The night was wearing on. How far, Luke wasn’t sure. It was definitely night-time, though, the full moon hanging in the starry sky. Over a natural waterway, it would have cast a dazzling array of silvery ripples.

Here, the lights in the pool largely obscured that. The pool was mostly empty, now, most of those who had occupied it grabbing their things and going on to get dry. A number of other otters were still chasing each other around in it, though their hosts were elsewhere. A pair who’d cozied up to him earlier, right after his romp with Jess, were now keeping each other busy, not exactly discreetly, on the pool deck some twenty feet away; the boy on his back, the girl straddling him, pushing against him in a way that even with the beach towel draped over her, there was no mistaking the rhythms of sex.

It was a boy off by himself, though, that caught Luke’s attention – one he recognized, though didn’t know very well. Recognizing was easy; Calvin was slim and sleek and limber, sturdy-tailed and bright-eyed, the quintessential otter boy, but his fur was unusually pale, the golden colour of pine wood. Here, he was sitting on the pool’s edge, looking for the most part at nothing in particular, occasionally down at his empty beer bottle. As far as Luke could recall, it had been empty for the past half hour or so.

Well, there was a way to remedy that. The cooler was mostly empty, but there were still a few bottles left; he grabbed two by the necks and made his way over there.

“Hey,” he prompted, and when Calvin didn’t stir, tried it a little louder. That worked; the pale otter blinked, twisting to look up at him, and Luke grinned. “Want a refill?”

“Sure, thanks.” Calvin smiled up at him, reaching up to take one of the bottles.

“You’re looking a little lonely here,” Luke pointed out, unwrapping the towel from around himself and draping it over the pool fence. “Mind if I join you, instead?”

“No, no, that’s cool,” said Calvin, opening his bottle and taking a swig. “Just thinking. Luke, right?”

“That’s right, Calvin,” Luke said, sparing the other otter the question of whether to introduce himself. “What’s on your mind?”

“Cal’s fine.” He bobbed his head, nodding across the water. “Just, well… couldn’t help but see John and Lisa over there.”

“Not very subtle, are they?” Luke chuckled. Not that he minded that in the least, or would have had any place to complain. “Why so glum, though?”

“Glum’s not the word,” Cal sighed, and took another swallow of beer. “Just, well… kinda weird. I mean, there’s been some hot girls in my life, plenty of ’em here tonight, but…” He shook his head. “I just don’t know what to do. Never been on a date, really. A couple flings, nothing that lasted… just a quick bit of fun, then moving on. But those two have been having their fun for how long now? Two years?”

“Longer than I’ve known about it,” Luke admitted, lifting his free hand to settle on the other boy’s shoulders. “Nothing’s wrong with having a bit of fun, though. But I guess it’s not enough for you anymore?”

“Not really. And I just don’t know where to start. What to ask, what to say, what to do, nothing. I was trying to watch, earlier, see how they did it – not just those two, lots of people. But then I saw them together and I just thought, she’s so lucky…”

In the ensuing silence, Luke felt his ears perk up. He ran the last sentence through his head a few times, but there was no doubt about it; Cal had definitely said “she”.

Apparently he’d noticed his slip; he bit his lip, head and shoulders slumping. “Oh, man, sorry. I shouldn’t have said – “

“Don’t worry about it,” Luke said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Hey, maybe that’s your problem, though? Girls can be intimidating, I know. So maybe you should get your feet wet where it’s more familiar, huh?”

Cal blinked. “I really don’t think I can call that ‘familiar’, man.”

“I’ve seen you hanging out with guys before,” Luke protested. “And that’s what you’re really missing, right? The hanging out? Cute guy like you, you don’t need to lack for sex if you don’t want to.”

Another sigh, another mouthful of beer. Cal let his eyes wander over to the pair on the deck – relatively still, now; whether one or both of them had come or they were just taking a break, Luke couldn’t be sure. “I dunno. It’s kinda both, really. Haven’t got laid in a few months. Was kinda hoping to change that here, but…” More beer. “Never worked up the courage.”

“Dude.” Luke squeezed his shoulder again. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You think someone’s hot at a party like this, you just ask if they want to slip off somewhere private. If they say no, no harm done; looking like you do, someone will probably say yes. I mean, seriously. John’s not in awesome shape by any stretch, and he gets laid easy enough – and it’s ’cause he doesn’t put so much pressure on it. He takes it easy, lets people know he’s interested, and damn if he isn’t a good lay if you can look past him not being athletic, so he gets people giving him a try, and they keep coming back for more.”

“You’ve… tried him yourself?” Cal blinked. “I… I thought you were into girls? I mean, I, uh, saw you and Jess…”

Luke stifled a laugh. “Just ’cause I’m into girls doesn’t mean I can’t be into guys, too. Think of yourself, huh? You don’t need to be all one way or the other. I’m just saying guys might be a little easier to try out the dating scene with, ’cause for the most part, guys are easier to get at than girls. John loves sleek, fit guys, he’d probably go on a date with you whether or not you wanted anything more afterward.”

Even in the nighttime gloom, even with the angle between them, Luke could see the longing in Cal’s eyes as he considered the more distant youth. “You… know him pretty well, then?”

“Oh, John and I go way back,” Luke purred, thinking back to some of those happy memories. “You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but he’s got a lot of power in those arms. And he might not be toned, but he’s… really smooth. And he always makes it really clear when he enjoys something.”

