Published: 22 Mar 2018

From Previous Chapter:

The adults continued to talk about the things Mr. Ken did for the lads and how safe the boys were while they were at The Cove. Some of the parents needed to get away so they exchanged phone numbers in order for them to stay in touch if there ever was a need.

The lads walked down to the skateboard ramps in age order with the twins and their friends bringing up the rear. When the new boys arrived at the ramps, they were extremely surprised at seeing what good shape the skateboard ramps were in knowing they’d been out in the elements ever since they were built back in the spring. Isaac was the first one to put down his satchel with his swimsuit and towel in. He then put down his skateboard and rode it over to the ramps. The other new lads soon followed suit.

The older lads, at first, watched the new boys ride their skateboards. The new lads were a bit younger than they and so they were not as experienced as the twelve and thirteen year olds. The big exception were Sam and Terran who had been riding the ramps ever since they were built, so they had a much better handle on doing many of the tricks kids their age did on them.

After watching the new kids ride their skateboards, Robert explained to them the way they shared the ramps with everyone. The new lads didn’t like that they had to wait for their turn, but they understood that with only four ramps, and a large group wanting to skate, they recognized that space was at a premium.

It didn’t take long before the older boys started to show the eleven year olds how to do some of the more simple and basic tricks, better. The older boys explained that when they got those down pretty well they could start learning to do the more complicated ones. The younger ones, including a now excited Kevin, eagerly accepted the offered instruction.

After about an hour of having to share the ramps with four more skaters, Robert asked his friends and Charles’ friends if they wanted to go swimming and let the younger boys have the ramps to practice and enjoy themselves.

Eric, Logan, Cody, Chuck, Trevor, Brad, Gordon, and Josh all said they liked Robert’s idea as they said they soon wouldn’t be able to swim in the lagoon as the lake water will eventually cool off. They said that they’d need to use the wetsuits if they wanted to use the water toys, then.

Charles told his ‘brother’ that he was going to stay with his younger ‘brothers’ and help them and their friends when he could. The pre-teen said it wouldn’t be fair to leave the twins to host their friends when they didn’t have any idea what hosting meant.

Robert just shrugged his shoulders and he and his friends headed to the Locker Room to change.

Charles told his friends they didn’t have to stick around with the twins and their friends, so some of them ran to catch up with Robert.

It was Charles, Camm, David and Cooper who stuck around to help the eleven year olds as best they could. With the majority of the lads now gone, there was a lot more room for the remaining ten younger boys to enjoy the ramps.

It was Isaac who asked Kevin if the older boys were always that mean. All Kevin could say was that he’d only been there a week and he didn’t know all of Robert’s friends. He did tell his friends that Robert was a good ‘brother’ to him and his twin, and he thought the teenager was just trying to reduce the number of kids using the ramps to allow them to use them without so many kids getting in the way.

Charles then spoke up and told the eleven year olds that when he started living there it almost doubled the number of friends coming over to use the ramps. He then said that now that they’ve added two more kids, Kevin and Kyle, to The Cove, it will probably double the number of kids again. Charles explained that as more kids get added to The Cove the things they do there will get more and more crowded. The pre-teen explained that today was the first time they had that many kids, and they just needed to figure out the best way to share all the fun things to do there.

“But what is there to do other than the skateboard ramps?” now asked Blake, directing his question to Charles.

“Blake, right?” asked Charles.

“Yeah,” replied the lad.

“Well, besides these great ramps, we have the two water toys out in the lagoon, the indoor pool, and the WaveRunners,” answered Charles.

“What were our parents talking about with Mr. Ken when he mentioned he would make us cook hot dogs and hamburgers?” now asked Grant.

“No silly, didn’t you hear him say he’d not make you cook, you haven’t been here long enough to do that,” laughed Charles. “Even I didn’t start cooking the burgers and dogs until I was here at least a month. Us kids, we cook the hamburgers and hot dogs for all of us, including Mr. Ken, Mr. Dan, and Mr. Chris.

