Page 63 of Running With Lions

“And getting naked is fun?” Emir shrinks the second the words leave his mouth.

Hooking his thumbs in the elastic of his boxers, Sebastian pulls, pops them against his skin, and raises his eyebrows suggestively.

Emir says, “Wow. This is really happening.”

Sebastian, the living definition of irrational, yanks his boxers down and kicks them away. “So, are you coming or what?”

“Where?” Emir chokes.

Sebastian points to the lake. “Let’s go. Skinny-dipping. Right now.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“This is mental, like… you’re naked!”

“It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before.”

Emir, turning redder than seems possible, says, “That’s different.”

“Yeah, um, it’s not.”

Emir’s Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows. His mouth is a thin white line, but his eyes are black pools, staring unwaveringly.

Sebastian stretches out a hand. “Come on.” He almost deflates when Emir hesitates. Then Emir holds out his hand, and Sebastian’s shoulders relax. He tugs Emir to his feet. His free hand fiddles with the hem of Emir’s hoodie and his eyes are searching.

Emir exhales, then nods.

Together they wrangle Emir out of his hoodie and his T-shirt. Sebastian’s uncooperative hands shake when they both reach for the button on Emir’s jeans. Sebastian’s one big ball of nervous energy, so Emir takes care of it himself.

“Time to live a little, Emi,” Sebastian whispers, lips against Emir’s ear.

Emir makes an exasperated noise at the back of his throat. Sebastian’s into it, but he has a brain freeze when Emir finally shimmies out of his briefs. A fuzzy trail of hair around Emir’s navel distracts Sebastian just enough that he mostly succeeds at not drooling.

Sebastian takes a few steps back. Emir has his arms folded defiantly over his chest, but Sebastian ignores the fake attitude. He turns, says over his shoulder, “Meet you in the water,” and dives in.

The water is shockingly cold, then warmer as he breaks the surface, still submerged to his shoulders.

Emir paces the dock.

“It gets worse the more you think about it,” Sebastian tells him.

“Yeah, well—it’s pretty bad right now.”

Sebastian shakes out his hair. The team’s singing is softer while he’s in the water. It’s the cheesy soundtrack accompanying this Disney movie moment, but he’s okay with that vibe. He says, “Jump, or I’ll come get you.”

Emir glares as though he’s faced with the Darth Vader of lakes.

Sebastian shouts, “Jump!”

Emir cannonballs right over Sebastian’s head, creating an epic tidal wave that nearly takes Sebastian under. His dark head emerges. “I’m going to die!” Of course it’s an overstatement—the lake’s pretty shallow—but Sebastian lets Emir whine as he wades closer.

One laugh turns into a dunking contest. That leads to splashing, and it’s all downhill from there. Sebastian swallows lake water while Emir flails.

It’s a cool, crisp summer evening with a bruised-purple sky, and Sebastian’s gut is warm. He swims to Emir. His hands scoop under Emir’s thighs, lifting him. Emir’s legs cradle Sebastian’s waist. Sebastian kicks to keep them afloat.

Emir warns, “Don’t drop me.”

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