a greek god!" I admired.

In response, he flexed his sphincter, nearly squeezing me out of his warm rump, and I wailed in delight at the intense tightness of his body. I started hammering into him hard, and my penis started making delicious squishing and slurping sounds as it slammed in and out of him. He tilted his head back and cried out "Ooowwwaaaaagnnn... Ugh, hard and fast! Oh yeah, pack it into me! It feels so good hitting my prostate, I'm in love with you all over again! Oh darling, make me your pet! I want to give you everything you ever want! Ask and I'll do anything to give you pleasure!"

I pulled him back over me, and he lowered his body down to lay against my tummy, keeping his hips up just high enough to let me drill him good with full, luscious strokes. "Gh. Nn... Whoa... gah..." He grunted inarticulately for several minutes as I pumped into him. "I feel so much more relaxed now that we're home and in complete privacy." He gasped as I humped.

Smiling, I said "Yeah, it's relaxing and great just to lay here together, in our bed. Oh Rory, you are so tight and warm inside. I can't get over how great your body feels, and how good your body looks. The more I look at you, the sexier you look, baby, and the less sexy girls sound. I'm totally turnin' gay, aren't I?

"I guess so!" He laughed. "It's OK though, I'm all the lover you'll ever need, cutie."

I pummeled up into him hard enough to make him bounce at those words, making his black-furred butt shimmer and ripple. "All I'll need and more. Baby, you feel so great."

We sank back into silence, and I concentrated on thrusting, pushing my cock deep into his bowels, then pulling it almost out, so that the purple head started to pull out of his tight warmth, then slamming it back home. His anus was so cute, and the way it slid and dragged over my hard cock, resisting my movements even as it kissed me was so raunchy and delicious... I spent glorious time just watching as I pushed in and out.

He hummed happily all of a sudden. "Mmmmmmm... Oh Phillip, I'm going to complete it pretty soon. You've got great stamina, you know. Think you can finish up in me? Think you can drive it in hard enough to fill me with your creamy seed while I jizz?"

"Unf. Yeah, I think so. Aaaghaaoosh... Oh man... Oh MAN this is awesome!" I moaned and began to slam it in as hard as I could, filling him with my meat. He writhed about to face me, his sexy chest heaving as he squealed in pleasure at my hard, manly loving. I drank in his gorgeous body, loving every second of it.

I felt his rectum clench a split-second before he bared his sharp teeth and squirted cum all over me. I let out a whoop of delight at the tense squeezing on my dick, as well as the feel of his gooey warm cum spraying me down. It was heaven on earth, and with three more frantic thrusts I joined him. "Ahhh! Here it comes! Take it, Rory! Take my seed up your guts, sexy doll! Oh YEAH!!!"

I popped off deep into him, shuddering and twitching my body in delight as I filled him with creamy filling. We shared an absolutely perfect orgasm together, warm cum soaking my chest and tummy while I let mine splash inside him. We cried and howled in exultation at our successful mating like a lion breeding his lioness. I let my mind go, sinking into instinctive animalistic pleasure as I sodomized my lover to the apex.

"God Rory! I love you!" I wailed and managed to give him a hard thrust in spite of my pleasure. The stimulation on my glans was maddening, but his mewl of delight was luscious. I smeared his cum around on my chest, then began to catch globs of it and suck them into my mouth.

He joined me, catching in his fingers a big, steaming-hot squirt fresh from his body and pressing his fingers into my mouth. I licked them, gently and lovingly slurping his seed off his sexy paw. I let out a sob of ecstasy as time seemed to stand still while our bodies were racked with carnal delight.

At last the intense pleasure and flow of spunk began to slow, and our spent, trembling bodies went limp. He flopped down beside me and began to lick the remaining cum off my chest. He wasn't a cat, but I could almost swear I heard him purring. I wrapped an arm around him and sighed. "Man, that was great. Your body is so firm and tight and shapely... I'm so in love with you, sweetie. I love everything about you, Rory. You are my best friend in the world, and the most absolutely gorgeous creature I've ever laid eyes on. I'm sooooo happy..."