“It only takes two kids to cook, but the rest of us take turns getting the burgers and dogs out of the freezer while the rest get the ice and sodas. Others will get the condiments; you know paper plates, knives, forks and spoons, while others are getting the ketchup, mustard, mayo and lettuce and tomatoes. While kids are doing all that other kids are setting things up and the cooks are cleaning the grill and getting it hot enough to cook.”

“Who again is Mr. Dan?” asked Landon.

Kyle quickly spoke up and replied, “Mr. Dan is Sheriff’s Lieutenant Dan Fischer. He’s the man who was shot during a drug raid a number of weeks ago now and ‘Dad Ken’ asked him to stay here while he recovered.”

“Charles also mentioned a Mr. Chris. Who is he again?” asked Isaac.

Kevin took that one and explained that Mr. Chris was the man who took care of all the issues for The Cove. The older twin told his and his twin’s friends that the man paid the bills and did what Mr. Ken needed him to do. Kyle then spoke up and told the group that he had lost his leg during the war.

Terran then spoke up and explained to them how Mr. Chris, twice, talked to them about how he lost his leg. The youngster told the group that the man usually ate hamburgers with them and one time he sat down and just talked to them about it. Terran told the friends that the man, the next time he ate with them, even let them ask him questions not only about how he lost his leg but also what happened afterwards. The new lads to The Cove all had surprised looks on their faces after hearing that.

“Did Mr. Dan … did he ever talk to you guys about, you know, how he got shot?” asked Blake.

“No, not exactly, he may have mentioned it but I don’t remember ever hearing him come right out and telling us,” replied Sam.

“Why is it that Sam and Terran know more about this place than you do Kevin?” said Grant.

“That’s because we only started living here last Friday, the day before the Labor Day Picnic,” answered Kyle.

“Hey, are you guys ready to go swimming?” asked Kevin. “If we wait too long the air will get cooler and then it won’t be any fun.”

Grant looked to Isaac who looked to Landon who in turn looked to Blake. They all sort of nodded to one another and then Grant told Kevin and Kyle they were ready.

“Where do we go?” asked Isaac.

“Grab your bags and follow us,” said Kyle.

“Where are we going?” asked Blake, as the small group of eleven year olds, and the four twelve year olds, began walking around the front of the house and to the back Patio.

“Why are we going back this way? Why didn’t we go through the house?” Landon wanted to know.

“‘Dad Ken’ prefers we go around to the back Patio and use the door to the pool to get to the Locker Room when we have a lot of kids with us,” answered Kevin, knowing ‘Dad Ken’ never said any such thing as that, but he didn’t have any other answer he could give. Kyle chuckled at what his twin said as he inwardly smiled knowing he probably would have said the same thing. Even Charles had to smile after hearing what Kevin said.

“We’re going to go change in the Locker Room,” added Kevin.

“Why do you keep saying ‘Dad Ken? Who is that?” asked Grant.

Kyle smiled and replied, “When we first met Mr. Ken … he told us we could call him Mr. Ken until we figured out an equally as good a name we could call him. When we visited our mom and dad last weekend, we talked to our mom about what we could call him. We told her it felt awkward calling him Mr. Ken all the time when Robert and Charles just called him ‘dad’. We discussed different names with her and we agreed on ‘Dad Ken’. When you are around Robert and Charles you will hear them call Mr. Ken, ‘dad’, so be ready to hear that, even though Mr. Ken is only our foster dad.”

“Yes, they do but sometimes you forget and call him ‘dad’, too,” teased Kevin.

“Yes, I have, but so have you,” Kyle teased right back.

The lads walked onto the Patio and the group of ten eleven year olds and four twelve year olds proceeded through the door leading into the indoor pool area.

“Wow, would you look at this pool!” said an excited Blake. “I heard there was a great indoor pool here, at Three Finger Cove, but I never knew it was this big or looked this awesome.”

The other three new lads agreed with their friend, Blake, but they then wanted to know where they could change. Sam told them to follow him.

“Why are the lockers out on the deck?” Landon wanted to know.

“That’s because if there are more guys than girls then they wouldn’t have any place to put their clothes,” answered Kyle.

“Yeah, that is what usually happens,” added Terran. “Yes, at times there are girls invited to swim, but usually it is just us boys.”

