Monday, September 4, 1961
"Do you have everything you need?"
Eric's mom was dropping him off at Rooster Rock State Park to spend the afternoon with Kofi.
"Shirt, shorts, sandwiches, snacks, water, and a towel. That oughta do it."
"I wish you wouldn't wear that Eros Arcade t-shirt in a public place like this."
"Why not? It's a great conversation starter. Besides, I won't be wearing it for long. It is a nude beach, so I'll have an even better conversation starter."
She shook her head. "You're hopeless. I'll be back to pick you up at about seven o'clock."
Eric grinned happily. "Sounds good. Thanks, Mom."
He closed the car door and looked around. Kofi was waiting for him next to the clothing-optional beach as planned, wearing his volleyball jockstrap and carrying a Frisbee in addition to his beach towel. Their high five was followed by a hug, which drew various reactions from the people around them.
Kofi was also carrying Kojo's jockstrap, the one decorated with the African tribal pattern. He handed it to Eric.
"Put this on. Kojo told me to give it to you. He says if you're gonna hang around with a kid from Africa, you gotta look the part."
Beaming with pleasure, Eric stripped off his shorts and put on the jockstrap.
"Thanks, bro. And tell Kojo thanks too."
Kofi evaluated the results. "You look so hot. I can't wait to screw you."
Eric laughed. "I see the tube of K-Y tucked into your waistband. You're prepared."
Kofi smiled. "For you, I'm always prepared."
After tanking up on water from the drinking fountain, they headed for the beach, laughing, joking, play-boxing, and behaving exactly like what they were - two fifteen-year-old friends on a fun outing without parental supervision. As they continued onto the beach, arms around each other's shoulders, Eric became aware of the impassive stares in their direction.
"What's with the hostility?"
"Got many blacks out there in the backwoods?"
"None."
"That's what I thought. Us black boys ain't supposed to hang around with you white boys. It's not all angry shit, though. Some of it is just curiosity about what it's like to have a buddy who's a different race. We'd get the same thing in my neighborhood."
Eric frowned. "That's bullshit." He thought some more. "You know a lot of my friends. They don't think twice about us being buddies."
Kofi smiled. "We're not talking about our friends. How about the others in your community?"
Eric was quiet for a moment. "There was an article in the county newspaper bragging about how we're not prejudiced in our all-white community. The next week there was an article bitching about all the trouble the drunken Indians are causing with their fishing-rights protests. Hello?"
Kofi laughed. "Yeah, about what I'd expect."
Eric thought for a few moments. "Let's hang out here for a while where there's more of a crowd. I wanna see how people react."
Kofi grinned. "It's a clothing-optional beach. If we took off our jockstraps, we'd get even more reactions."
Eric poked his friend in the shoulder. "Yeah, but I want them to react to our friendship, not your donkey dong."
Kofi smiled thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're right. That might influence the results."
They spread their towels away from the water at the edge of the crowd. Then they went swimming and played around in the water for a while. Eric watched as they returned. He agreed that most people were curious, or perhaps confused. Dropping down on his towel, Kofi began to sing from the recent Broadway musical and the soon-to-be-released movie.
"'One of your own kind. Stick to your own kind.' Unfortunately, that's the way it is."
Eric laughed. "Nice voice, bro. You should go on stage. Seriously, that's not the way it oughta be." He put an arm around Kofi's shoulders. "I'm glad we're friends."
Kofi slipped a hand inside Eric's jockstrap and grinned.
"So am I."
************
Sitting with his mom and younger brother, fourteen-year-old Jerry had been observing the two older boys since they first arrived. He watched as they swam and horsed around in the water, and again as they came back to sit on their towels. And he noticed Kofi's hand slipping into Eric's jockstrap pouch. He put his hand inside his swimsuit, wishing it were Kofi's hand instead, and wondering if it would feel different than his own.
Jerry and his brother, Brian, had just moved from Pendleton where there were virtually no blacks. He was intrigued by a friendship that crossed racial boundaries. Since intrigued and racial boundaries weren't in his vocabulary yet, it would be more correct to say that he thought it would be cool to have a black friend.
Brian was interested too, and being the outgoing, curious boy he was, raised the subject with his mom.
"I wonder what it's like having a friend who's black."
"Just like having a white friend."
"But aren't black people different?"
"Who told you that?"
"Well, some guys at school said..."
"Why don't you go ask if you really want to know?"
Brian stood up. "Okay. Jerry, do you wanna go too?"
