Family Ties

“And your armpits? And your bikini line?”

“Men are supposed to have a penis and testicles,” I said as I concentrated on the underside. “That’s it. Everything else is just personal preference.” I finished and looked up to find Christy staring at me with wide eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was shocked by the conversation or because I was shaving the base of my cock.

“What’s the matter?” Erin asked her with genuine concern. “Are you okay?”

“I just…,” Christy stammered. “I mean, I never…”

“Give her a break, Erin,” I said.

“He only told me on Thursday,” Christy explained.

Erin’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? You didn’t know we were nudists?”

Christy shook her head.

Erin rounded on me and threw up her hands in disgust. “How could you not tell her something like that?”

“We’re taking things slow.”

“Slow? That’s glacial, you big dweeb.”

“It’s okay,” Christy said. “I still feel a little weird, but—”

“No wonder you were so nervous when we went to the bathroom last night,” Erin said to her.

good measure, but I didn’t let it bother me.

“I’m fine,” Christy repeated. “I mean, I was on the swim team in high school. We saw each other all the time. Well, just the girls.”

“Still,” Erin said, “it isn’t the same.”

I coated my scrotum with shaving cream and ignored the girls as I pulled it tight and carefully shaved the stubble. I checked my work by feel and touched up a couple of spots.

Erin mocked, “All done, princess?”

“Lay off,” I told her brusquely. “I’m not less of a man because I care about how I look.”

“Yeah, but you look gay. Like those guys you see in those magazines.”

Christy turned rosy at the direction of the conversation, while Erin looked suitably abashed.

“Now,” I said to her, “exactly what magazines have you been looking at?”

“Right,” I said flatly. “We all have our little secrets.” I glanced at Christy.

“One of mine is that I trim my pubic hair.

She nodded, eyes still wide.

“One of yours,” I said to Erin, “is your stash of gay porn.”

“I have no such thing!”

“Sure you don’t, Erin. But hey, I’m not judging you. You can look at whatever you like. Besides, some of those guys are hot.”

Her eyebrows flew up as fast as Christy’s.

Matter o’ fact, if I had a quarter for every time you checked each other out during the shower, I’d… well… I’d have about three bucks.