When the group of eleven year olds walked into the Men’s Locker Room, the new lads were surprised the room was wide open and there were no private places to change into their swimsuits. When they asked about that, Sam told them they could go and change in the toilet stalls, but that everyone just changes using the benches.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” voiced Landon and Isaac together.

“No, we aren’t kidding,” smiled Terran. “Remember me telling you when we went to the Coast Guard Training last spring? Well, we also spent the night and Mr. Ken let us swim. Sam and I were embarrassed to get changed in here with our brothers and the other older boys, but Robert explained how we could do that.”

“You mean you got … you took all your clothes off in front of all those … those older boys?” Grant wanted to know.

Sam smiled at the question and replied, “Yes, we both did. It wasn’t easy at first, but eventually we did it. The older boys told us how they did it when they were our age. They told us that the older teens took off all their clothes first and showed them their equipment.”

“Their equipment; what’s that?” honestly asked Isaac.

Sam and Terran laughed and told them about how Eric told them about his first time changing there and how Collin and Ryan and the other much older teens called their penis and testicles, ‘their equipment’,

The four new boys were still not following along so Sam told them ‘their equipment’ was their dicks and balls. When the four boys heard that they all burst out laughing. Then Terran told them they are also known as ‘boy parts’ or ‘boy toys’. That made the boys laugh even harder.

When the laugh settled down, Cooper spoke up and told the boys to put their bags on the floor and pull their swimsuits out and place them on the bench. The twelve year old then told them to take off their shoes and socks and set them aside. Then, he told them to leave their shirts on but to now turn around and face the wall and drop their shorts and underwear.

The four boys balked at having to do that, but what Camm, David, Cooper and Charles then did was to do what Cooper just said but they all faced the new lads. As the twelve year olds took off their clothes the eleven year olds got to see their ‘equipment’ and then started to giggle. Even Kevin and Kyle laughed along with their friends.

Charles then told the new boys to face the wall and drop their shorts and underwear. He told them that by leaving their shirts on they won’t be fully naked and thus not everybody will see their ‘dangly parts’. That new name made the whole room again erupt in laughter.

Charles then told them how when he first changed there how the older boys got out in the middle of the room and turned all around to let him see them. Charles, already naked, walked out to the middle of the room and did just that. He turned all around. That brought out even more laughter.

Then Cooper did it and was quickly followed by Camm and David.

“There … we are all naked and you got to see our ‘boy toys’, ‘boy parts’, ‘dangly parts’, our ‘equipment’ or whatever else you want to call them. And, we’ve been naked in front of you for what the last two or three minutes and you don’t see us being embarrassed. That is how easy it is,” offered Charles.

“But … ahh … what if you get, you know, a … a,” stumbled Landon.

“You mean a stiffie, or a boner?” chuckled Camm.

“Yeah,” laughed all four new boys.

“OK, well, to tell you honestly, I don’t ever remember seeing anybody get a boner,” said Camm.

Cooper snickered just then and said, “I have.” He then looked over at Charles who almost sent his friend the fickle finger of fate.

“But that’s the exception,” offered Camm. “Most boys are afraid they’ll get one, so they make sure they don’t get one. That is why you turn and face the wall until you get used to being nude with all the other boys.”

“Will we have to get, you know, will we have to take our clothes off in front of Robert and the other older boys?” asked Isaac.

Charles quickly said, “I know it took me a few times before I was comfortable with getting naked with the other older boys, but let me tell you, none of them, or us, will laugh at you if you get a boner”.

“One thing I would caution you about is … don’t hurry!” said Cooper. “If you hurry to change then you’ll probably stumble and make a noise and everybody WILL look in your direction. Just take your time and when you have your suit on then take your shirt off. Come on you four, Charles, Camm, David and I have been naked in front of you for almost five minutes now and we never got a boner. Now turn and start changing.”

The four lads had all taken a position on the same bench and they had already taken off their shoes and socks. They all turned to face the wall and it was Grant who was the first one to drop his shorts and drawers. He then took his swimsuit and put it on and when he did that he took off his shirt.

“What do I do now?” asked the first changed lad, Grant.

