"I don't know," I said. We were in the den at Kevin and Rick's house. We were talking about college. I was a freshman, but I already had a bunch of credits. I had taken some Dual Enrollment courses in high school, and that meant I was already a second-semester freshman. "I say join 'em, man," Justin said. They had fraternities on that college campus, and some of my friends from high school wanted me to join one. It wasn't a national one or anything. It was just a local one. Beta Rho, the BR standing for Beach Rat. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Beach Rat Fraternity. A real class act. "Goodson, you gotta join," this one boy said to me. He was actually the president of the fraternity. "Why?" I asked. "Because we like you, and you're one of us, that's why," he said. That boy could use the Emerald Beach Grumble just as good as I could. I loved to hear that 'cause then I knew who was who. It was like a secret code or something, almost. I figured in that fraternity they talked like that all the time. It was better than a secret handshake. "Yeah, but I'm queer. You know that, don't you?" I said, grumbling back at him. "Yeah, everybody knows that. So what? You think you're the only one?" he said. "You're a Beach Rat, and that's what this thing is all about." "I'll get back to you, okay?" I said. "Okay," he said. I called my friend Philip Andrews that night. He and his partner, Ryan Pettis, were freshmen at Florida State in Tallahassee. "Kyle, you need to get your ass over here. These parties are un-fucking-believable, man," Philip said. "Are y'all having a good time?" I asked. "Yeah. We're having a great time. We went to several parties tonight. I'm about half drunk," he said. "Half?" I asked. He giggled. "Well, probably a little bit more than half," he said. "I mean, I got a real good buzz on. What do you want?" "I wanted to talk to you about joining a fraternity. You ever heard of Beta Rho?" I asked. "Yeah, that's the Beach Rat one. Those boys know how to party, Kyle. Both of my brothers belonged to that one when they went to Emerald Coast. If they're rushing you, you need to join up. That's the best one, man," Philip said. "I thought your brothers belonged to that one. They liked it, huh?" I said. "They loved it. I tell you what, son. If I was there, I'd join Beta Rho in a heartbeat, and I mean it, Kyle," he said. "Why did your brothers go to Emerald Coast, instead of Florida State right away?" I asked. "It was all about pussy. They each had a girlfriend they didn't want to leave behind. Neither one of them is with those girls now, but that's what they wanted. My parents wanted them to come over here in the worst way, but they wouldn't hear of it," he said. "What are y'all going to pledge?" I asked. "Sigma Chi," he said. "That's the one we like the best. Those are the nicest boys we've found, and they're pretty smart, too. Ryan and I are both out to them, and they don't give a fuck. They know we're a gay couple, and they don't care." "Congratulations, man. I'm a legacy to Sigma Chi. That was my daddy's fraternity at Florida," I said. "I know. He gave me a rec. He gave one to Ryan, too. My daddy was a Sigma Chi at Florida State, so I'm a legacy, too. Ryan's daddy wasn't a frat boy in college. But that's all right," he said. "Kyle, I think you need to join Beta Rho. A good many of those boys are going to spend their lives in Emerald Beach, and you and I are going to need them for business contacts. How many people they got at that college?" "It's only about six thousand," I said. "But it's all the same people I've known all my life. I mean, I realize Emerald Coast is a small college and most of the people who go there live here, and all, but I was hoping to broaden my horizons a little," I said. "That's a very good point, Kyle," Philip said. "I've only talked to one guy here who grew up in Emerald Beach, and I didn't know him. He went to Crawford High School in town, and he's a sophomore." "Where are the rest of them from?" I asked. "They're from all over the damn place. From all over the country and all over the world, too. A whole lot are from central and south Florida, but even most of them came from somewhere else. Ryan and I are rare things here since we're both native Florida guys," he said. "I probably have ten or twelve people in my classes we went to high school with, but not everybody is somebody I already know. A lot are, though," I said. "But you're going to know everybody in the frat, right?" he asked. "Pretty much. That's good and bad, though, you know? I mean, a lot of those guys are already my friends, and what you said is true. Most of them are going to be around here the rest of their lives. I don't know what to do," I said. "Yeah, but you'll figure something out. Listen, Kyle, I need to piss so bad right now, I'm about to