“Is it done?” Titus lifted himself out of the water. 

“No.” I pushed him back in with my foot. 

He groaned before continuing to swim from one side to the other. At least he wasn’t doing the backstroke. The boy had no shame.

“Are you finished yet?” he called.

“If you’d stopped bugging me, I would be.” I had restarted three times, and I finally had one that looked halfway decent. The anxiety of messing up had me scared to make any big adjustments. 

Titus continued swimming and splashing around, getting me wet each time he passed. He was the size of a linebacker and acted like an impatient five-year-old. 

“Aden,” he whined. 

“Not yet.” I only had the tail to do. One more cut and it would be done. “Ow!” I dropped the wolf and set my knife down. A red stream trickled down my arm from a slice in my thumb.

Titus was at my side in seconds. “Is it deep?”

“No, I just nicked it.” I sucked on the cut. “I’ll be fine.”

He moved in close beside me on the rock where I was sitting and pried my other hand away. 

I tried to resist. “Stop it. I said I’m fine.”

“It’s not too deep.” He poured water over it to wash away the blood. 

A gash could be seen along the edge of my thumb. My eyes went wide. It looked deep to me.

He met my gaze. “You’re going to have to trust me for a moment and not freak out about personal space issues.”

I scowled at him. “Shut up.” 

He smiled and leaned down. His tongue flicked out, and he licked the wound. I sat up straight. Every hair was on end, but somehow, I managed not to jerk my hand away. It was the weirdest sensation.

“There.” He kissed my palm. 

I hugged my hand to my chest and examined it. Only a red line remained.

“It wasn’t very deep at all,” said Titus as he slipped into the water. 

I pressed my finger against the wound. It felt perfectly fine and didn’t even hurt. “What did you do?” I grabbed the wooden wolf before it fell into the water.

“Stop the bleeding, that’s all.”

“Oh.” I bit my bottom lip. “Here, I’m done.” I held out the wolf to him.

Titus took it from me and examined it. He smiled. “I love it, thank you.” 

“It’s a little better than the other one.” I scratched my arm and peered off into the trees.

“They’re both perfect.” He hurried to shore and produced the other figurine from his shorts pocket. 

He came back and placed them side by side on the rock. I slipped into the water. One was noticeably bigger than the other. After getting a better look at them in the light, I was happy with each of them. 

He pushed the wolves closer to one another. “They go together.” 

“Yeah, they do.”  

Titus sank into the water, so he was at my level. “Thank you for making them for me.” He scooted closer.

“It’s fine. You’re the only person who’s ever asked me for one. It was fun to make.” I laid my head on my arm, which was resting on a ledge.

“It means a lot to me,” he whispered.

I smiled and received one from him in return. His face sat centimeters away. I closed my eyes and felt his lips touch mine. 

Reality hit. 

My eyes shot open. I pushed off his shoulders and dunked myself in the process. Titus grabbed my arm and helped me stand.

“Aden?” He released me.

I shook my head and hurried to shore. Leaning against a rock, I ran my fingers across my lips. ‘What have I done?’ was the only thought racing through my head. Why hadn’t I reacted faster? I had let him kiss me. 

“Aden, I’m sorry.” Titus appeared at my side. “I didn’t mean to—”

I turned my body away from him. “Don’t,” I said as he tried to touch me. “I… I need a minute. Just go.” I traced my lips.

“Aden?”

“Just go!” I snapped, covering my face. “Leave me alone.”

Titus clenched his jaw. “I didn’t mean—”

“Leave!”

Pain filled his eyes.

Shaking my head, I sank to the ground and hid behind my knees. “Please, go away.”

Titus nodded and backed off. “I’m sorry, Aden. I really am.” 

I took a deep breath but didn’t reply. I glanced up and watched him disappear into the trees. Something ran down my face. I quickly wiped it away. I wasn’t gay. I was not gay.