Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Love Is Blind

   A Story of Young Love by Gil Gamesh

   Chapter Three

   "Is it OK if we play in the pool a few minutes, Mom?" one of the Azees
asked.

   "Of course.  Do you mind if we join you?" she answered.  "I think we'd
all better cover our butts with something tonight.  Our guests may be more
comfortable if we do."

   Alex led Gianna back to her bedroom.  Azee led me to theirs.  Mr.  and
Mrs.  Andreas went to their bedroom too.

   The Azees stripped naked in front of me, just so damned nonchalantly, so
I did too.  One of them bent over, bare butt toward me, balls showing
between his spread legs, and rummaged through a drawer, found something,
kept one, handed one to the other Azee, rummaged again, handed one to me. I
looked at it and it was a Speedo and I wasn't used to wearing one.  Both of
them stretched theirs up their legs and over their butts, at least part of
their butts, and then put one hand down in front and adjusted their
packages.  In the process, I checked them out.  Their equipment looked
perfectly normal for sixteen-year old boys.  They weren't circumcised and I
guessed their dicks would be at least average when hard.  I stood there
looking a little too long.

   "You want some help getting your big dick stuffed in that or can you do
it by yourself?" one of them asked.

   I pulled it up my legs and managed to get it over my butt and over my
big dick.  I even adjusted my paraphernalia the same way they did with my
dick bent down over my balls.

   When we left their room, Gianna and Alex were just coming out of hers.
My eyes couldn't believe what they saw.  They were both bare breasted. 
They had on what I supposed were bikini bottoms but their breasts were
bare. Wow!

   "Close your mouth, Mikey," Gianna said.  "If you don't, Alex will put
something in it."

   I closed my mouth but my eyes ran wild.  I'd seen Gianna's breasts many
times and I'd always told her they were perfect and beautiful when she
asked or even when she didn't ask.  I'd never seen Alex's.  Hers were
perfect too, maybe a little smaller than Gianna's and lighter around the
nipples but beautiful.  Both pairs of breasts were small with no droop
whatsoever.  I hoped Alex would put something in my mouth someday.

   I should have expected it.  When we went back in the living room, Mr. 
and Mrs.  Andreas were just coming out of their bedroom.  They both had on
swim wear that barely covered their butts but they were both bare above.  I
finally looked up at her face and saw she was smiling.  I felt like a damn
fool but she had beautiful perfect breasts too, bigger than Alex's or
Gianna's and maybe a little droopy but perfect.

   While I was checking out three beautiful females up top, I couldn't help
but notice two of them checking our four guys in skin-tight Speedos down
below.  Then Gianna leaned over, cupped her hand around her mouth and
Alex's ear, and whispered to Alex while looking at me.  I assumed she was
getting the word on how I looked.

   Margaret and Aiden stopped at the closet and she took out a big armload
of towels and piled them in her husband's arms.  She turned out the living
room light and we all went out through the darkened kitchen to the porch
and to the pool.

   Azee went around to what I assumed was the deep end of the pool and both
dived in at the same time.  Gianna followed them.  Then both parents did
it. There was a diving board but nobody used it.  Alex held my arm and I
led her to the end of the pool.  I wasn't surprised when she did a
beautiful dive with almost no splash and came up and swam to the shallow
end.  My world was still a little dizzy but I tried and managed not to
disgrace myself.  When I surfaced and swam to the other end, Alex somehow
found me, wrapped both arms around my neck, and I felt her naked breasts
against my chest.  I was glad the water was a little cool.

   After that, bedlam erupted.  Horseplay, grab-ass, yanking and pulling
and goosing, splashing and squealing and laughing, and Alex was right in
the middle of it all.  I was too.  Gianna got on my back and tried to duck
me.  Alex tried to pull me under from the front.  Azee submerged and then
pulled both legs out from under me.  Even Mrs.  Andreas piled on my back
and pushed my head under.  Mr.  Andreas mostly stood there grinning.  I
loved every minute of it.  Then I felt myself becoming a little weak and
bad again and I swam to the shallow end of the pool and sat down on some
steps.  I was breathing hard and my heart was pounding away and I didn't
feel good.

   Gianna was right behind me.  She sat down too and then Alex sat down on
the other side of me.  How did she know where I was?  I sat there breathing
deeply and trying to make the world stop spinning.  Mr.  and Mrs.  Andreas
pushed through the water to the front of me.  I could barely see everybody
in the darkness.