Hearing Grant had already changed, Isaac, Landon and Blake got into gear and they all dropped their shorts and underwear at the same time. They each grabbed their swimsuits and put them on. Isaac turned around and sat down and then took his shirt off while the other two just turned around and took off their shirts.

“Kevin, Kyle … aren’t you going to change with us?” asked Grant.

“Well, ahh, we have our suits up in our room and we, ahh, we figured we’d go up there and change after you all got changed,” answered Kevin.

“Why does Charles have his suit down here and you guys don’t? Don’t you ever change in front of the other kids?” asked a serious Landon.

“We’ve only been here a week, give us a break,” said Kevin, louder than he really wanted to. Kyle sort of cringed when he heard what his older brother said, but he stayed quiet.

It was Sam who then told the group that Kevin and Kyle changed in front of him and Terran last weekend and that was the only time they had gone swimming. He sort of supported Kyle and him and the older twin was happy for that.

Charles told the twins to hurry up and go up to their room and get into their suits. He then told them to bring their clothes back down there so when everyone was finished swimming they can change there with their friends. The twins’ older ‘brother’ then told them they could keep their swimsuits there and then they would not have to go up to their room anymore.

Kevin and Kyle quickly exited the Locker Room while Charles and Cooper took the four new friends out to the pool deck and explained what to do with their clothes and how to use the key. The small group then went out to the Patio to wait for the twins who showed up about ten minutes later.

While the younger boys waited for the twins, the new lads could see the water toys and what the older boys were doing. Blake asked no one in particular why they were throwing everybody off the top.

Dominic told them how they all played ‘King of the Raft’ and then told him and the other four new lads how, one day, they made it so Charles could be the ‘King’. That made the new lads laugh at what they did to Mr. Dan, an adult.

“Dom, Wyatt … I saw you two didn’t hesitate to change while we were sort of trying to decide how we’d get our suits on. How did you do that, you know, get bare assed naked in front of all of us and not be embarrassed?” asked Landon.

Dominic looked at Wyatt and the two of them sort of laughed. They then told Landon, and the other new friends, that they did exactly what Cooper said for them to do. They both agreed that it was awkward at first, and a little bit embarrassing, but after they changed a few times it was like second nature. Dominic also told the group that they can’t ever remember the older lads ever laughing at them even though their boy toys weren’t as big as the older kids.

By then Kevin and Kyle had joined their group and the whole group now walked down to the beach. They continued to walk into the cool lagoon water and soon they were all swimming out to the platform that was situated between the two water toys.

“Hey, they finally came out. Now we can have a big game of ‘King of the Rafts’,” said Chuck.

Charles spoke up and said the twins’ new friends needed to just get used to the rafts and see what kind of fun they can have. Chuck wasn’t happy with that so he went over to Robert to see if he could get his ‘brother’ to change his mind.

Robert went over to talk to Charles and the twins and when he came back to Chuck and his other friends he told them he had to agree that the new kids needed some time to enjoy the rafts like they did, at first, before they get invited to play their games. The older boys moaned some but Eric told them all to ‘grow up’ and let the new kids have their own fun.

Kevin and Kyle showed their new friends the rafts but it was Sam, Terran, Dominic and Wyatt who really explained how they can have fun out there. The eleven year olds who had been out on the rafts a number of times before also reminded the new guys that there were four lifeguards out there watching all of them, so they should try all the facets of the rafts and even jump off the top to feel what that was like.

The four new lads climbed to the top of the Jungle Joe to see how high it was. They then decided to slide down the slide into the water and when they came up they were all laughing. After that, Isaac, Landon, Blake and Grant tried all the different sides of the two water toys.

After the four new kids had all tried the different aspects of the two water rafts, Blake told Kevin he liked climbing up the fake rocks on side of the Iceberg and jumping off. Landon said he liked the slide best, while Isaac and Grant said they enjoyed walking on the platform, but if they had to decide what they liked about the two water toys they said they agreed with Blake.

It was almost 2:30 in the afternoon when one of the thirteen year olds said he was hungry. Robert took the hint and told the group he was going to go in and get the grill cleaned up and heated up. It wasn’t too long after Robert dove into the water that the majority of the older boys headed in to help get the barbeque started.