bust. I think we're going to catch a couple more house parties, too, tonight, so I need to run," Philip said. "Okay, Bubba. I understand. Good luck in rush," I said. "Thanks, but I think it's a piece of cake," he said. We told each other goodbye, and I went out into the den. I had been in the study room talking to him. "What did Philip say?" Tim asked me when I got out to where they were. "He said he thinks I should join Beta Rho," I said. "What are your options, Kyle?" Rick asked. "What do you mean?" "Are other frats wanting you to join?" Rick asked. "Not really. I didn't even sign up for rush," I said. "Those Beta Rho guys just spotted me." "Do you really want to go Greek?" Kevin asked. "Go Greek? What the hell does that mean? Ain't that some kind of pervert stuff?" Justin asked. "'Go Greek' means join a fraternity, Bubba," Rick said. "It comes from the Greek letters of their names." "Speaking of that, why don't you join with me?" I asked Justin. "You're kidding, right?" Justin said. "No, I'm not kidding. If I can be in a frat, you can, too. It would be a chance for you to meet some nice guys. They know I'm gay, and they're cool with that. So you being gay ain't going to be a barrier," I said. "Jus, you really might enjoy it," Kevin said. "Were you and Rick in a fraternity?" Justin asked. "I was a GDI," Kevin said. "Me, too," Rick said. "I never heard of that one," I said. "What do the letters stand for?" "God Damn Independent," Rick and Kevin said at the same time. We all laughed. "A GDI, huh? I think that's what I want to be," Justin said. "But Kyle, I'll think about joining, okay?" "Fair enough, Bubba," I said. * * * I had a little bit of an "encounter" with my parents right before I started college. I had assumed I would work part time, just like Justin and Jeff were doing. I mean, everybody I knew, except my brother, had a part-time job in college, and I thought that's the way it was done. I knew it wasn't required by the college, but I figured that was what you did. "Your mama and I hope you'll quit your job when school starts," Daddy said one night in about mid-August. Tim and I were at their house in Destin. "Why?" I asked. "Because it's too much, that's why," he said. "Daddy, I feel like you're firing me, or something," I said. I was really confused, and a little bit hurt, too. "I'm not firing you, son. You don't fire good people, and you are definitely good people. We want you to devote your full time and energy to your studies, that's all," he said. "I don't get it, Daddy. Everybody I have ever known has worked part time in college, except Clay," I said. "Are Philip and Ryan going to work?" he asked. "No, sir, but their parents . . .," I said. I stopped in mid-sentence because it suddenly became clear to me. They didn't want me to work because it was a social thing for them. Me working sort of implied to the world that I needed the money, and I really didn't. In fact, I got a whole lot of money every month. Much more than I could spend, in fact. I mean, ever since I turned eighteen, I got like a very big salary or something, from my trust fund. That's what that was all about. "Finish your statement, son," he said. "Daddy, I don't think I have to. I know where you were coming from with that," I said. "Their parents are paying for them, son, and your parents are paying for you, too. You don't need a job," he said. "But, Daddy, I love to work. I like it a hell of a lot more than I do school," I said. "I know you do, but you see where I'm coming from, don't you?" he said. "Yes, sir, but this is fuc . . ., er, this is screwed up, don't you think? I mean, I want to work, and you're telling me I can't?" "I'm not telling you anything, Kyle. I'm asking you. And I'm not asking you not to work. I'm asking you not to work at a paying job," he said. "I don't get what you mean," I said. "Volunteer work is real work, Kyle. If you absolutely feel like you have to work, you can do a hell of a lot of good volunteering, son," he said. "Explore some of those avenues. Learn from it. I hope and pray you're going to take over Goodson Enterprises one day, but when you do, you're going to need a variety of experiences to be a really good CEO. Running a business like that is about people, Kyle. That's basically all it is. I've seen you interact with people, and you've got skills and charisma that other people don't have. I want to see you develop those skills, son, and being a bellhop ain't going to do it the way you need for it to be done." "What kind of volunteer work could I do?" I asked. "There's a whole host of things, son. The elderly. Meals on Wheels. Hospice. The Boys' Club. The hospital. The Boy Scouts. Hell, you'd be a natural in the Boy Scouts," he said. "I'm finished with the Boy Scouts," I said. "They don't want me, anyway." He sighed deep. "I know where you're