He sighed contentedly. "Love you too, Phillip. This still feels like a dream."

I gave him a naughty grin. "Lemme pinch you to show it isn't." I said, squeezing his round butt as hard as I could with my hands.

He squeaked happily at that, laughing and snuggling his soft, furry body close. We dozed off together, both tired from little sleep and lots of activities at camp. I awoke an hour or so later, remembering that I'd promised his aunt a call. I sighed and gently began to kiss his lips. He began to sleepily respond as he woke up, at last kissing me back fully.

After several minutes, I pulled back. "I promised you'd give your aunt Belle a call, Babe."

He nodded and sighed. "Oh yeah! She's the closest thing I got to a real mom. She deserves to know what's happened. I told her all about you enough times she probably guessed I had a crush on you."

"She knows you're gay?" I asked.

"Wellll sorta." He said, looking thoughtful. "My Mom tells everyone I'm gay, so anybody who knows her knows about me. I don't know if Aunt Belle believed it or not. My Mom says all kinds of crazy stuff, so she might not have taken her seriously. I've certainly tried to hide it all my life."

I handed him my phone and he dialed the number. That done, he lay back down against me and melted into my embrace, his eyes twinkling happily at me. A moment later he chirped "Hi Aunty Belle!" He didn't wait, and after brief pleasantries dove right into telling her how we'd gotten close all week and I'd asked him to move in with me.

When he finished, she cautiously asked "Rory, dear... are the two of you..." She stopped, seemingly unable to speak the words.

He looked at me for confirmation, then nodded. "Yes Aunty, we are. He's so wonderful, I can't express. We've pledged ourselves to each other for life. I'm so, so, soooo happy. He holds me so tight I just feel so safe. We're deeply in love, until I can hardly see straight around him. Are... are you gonna be mad at me about it?"

One thing I could say for him; he certainly wasn't shy about it. His aunt was silent for a while, absorbing that. "You... you dated girls all the time a couple years ago..."

He blushed and looked at me ashamedly, to which I merely squeezed him tight. "That's because I was ashamed of who I was because of my Dad. I tried to make myself be hetero and suppress my true feelings, but I hated it and was miserable the whole time. When I met Phil last year, that all changed and I came to terms with who I am. I wasn't ashamed to be gay anymore, nor was I ashamed of my feelings for him. You notice the dating stopped abruptly when I came home from camp last year."

"Oh Rory..." She said so softly I could barely hear her through the phone. "You... you engaged in homosexuality with your camp counselor, while at camp?"

He swallowed, looking a little nervous. "Aunty, it was meant to be. WE were meant to be. Sometimes when two people are in love, it's so strong that nothing can keep them apart. Gender, species, age... None of it mattered to us."

She acted like she hadn't heard him. "Your camp counselor engaged you sexually while at camp??" She repeated, louder. "He took advantage of you and had sex with you???"

His ears folded back and we shared a frightened look at each other, both knowing what a scandal this could cause if she blabbed. I suddenly regretted having him call her, regretted not telling him we should keep what happened an absolute secret. It seemed so stupidly obvious now, I couldn't believe I'd let it go. This could ruin both our lives and our chances if she started trumpeting it.

Rory took a deep breath, seeming to try and slow himself down and relax. Then he softly said "Aunt Belle, be quiet and listen to me for a moment before you get all worked up. First of all, don't you dare try and pin the blame on Phil. He was absolutely unaware of my feelings and was trying his best to reach out to me and be kind without a single thought about sex. He had literally no clue about my feelings for him until I got him alone and jumped him. He was terrified and tried to stop me, but I wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. If you are going to pass blame, then pass it to me, because I raped him."

My jaw hit the floor at that, my eyes bugging out. I could not believe he'd said that! Then again, the effect it had on his aunt proved it was the right thing to say. I'd been able to tell from her tone of voice she'd been deciding I'd forced Rory into it and probably would have gone in a rage after the poor camp, suing and defaming and Heaven only knows what. In the process she would have destroyed my life, and also Rory's who was now relying on me to take care of him.