“Hey, where are they all going?” asked Blake.

“Oh, they’re going in to get the barbeque going,” answered Charles.

“Shouldn’t we be helping too?” now asked Isaac.

“Usually, the new kids, that’s you guys, they just get to watch to see what it takes to get the hamburgers and hot dogs cooked,” started out Charles. “Then, the next time, they’ll follow along with someone to see where everything is kept. It’ll take you three or four times to get the hang of it. When you are here again you just join in with a group and help.

“After I had surgery, I couldn’t swim or ride my skateboard, so one day I decided to get the barbeque going by myself. My ‘dad’ saw what I was doing so he helped me get it all out and the grill started before the rest of the kids saw me.”

“You had to have surgery after you started living here. Sheesh, what happened did you fall off the ramp or something?” asked Landon.

“No, nothing like that, my ‘dad’, you know Mr. Ken, well, he took me to get a physical so he would know, what, if any medical problems I might have that needed to be addressed. Doc Powers found I had a hernia that needed to be corrected before school started,” explained Charles.

“I had to have surgery,” stated Landon. “I fell off my bike when I was like, seven. It was a compound fracture of my right arm. They took me into this very cold room to operate in order to set the bones. I had to wear a cast for eight weeks. That sucked.”

“I know what you mean,” offered Blake. “I also had to have surgery. I stepped on a nail and it stuck in my foot. The doctors told my parents that in order for them to get it out and make sure there would be no infection later they needed to operate, so they did. I had my foot in what they called a soft cast for about ten days. I had to use crutches and I couldn’t do anything fun for a few weeks afterward. How long did Mr. Ken keep you from swimming or riding your skateboard, Charles?”

“It was two weeks for me,” answered Charles. “But it was the longest two weeks of my life. It was in the middle of the summer when they did the surgery, so like you said Landon, it sucked. I was so bored but at the same time I was pissed I let them do the surgery.”

“What, they told you that you could decide when you wanted to do the surgery?” now asked Grant.

“Well, I was told I had to have the surgery at least two weeks before school started. But even though I said I was bored and pissed that I did it when I did, it really worked out for me,” answered Charles, now with a smile.

“How could it work out for you?” asked Isaac.

“Well, Mr. Ken had promised Robert and Eric a trip and then he told me that after I’d been there for 30 days he could take me on a trip, too. If I had waited to do the surgery, I wouldn’t have ever gone on the awesome trip my ‘dad’ took me on,” replied Charles.

“Where’d he take you?” asked Blake.

Charles smiled and said, “My ‘dad’, he took me to Fort Worth and Dallas for a Ranger’s game, to Six Flags Over Texas, The Dallas Aquarium and to a place called Speed Zone where they had lots of Go-Kart tracks. I had never done anything like that and I had so much fun. I can’t wait until he can take me to the amusement parks he took Robert and Eric, too.”

The twins’ four new friends just had to know why he couldn’t go with Robert and Eric, so they asked the obvious questions. It took Charles a few minutes to explain how the Children’s Protective Services has Rules that restrict when the kid can go out of the area. Then Charles explained where Mr. Ken took Robert and Eric on their trip. That surprised the four new friends who then had a bunch more questions. By the time Charles answered them the lads still out on the rafts were being called in to eat.

The fourteen lads all dove into the water and had a race to the beach. When they got there they all raced to the Patio.

“About time you guys showed up. We were going to eat without you but your ‘brother’ made us wait,” teased Brad.

“Thank you for that ‘love’ Brad,” Charles said with a smile. Brad smiled right back at him.

Then, to the new kids, the pre-teen said, “Usually the new guys get to go first, and then everyone comes in behind you. They probably cooked one burger and one dog for each of us so I hope you like them.”

It was Robert who called the twins and their friends over and told them they could each take one burger and one dog and if they were still hungry someone would cook another one for them. The lads did take one and one and then went over to the condiments and added ketchup, mustard, sweet pickle relish and mayo and then they had their choice of onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

‘Dad Ken’ came out a few minutes later and took a burger off the grill and layered it with mayo, lettuce and a dab of ketchup and mustard. When he was finished fixing his burger, he joined the twins and their friends.

“Well, lads … how are you enjoying Three Finger Cove? Are the ramps everything people told you they were? And, how did you like the water rafts?” asked the man, trying to gauge the new lads’ reactions.

Landon went first. “Mr. Ken, the skateboard ramps were awesome, but … well, there were way too many of us, so Robert and the older kids … they left us to go swimming. That gave us new kids more time to try the ramps out. Charles and a few of his friends stayed with us and they gave us some pointers that helped us to do better with some of our tricks.”

But before Landon could tell the man about how he liked the water toys, Isaac spoke up. “Mr. Ken, I love the water toys! They are so neat and they are something that I am sure many kids have never had the chance to try out let alone, you know, even see them.”

Blake and Grant joined in with their thoughts on the ramps and water rafts which mainly mimicked the other two friends. Generally, the four new lads told the owner of The Cove how they loved how smooth and sturdy the ramps were and that they felt safe using them. The lads then told him how much fun the water rafts/toys were. The four lads couldn’t say enough about the slides and how they loved they could climb to the top and either jump off or use the slides.

Mr. Ken was happy the twins’ new friends had enjoyed the ramps and the water rafts. He wondered if they’d want to try out the indoor pool. So, he asked them.

“Guys, would you want to try out the indoor pool while you are here? You still have your swimsuits on and if you want to do that all you need to do is wash off the lake water before you jump in,” said a smiling Mr. Ken.

Isaac, Grant, Landon and Blake all looked back and forth to one another and then they asked Kevin and Kyle if they could do that, forgetting, in the process, that it was Mr. Ken who asked them if they wanted to try out the indoor pool.

Robert heard his ‘dad’ ask the eleven year olds if they wanted to swim in the indoor pool, so he nudged Eric and the two of them walked over to Mr. Ken. Robert didn’t beat around the bush so he asked if that invitation included the rest of them. Mr. Ken laughed when his ‘son’ asked him if the rest of the lads could also swim, so he said they could as long as they all, and he stressed ALL, washed off the lake water even if they were already dry.

Robert and Eric whooped and hollered as they went to their friends and told them they could use the indoor pool. The other lads joined in the ruckus and quickly set out to clean up after the barbeque.

Mr. Ken called over the lifeguards. “I hope you didn’t eat too much. The boys are going to clean the place up now that everyone is finished eating and then they’re going to use the indoor pool.”

Then to the new lifeguard, Mr. Ken asked, “Jordan, how do you like working at The Cove?”

Jordan sort of smiled and told the owner of The Cove that he’d never seen a swimming place like the lagoon. He told the man that he had only ever worked at a regular swimming pool, but today was the most fun he ever had guarding. The high school junior told Mr. Ken that he would be available any time he needed someone.

The four lifeguards, Christy, Megan, Russell and Jordan, walked into the indoor pool area and there they talked about how they’d watch over the twenty-seven, or so, lads. The indoor pool had two lifeguard stands that jutted slightly over the pool’s water, so it was decided Megan and Russell would watch from there and Christy and Jordan would station themselves on the other ends of the pool in order to cover the entire area. They agreed to switch every 30 minutes.

Charles told the twins and their friends to follow him. The pre-teen took the ten eleven year olds to the showers in the Men’s Locker Room and told them to shower.

“Hey, I’m not taking my swimsuit off just to shower. No, Thanks! I’d rather watch than have to do that,” loudly said Grant.

“NO, no, you don’t have to take your suit off,” said Charles. “All you need to do is rinse the lake water off you and your suit. Mr. Ken doesn’t want anything from the lake to get into the pool water.

“What is in the lake that he is afraid of?” asked Landon.

“Well, the lake water could have organisms that we can’t see and they cling to us and our swimsuits,” offered Charles. “If they were big enough we’d brush them off when we’d see them, but these microorganisms can’t be seen so Mr. Ken wants us to wash off before they get into the pool water, that’s all,” explained the pre-teen.

That said, Charles got under the shower water first, while Camm got under the other one. The two twelve year olds showed the eleven year olds to just run their hands over their body and their swimsuits to sort of brush off anything that might be there. Then Camm opened his suit and washed off his ‘boy parts’. The kids all laughed when he did that. Charles quickly did the same thing.

The rest of the lads there did what Charles and Camm did and when they were all through Charles told the new kids they had to take a swim test before they can swim in the pool.

“Why do we have to do that?” quickly asked Blake. “We all swam out to the rafts and back, that should be enough.”

“You would think so, but … I know Mr. Ken … he would never go for that,” spoke up Terran.

Terran then told the group what happened the first time he swam in that pool. The lads were all surprised at what Terran did and how Mr. Ken handled it after the man found him sitting on the side of the pool and not swimming. Terran told the guys that Mr. Ken does a lot of things for all the boys that visit The Cove and he told them that if he asks you to do something then you should do it unless it is something unsafe or illegal, which he would never do.

The twins’ four new friends were all surprised at what Terran had just told them, but after thinking about it for a few moments they said they’d take the swim test. When Charles told them all they had to do was swim across the widest part of the pool without stopping they would be good to go.

The four eleven years all jumped into the water and swam across the pool. When they finished and got out and they heard a loud clapping. The rest of the lads had come into the indoor pool area to get washed off before jumping into the water and watched their swim test.

There were twenty-seven boys swimming in the indoor pool that afternoon. The new kids got to jump off the extended rock and use the slide. The kids also played all the different pool games they could. When it was time to get changed and up to the Main Gate, so their parents could pick them up, the four eleven year olds were extremely tired.

“Come on,” called out Kyle to the four new kids. “Let’s go get changed.”

The kids went to their lockers and got their clothes and headed into the Locker Room. The four new kids all went to the bench they used to change into their suits and then stopped.

“Now what do we do?” asked Grant.

Charles was there and had already taken his suit off and he told them to put their underwear on the bench. He then told them to drop their suits, dry off their ‘boy toys’, which got a laugh from anyone who heard him, and then pull their underwear on.

Blake looked at Landon who was standing right next to him to see what he was going to do. When they both heard some movement, they looked over to Grant who had already taken his swimsuit off and was drying his ‘boy parts’. They watched as he put his underwear on and then his shorts.

Isaac then followed suit and before the two reluctant lads knew it both their friends were tying the laces on their shoes. The two hesitant boys quickly got the idea and dropped their swimsuits. But, they were in such a hurry they didn’t dry off their mid-area and just put their underwear on.

Kevin and Kyle had changed along with their friends and before the younger lads knew it they were all collecting their skateboards and heading up to the Main Gate.

“There’s my boy,” called out Laura Jennison. “Did you have a good time, sweetie?”

“Mom it was the BEST! Those skateboard ramps are awesome and the water toys were a blast. But, you know what, mom, dad? Mr. Ken let us also swim in his indoor pool. None of us expected to be able to swim in there and when we did it was like we were at the community pool except without all those giggling girls hanging around,” excitedly voiced Landon.

All the people who heard what Landon had just said about the girls laughed.

The other three new lads told almost the same story to their parents as well.

Before they left, Blake asked Mr. Ken if he meant that they could come back. The Cove’s owner told the lad he did mean it, but the boy’s needed to coordinate with Kevin or Kyle to make sure they would be there. Mr. Ken then asked the four new lads to wait until next weekend before asking to come over. The man told the boys, and their parents, that Kevin and Kyle had asked four other lads over tomorrow and he wanted them to have the same experience they just had.

“Oh, and by-the-way, next Saturday, I am taking Kevin and Kyle down to San Antonio to visit with their parents. They were injured in that horrific accident a little over two weeks ago. So … well, next Saturday will not be a good day to plan on coming over. Sorry about that but, well, the twins do need to stay in touch with their mom and dad,” explained Mr. Ken.

The four lads, as well as their parents, all thanked the owner of The Cove for the awesome day they had. The boys then told Kevin and Kyle they would see them at school on Monday. By 6 PM the lifeguards were paid and any boy who was not a Cover was gone. Mr. Ken had his four ‘sons’ go change their clothes as he was taking them to Four Corners for dinner and then he promised them a round of miniature golf.

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