   "Are you OK, Michael?" Margaret asked.

   "I'm still weak," I whispered.  "I feel bad but I don't think I'm going
throw up anymore.  I'm just so damned weak."

   I sat there with Gianna hanging onto one shoulder and Alex holding my
hand in both of hers.  Margaret took my other hand in both of hers and
squeezed it.

   "I think we'd better get out," she said.  "Azee, would you help Michael
if he needs it?"

   I almost needed it but I managed.  We dried off outdoors and then went
in through the porch and the kitchen and then went our separate ways to
change back into something to sleep in.  I went with Azee but I really
wanted to go with Gianna and Alex.  The guys checked me out again and I
returned the favor.

   We slept with an Azee on one end of the row, then Gianna, the other
Azee, Alex, and me on the other end.  I suppose I was really tired and in
need of sleep because I hardly moved until the next morning.  I woke up
with Alex backed up to me, my arm over her, and a raging piss-hard in my
shorts and against her butt.  I checked out the Azees and Gianna when I
stood up and they were all on their left sides, spooned up to each other,
still sleeping.  I snuck in the house to the bathroom and pissed about five
minutes and then went back in the kitchen.  Alex and Gianna were sitting at
the table smiling at me and waiting their turn.  Then, like girls do, hand
in hand, they went to the toilet together.

   We all just stayed in whatever we slept in until lunch.  I felt better
and I wanted to help with breakfast.  I was assigned the duty of pancake
flipper.  Their stove had a big griddle in the center so I stood there with
the mix in one hand and a spatula in the other and flipped pancakes. 
Margaret stood beside me and browned a bunch of link sausages.  The Azees
were ready to eat so I loaded up their plates first.  The others helped
themselves as soon as I flipped the flapjacks off the griddle.

   After I flipped the last, I loaded up my plate and went to the table. 
Alex and Gianna had left me a place between them so I sat down and started
eating.  I was hungry, damned hungry.  My stomach was sore but I wanted
food, Food with a capital F.  I had just stuffed my mouth full when I
noticed that I had a glass of orange juice in front of me and an empty
coffee mug.  I looked around.

   Everybody was watching me.  Mr.  Andreas got the milk jug and poured
everybody about half a mug full.  Mrs.  Andreas, Margaret, I wondered what
to call her, filled my mug the rest of the way with coffee.  I put a couple
of spoonsful of sugar in mine and took a big swig.  I looked around at the
Andreas family and smiled.  I liked their family so I said it.  Everybody
just grinned at me.

   After breakfast, Alex and I went in her room to listen to Brave New
World.  She sat me down in the loveseat and I waited for her to do
something.  She sat down at her computer and in just a few seconds somebody
started reading to us through the four speakers.  She came back to the
loveseat and sat down beside me and took my hand in hers.  We listened for
probably an hour and then took a break.

   When we sat down in the loveseat again, Alex surprised me.  She cuddled
up to my side and put her feet sort of under her and put my arm around her
shoulders and rested her head against me.  I took her hand in mine and shut
my eyes and relaxed.  I felt so good having her next to me, sort of like
she was where she wanted to be, and I wanted her to be next to me.

   I heard a noise and opened my eyes.  Mr.  and Mrs.  Andreas were in the
door looking at us.  I didn't move and neither did Alex.  I was proud of
what we were doing.

   Mr.  Andreas spoke up first.  "We're going to the grocery story.  Do you
kids know of anything we need?"

   Alex did.  "Yeah.  Some more diet soft drinks.  Different kinds."

   Mrs.  Andreas asked a question.  "Gianna's in Azee's room playing video
games with them.  Will she be safe with them?"

   "Maybe," I said.  "Will Azee be safe with her?"

   She just shook her head, smiled, and they left.

   After lunch, Alex and I listened to the rest of Brave New World and then
discussed it and studied for our other classes.  I didn't worry about
Gianna because she was playing computer games with Azee and their door was
open and I could hear what they were doing.

   Finally everybody got dressed for dinner, knit shirt, shorts, and white
socks, the same thing my family wore at home when we were relaxing.  Alex
and Gianna and I prepared dinner.  Gianna and I looked through the
refrigerator and pantry and I saw the ingredients for something my family
liked.  I made Pasta Puttanesca with Italian sausage.  Gianna stood on one
side of me and Alex on the other.  Gianna did the sausage and kept up a
running commentary on what I was putting in the pasta sauce.  Then the two
of them made some garlic bread and a salad.  I watched Alex slicing a
cucumber and wondered how she could cut it in such nice even slices but she
had all her fingers, beautiful long slim girl fingers.