Meekly, she squeaked "W... what?"

"You heard me, Aunt Belle. He begged me to stop and I wouldn't. So the whole thing is my fault if you are going to pass the blame."

I could tell she was crying as she squawked "Rory, how could you!?"

"I could because I love him. I'd been planning on doing it since camp last year." Was his simple reply.

"Planned... love him? If you loved him, how could you rape him? Rory, I can't believe this is you talking!"

He sighed. "Aunt Belle. I am an adult, Phil is an adult. What I did to him was wrong, but it truly was out of love and he could feel that... he _knew_I hadn't meant to hurt him. He was furious and horrified at first, and rightly so, but when he calmed down, he accepted my apology and accepted me as well. Aunt Belle, it wasn't the camp's fault, and I won't let you pin any blame on them."

He fell silent for a moment, but she was silent too, just crying softly. Gently, he said "Aunt Belle, you are all the mom I ever had, the only person who believed in me and stood beside me and made me want to live. You know how much I wanted to be adopted by you. I've been alone all my life except for you, and you know me better than anyone else in the world. Please, please calm down and trust me, and listen to me when I say that I love Phil, and that he loves me. If you ever loved me, or cared about me, please believe me when I tell you this is all real and true and deep, and very, very mutual."

He began to tear up, his voice starting to tremble and falter. "Aunt Belle, I love you. I need you to understand and accept this... Please believe in me, just this once."

She was crying, but at last she said "I just want you to be happy Rory. Does he make you happy?"

"More than I can ever express." He sobbed.

With that, she hesitantly accepted our relationship, though she wanted to come and meet me as soon as possible, and I could tell it was so she could examine my worthiness under a microscope. When he at last hung up the phone, my little lover was shaking like a leaf. "I should have used a lot more tact. I nearly blew that to bits and wrecked everything, didn't I?" He whispered.

I kissed his cold, black nose. "You did, but I would have done the same thing. I wasn't thinking that far ahead either, and it didn't cross my mind what a horrible scandal she could have started. You went after her hard, and I think that was the right thing to do. She was ready to fire both barrels at camp, wasn't she?"

He nodded. "And reload and fire again. She's very protective of me, because of how much my life sucked."

Chucking his cheek gently, I smiled. "You are way better than me with words, pal. You derailed her train before she could mount it, and you saved our lives doing it." I paused for a moment. "Umm, but after this, let's keep the origins of our relationship a secret, OK? I don't want camp to suffer a witch hunt because of us, because they didn't have anything at all to do with it."

"Agreed." He managed through a yawn. "Lezz go backta sleep, K?"

We curled up and I put the light out, feeling him cuddle close to me, soft and warm. He fell asleep almost instantly, as if he didn't have a care in the world, but it took me a long time to calm down enough to doze off. That had been very close to a terrible disaster.

* * *

We sat down to eat lunch with my parents the next afternoon having discussed carefully what we should and shouldn't say to them. We told them a lot of the details of Rory's past, of our bonding and friendship at camp. I told them that he and I had hit it off so perfectly it was like we'd known each other all our lives.

"I know it sounds stupid and corny, but it's true. He's like my little brother that I didn't know I had. We get along so incredibly well together, I just wanna help him and be his friend. He's great, with a big heart, selfless, hard-working... I know what you're probably thinking, but he's not a leech or anything like that, either."

I laid it on pretty thick without really intending to; I just had very strong feelings about him and they bubbled out as I tried to tell them about him and make them understand. He blushed and was embarrassed by my words, but I could also tell he was pleased. For his part, he worked very hard to be polite and considerate and flawless in front of them. Cleverly, he excused himself and went to the bathroom, giving them a chance to grill me without him there.

"Honey, he seems nice and I'm glad you are such good friends, but you do understand that you hardly even know him, don't you? I mean, he could have some pretty horrible problems that you just don't know about. I'm worried about getting this close this fast, and trusting him so much when he hasn't earned it." My Dad observed.