As usual, Jerry was happy to let Brian take the risk. Then he'd move in and reap the rewards.
"No, go ahead. I'll wait here."
Brian walked over to Eric's towel and dropped down beside him with a smile. Eric returned the smile.
"Hey, buddy. What's up?"
"Hi, I'm Brian. Can I ask you a question?"
"I'm Eric, and this is Kofi. What's your question, buddy?."
"What's it like having a black friend?"
"Just like having a white friend."
Brian grinned. "That's what my mom told me, but she said to ask you to make sure."
"Where's your mom?"
Brian pointed. "Over there. With my brother, Jerry."
About twenty feet away, Brian's mom watched with a smile. An older boy with the same red hair waved at them. Kofi and Eric smiled and waved back.
Kofi turned to Brian. "Why don't you and your brother move your towel closer so we can talk more?"
Delighted, Brian ran back to his mom and brother.
"You were right, and they want me and Jerry to go talk with them."
His mom smiled. "Have a good time."
As the brothers gathered their belongings, Kofi and Eric checked out the family. The boys' mom, the source of the red hair, was topless. Jerry, a very average fourteen-year-old, wore a white Speedo, an Australian brand that had only been available in the USA for a couple of years. The thin nylon material and skimpy style were controversial at the time, and could have earned him an indecent exposure citation on some public beaches.
Eleven-year-old Brian was small for his age. He was wearing his brother's eighth-grade PE shorts that were too large for him. A safety pin on each side, likely their mom's solution, tightened the waistband enough to keep the shorts from falling off.
While Kofi and Eric introduced themselves, Jerry spread his towel next to Kofi and then assumed a bossy, big-brother role.
"Brian, go sit by your buddy, Eric, and talk with him."
"But I need to share the towel. And Kofi's my buddy too."
Kofi spoke up. "How about if you sit between me and Eric, Brian?"
Brian beamed with pleasure. "Cool!"
Eric found it easy to chat with Brian, a friendly sixth-grader with a curiosity about everything. In between the younger boy's questions about Eric, where he lived, where he got his cool jockstrap, and where he'd met Kofi, Eric learned that Brian and Jerry lived in northeast Portland, and that Jerry was the best brother ever.
Jerry discovered that Kofi was as friendly and outgoing as Brian. The older boy had a ready smile and a twinkle in his eye that suggested he could be a bit of a rogue if given the opportunity. Rogue was another word missing from Jerry's vocabulary, but to him, the twinkle suggested unknown, exotic adventures that might come with having a black friend.
Kofi grinned at him. "Nice swimwear, Jerry. Is that one of those new Speedos?"
Jerry grinned back. "Yeah, Mom just bought it for me."
"The white color goes well with your tan."
"Thanks."
Jerry's interest was obvious as he checked Kofi out. Kofi smiled at him.
"I bet you're as curious about black boys as your brother."
Jerry blushed. "Yeah, I guess I am. Where I used to live, there weren't many blacks."
Kofi's smile put him at ease, as did his response.
"Where I come from, there weren't many whites."
"Somewhere down south?"
"Nope. I'm an immigrant from Ghana. We came here when I was five. Learning to live in a mixed culture was just as strange for me as it is for you."
The words mixed and culture were in Jerry's vocabulary, but he was having trouble combining them into a meaningful concept. He moved on to specifics he wanted to know more about.
"So, how did you meet Eric?"
"We met this summer. We played volleyball together further up the beach."
"You seem like pretty good friends."
"We're very good friends."
"I think that's cool."
"So do we, but just to make it clear, we don't think about being black and white friends. We never did. We just think about being friends."
They were silent for a few minutes while Jerry tried to absorb the difference, but being obsessed with having a black friend, he didn't quite get it. He checked Kofi out again and adjusted the boner that was trying to climb out of his Speedo. Kofi noticed and smiled to himself. Eric wanted to be his friend because he was Kofi. Jerry wanted to be his buddy because he was black. No problem. The kid would figure it out later.
"Wanna go up the beach with me and Eric and find an open spot to play with the Frisbee?"
Jerry smiled happily. "Sure! I'll go check with Mom."
The other boys stood up and listened to the conversation that Jerry initiated.
"Mom, my friends, Kofi and Eric, wanna take me up the beach to play Frisbee."
"You can go if you take Brian along."
Jerry whined. "But Mom, he's just a little kid. I wanna have fun with friends my age."
Kofi and Eric saw the sad, disappointed expression on Brian's face. Eric put a hand on Brian's shoulder.
"It might be better if I stay here with Brian."