   When we sat down to dinner, one of the Azees got everybody a big white
bib with a Velcro fastener in back and the other got a roll of paper towels
and put it in the middle of the table.

   Mrs.  Andreas cut up Alex's Italian sausage without being asked.  I
wondered if she wanted her pasta cut up too but nobody offered.  She used
the fingers of her left hand to help manage her food but she twirled her
spaghetti as easily as I did.  She held out her hand over the table and
Azee put the roll of paper towels in it.  She licked her fingers at the
table but nobody said anything.

   The pasta dish seemed to be a big hit for everybody.  I was a little
astounded at how much Azee could eat and it was more than I did and I was
hungry.  When we all had eaten, Gianna told them how the pasta dish got its
name.

   After dark, we had another swim.  Everybody was dressed or undressed the
same, just something on their bottoms.  Azee and Alex and Gianna and I swam
laps while her parents watched.  I swam slowly and I suppose the others did
too.  I wanted to swim with Alex and not get in a race.

   We slept on the porch again, same order, me on one end next to Alex and
then Azee, Gianna, and Azee.  I was a little weak and tired and I went to
sleep without any trouble.  That is, until the middle of the night.  I woke
up with my penis still hard and a mess in my shorts.  Shit!  Another wet
dream!

   I eased out from between Alex and Gianna and went in the house and felt
my way down to the bathroom.  I could feel the hot wet semen on my stomach
and I didn't want it to drip out on the floor so I pressed my shorts
against my belly.

   What was I going to do?  I wanted some clean dry shorts but I didn't
know where they were.  Maybe I could wipe the mess out of the ones I had
on. I pulled my t-shirt over my head and inspected it.  It was wrinkled but
OK.  I pulled my shorts off and turned them inside out.  Shit!  A damn
mess! I wet a cloth and wiped off around my belly and dick and balls and
then pissed to the side of the water so I didn't make any noise.  I was
wiping the semen off the inside of my shorts when I heard a tap on the
door.
Gianna: "Mikey, are you OK?"
Me: "No!  I mean yes.  Go away!"
Alex: "Are you sick again, Mikey?"
Me: "No, I'm OK.  Please go away."
Gianna opened the door and both of them were standing there.  They both
had on just t-shirts as far as I could tell and they both were beautiful
angels, rumpled hair and all.  I was standing there stark-ass naked with my
dick still heavy and distended and with a washcloth in my right hand trying

to wipe up all the semen in my shorts.
Me: "Shit!"
Alex: "What's wrong, Mikey?"
Gianna: "He's had a wet dream, Alex.  He's trying to clean up the mess
in his shorts."
Alex: "I'll get him some clean shorts.  I know where Azee keeps them."
I stood there staring at Gianna, her staring at my dick, wishing I could
crawl in the commode and flush it.  Alex was back in a few seconds holding
out a clean pair of exercise shorts for me.  I took them but she still held

out her hand.

   Alex: "Give me the others, Mikey.  I know guys sometimes have wet
dreams. Azee has the same problem.  Mom and I are used to wallpaper paste
in their shorts."
I handed her the semen-soaked shorts, put on the clean ones, and put the
t-shirt over my head.  I felt so damn pathetic and stupid and I wanted to

leave and not have to face anybody.
Me: "Damn!  Damn it all to hell!"
Alex: "What, Mikey?"
Me: "Alex, maybe I should be like most guys and just do as many hookups
as I can.  I can't.  I just can't.  I don't want to treat a women like I'm
just scratching an itch and I don't even remember her name.  I find one I
like and I come to her house and first I puke over everything and then I
come in my damn shorts.  I think...I think women... "
Alex: "What about women?"
Me: "Alex, a woman's not a commode where a guy jacks off and then walks
off and doesn't even flush.  I think women are beautiful and wonderful
people like Gianna and Mom and you and your mother and no woman should be
treated that way.  I'm stupid and I want to love a woman before I have sex
with her.  I can't be like most guys.  I just can't.  I've even been called
a queer and I'm not.  I just want to be loved just like women want to be
loved, before having sex, I mean.  And all I can do is come in my shorts.
Shit!"
I was so frustrated and angry and was almost crying.  I felt like
nothing was going to go right with Alex and I wanted it to.  I sniffed a
few times and then wiped the tears out of my eyes with my fingers.  Then

Mr. and Mrs.  Andreas walked up to the open door.
Me: "Oh, shit!  Did you hear?"
Mrs.  Andreas: "Yes, Michael, everything, but don't talk like that,

Michael.  It's OK."