I nodded. "I know how goofy it seems Dad. If it makes you feel better, if he gets me in a jam you can always just step in and throw him out. I don't have any money or anything of value there on campus, so it isn't like he can steal much of anything either." I said it for their benefit, because I knew he wouldn't do something like that.

My Mom spoke up next, voicing her concern. "He admitted he was a cocaine addict for a while? What if he goes back to that? How can you know he isn't still an addict?"

"Well, his aunt took him in for a blood test before camp and he was clean of drugs and alcohol. He's been clean for two years or so and swore he'll never go back, and I believe him. I can't imagine growing up around a crack-addict mother, can you? It would be so horrible, and yet it would be what you are used to. He told me he caved to peer pressure when he started using, and he's also promised he'll lean on me if he needs help standing strong."

They looked at each other, then back at me. "Alright, we would like to help him too, certainly. Just be smart about it. I guess it isn't like you are marrying him or something, right?"

Rory came back at that moment, and they looked up at him and greeted him, so they didn't notice how I lurched as their words stabbed me.

* * *

After a long time visiting with my parents, it was time to drive and meet his aunt. We met her at a restaurant half-way between where she and I lived. She was beautiful, good looks obviously running in the family, and it was obvious she was related to my little lover.

She was suspicious of me at first, but I did my absolute best to be polite and nice. Rory did a lot of the talking, making me look like the strong silent type, but I was happy to let him, feeling out of my depth with this delicate situation.

He emphasized how happy we were, and how sweet and tender our love was, apparently feeling this would be the best thing for her to hear. He told her most of our story, save for the sex, and she listened quietly while watching us both intently. She watched us hold hands, watched him rest his head on my shoulder and quietly contemplated his words.

She then grilled me about how I was going to take care of Rory, as if he was a totally helpless creature, completely reliant on me. Maybe that was even what she wanted; to know that I would give my all to care for him whether he needed it or not. She was critical of me at first, quite obviously mistrusting me, but slowly began to relax and smile at me.

"You certainly do act like a happy couple." She admitted at last. "Phil, I'm most concerned about your ability to care for and cope with Rory. If he's told you about himself, I'm sure you know he's had a very hard life. This isn't something I'm sure he wants to hear from me, but I directly want your promise that you are serious about this. He's never acted this way about anyone in his life, so I can tell he would throw himself in front of a bus if you asked him to, but what I don't know is if I can trust you to have that same kind of devotion towards him. I also don't know if I can trust you to not take advantage of Rory's feelings for you and use him."

Rory looked like he was going to die from embarrassment, and as soon as she finished speaking, he squawked "Aunt Belle! Are you crazy??"

She turned to him and calmly replied "No, I'm protective of you. This relationship happened very fast, Rory, and I didn't get any opportunity to be involved in it. I'm worried for you, worried that you might have made the wrong choice. I don't know anything about Phil other than what you told me."

I spoke up when it looked like he was going to protest again. "Ma'am, I know this seems really fast, and I know it must seem like we've both gone a little crazy. I'm trying to come to grips with everything just as much as you are. Rory pined for me and prepared for seducing me for a year, I was suddenly thrust into it. All I can tell you, is that I feel absolutely at peace here with him. In fact, I can't imagine living without him for even a day anymore. I would die for him, I give you my word."

Sighing, I continued, fishing through my feelings even as I spoke about them. "As for taking advantage of him... Gosh, that hasn't even crossed my mind. I love him and respect him so much, I sure would never intentionally do that. I'm not perfect, ma'am, but I love him... with everything I got inside. It makes me sick to even consider doing something like that to him."

She stared at me intently, then slowly gave me a ghost of a smile. "In fact, I do believe you, Phil. I can see in your eyes how deep this thing really goes, and it is just as deep as it is for Rory. Thank you for doing something I have never been able to do: Get him away from his mother."

All three of us reached over the table and hugged.

The End.