coming from, Kyle, but that attitude is so wrong," he said. "What? My attitude or their attitude?" I asked. "Their attitude. Goodson Enterprises doesn't give them a dime anymore," he said. "We used to give a hundred thousand dollars a year to the United Way, designated for the Boy Scouts. Now we give them zero." "Who gets it now?" I asked. "United Cerebral Palsy, that's who. Guess why," he said. I laughed a little. "I don't have to guess. I know why," I said. "Yeah, I'm sure you do. I'm on their board, too," he said. "Gene, what does that mean? To be on an organization's board?" Tim asked. "Tim, it varies widely from organization to organization," Dad said. "Typically, it's the Board of Directors. Those are the people who legally control the organization. If the government grants 'tax exempt' status to an organization, they have to have a board of directors who run it. In practice, 99% of the boards I've been on have been rubber stamps for the executives who are in charge of the organizations. They try to get people in the community that they think will either donate money or get their friends to donate money." "Are you on a bunch of those?" I asked. "Yeah. I don't know the exact count, but it's in the neighborhood of fifteen or so. It's something I've got to do, Kyle, and it's something you'll have to do in the future, too. We're a very big business in Emerald Beach, and it's our moral responsibility to give back to the community. I'm already on about five boards in Destin, too. It doesn't take 'em long to find you," Dad said. "Are Kevin and Rick on any of these boards?" I asked. "Oh, yeah. They're both on plenty," he said. "I didn't know that. Did you?" I asked Tim. "No, I didn't," he said. "What kind of boards are you talking about, Daddy?" I asked. "It's a whole bunch, Kyle. Red Cross, Salvation Army, Boys' Club, Girls' Club, Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Your mama is actually on that one. YMCA. That kind of stuff. The only one I'm on that I take seriously is the hospital board. I was appointed to that by the governor, and that's important," he said. "That, and the College Foundation board. I take that very seriously, too." "I didn't know you were on the hospital board," I said. "Yeah. I have been for years. Bob Graham appointed me. Do you know who he is?" "Yes, sir. He's the man who got us the tickets to the basketball game in Washington, right? I remember Mr. Bob," I said. "Yeah, he got you tickets, Kyle, but I'm hoping and praying and working for him to be the next president of the United States, son. He's a good bit more than a source of basketball tickets," he said. "Fellas, I think I'm going to excuse myself and go to bed. I'm exhausted," my mother said. We all told her goodnight. "Daddy, I think you're making a little bit of fun of me," I said. "Come here and sit next to me," he said. I got up and sat next to him on the sofa. He put his arm around my shoulder. "Kyle, you and Tim are the future of this family. We've built something here that really does have national implications, son, and every bit of this is going to be all yours. Kyle, I really don't know what you know and what you don't know. But I know what you need to know, and I'm teaching you that. And Kevin and Rick are teaching you that, too. Tonight was the first time I've seen you bow up at me in a long, long time, son. Over that issue of working. You understand where I'm coming from, don't you?" "Yes, sir. Now I do. Do you think I could volunteer at the United Cerebral Palsy Clinic?" "Absolutely, son. I think they would welcome you with open arms," he said. "That's what I'm going to do, then," I said. We said goodnight, and we all went to bed.
I had only been with Kevin and Rick for a few weeks when school started, but I already had a whole different attitude about who I was. When I got there, I knew I was freaky looking. I cultivated that look and that way I acted. I was different because I was gay, and I wanted to be "out" as being different to everybody. I wasn't really ready to be out as gay, so I chose a way of doing it that was ambiguous, at best. Nobody at the house in Emerald Beach said anything to me about the way I looked or how I dressed. They took me to a fishing tournament the first night I was there. I mean, that was so not me, but I went because I didn't have a choice. It was a whole different world and social class to me, and I was definitely out of place. I figured I would hang out with Denny and his boyfriend, but I ended up with Tim and Brian, and Kyle and Justin, of course. Thank God it rained that night and we didn't stay there very long. And then we went home to their house. We all just stripped down to our underwear in the den. Kevin and Rick had on their clothes, but the other boys just got right down to underwear so the clothes we were