It was a clear, sunny day in the coastal town of Pinewood Flats. Noah Waters was sitting in his favorite class, science. He couldn’t think of any better way to end the day at school. It always fascinated him to learn about how everything interacts with each other, but his best friend, Jake, certainly didn’t find it nearly as interesting as he kept waiting for the bell to mark the end of the day.

Noah, a fox-otter hybrid, could not focus as the gray fox was constantly fidgeting next to him. He turned to the vulpine, “What’s wrong?,” Noah whispered.

“Nothing, I am just ready to hang out for the weekend,” replied Jake.

“Well, keep still, I am trying to listen,” Noah hissed in response.

Just minutes later, the bell rang for the final time that day. Suddenly, madness ensued as thirty 12 year olds made a dash for the door to make their ways home. It was a long weekend and everyone was eager to get home. Jake practically dragged Noah out the door to the bus before he could finish putting his books in his backpack.

After a short trip on the bus, Noah and Jake found themselves in front of Noah’s house. Noah’s dad had built the house when he first moved his family to Pinewood Flats ten years ago. Built like a log cabin, the inside was very modern and spacious. It had taken all of his dad’s skill as a carpenter to build the home. Sitting on the top of a small hill, the home was two stories with a wide porch that overlooked the forest and a gently flowing river. 

His dad, a tall red fox, had moved them here from a large city in the midwest to raise his son in a more laid back environment. As it turned out, it was one of the best things he could have done because his carpentry business took off in the small community. His workshop sat beside the house right at the end of the driveway. Today he had the doors the shop thrown open as he was finishing up a project for delivery. When he heard the bus stop in front of the house, he set down the chisel and hammer he was using and stepped out to greet the two boys.

“Hey boys, big plans for the weekend?,” he asked.

“Nothing much dad, just playing the new video game that came out. We may do some exploring in the woods too.,” Noah told his dad as he hugged him. 

“Well, just stay out of the treehouse I built for you. The floor needs to be replaced and we don’t need either of you falling and hurting yourself. I plan to work on it next week as soon as I get this order delivered to Jupiter Springs next week.,” his father, John, told him.

“We’ll stay away from it Mr. Waters,” promised Jake as he pulled Noah towards the front door. Turning, Noah followed Jake to the front door and went inside. 

“Mom, I’m home. Jake and I are going to be upstairs,” Noah called out as they took their shoes off at the door. 

“ Hi, Sweetie. Hi, Jake. Take your bags upstairs with you please. Do you have everything you need for the weekend Jake?,” Rebeccah, Noah’s mother, asked as she came out of her office, where she had been working. 

“I think I have everything I need, Mrs. Waters. Thank you for letting me stay with you this weekend.,” Jake responded as she emerged from the doorway.

“Okay, if there is anything that you forgot, just let us know. Noah may have whatever you need too,,” she told the cub.

With that, the two young cubs ran up the stairs to Noah’s room. Once in the room, they quickly shut the door and threw their bags onto the floor. Jake was practically bouncing with excitement as he booted up his friend’s game system and inserted the disk of the new racing game that came out earlier in the week.

After dinner, Noah and Jake were watching a movie when Noah’s father poked his head through the doorway.

“Don’t stay up too late tonight boys,” he said.

“But Dad, it’s the weekend,” Noah whined to his father.

“Okay. Okay. I tell you what, you don’t have to go to bed, but you have to promise to keep the noise down.,” John replied.

“We promise!,” chorused Jake and Noah as his dad headed towards his own room.

Later that night, both boys have finally run out of steam and decided to get ready for bed. As they strip down to put on their pajamas, Noah couldn’t stop himself from taking a peek at Jake. His eyes were immediately glued to Jake’s groin. They had seen each other naked in the showers at school before, but this time felt different. He could feel something stirring inside of him and, unsure of what it was, quickly looked away and finished getting dressed. Unnoticed by him, Jake was also taking a look at Noah as he changed. He couldn’t help but look, it was childhood curiosity after all. Curiosity and maybe something a little more… 

Jake was immediately wanting to explore these feelings with his friend, but was unsure of how to start. He finally decided to leave it alone, for now, until he figured out a way to bring it up. As he pulls up his pajamas, he couldn’t resist one last look at Noah though. What he saw made his mouth go dry. As his friend was settling the waistband of his shorts on his slim hips, he saw just a hint of pink poking out from the top of his underwear.

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Noah rubbed his eyes groggily as he woke, the sun shining into his eyes from his bedroom window. He looked around and saw Jake passed out on the other side of the room. He couldn’t really remember too much about what they were doing when they fell asleep, but based on the state of his room, they sure had fun! As he looks around the room, wondering what time it is, Noah can’t help but notice a distinct bulge in Jake’s shorts. Confusion washes over him as he feels a stirring in his own shorts.

Why do I feel like this around Jake, Noah asked himself as he averted his gaze from his friend’s groin. 

Trying to shake the confusion off and clear the thoughts from his mind, he grabs a book and reads while he waits for his friend to wake up so they can start a new adventure today.

About an hour later, both young cubs headed downstairs for breakfast and to go play outside since the weather was bright and clear.

As they stepped outside, Jake shouted at Noah “Race you to the creek,” as he took off at a run towards the trees around the house. Not wanting to lose, Noah ran after his friend as he watched Jake’s gray and white tail disappear into the trees.

After about five minutes of running through the woods, both boys stopped at the edge of a slow flowing, shallow stream. It sat on the edge of the property the Water’s family purchased when they moved to Pinewood Flats and it had provided hours of entertainment for Noah and Jake as they romped around the shallow stream with its sandy bottom. They would cool off in its refreshing water, use it as a boundary for games of hide and seek, or just see if they could cross it without falling in. 

Today, the temperature was already climbing into the 90’s and the boys were covered in sweat from their race.Without even discussing, they both headed for the bank to cool off. As they stepped onto the cool sand, they hastily took their shirts off and threw them onto the bank. 

After splashing around and playing games around the stream, Jake and Noah decide to explore more of the woods and see what else could be found. Running along the bank, they ran in the general direction of Noah’s treehouse. As they got closer to the tree that supported the building, they could hear hammering from around the trunk. It turns out that Noah’s dad was hard at work cutting lumber to make a new floor.

“Hi boys,” John calls as he sees them approaching. “Been swimming I see.”

“Yep, we sure have. It’s sooo hot out today that we wanted to cool off! I thought you would be working on my treehouse until next week?,” Noah asked with a confused look on his face.

“I had some left over lumber and needed a break from the project I was working on. I thought I would get this built for you kids. It should be done tomorrow.,” the man told them. “Go on and play, I don’t want either of you to get hurt while I am fixing things over here.”

With that, Noah and Jake ran into the trees to find somewhere to explore until it started getting dark.