   OK?  I couldn't believe it.  I didn't want to look at them.  I didn't
want them to see my face.  I turned my head away and looked in the mirror.
God damned two-face staring at me.  I just couldn't take it anymore.  My
damn nose was trying to run and I got some toilet paper and blew it.

   Me: "Gianna, could you get our bags?  Nothing's ever going to go right.
I've screwed up again.  I think we'd better go home."

   Mr.  Andreas.  "No, Michael!  You're not going anywhere!"

   Mrs.  Andreas pushed her way between Alex and Gianna and hugged me and
pulled my head down on her shoulder.  Mr.  Andreas came in the bathroom,
walked around behind me, and started rubbing my shoulders and patting my
back.  They held me while I tried to swallow and tears flooded my eyes.  I
choked back my sniffles again and again.  Guys don't cry.  Not like women.

   Me: "Margaret, why?  Why does stuff like this have to happen to me?  I'm
hurting inside and I'm tired of being lonely and I want somebody to love me
and I want to love her.  I'm tired of people looking at my face and
thinking maybe I've got leprosy or something bad and hating me and they
don't even know me.  I met Alex and I thought maybe there was a chance we
could love each other and now I don't know.  I just want to leave and never
come back.  I'm just tired of screwing up everything."
Alex: "Please, Mikey, don't feel bad.  I don't want you to leave."
Mr.  Andreas: "Michael, you haven't screwed up.  What I just heard
proves what your father told me: that you're one of the finest young men
I'll ever meet.  If Alex doesn't want you to leave, you've got to stay.  I

want you to stay."

   Mrs.  Andreas: "Yes, Michael, we want you to stay.  Please stay with us.
We like you.  You can cook for me anytime."

   I finally opened my eyes and looked up.  Mrs.  Andreas was smiling at
me. Alex was too.  And Gianna.  And Mr.  Andreas.

   Me: "I'm just tired.  I'm hurting inside and I'm tired of being lonely
and I don't know what to do."
Mr.  Andreas: "Let's all go back to bed.  We can talk in the morning. 

Margaret and I want you to stay.  OK?"

   I nodded and then I remembered that Alex couldn't see me nod.  "OK."

   Mrs.  Andreas: "Just a minute.  Alex, I want you to take Michael in your
bedroom and love him a little.  Just a little.  Not too much."
Alex: "Is it OK if Gianna goes with us?  Just so we don't do too much."
Mrs.  Andreas smiled and said "OK".  Mr.  Andreas did too.  Mrs. 
Andreas turned me loose and kissed me on the cheek, on my red side.  Gianna
and Alex took my hands and led me down the hallway to her bedroom.  I
looked back and saw Mr.  Andreas holding his wife.  She was crying.  He was

kissing the top of her head.

   Alex turned on the overhead light in her room and then dimmed it.  How
does she know it's dim and not off?  Did she want me to look at her?  I
knew she couldn't see me except with her hands and she could do that in the
dark.

   She wanted the three of us to get in her queen-size bed, me in the
middle.  I had on clean shorts and the XLT t-shirt which came down over my
butt in back and my crotch in front.  About six inches of my shorts were
showing.  Alex and Gianna had on big t-shirts too but I couldn't tell
whether they had on anything like panties underneath.  Surely they had on
something.

   Then Gianna pulled her t-shirt up to crawl unimpeded into the bed and I
saw she had on white panties, the kind of plain cotton panties that I knew
she liked to sleep in at night.  I could see the darker area of her pubic
hair in front.  I scuttled in next and lay down on my back with my hands
together on my stomach.  When Alex got in, she did what Gianna did.  She
pulled her t-shirt up and I saw she had on white panties too but I didn't
see any darker area in front.  I glanced at her hair and it was light brown
or blonde and I knew pubic hair was usually the same color.  Maybe she
shaved down there.  Why?  Damn!  And how?

   Gianna turned on her right side, put her head on my shoulder, and put
one leg over my left leg.  Alex turned on her left side, put her head on my
other shoulder, and put her leg over my right one.  I shut my eyes and
relaxed and told my penis to be good and maybe it heard me.  The three of
us lay there for a while.  Occasionally either Gianna or Alex would move
closer to me and snuggle up to me.  They put their hands on my stomach and
held hands and whispered back and forth.  I heard something about taking
something off.

   They sat up at the same time, grabbed my t-shirt, and pulled it over my
head and almost ripped my ears off in the process.  That wasn't enough. 
Next they both pulled their t-shirts off and threw them on the floor.  They
put their hands on my chest, pushed me down on my back, and then cuddled up
to me again.

   I felt Gianna's breasts against me on one side and Alex's on the other.
Both of them started sliding their hands around on my face and neck and
chest and stomach.  I held my breath every time one of then touched me
below my belly button but they stopped and didn't push their hands down in
my shorts where I wanted them.  I tried to tell my dick not to get hard but
it wouldn't listen.  It poked up my shorts and tried to lift up its head to
see what was going on but it couldn't see through my shorts.

   "Mikey, I want to see you," Alex said.  "Is that OK with you?  I mean
below the belt."

   I wanted her to but I didn't want her to at the same time.  If she got
me hot and hard and wanting, I knew I never would get back to sleep, unless
I got some relief.

   Gianna ganged up on me too.  "Mikey, I'm going to help her see you and
then she's going jack you off.  Is that OK with you?"

   "Please, don't do it," I said.  "I don't want anybody feeling sorry for
me.  Just leave me alone and let's go back to sleep.  It's nice to have
both of you close to me.  I like it.  That's love enough."

   I felt Gianna's hand on top of my shorts and on my penis.  "Mikey,
you've got a hard-on," she said.  "Alex wants to see it.  Please let her."

   I couldn't say anything because I didn't know what to say.  They took
that as acquiescence and reached down and started pulling off my shorts.  I
lifted my butt and they pulled and I winced because first it was my ears
and then it was my dick.  When it finally recovered from almost being
ripped off, it was hovering at an angle about four inches above my belly
and my balls were hanging down between my spread thighs.  Then they both
put their hands on my penis and testicles and went exploring.

   "Mikey's not circumcised, Alex," Gianna said.  "When his dick is soft
his foreskin almost covers the head and there's a circle of skin where the
head is just peeking out.  When it gets hard, his foreskin slides back
until most of the head is exposed, maybe all.  The head is dark red sort of
like the left side of his face."

   "Show me," Alex said.

   I watched as Gianni took Alex's hand in hers, bent three fingers back,
and then guided her first finger all around the head of my dick.  It jerked
a couple of times when she touched it.

   "Here's where the pee comes out." I felt the touch of one finger on the
head of my dick.  Alex's finger!  Oh, damn, it felt good.

   "Here's the frenulum where his foreskin is attached to the back of the
head.  It's very sensitive." One finger stroking up and down and then
another.  I started breathing through my mouth.

   "Run your finger around on the head," Gianna whispered.  "Feel how
smooth it is.  I'm going to see if I can squeeze out something.  If you
feel something really slippery, that's a kind of lube that comes out when
he's excited.  It tastes sweet."

   Gianna wrapped her hand around the shaft, stroked up and down a couple
of times and then squeezed and sort of milked me.  I felt something ooze
out of the head of my dick.  Alex felt it too.  She rubbed one finger
around on the head and spread the stuff and then brought her finger and
thumb together a couple of times.  I knew she couldn't see the clear string
between them.  Maybe feel it?  Then she put her finger in her mouth.  If it
could have, my dick would have racheted up another notch.
Alex: "It is sweet."
Gianna: "Now run your finger around the groove behind the head.  I don't
remember what that's called."
I lay there and let them do it and my dick went from hard to rigid and
then steel hard.  Gianna guided Alex's hands around and told her how I had
two big columns on each side of my dick and that's where all the blood in
my brain went when my dick got hard.  She told her about the third column
on the underside of my dick and Alex found it and ran her fingers up and

down it.

   Alex pulled the hair around the base of my dick hard enough to make me
groan.  Then she felt down each side and around my balls and then back
almost to my asshole.

   Gianna: "He's not very hairy, Alex.  I like him that way.  It runs in
our family."
Alex: "Is it pretty, his penis, I mean?  I think it is."
Gianna: "I think it is too.  I've only seen a few and his is nice and
straight.  If he gets it in you, he'll make you groan."
Alex: "Has he made you groan?"
Gianna: "No.  He really is a virgin.  We both are.  He won't lie to you,
Alex, no matter how much he wants to get in your panties."

   Alex, giggling: "I know.  He said he didn't think they would fit him."

   Gianna, giggling and then serious: "He's a good guy, Alex.  He's always
kind and nice to me even when I'm teasing him too much.  When you get to
know him, I think you'll love him."

   While they were talking, they both had their hands cupping under my
balls, feeling them, moving them around, and playing with them."

   Gianna: "His balls must produce semen by the gallon.  I jacked him off
once and he probably squirted out a cupful on his chest and stomach."
Alex: "I want to do it."
Gianna: "Do you have any baby oil?"
Alex: "No but I have some sesame oil that I like to use on my legs when
I shave.  It's in the bathroom.  Will that do?"

   Me, silently: Damn, she shaves her legs.  How far up?

   Gianna left and was back in seconds.  She put a little oil on the head
of my dick and on the shaft and then put Alex's hand on it.

   Gianna: "He showed me how to do it once.  Just wrap your hand around it
and move it up and down.  You don't have to touch the head."

   Alex, giggling: "I can't wrap my hand around it."

   Gianna, giggling: "Yeah, it is kind of big."

   Me, breathing hard while Alex stroked my dick.

   Gianna, about a minute later: "His balls have drawn up on each side of
his dick.  That means he's close to coming."

   Alex, after feeling my balls.  "They're neat, not like balls, more like
eggs, big eggs."

   Gianna: "Since he just had a wet dream in his shorts, it might take a
while."
It didn't take a while.  Only a few seconds after Alex resumed, I
squirted out another mess on my belly.  When my breathing slowed down

again, I finally had something to say:

   Me: "Thank you Alex.  Thank you, Gianna.  Now you've both got to let me
do you.  I need to learn too."

   Alex and Gianna: More giggling.

   Gianna went for a washcloth and towel.  They cooperated in cleaning up
the mess they had made.  After that, I put my shorts and t-shirt back on.
They put their t-shirts back on too.  I wanted them to take off their
panties instead.

   We didn't go back outside with Azee.  We stayed in Alex's bed.  Gianna
pushed me so I was spooned up to Alex and then she spooned up to my butt.
Gianna put her arm over my chest and I put mine over Alex's.  She caught my
hand with hers and held it close and I could just feel the side of her
breast.  We whispered.  At least they whispered.  I got a word in edge-wise
once in a while.  Everything slowed down and we were quiet.

   That's the way Mrs.  Andreas found us the next morning.  I was
pretending to be still asleep.  I was still sandwiched between Gianna and
Alex, my arm over Alex's shoulder, Gianna's arm over mine.  Mrs.  Andreas
walked in quietly, picked the washcloth and towel up off the floor, and
looked at us for a moment.  She held the washcloth to her nose and sniffed.
I saw a slight smile creep up on her mouth.

   "Wake up, sleepy heads," she said.  "Breakfast is ready."

   Later that morning, I was subjected to the inquisition - twice: first
Azee and then Mr.  Andreas.

   After breakfast, everybody else seemed to have something to do.  Azee
was in their room.  Alex and Gianna went to her room.  Mr.  Andreas went to
the grocery store.  Mrs.  Andreas, Margaret, started doing some laundry.

   I went out in the back yard to the pool, took off my t-shirt top, lay
down in a lounge chair, pulled the legs of my exercise shorts up as high as
I could, and pulled the waist down until my pubic hair showed.  I wanted to
soak in the sun and relax.  I put the t-shirt over my eyes and just lay
there enjoying it.

   A few minutes later, Azee came out and pulled two lounge chairs up on
each side of mine.  They stripped naked and lay there for a while.  I
wanted to do what they did and finally I got up the courage.  I pulled my
exercise shorts off, covered my eyes again, and lay there naked, letting it
all hang out.

   "Whazzup, Mikey?" Azee asked.

   "Nothing," I answered truthfully.  "I'm just enjoying the sun."

   "Yeah, it is nice," the other Azee said.  "Are you interested in Alex,
Mikey?"

   A direct question.  I decided to answer as best I could.

   "Your sister is beautiful.  She's a woman.  I'm a man," I said.  "Is
that enough of an answer?"

