Chapter 32

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I heard whistling as I approached my favorite section of the stream, the place where it ran deepest. The tune was either “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or “The Star Spangled Banner.” It wasn’t the rush of the water or even the stiff summer wind rustling all the foliage that made it hard to decipher, but rather the musician’s completely off-key performance. Out of pure avoidance, I considered turning around to head off in another direction. Something else pulled me closer, though.

“Jesus! You’re naked.”

The way his tall, slender body was stretched out in the crystal-clear water, the paleness of his skin, both allowed the dark thatch of hair that first tipped me off to his nakedness to show quite strikingly and apparent. Though I willed myself to stop there, I failed, taking in the thickness and length below it, which reacted to his excitement, growing bigger before me.

“It’s hot.”