Christopher's pug nose was a bit askew, his brown eyes too large, almost owlish, and his pale, delicate mouth small as a young girl's. The boy was not pretty and certainly not handsome, but his otherwise agreeable face appeared to be much younger than his eighteen years. He was also somewhat short, 5'9", and slender, which further contributed to the false impression that he was fifteen or sixteen. He was, however, a freshman at the local university, to which he took a bus from his cousin's house every weekday.

He was an awkward, intelligent boy who was clueless about girls and uncomfortable with guys. Cruel or insensitive persons dismissed him as a geek, but he was not that freaky, not that obsessed with a particular technology or area of knowledge. He understood his physical and social shortcomings, yet he retained a healthy, positive self-image. He knew he would grow out of his current awkwardness, that he would in time become a productive, successful adult. The entrance to that new, more promising world, he was convinced, was hidden by the pubic hair of some girl: he would not begin to grow up until he got laid for the first time. But the immediate prospects for that were as daunting as scaling Mount Everest.

"Don't squirt me!" Melinda squealed as she dodged the spray from Chris' hose.

"Sorry," he apologized and trained the stream of water on the back of the car where it spattered in all directions.

Washing the family car was a Saturday morning ritual, when the weather permitted, and it was the most rewarding of the chores assigned to the two young people, because in return they were permitted to use the vehicle from time to time. They had already vacuumed and dusted inside.

"I'll get the towels," Melinda announced when Chris turned off the hose, having completed the wet part of the job.

He watched her jump up the back stairs two at a time. He acknowledged she was a lovely sight, clad just in short shorts and a skimpy halter, her moist limbs so well proportioned. She was his age and the physical model of the girl of his dreams, but he did not for a moment lust after Melinda. They had been pals forever, and besides she was family, Cousin Emma's daughter.

The pretty, blond girl burst onto the porch with an arm full of towels, letting the screen door slam behind her. Her modest breasts scarcely jiggled as she clamored barefoot down the stairs.

"Let's hurry," she urged him. "The movie begins in half an hour."

"Do you kids have time for lunch?" Emma called to them from behind the screen.

"No, Mom. We'll get something at the mall."

They busied themselves with drying the green Taurus, working in silence until they were finished.

"You take care of the towels, Chris," Melinda finally said and ran for the porch. "I have to put on some dry clothes."

He too would have to change, of course, but he knew he would be finished minutes earlier than she, who for some reason always spent so much time in front of a mirror.

"That was a dumb movie," Chris grumbled as they sat in the mall's food court eating hamburgers. "It was supposed to be sci-fi."

"But it was set in the future," Melinda protested.

"For what purpose? It was just a love story. There was no action."

"What about them naked in bed obviously fucking. You don't call that action?"

"You couldn't see what they were doing."

"Well, you could imagine it!"

"Perhaps you could, Melinda, but not me."

"Just what do you mean, perhaps _I_ could?"

"I mean I don't have any experience with, with _that_."

"And you suppose I do?" she retorted indignantly.

"You went with Craig for two years, didn't you?"

"You can really be dense at times, Chris. All Craig and I did was a little kissing, and not much of that."

"Really? Weren't you ever, you know, curious?"

"Guys are a lot more curious than girls, Chris. You should know that."

"But weren't you ever curious?"

"Of course I was!" she exclaimed, blushing deeply. "But I never let him touch me."

"Never?"

"Maybe once or twice," she mumbled, then asked with a bit of rancor, "Why are we talking about this?"

"I don't know. It had something to do with the movie."

Melinda looked at him closely. "You've never even kissed a girl, have you?"

"I've never had a date. You know that."

"Why don't you try it with Kelly?" she asked slyly. "She'll let you kiss her."

"She'd kiss anyone, you know. Besides she's too fat."

"She's not really fat, just a bit heavy. It's obvious she likes you. She'd let you do a lot more than just kiss."

"And what then, Melinda? I'd be stuck with her. I'd have to be her boy friend."

"Probably, at least for a while. But she would be more than what you have now, which is nothing."

"I don't want a girl friend. I just want to learn about it."

"It?"

"You know what I mean."

"Well, Chris, most guys your age know a lot more than you about _it_."

"That's not my fault!" he insisted vehemently, tears welling in his eyes.

"You're too sensitive, Chris," she said sympathetically, placing a hand over his.

"I don't want a girl friend, Melinda. I just need a pal to teach me a few things."

"A pal?" She almost gasped, knowing that she was Chris' only pal. Hurriedly she changed the subject. "There's Terry!" She waved at a girl who stood near the food stand.

Terry smiled, waved back and walked toward their table. She had raven hair cut Dutch boy style that emphasized the paleness of her oval face. She was very pretty.

"Hi Melinda," she said with a warm smile. "Hi, Chris," she added abruptly, otherwise ignoring the boy.

Chris stared at her with a certain longing, not for the first time. She was a couple of inches shorter than he and seemed to have a perfect, slender body. Of all the girls he had ever known she was the one he would like to have as his girl friend. But of course that was out of the question. She scarcely ever took notice of him, and besides rumor had it she preferred girls to boys.

"Do you want some more Coke?" he asked, rising from the table.

Terry ignored him, but Melinda grinned up affirmatively. Chris walked away and then stopped to look back. Terry was hunched over the table talking animatedly. One of her fingers played with Melinda's hand.

When Chris returned to the table with three Cokes, Terry was gone.

"What were you talking about?" he asked, wondering what to do with the extra drink.

"Just girl stuff," Melinda replied with a smile. "You like her, don't you?"

He nodded and blushed as he sat down.

"So, you're willing to have a girl friend after all!" Melinda chortled.

"Fat chance with her," he mumbled in reply.

"Perhaps so, