22. Seize the Moment

-Sky-

"We should leave them alone," I spoke after a moment.

I was still staring at the owls, who were staring angrily back at me. The mommy owl was out from her nest, and the eggs were getting cold.

"Okay," Max muttered and let go of me.

I hadn't even noticed how he was holding me. I blushed and turned to face the doorway. Did Max just hug me? Or was he just trying to keep me up on my feet? Or maybe he thought I would rush to see the nest and was just holding me back.

That must've been it.

"I can carry you to the tent if you want," Max suggested when we were outside on the sunny field.

"You don't have to, you'll break your back," I said and tried to give him a playful smile, but I was blushing too hard.

"You're not heavy!" Max said. "Let me carry you. Please."

"What's with you and carrying me around," I chuckled. "I can still walk, you know?"

"Not if you're tripping over some air all the time," Max smirked and stopped me. "I'll carry you like the prettiest bride."

That guy knew how to make me blush way too often. He didn't even give me time to answer, before he had scooped me up in his arms, and started carrying me the way he said he would.

"You're way too stubborn for your own good!" I giggled and tried to hold still so he wouldn't lose his balance.

"No, I'm not. I'm just being considerate," Max protested. "And, if you break a bone or something, I have no idea how to get you out of the forest. I can't drive the ATV, remember?"

"Oh, right," I mumbled.

"See? I'm just being practical," Max smiled.

"Okay, okay," I giggled and looked at him.

I kind of got lost in his eyes again when he looked at me. They were now sparkling in the sunlight, and I couldn't decide which one I loved more, his blue eye or the brown one. They were both so amazing, so radiant and so... warm. I wished he would stare at me, and only me. I didn't want him to look away from me.

Of course, there was a downside to it.

"Ack!" He yelped when he tripped to something, and a second later, I found myself lying on the ground, with him lying on top of me. "Sky! Are you hurt? I'm so sorry."

I had no words to speak. His eyes were now just an inch away from mine. I had no idea if I was hurt or not. When he was so close to me, nothing could hurt me.

"Sky?" Max spoke worriedly and pushed himself up. "Sky?!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine..." I gasped and smiled. "Now who's the clumsy one?"

Max stared at me for a moment, but then he laughed. I wasn't sure if he noticed he was sitting on top of me.

"Are you sure you're alright? That was a pretty bad fall..." he asked.

"I think the rocks eased up the impact quite nicely," I joked. "Seriously though, I'm fine. I'm not hurt."

"Okay," he said and looked down at me.

It took him a few seconds to realize he was sitting on me. Then, he hurried to his feet and helped me up from the ground.

"It's a good thing that neither of us is wearing white clothes," I smirked when I tried to swipe mud off my butt.

"I can help you clean up," Max offered.

"You're such a pervert," I chuckled.

"Maybe I am," he smirked.

I froze when he said that. He must be joking, right? He was just goofing around.

Or then we were flirting. Shamelessly. Through the entire day.

"I... I have some spare clothes at the tent," I muttered and turned around to grab my crutches.

"Okay," Max said, and it almost sounded like he was disappointed.

We were almost at our tent already, so I walked there on my own. My stupid head was creating delusional scenarios. Max was not flirting with me! That was just a big, fat no! It wasn't possible. I was just thinking that he was, because I liked him so much. He was just fooling around, that's all!

"Sky?"

"Yeah?" I asked and turned to look at him.

"There's a heart on your butt," he said, trying to hide his smile. "That's uh... That's so adorable!"

"I have what now?" I asked and tried to see my ass.

"It's a perfect heart. The mud, you see, it's forming a heart," Max continued. "On your butt."

"Oh goodness, stop that," I said, but laughed too. "It's your fault! You dropped me!"

"Let me take a picture," Max asked and searched for his phone. "I'll show you."

"Don't take a picture of my butt!" I giggled and turned around so I could hide my bum.

"But you have such a cute, heart-shaped butt!" Max smirked and tried to make me turn around. "I want a picture!"

"No! You'll just show it to everyone!" I screamed and giggled at the same time when I lost the battle.

"I wouldn't share your butt with anyone," Max smirked, and I tilted my head at his words.

"You what?" I asked, and in my confusion, I forgot to avoid the camera.

"Perfect!" Max said, looking at the screen. "I meant I wouldn't show the picture to anyone; I'm not that insensitive," he said with a heavy breath.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of my stupid thoughts. Max was just having fun. That's all. There was no flirting going on between us.

I stopped right in front of our tent, that was still lying on the ground.

"We should put it up," I said and nodded towards it.

"I have never done it before," Max said apologetically.

"I can show you," I said with a smile, and grabbed the bag of thin poles.

It wasn't easy with my hurting leg, but with Max's help, we got it up in a half an hour. Thankfully, he was a fast learner, or then it had something to do with his love for architecture. Tent wasn't exactly a building, but he did a great job.

"It smells weird," Max noted when he crawled inside.