wearing could be washed. "Come on. Get your clothes off. I need to put all those in the wash," Justin had said to me back at the house. I knew he was talking to me, but all I could look at was his crotch. He had on bikini briefs, pure white cotton with a contoured front, and, against his tan, I thought that was just about the sexiest thing I had ever seen. His bulge in those things was huge, and I could clearly see the outline of his penis. It was huge, too. That, coupled with a body out of a muscle magazine and a face off a billboard, made me hard as a rock. I didn't want to take off my pants. "Come on, Murray, man. These are your brothers here, dude. Have you got on underwear?" Justin asked. I nodded. "Come on then, Bubba, let's do it. Brian, help me out here, Little Buddy. Would you please?" Justin said. "You don't have to be embarrassed," Brian said. "I'll got upstairs with you to get some more clothes, if you want to." "I'm embarrassed," I said. "Why? Do you have an erection?" Brian asked. He was so nice. "Yes," I whimpered. "Are you wearing briefs or boxers?" Brian asked. "Boxers," I said. "Let's walk back to the laundry room to let it go down, okay? But Murray, I can tell you this on my honor as an Eagle Scout. Nobody around here cares if you have an erection. Nobody but you, that is. Just don't touch it, and nobody will care. Let's go to the laundry room, Bubba," he said. It took a few minutes for my erection to go down. We had orange juice in the kitchen while we were waiting. "Do you guys think I'm weird because of what just happened?" I asked. "What? Getting a hard-on? I'd think you were weird if you didn't get one," Justin said. "I get 'em. We all get 'em now and then. We just ignore them in public like that, though. That's a rule. No playing with Johnny-jump-up." Brian and I laughed. "He's telling the truth," Brian said. "Nobody cares and nobody plays with them when they happen in public." The thought of playing with my erection in public made me want to faint. "Thank you for taking care of me. I think I'm ready now," I said. The next morning Kyle took me over. Somehow I got a job working with Denny as a pool boy at a hotel. I didn't apply for it or interview for it. Somehow it just happened. When they told me I could keep the money, I liked the idea of working a lot more, but that was all a mystery to me. I had taken a shower that morning for the first time in several days and had put on clean clothes, but I felt really dumb in the personnel office. I noticed people smiling and winking at Kyle, and I knew that was about me. When I had gone to high school the year before, I had wanted to be part of the popular crowd. I just couldn't get that to happen, so I joined up with the Goth crowd, instead. I knew Kyle had been part of the popular crowd all his life, and it showed big time that morning. "Let's get you home and use all this shit we bought at Walgreen's," he said. He had bought me a razor, shave cream, deodorant, and a lot of other stuff. He made me sit down in front of a mirror at the sink so I could watch him shave my face and learn how to do it. Having him do that was way too much for me, and I ejaculated into my pants. I didn't say anything, and I don't think he noticed. Then he dyed my hair, and having him touch my head was also too much for me, and I ejaculated again. "Take a shower now, and use this antiperspirant when you're finished. Put some aftershave on, too. It'll make you feel way better. Give me your clothes," he said. I stuck my arm through the crack in the door to the bathroom and gave him my clothes. I expected him to say something about all the cum that was in my underwear, but he didn't say a word. "Hurry up," was all he said. I thought about him in the shower. He was absolutely gorgeous to me. He had dark hair, lots of muscle, and a face that was like a model. He had a hairy chest, which was a real plus for me. I jerked off in the shower thinking about Kyle. I wanted him so bad, not that I would have known what to do with him if I got him. He would have taught me, though. I had studied the profile of his dick through his bikini briefs the night before, and I knew it was ample. I wasn't exactly in love, but I was certainly in lust. "You ready?" he asked, when he came back up. He handed me some cookies and a coke. "Yeah, I guess so," I said. "You're looking mighty good, Bubba," he said. " Let's get that hair cut." * * * "Denny, I hope Kyle likes me," I said that night. We were on the patio, waiting to go out. "Of course he likes you. You're his brother now. We all like you," Denny said. "No. I mean I hope he likes me. Like a boyfriend," I said. Denny laughed. "What?" I asked. "Kyle's a one-guy man, and that guy is Tim, Bubba," Denny said. "Of course he's going to like you, but don't go there with the boyfriend thing. It's not going to happen." "Have I been stupid?" I asked. He laughed. "No, you haven't been stupid. I think every guy who has ever been here has had a crush on Kyle. On Justin, too. But I'm telling you. It's useless with both of them. They've got the boys they want," Denny said. We were quiet for a few minutes. "What made you think Kyle might like you?" Denny asked. I got embarrassed. "Did he say something or do something to make you think that?" "He made me come," I whispered. "He made you come? Really? Did he jerk you off?" Denny asked. I could tell he was really surprised. "No, he didn't jerk me off. He shaved me and that made me come," I said. Denny started laughing. "Why is that so funny?" I asked. "Were you in the shower together when it happened?" Denny asked. "No. I was sitting in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and he was shaving me so I could see how it's done," I said. "Murray, Bubba. I did exactly the same thing, only he and I were both in the shower. Naked. I came all over his leg," he said. "Oh, God! What did you do?" I asked. "Did he get mad at you?" "No, he didn't get mad. I started crying, though," he said. "Jesus, Denny. I would have died right there if that had happened to me," I said. "Well, Kyle was wonderful about it. He said that your first shave is a pretty strong masculine thing and that he should have shaved me with my clothes on in front of the mirror so I could watch what he was doing," he said. "He made it sound like it was his fault." "Did you jerk him off or anything after it happened?" I asked. "No, they don't do stuff like that. He wasn't even hard, in fact," Denny said, sort of laughing a little. "Have you ever seen him hard?" I asked. "Sure. I've seen everybody here hard, except Kevin and Rick. If you get hard, you're supposed to ignore it, and everybody else ignores it, too. And that's the truth," he said. I was hard just having that conversation, and I wondered if he was. I didn't dare ask, though. In a minute it was time to go back to the fishing tournament, so we left. * * * The one thing that amazed me was how casual they all were about being gay. I had told my grandmother that I was gay when I was thirteen, and she was very cool about it. I didn't tell anybody else, though, until I moved there. Everybody knew, though, because of how I acted. I mean, it wasn't an act. That's just the way I was, and I couldn't do anything about it. I got picked on a good bit in middle school, but things sort of cooled off on that front in high school, once I became a Goth. Everybody in the family was gay, and I expected them to call each other "girlfriend" or "Missy" or "girl" or something, like I had heard gay guys do in movies and on TV. They never did that. They were guys, not girls, and they really didn't even joke about it. They teased each other constantly, especially Kyle, Justin, and Rick, but it was never mean. It was sort of about being gay, but it was really more just about being a guy. We watched a lot of baseball, or they did, at least. But they talked constantly while they watched. "Damn, look at the nuts on that one," Justin said, referring to the bulge in the crotch of one of the players. Even I had noticed that. "Those ain't his nuts. That's his cup, dumbass," Kyle said. "What do you mean? His cup?" "They wear high-impact plastic cups in their jockstraps to keep from getting injured," Kyle said. "Shit, I thought everybody knew that." "I ain't played much ball, Kyle, and you know it," Justin said. "Shit, you've been playing with balls all your life," Kyle said. "He got you last, Bubba," Rick said. "I know, but that was a real cheap one," Justin said. "He'd have been playing with his, too, if he had any. He always played with marbles." "The balls were always in good shape, Bubba. I've just always rather play with the bat than the balls," Kyle said. "Yeah, I've noticed all that resin build-up," Justin said. Even Kyle laughed on that one. "I need it for a good grip," Kyle said. "Y'all are embarrassing me in front of Murray," Brian said. I didn't think Brian or the others were paying one bit of attention to what they were saying, and I was sort of surprised he said that. "Are we embarrassing you, Murray?" Kyle asked. "No," I said. "Are we making you hard?" Justin said. I had felt a twinge or two down there, but nothing major. I just thought it was funny. "Justin!" Kevin said, sort of in a warning tone of voice. "I was teasing him, Kevin. Don't get on me. We're just having fun," Justin said. "I know you are, Bubba, but let's don't get too personal, okay?" Kevin said. "Okay. I'm sorry I said that, Murray," Justin said. "Who wants to go for a swim?" Surprisingly, they all said they did. The dogs must have understood that because they got all excited and went over to the back doors that led to the patio. Even though I had been working on the beach for a couple of days, I hadn't yet been swimming since I was there. I like swimming, and I wanted to go. I expected everyone to go upstairs and change into bathing suits, but they didn't. Then I thought maybe they kept their suits in the locker room in the clubhouse, and that's where they were going to change. I went toward the stairs. "You don't need a suit, Murray," Brian said. "We swim nude." I liked all of them, but Brian was the kindest one, I thought. I mean, they were all kind to me, but he seemed to go out of his way--he and Tim--to make sure I didn't feel left out or confused or anything. "But what if I . . . " "Remember what Justin and I told you the other night? If you get an erection, nobody's going to tease you about it. We all get them from time to time, and it's okay. What I do is just stay in the water when that happens. Of course, if you want to wear your suit, you can. In fact, I'll even wear one, too, so you won't be the only one," he said. I thought that was awfully nice of him, but I also thought it might be fun to go skinny dipping. "That's okay, Brian. I'll just watch for a little while, though, if that's all right," I said. "Sure it's all right," Brian said. "You just want to eyeball some dick, don't you?" Justin said. I knew he was just teasing me because he was wearing a full-face grin. And he didn't say it mean, at all. He was also right. "Buddy, don't tease him like that," Brian said. "He's brand new." "I think he's tough. I think he can take it," Justin said. "Justin's right, Brian. I am tougher than I look, and I can take it. And I do want to eyeball some dick," I said. That made both of them laugh. "See. This boy's already fitting in," Justin said. "Come on, Bubba. Let's go outside so I can show you some real dick." Justin went outside ahead of us. "God, he's soooooo cute," I said to Brian. "Yeah, he is, and he's mine." Brian didn't say that mean or anything like that, but he made it very clear how things stood. "I know, damn it," I said, and Brian laughed. It was still light out when they got in the pool, and I really did have a chance to see what there was to see. Tim and Kevin were both uncircumcised, which I found very interesting to see. The rest were circumcised, like I was, and they were all different. I was very surprised to see that Brian was as big as he was. I figured Kyle, Justin, and Rick would be big, and they were, but I think sweet, meek Brian had the biggest one. Denny was small, but that didn't stop him from stripping right down and diving in. I figured I probably fit somewhere in the middle in the size department, and that was a comfortable place for me to be. They looked like they were having such a good time. The dogs were in and out of the pool, and they actually seemed to be playing a game with Trixie. She was a sweet dog and not nearly as rambunctious as Krewe. They wanted to play volleyball, and they asked me to come in to make even teams. "Okay," I said. They all cheered, and that made me feel ten feet tall. I got undressed and turned to face my brothers for the first time. That was the first time in my life I had ever been outside naked, and it felt good. It felt natural, in fact. I thought they might have a comment or a whistle or something to tease me, but it was like I was fully clothed. I'm not sure they all even looked at me. At any rate, I got in the pool and paddled out to where they were. Kyle and Rick were the captains, and they were busy choosing up sides. I was on Kyle's side, and, for once in my life, I wasn't the last one chosen. Kevin was. That game was a real revelation to me. I sucked, of course, but so did Denny. The thing was, nobody got on to us when we missed a volley. Then I realized what was going on. They were playing to have fun, not to win or be macho or anything like that. When I realized that, it was like a ton of pressure had been taken off me. It didn't matter if I missed the ball. It did matter if I tried for it, though. They praised as many of my misses as they did the few times I got it over the net, but all they seemed to care about was that I tried. Our team was Kyle, Kevin, Brian, and me. The other team was Rick, Justin, Denny, and Tim. After we had been playing for awhile, four guys came out on the patio. They were grown-ups, but they were all young and very good looking. "Hey! Look what the cat drug in," Kyle said. A couple of those guys were drinking beers, and they were all grinning. "Y'all come in and meet your new brother," Rick said. They all stripped down to skin and started getting in the pool. "Murray, these guys are your brothers, too. This is Jeff Martin, his partner Tyler Jones, Chuck Jackson, and his partner Tony Miller. Guys, this is Murray Schultz," Kevin said. I shook hands with each of them, and they all seemed like really nice guys. Since they were introduced as partners, I figured they were gay, and I looked hard to see if any of them would be like me. But they weren't. But it didn't seem to matter to them that I was effeminate, and it was beginning to be less and less a concern to me, too. They wanted to know how old I was, where I was from, what grade I was in, what I liked to do for fun. "I don't know if y'all noticed or not, but y'all interrupted a game. I say we either finish the game or get out and get drunk," Kyle said. They all laughed. "Why don't we do both," one of the new guys said. "That's what I say, too," Kyle said. "Chuck and Ty, y'all be on my team. Jeff and Tony, y'all are on Rick's team. Are you cool with that?" Kyle said to Rick. "Hell, yeah. Let's play," Rick said. We played some more, but the game definitely changed with those new guys added. It got a lot more serious with the new ones. I noticed they didn't hit the ball to Denny and me nearly as much as they had before. I fact, I'm not sure I ever touched it once the new guys joined. We had notched up the athletics quite a bit. They still weren't mean about it when somebody missed a volley, but they kept it away from the ones they knew sucked. I, for one, appreciated that because that ball was coming over the net a lot faster and a lot harder than it had been coming before. I've always thought of a sport played in the water as sweat free. That night, I perspired in the water for the first time in my life. I got out of breath a little bit, too, but I noticed the rest of them didn't. I knew I was overweight, and I thought they might be able to help me with that. Being fat was just another reason to have people pick on me, and I thought that maybe they could help me lose some pounds. The best part of that evening happened after the volleyball was finished. I expected them to get out and get dressed, but they didn't. We just sat around on the patio naked, talking. The older guys, except Rick, drank beer, and Kyle brought out a couple of trays of food for us to nibble on. It wasn't really a party, but it kind of was. Some of them played a game where one guy put his palms up and the other guy put his palms down on the first guy's palms. The one on the bottom was supposed to try to slap the hand of the guy who had his on top, but the guy on top was supposed to try to avoid being hit by pulling his hands away real fast. It really looked like fun. "Goddamn it! You just broke my fucking hand," Justin shouted. He and Kyle were playing. "If you don't want your hand broke, then move it," Kyle said. "Now I can barely feel it, much less move it," Justin said. "Tough shit. My go again," Kyle said. If the bottom hands hit the top hands, he went again. If he missed, the turn changed. "If you hit me again that hard, Kyle, I'm going to kill you," Justin said. We all laughed. "Let's make it more interesting. A nickel a slap," Rick said. "What do you mean?" Justin asked. "Well, for every slap, you pay him a nickel. We'll each start with twenty nickels, and the man with the most at the end wins," Rick said. "Hey, that's a good idea. I like that," Kyle said. "Only trouble is, I don't have any money on me." "No? I think I just found me two," Justin said. He had reached down and had grabbed Kyle's scrotum. "Get your fucking hand off of that. That ain't nickels. That's what the bunny brought me for Easter," Kyle said. Everybody laughed. "I've got some rolled nickels. Let me go get them," Rick said. When he came back, he gave each of us twenty nickels. "Let's pair up. When the nickels are gone, you're out, and somebody else who still has nickels can take over your spot," Rick said. I paired up with Denny. "Don't hurt me, okay?" Denny said. "I don't think there's much chance of that happening," I said. "You don't hurt me." We had a great time playing that silly game. There was so much laughing and screaming and carrying on, I thought the neighbors would call the cops. But they didn't. We had a great time that night, and every one of us was stark naked. * * * That's the way it was for the two weeks before school began. I called my grandmother regularly, and I told her about how much fun I was having with those boys. "Oh, Murray, I'm so happy for my boy," she said. "Thanks, Nana. I miss you very badly, but I don't think I could have found a better place than this," I said. "I've been praying for you, Murray," she said. "And I've been praying for you, too, Nana. Do you think God hears Catholic prayers? Because that's what they are here. Catholics. At least most of them," I said. "Is the mensch a Catholic?" "Kyle? Yeah, he's a Catholic," I said. "God always hears the prayers of a mensch. You are on the road to becoming a mensch, and you must continue on that road, Murray." "I will, Nana. Now that I know what one is like. I will." |