   "No," the other Azee said.  "She's also blind and we love her and we
don't want anybody to hurt her.  If you hurt her, we'll make you regret
it."

   "I'm not that kind of guy, Azee," I answered.  "Has your mother and
father talked to my parents?  Did they tell you what my parents said about
me?"

   "Yeah, but it's hard to believe you're as good a guy as they said.  Do
you want to get in her panties?"

   "I don't think they'll fit."

   I listened to both of them laugh.  Maybe Alex hadn't told them. 
"Seriously guys, I'm going to tell you stuff about me that does not need to
be repeated.  OK?"

   "Sure," they both said.  "You can trust us," the one on my left said.

   "Look, guys, I'm nineteen years old and I'm still a virgin.  I've got
two strikes against me when it comes to women.  Most of them can't get past
my face.  The rest, well I'm old fashioned.  I don't do hookups.  My
standards are too high for that sort of shit.  I want a woman to love me
before I have sex with her.  I want to love her too.  I just think love
should come before sex."

   "Damn, what do you do?  You know, for relief."

   "I let Molly take care of it."

   "Molly?"

   I made a circle with my thumb and fingers and moved it up and down.

   "Shit, you've named it."

   "But why Molly?"

   "I told Alex about Molly.  Molly's a better name than Bruce.  You want a
guy doing yours?"

   They laughed again.

   "I'm going to name mine."

   "Me, too."

   "Listen guys, don't be in a hurry to name it.  It's like a kid.  Stuck
with that name for life."

   "What do you think, Zorba?  Should we let him try to seduce our sister?"

   "I'm not Zorba.  You are.  I'm Anthony."

   "You sure?

   "I think so."

   I took the t-shirt off my eyes and looked at them.  I wondered how many
times they had played that scene.

   "Listen guys, you're not as identical as you think you are.  I'll bet I
can tell you apart."

   "I'll bet you can't."

   "OK.  Both of you stand up in front of me and tell me your real name,
your honest real name."

   They stood.

   I pointed at one.  "I'm Anthony."

   I pointed at the other.  "I'm Zorba."

   "Anthony, repeat after me.  The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
dog."

   He repeated it.  I pointed at the other.  He repeated it.

   "Ok, now I'm going to cover my eyes again.  You guys shuffle around any
way you want to.  When I uncover my eyes, I want you to repeat it again."

   I pulled the t-shirt over my eyes and pressed my hands on top.  Alex
could tell them apart by their voices.  I felt sure I could too.  I removed
the t-shirt.  They were standing in front of me side by side, dicks looking
swollen and relaxed in the warmth of the sun.  Mine was too.

   I pointed at one and said, "Say the quick brown fox again," and he did.

   I pointed at the other and he said the same thing.

   I pointed at the one on my left and said, "You're Zorba."

   I pointed at the one on my right and said.  "You're Anthony."

   "Shit!" "Yeah, and double shit!"

   They both ran for the back porch, naked as jaybirds.  As they slammed in
the door to the kitchen, I heard them yell the same thing.  "Hey, Mom, Mike
can tell us apart."

   I put my exercise shorts back on and went in the house.  I wasn't ready
for total nudity with Margaret yet.

   I studied with Alex some more that morning.  We were in her room
together with the door open and most everything was the same.  There was
one thing different.  I kissed her.  She kissed me back.  We both opened
our mouths for a few seconds.  We both pulled back, smiled, and then
started studying again.

   We got dressed for dinner.  Mr.  Andreas and I put on long pants.  Azee
put on fresh shorts and shirts.  Gianna put on a sun dress that Mom had
brought for her.  Mrs.  Andreas and Alex put on little dresses too.  Dinner
was good Greek food.  It was just fish with chopped up tomatoes and black
olives and green onions and feta cheese and it was delicious.  I ate two
pieces.  I asked for the recipe but it was so simple I didn't really need
it.

   Later that evening, Mr.  Andreas, asked me to go for a walk with him. 
We went around the block.

   "Michael," he started, "I've talked with your father.  He says you're
the finest young man he's ever known.  He's very proud of you, the way
you've held to your standards, the way you work in school, the way you
treat your family.  Do you have any idea where you're headed with Alex?"

   "No, look, Mr.  Andreas..."

   He cut me off, "Michael, you're an adult.  So am I.  Forget the Mr. 
stuff.  Call me Aiden.  Call my wife Margaret."

   "Yes, sir."