"Let's leave the door open so it gets some fresh air. I haven't used it in a couple of months," I said and turned to look at the ATV. "We need to go get our bags."

"I'll go. You should rest," Max said and backed out of the tent and stood up.

I felt useless when I sat down on the big log and watched Max running to the ATV. It was a joy to see his toned figure work with the heavy bags, but I didn't enjoy making him do all the work.

"Thanks." I smiled at him when he returned to me with our bags. "I'll change my clothes now. I think you should too," I continued and looked at his dirty clothes.

"What?" he smirked. "Isn't this a good camping look?"

"No," I chuckled. "We may be in the middle of the forest, but we don't need to look like savages."

"Good," he said and opened his bag. "I think I have mud in my underwear."

I giggled and turned to look away when he took off his shirt without a warning. I liked his body, but I didn't want to seem like a pervert, so I just peeked at him a few times while he was changing his shirt.

I was more self-conscious when I took off my hoodie. I stood up and turned my back to Max when I pulled my T-shirt off, too. I grabbed the clean one from my bag and didn't waste a second to put it on. When I turned to look at Max, he still didn't have any shirt on.

He didn't seem to mind being without a shirt. Or pants. He was undressing them while I watched!

I turned around quickly and hesitated for a long time before pulling my own pants down. I tried to change as quickly as I could, but trying to be fast had never worked for me. I had my shoes on, and the pants got stuck around them, and I would have fallen down on the mud once again, if Max hadn't caught me.

He didn't say anything when I turned to look at him. He was holding me from my elbow, and he smiled sweetly when he looked back at me.

"Uhm... Thanks..." I muttered.

"You should sit down on the log. Don't strain your leg," he advised.

"Y-Yeah..." I stammered and did as he told me to.

"Do you need help?" Max asked when I tried to pull my pants over my shoes.

"You are making this really awkward," I muttered out loud.

"What?" Max asked, and I thanked Mother Earth that he didn't hear me.

"I said that this is hard," I said. "I should have taken my shoes off..."

"I guess," Max said and continued putting his pants on.

I made the mistake and looked up. His... dingaling was right in front of my eyes. I kind of made a small squealing sound and turned my head down so fast that I almost broke my neck.

"What was that?" Max chuckled.

"N-Nothing... I just – just – just..." I sounded like a broken record, "I just – it's my ankle..."

"Oh, okay. You really should take it easy for the rest of the day. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it," Max spoke.

"Just put some clothes on and I'll be fine," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"Just let me put some clothes on first," I hurried to say.

I managed to get fully dressed without embarrassing myself to death. I waited for a long, long time before I looked at Max again. This time he had clothes on, but I was still blushing.

"Are you all right? You look a little sick," Max spoke when he looked at my flustered expression.

I conjured a smile on my lips. "I'm fine. I'm just so excited," I lied.

"I bet. We are finally here! I knew we would find a way to come here, but I have to admit that I was a little worried," Max spoke.

"Just a little bit?" I chuckled.

"Just a tiny bit," he said and showed me his hand, holding the index finger really close to his thumb. "This much."

"Sure, sure," I smirked.

"So? What's next?" Max asked, and I shrugged.

"I guess we could eat something. The sun will set in an hour or so, so the daddy will come out," I said and looked at the barn.

"Daddy?" Max repeated, and when I turned to look at him, I saw an impish smile on his lips. "But I'm right here!"

"The male owl," I explained and shook my head in amusement. "The dad."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop joking around," he said, but his expression wasn't convincing.

"You're just awful, you know that?" I asked.

"Do you know what I think?" Max asked and leaned closer to whisper in my ear, "I think you like it."

Now I had only two explanations left for his behavior: he had noticed that I had a crush on him, and he was making fun of me. Or then, he had noticed that I had a crush on him, and he was flirting back.

"So. A dinner?" Max asked when he stood up and winked at me.

"Y-Yeah..." I muttered with wide eyes when he walked to the ATV.

What was happening?!

-Max-

I had no idea what got into me. Maybe it was nature, or the fact that we were completely alone in the forest. I just couldn't stop making my moves! Thankfully, Sky was having fun, but he was completely ignoring my attempts to flirt with him.

I was even trying to show off my athletic figure, which always worked for the girls! That was stupid move, I admit that, but I was getting desperate to get a response from him! I still had no idea if he could even consider dating a guy!

When the sun was setting, and Sky had made a small campfire for us, we were sitting next to the log on a pile of thick blankets. I was staring up at the stars, trying to think of something to do or say to find out if Sky would ever date a guy.

"Look!" Sky whispered and pointed at the barn.

We had watched the female resting on her nest for the past hour, but now the male was there too.

"He's going for a hunt!" Sky said enthusiastically and grabbed his video camera.

"Isn't it too dark to film?" I asked.

"I got this from my uncle. It has night vision," Sky said and pointed the camera towards the barn.

"Is your uncle rich?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sky said nonchalantly.

"Of course," I nodded and shook my head. "That explains it."

"He's saying goodnight to his mate," Sky said tenderly, and I looked at the screen of his camera.

