Waterways by Kyell Gold Page B

double-dating anytime soon. He said it jokingly, but Samaki responded seriously that if they both had dates, he wouldn’t mind going out with Kory and his date, and Kory said that of course that would be cool, he just meant they wouldn’t both be dating females (or males). Then he felt flushed, because Samaki seemed a little hurt, and also because that wasn’t precisely what Kory had meant, so he changed the subject.
    Sunday he went to a movie with Sal, the Schwarzenotter one for real this time. It was nice to sit with his friend and watch the film and push his other concerns temporarily away. They walked out of the movie laughing about it. After the movie, while swimming at Sal’s house, only twice did Kory glance at his friend and think, wow, nice body. How many times had he thought that without realizing what it meant? The thought made him uncomfortable, so he pushed it away.
    They talked about school, and about Debbie, but when Sal asked about Samaki, Kory steered the conversation away. That didn’t stop him thinking about the fox, though, especially when Samaki called him on his cell phone in the middle of the conversation. He took the call without thinking about it, then realized where he was and told the fox he’d call him back later. The next time the phone rang, he just turned the ringer off, a little annoyed that Samaki was calling again.
    He arrived home to find his mother and a cold dinner in the kitchen. “Kory, are you aiming to get grounded again?”
    “No!” He checked the time. “Sorry, I’m a little late, but…”
    “I tried to call and you didn’t answer your phone.” She had her arms folded, which was always a bad sign. If she had her paws on her hips, you were okay.
    “I didn’t hear it,” he protested, and then remembered the call he’d shut off. Uh-oh.
    “What did I tell you about the phone?”
    He sighed. “Always make sure I can hear the ring. Always pick up if you call. I’m sorry, Mom. I really didn’t hear it. We were in a loud place and I didn’t think…”
    She put her paws on her hips. “All right, Kory. Cold dinner will be your punishment. Then get right to your room and finish up your homework.”
    It was already done, but he didn’t tell her that. He’d just gotten an idea. “Hey, Mom,” he said as he walked into the kitchen, “Samaki’s mom invited me to dinner this Friday. May I go?”
    She considered that while he sat down at the table. “I suppose so. I’ll call her and find out when I should drop you off.”
    “Thanks, Mom.” He took a bite of the cold mackerel and peas. “This is really good.”
    She sighed. “Oh, let me heat that up for you.” She whisked his plate away and tossed it in the microwave. “Don’t chew your claws,” she said as he put a paw to his muzzle to cover his grin.
    After dinner, Kory went to his room and called Samaki. He told him that he’d be coming to dinner and that their mothers would be talking, and they went on chatting for over an hour. Eventually, the fox had to go get his homework done; working most of the weekend didn’t leave him much time. Kory stripped to his boxers, feeling glad and guilty that he didn’t have to go to work. He swam a couple laps before surfacing in his brother’s room.
    “Hey, Nick.”
    Nick looked up from his television. Kory didn’t want a TV in his room, but Nick had pestered their mother for nearly two years until she finally broke down and gave him one. He had on some extreme sports show where a snow leopard was racing down a hill on what looked like a toothpick. “Hey, Kory,” he said, turning the sound down and raising his eyebrows in mild surprise. “What’s up?”
    Kory floated on his back in the water, looking up at Nick’s posters. He had sports figures on his walls, and Kory knew that in one drawer of his dresser was the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated: Otters from a year ago. He turned his head to look at Nick. “Remember those pictures Sal gave me that I