Kofi shook his head.
"The invitation is for Brian too." He squatted down. "Come here, buddy. Get on my shoulders."
Brian's expression changed to one of delight as he followed Kofi's instructions. Kofi stood up. Their mom looked up with a smile.
"Thank you, Kofi. Do you and Eric want to leave your things for me to watch?"
Kofi smiled. "That would be great. Thank you."
************
As Kofi headed up the beach with Brian on his shoulders, Eric and Jerry fell in behind them. Jerry was disappointed that he wasn't getting Kofi's attention. Brian was in heaven.
"Thanks, Kofi. Jerry used to carry me like this sometimes, but he says I'm too big for it now."
Kofi laughed. "Maybe that's what he thinks, but as long as I can lift you, you're not too big."
As they continued along the beach, Brian noticed the changing population.
"Why are there only guys here?"
"Because sometimes guys like to hang out with other guys. Eric and I like to do that, and sometimes I like to do things with my big brother. How about you? Do you like to do things with your big brother?"
Brian looked back at his brother wistfully. "We used to do things together. But now he just wants to spend time with his friends."
Kofi smiled. "That's his loss. If you were my little bro, I'd do lots of things with you. I think you're fun to be with."
Brian smiled happily. "Maybe you could be my big brother."
Kofi laughed. "I'll be happy to be your big brother, Brian. So will Eric. Your real big brother needs to learn to appreciate you more."
Behind them, Jerry spoke up eagerly.
"I can carry Brian for a while if you want me to."
Kofi smiled to himself at the ingratiating response.
"No, I'm doing just fine with my new little bro."
Brian had another question. "What are those guys doing?"
"Where?"
Brian pointed to two boys in the distance.
Kofi looked. "Just wrestling."
"I've never seen guys wrestling naked before."
"It's a special kind of wrestling, called beach wrestling."
"It looks like they're having fun."
"They are... Hey, check out those guys over there playing soccer. We should have brought a soccer ball, but the Frisbee will be fun. Let's move closer to the beach and look for a good place to play with the Frisbee"
Jerry had paused momentarily to look more closely at the beach wrestling.
"What are they really doing?"
Eric smiled. "They're screwing, but Kofi doesn't wanna explain it to Brian."
"Have you ever done that?"
"Oh, yeah. More than once. Getting screwed feels so good. Want me to tell you about the guy who screwed me at the Lloyd Center?"
Jerry's eyes opened wide with surprise. "You had sex at the Lloyd Center? Where?"
Eric grinned. "In a car in the parking garage. With the hunk who gave me a ride there."
As Eric gave Jerry a detailed report of his hitchhiking experience, the younger boy's shaft slowly crawled out of its confines. He shoved it back into place. Eric was having fun turning his new friend on, so he told him about his night with Randy, the resort desk clerk and the encounter at the adult video arcade. He finished up telling about his first experience with Kofi. Jerry adjusted himself again.
"You have a lot of sex with guys you just met."
"My first time was with my friend, Nick, but other than that, you're right."
Suffering from information overload, Jerry was silent for a while.
"So, what's it like having sex with a guy you just met?"
Eric smiled to himself. Jerry was really asking what it would be like to have sex with Kofi. Eric had seduced a few boys for himself, but this time he would seduce one for Kofi. He had to keep it simple and exciting, and to remember it was Jerry's first time.
"It's the best adventure ever. You're excited because you want him to screw you and you know he's gonna do it. You're nervous too, but you know you're gonna let him do it anyway."
"As he lubes his cock, you're worried because it's big and you think it might hurt. You panic a little when he presses it between your legs. Then you feel his boner sliding in, and you know it's too late to change your mind even if you wanted to, which you don't."
"Then there's the awesome feeling of his hard pole slowly sliding in and out of your body, exciting you in ways you never imagined possible. And finally, he's on the edge, and you know he's gonna go all the way."
"And when he blows, you feel his boner twitch as his jizz shoots out and you realize you let a guy you hardly know cum inside you. But it was so hot you know you'll do it again."
Jerry paused to absorb all of that. Then he had questions.
"Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes, but it's so much fun you hardly notice."
"You can really feel it when Kofi's stuff shoots inside you?"
"Yeah, and it feels awesome."
Jerry thought for a minute. "I hope I can feel it when Kofi shoots inside me... I mean if he does... what I mean is maybe someday..."
Kofi had tuned out Brian's chatter and was listening to the conversation behind him. He smiled to himself. Eric had done a great job of setting Jerry up for him.