We were at least three-hundred feet away from the owls, but the quality of the video was outstanding. It was almost as if we were sitting right next to them.

"Do you speak owl then?" I asked.

"Nope, but doesn't he look like he's saying goodnight?" Sky asked with a smile.

"Well," I said slowly, "It kind of does."

Soon, the male flew into the night, and Sky put his camera down. He had a content smile on his lips, and I had to fight back my urge to hug him. I just wanted to wrap my arm around him and hold him tight. I didn't even need to kiss him, I just wanted to hold him.

"Sky, there's something I want to ask you..." I started speaking. My heart was suddenly beating faster and my mouth was dry, but I had to know what he thought about gays. About me. "Would you ever consider–"

"Look!" He whispered and pointed to the sky, cutting me off. "Did you see it?"

"What?" I asked and looked up.

"There was a bat!" Sky spoke with sparkly eyes and looked around. "There! Can you see it?"

I stared at the sky with wide eyes. I definitely saw it. It was flying in circles right above us.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I screamed. Yes. Screamed. "Make it go away!" I continued and hid my face behind my hands.

"It's harmless," Sky giggled. "It's gone now."

I took a deep breath and peeked up. The bat was luckily gone, but so was my manliness. Now I definitely couldn't ask Sky if he would consider going out with me.

Lucky for me, Sky seemed to have forgotten all about what I said before the bat interrupted us. He was still looking up, like trying to see it again.

I sighed and leaned my chin against my knees. I was such a failure. Sky was probably laughing at me in his head. Troy and everyone else in my team would have laughed if they had seen me screaming like a girl at some bat. Not to mention the incident with the baby bunnies.

I started to believe Sky was done talking with me for good, but then he opened his mouth.

"Did you know," he spoke hesitantly, "that bats have the highest rate of homosexuality among all mammals?"

My eyes shot open, and I turned to look at him. He was still looking at the sky. This was my chance!

"Oh. I didn't know that," I said as calmly as I could, even though I was almost shivering from excitement. "Is it... bad?"

"For bats? No," Sky said.

"Do you... What do you think about it? About homosexuality?" I asked.

Sky shrugged. "I was raised to be open-minded."

Yes!

"Oh. Well, are you... or...?" I stammered and fell silent.

"Are you?" Sky surprised me with his question, but then he continued, "Are you open-minded?"

"Sky," I took a deep breath, and gathered all my courage to say, "I'm bisexual."

Sky turned to look at me, and during those two seconds when he didn't speak, I started to get worried about his answer.

Then he smiled. "Cool."

Cool? Cool? No, no, no! I'm gay for you! That was what I wanted to say, but the words didn't come out.

"Great," I said and tried to smile.

"I mean," Sky continued, and looked away. "I like guys too. I think. I'm not sure though. I just... I kind of... I never really thought about it, but then I moved here, and...." he spoke hastily.

"So, you would go out with a guy?" I asked, feeling the hope rising inside me.

"I... I guess so... I think so... I don't know..." Sky stammered, and I could see him blushing, even in the darkness.

"Sky," I spoke his name with a smile, and leaned closer to him.

"Yeah?" he whispered and looked at me.

I stopped when he looked at me with a shy expression on his face. He looked into my eyes and licked his lips almost nervously. He looked so adorable and cute, but I didn't want to scare him away, so I waited for his move.

And then he shifted a little towards me. He glanced at my lips before our eyes met again. I took it as a sign, and leaned slowly closer, and closer, until I could feel his breath on my face.

"Max," he whispered just before pressing his lips on mine.

I froze when he kissed me. It was just as perfect as I had imagined it to be. His lips felt soft and warm and lush on mine, and even though the kiss lasted only for a few seconds, it still felt like an eternity.

I was so dumbfounded by the kiss that I couldn't say or think anything at first. Sky, on the other hand, seemed almost terrified. We just sat there for ages without even moving an inch.

"Please say something," Sky whispered.

"I have a better idea," I said, waking up from my trance.

I pulled him closer and kissed him again. It was even better for the second time. I moved my lips over Sky's, and he repeated my movement clumsily. I guessed he had never been kissed before, but it only made the kiss better. I put my hand carefully on his waist, and just a second later I felt his hand on my cheek. The kiss stayed gentle and sweet, and I enjoyed it with my body and soul.

This time when we parted our lips, he didn't look so scared anymore. He was smiling, but then he placed his hand over his mouth, like he was embarrassed or something.

"I really liked that," I told him quietly. "I hope you did too."

"I... I... I..." Sky muttered and nodded shyly.

"So there's still one question that needs an answer," I told him.

"What question?" Sky asked and lowered his hand.

"Would you go out with a guy?" I asked.

Sky stared at me with wide eyes for a short moment before he nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. So would you go out with me?" I asked, feeling all jittery and happy inside.

"Yeah," he said timidly.

"So that's a yes?" I asked with a smile, wanting to make sure I hadn't misheard him.

He nodded and returned my smile. "Yeah."