Cal shivered, biting his lip and shifting in place, his tail curling a little. The hand that wasn’t holding his beer twitched upward, starting toward his trunks and the tent he was pitching in them, then going back down to his side, curling into a fist. A very soft whimper slipped out of his muzzle. “I just… I don’t know what I’d even do…“

“Experience is what you get by doing it, not what you have your first time.” Luke nudged Cal’s shoulder with his nose, shifting closer to the pale otter, shifting his beer to his other hand and curling his tail for balance. “Everybody’s gotta start sometime. If you want yours to be now-ish, I can help you with this.” He brought his free hand down and in, tugging at the drawstring, and when the knot yielded to his quick tug, pulling the waistband of those trunks up and over.

Cal sat bolt upright, drawing a sharp breath. He turned his wide-eyed gaze downward, staring at Luke’s hand as it let his cock into the open. “Wha – ?”

“Doesn’t need to be anything fancy,” Luke told him, fingers keeping the waistband pulled outward. “Just a quick little thing to ease the pressure a bit, and then maybe we can go somewhere and talk. Or just do the talking, if that’s what you really want, but… you might find it a little easier when you have got off.”

Cal swallowed, turning to look at him, eyes still wide. “I…” He swallowed. “I’m nervous, Luke.”

“Do you want to do it?” Luke prompted. “I’m not gonna think any less of you if you say no, you want to try it the long way, or whatever else.”

After a few breathless moments, Cal nodded. “I do,” he breathed, and licked his lips. “I want it. Show me.”

Luke grinned, reaching in a little deeper, tugging the waistband down somewhat. Cal turned his gaze back downward, staring. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands; one was holding his half-empty beer, sure, but the other just hovered beside him. Luke shivered a little with excitement as his fingers slid against that rigid flesh, feeling his own, ready and eager, caressed by the night breeze. He took one more swallow of his own beer before setting it down, far enough away to not get knocked over by accident, and then he sat right beside the other boy, his feet, too, dangling in the water.

Now Cal looked over at him, swallowing, and his eyes got a little wider as they chased along Luke’s own exposed cock. Trembling fingers reached over for it, slid along it, from the base to the tip. “God,” Cal whimpered. “You’re big…”

“Shh. You’re fine,” Luke shot back. “I don’t think I can ever tell you how much I wished my first guy had been more like your size.” He ran his fingers along Cal’s rod in turn – fairly average in length, slender, the head slick against Luke’s fingers. It would’ve been a great cock to learn on.

He really wanted to shuffle away a little, to bend over, to wrap his lips around that shining head, draw it into his muzzle, dance his fingers and his tongue along it until he drank down the other boy’s load. Oh, how he yearned for it.

Responsible life was such a pain, sometimes.

Instead, he wrapped his near arm around Luke’s shoulders and pulled the shorter youth in close, his farther arm crossing over, wrapping around that hot length. Cal shivered and twisted toward him, burying his snout against Luke’s shoulder and muffling a hoarse moan. A needy moan.

He kept it simple. Up and down, up and down… the only intricacy he engaged in was to slow his stroke to a halt now and then, thumb rubbing circles atop that slippery gland and just behind it, making the paler otter whimper and clutch at him. Good sounds, good motions – he kept going, licking his lips. The progress of the pale otter’s pleasure was almost palpable, it went so fast. When Cal bit his lip and took a deep, ragged breath, trying not to give in, Luke nipped at his ear, whispering into it, “Come on, stud. Don’t hold it back. Just let it go, and get my fingers all sticky.”

Cal shivered, squeezing around his shoulder. “Oh, God,” he moaned, and did just that.

His cock bucked like it was trying to escape Luke’s grip. The first spurt of sticky white splattered his golden fur up as far as his collarbone; the next got a few drops on his breastbone. He tapered off from there, but even if he wasn’t pumping out with much force, there was still a generous amount of the stuff pulsing out of him, flowing down over his shaft and Luke’s fingers, rich and musky.

“That’s it,” Luke crooned into one tiny ear, brushing it with his lips. Cal was still moaning against his shoulder, though starting to catch his breath. He clung tight to Luke’s shoulders, trembling from one end to the other, as the darker youth squeezed a few more drops out of his cock, then cradled it. “Mmm, God, that was nice. You’re gonna make someone really happy, I think.”

“I didn’t even do anything,” Cal mumbled. He looked down at Luke’s own rigid cock, started to reach for it, then glanced over his shoulder and bit his lip, his hand curling into a fist. “God. I want to. I really do. But…”

“But you don’t want to do it out in the open?” Luke nuzzled at that ear. “That’s okay, Cal. We can go inside – I’m staying in the guest room for the night, I don’t think Ryan or Jess say no if you want to keep me company there. Party’s mostly breaking up by this point anyway, it sounds like,” he shrugged, “but, hell, I’ve had too much booze to drive home anyway and I’ve got nothing else to pull me away for a few days.” He grinned, nudging his nose against Cal’s. “I can teach you a few things, yeah? Maybe they can, too.”

Even in the gloom, even through his dense fur, the flush that remark triggered was strong enough to be visible. Cal shivered. “Uh… one day at a time, okay?” He let out a nervous laugh.

“Fine, fine.” Luke tucked his cock back into his trunks and re-tied the drawstring, then finally drew away, pushing up to his feet and giving the paler youth a hand up. “Let’s get dry and get comfy, yeah?”

“Comfy sounds good,” Cal blurted.

A bystander might have thought he was just leaning on Luke as the pair ambled toward the house, bottles in hand. Luke had his towel wrapped around him again and his bag slung over his shoulder, while Cal was less steady in his step. It would be an easy assumption to make.

But Luke felt Cal’s fingers teasing at the ridge in the front of that towel, and knew better.