   "And forget the sir stuff.  I'm an Army Officer at the university and
I'm called sir by every student in ROTC.  Here at home I'm just a man like
you."

   "OK."

   "Now, about you and Alex."

   "I told her that we're just taking the first tentative steps on a path
and we don't know where it will lead.  I like her and I'm not sure why but
I know I like her.  I can promise you one thing.  I'll never hurt her.  I
want to keep seeing her."

   "Michael, Alex brought you into our home.  I respect her judgment.  When
she welcomes you into her life, you will always be welcome in our home."

   "You mean you're giving me permission to court your daughter?"

   "Yeah.  I guess I am.  Tell me about your face."

   "Well, I have a big port-wine stain on my left side.  It's a vascular
condition and it's not hereditary." I waited a moment.

   "You mean my grandchildren can't inherit it from you?"

   "That's right.  My parents looked hard at trying to get it removed. 
It's a big stain and removal is a long and difficult process.  It didn't
bother me as a kid except for idiots who teased me.  I have a camouflage
cream that covers it so well you can't see it.  I haven't used it in
years."

   "Good, never be ashamed of what you are, Michael.  When I saw you in my
chair, I saw the right side of your face and I thought you were the most
beautiful young man I'd ever seen.  Then I saw the left side.  Fate hasn't
been kind to you, Michael."

   "Maybe not but one Monday morning it was."

   "What do you mean?"

   "I wasn't going to summer school.  I had a job lined up as usual.  Dad
said I didn't need to work.  He said he wanted me to go straight through
college, summer terms included.  I walked into English Lit and most of the
seats were taken.  There was an empty seat beside Alex."

   "Well, I'm glad.  Now let's talk about religion."

   "OK.  My mother and father were raised Catholic but they dropped out
when I was a baby, about the time the scandal about priestly abuse of
children started.  They still go once in a while and Gianna and I go with
them.  I like the solemnity and some of the other stuff but the religion
stuff is meaningless."

   "That sounds like me and Margaret.  Our parents were Greek Orthodox. 
We're not.  We go on occasion.  The reason I asked is because I wanted to
know if religion could separate you and Alex.  If you love someone,
Michael, really love them, you should never let religion come between you.
That's stupid."

   "Our families are a lot alike, Aiden.  I want you and Margaret to get to
know my parents.  I'd like both families to leave us alone for a while and
let us see what develops.  I think it's important for both our families to
support us.  In a few weeks, I'd like us all to get together, maybe have
dinner some Sunday.  I'll cook."

   "You cook?"

   "Yeah, my mom's a fabulous cook.  She's the culinary director at the
University.  She's taught me and Gianna to cook.  I like it.  My dad's a
full professor in the math department.  I think I got a math gene from him.
I like math and science classes."

   "Alex is very independent, Michael.  Don't treat her like an invalid. 
You'll be surprised how much she can do.  I think she sees things about
people that sighted people can't.  She'll let you know when she needs
help."

   We had walked all around the block and were back to the front porch of
their house.  Aiden held out his right hand.  I put my hand in his.  He
covered my hand with his left one.

   "Please be good to her, Michael," he said.  "She's my angel.  I love her
almost as much as I love Margaret."

   "How about Azee?"

   "Yeah, I love them too but a father's love for his daughter is more
protective.  Can you really tell them apart?  How?  I usually can't."

   "Zorba's got a little mole about two inches above his navel.  I think I
can tell them apart by their voices.  I just used the mole to double-check.
Don't tell them how I know."

   He smiled.  "I won't."

   "Look, Aiden, I'm sorry I showed my ass last night.  I felt like a
little boy doing something nasty and then Alex caught me in the bathroom. I
don't usually act like that."

   "Michael, you didn't show your ass.  You showed me your heart.  Your
heart was hurting.  You thought you had a chance at love and maybe you had
blown it.  I liked seeing and hearing what was in your heart.  I think your
father is right about you.

   "Even if I want to get in your daughter's panties?"

   "They wouldn't fit you.  She told me and Margaret what you said."

   Later that afternoon, Mom called me on my cell phone.  They were home. I
knew it was time for me and Gianna to go home too.

   When we left, all the Andreas family members gathered to see us off. 
Azee carried our bags to the car.  When I said goodbye to Alex, I held both
her hands in mine and leaned over and kissed her on the mouth.  Everybody
was watching.  I wanted them to see us.

   TO BE CONTINUED: