“Finally.” With a sigh, I took off my shoe. I was going to be so sore in the morning. 

“What are you doing? It’s over here.”

“I’m resting. I’ll be there in a minute.” I started to take off my other one. “My feet are killing me.”

“It’s a good thing we’re here, then. Now, come on.” He grabbed my arm and tried to get me to stand.

“Titus, stop. I’ll be there in a second.” I struggled to get his hands off me.

He didn’t let go. “Fine, we’ll do it the hard way.” Yanking me to his chest, he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder.

“Titus!” I slammed my fists against his back. “Put me down! This is way past the personal boundary thing we talked about.”

“You said you were tired. I’m simply helping you.” 

Casually picking up my shoes, Titus carried me through the trees. He plopped me down on a rock, and I had to withstrain myself from not punching that smirk right off his face. 

“Where are we?” I said through clenched teeth.

“Turn around and see for yourself.”

I did and saw a cloud of steam rising off the water. A small waterfall poured into a large pool of water. “Wow… How warm is it?” I glanced at Titus.

“Like bathwater.” He walked to the edge and began untying his shorts. 

My eyes went wide, and I turned around just as he let them drop. “Titus, I...” I bit my lip.

“It’s called skinny-dipping for a reason, Aden.” 

I heard a splash but didn’t dare look. “I’ve never done this before.”

“You could keep your clothes on, but it would be a long and uncomfortable walk back.” 

I shot him a heated glare over my shoulder. The water level was above his mouth, yet I could still tell he was smiling. 

“I don’t see what the problem is. We’re both guys. It’s not like you got something I haven’t seen before.”

“Doesn’t mean I want to show you,” I muttered. 

He started laughing.

“Are you really going to just sit there? The water is nice, and it will help loosen you up.”

It did look nice. I played with the bottom of my shirt. We were both guys, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Scanning the area, I spotted a group of large boulders near the waterfall. “Give me a minute.” I stood and hurried behind them. “I’ll swim, but don’t look until I’m in the water.”

“Deal.” He floated over to the other side and reclined on some rocks. 

I watched him lay his head back and close his eyes. Safely hidden behind the rocks, I undressed and peeked around the corner to make sure Titus wasn't watching. He was still sprawled out with a content look on his face. 

I was being ridiculous. The locker room was ten times worse, but something about this boy made me feel awkward. Maybe because, compared to him, I wasn’t exactly impressive. I hurried into the water to my waist. Titus didn’t move, even though I was sure he heard my loud entry. He was right; the water did feel amazing. As I walked farther out, the ground fell away, and I had to swim to get to the other side. It was kind of annoying since I had watched Titus walk across. Sitting on a submerged rock, I let the water wash over my shoulders. 

“Nice, isn’t it?” Titus moved closer, and I mimicked his motions in the opposite way.

He scooted in my direction again. I pushed off his shoulder and floated farther away. He followed. My back hit a boulder, and I was trapped. Titus stood in front of me as I pressed myself into the small crevice. He hovered over my head. I pulled my arms in and held my breath. This was way too close.

“I’m not going to do anything,” he teased. “Unless you want me to.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me and moved back.

With a nervous laugh, I splashed water at him. “Jerk.” 

He wiped his face with a smile. “You’re so shy.”

“I am not,” I snapped. “I’m just not a fan of people being so close. It’s a space issue.”

“You’ve been in a relationship before, right?” He inched toward me and braced an arm on the boulder by my head.

“Yeah, I’ve had a couple of girlfriends.” I lay flat against the rock.

“Did you ever kiss any of them?” His body was barely not touching mine.

I sucked in my stomach. “Of course, we’d kissed.”

He locked eyes with me, our chests centimeters apart. “Then why is this a problem?”

“B—because,” I breathed. “You’re a guy.” 

I ducked under his arm and escaped to the middle of the pool. The water moved behind me, and Titus grabbed my arm and swung me around. I quickly braced my hands on his shoulders to keep our bodies from touching.

“Is this really bothering you?”

“I’m just not used to it.” I strained to keep us apart. 

Frowning, he lowered his head. “Okay.” Taking my arm, he pulled me back to where we’d been sitting. Putting a good amount of space between us, he sprawled out to soak in the sun. 

I pulled my knees to my chest. I didn’t understand what any of that meant.

***

The walk back had been awkward. Neither of us said much, even when we reached the campground. 

I glanced at Titus. “It was fun today. Thanks for showing me the hot pools.

Titus stared at his feet as he mumbled a few words that sort of sounded like ‘yeah, it was.’ 

I spotted my dad’s truck as it turned the corner along the mountain. “I’ll see you Monday, then?”

He peeked up at me. “You still want to hang out?”

“You do things a little different than what I’m used to, but you’re still fun to be around.”

He stood up straight with a grin on his face. “I’ll see you then.” 

I flinched when he lunged forward and hugged me. After a few seconds, I relaxed and hugged him back.

“Bye,” he whispered in my ear before wandering off into the trees. 

I stood there, stunned, for a moment. Snapping out of it, I spun around. “Bye,” I replied, even though Titus had already disappeared into the woods. “I’ll see you Monday,” I whispered with a smile.