Curious Minds

Chapter 20

Caleb

Dak moved so that his back was pressed against a nearby trunk. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

He sat so still and quiet I wasn't sure he would actually do it.

When his form shrank a little, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

Slowly, Dak changed his features from mine to his. The dirty blonde hair changed to fiery red. Freckles spread across his face and down his arms. The muscle tone in the arms and chest softened back into its normal shape. Then, the chest narrowed back into Dak's.

When it was done, I waited. He seemed the exact same, but there was a difference at the same time. I likely wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been staring at him since my first day in Dak's sixth grade class.

"Something's changed," I said out loud.

Dak's brilliant green eyes opened and he sat up, away from the tree. He patted down his arms and across his chest before lifting his shirt, showing slightly defined muscle instead of the softness from before.

"The hell?" I said. Dak had never had that much muscle before. I thought it made him hotter. Immediately, I buried the thought before my best friend could see it.

"The male body burns fat easier than the female," Dak said. He seemed not as tense, more at ease in his skin spouting facts and not writhing in pain.

I should've expected it, but it still surprised me when he shoved his hand down his pants.

"Um," I sat there for a moment. "Find anything good?"

The look of wonder and surprise on Dak's face was the strangest expression I'd ever seen, especially since his hand was still in his pants. I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave him to explore his new appendage, or wait.

I waited.

The twins showed up as Dak tackled me to the ground in a hug that was completely uncharacteristic of him.

<Whoa!> they shouted in thought-speak.

Dak sat up, which put him sitting on my stomach. He was heavier now, too, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

<Do the two of you just not know how to tone down the gay stuff?> one of the birds said, landing on a branch not far from us. The other landed on one slightly higher.

Josh and Drake silently waited for us to get moving. I felt Dak's legs tense as he placed a hand on my chest to steady himself as he stood. Instinctively, I grabbed Dak's hips to keep him from standing.

While my face turned the color of Dak's hair, I let go and he jumped the rest of the way up, snapping at the birds in a manner I knew was embarassment.

"We should go get ready to have dinner with the twins' extended family," Dak said when the birds flew off. His eyes didn't meet mine, but his face had turned the same shade as mine was.

***Dak ***

As sunset approached, Caleb and I walked up the stairs to the main house. It had taken a while to sort out what the twins would do. Caleb and I still didn't know what they would be doing, but we knew they would be there, watching.

Before either of us could knock, Jack opened the door. Josh had pointed him out a few days before as we had helped clean out some of the stalls, which had been Caleb's idea. He had volunteered and, like a good friend, I had dragged myself and the twins into it. They had complained non-stop and I had found out that it was harder work than it looked like.

"Didn't you leave?" I said before I could fully think the sentence through. I had actually overheard some of the workers talking about how Jack had left for Florida, but here he was.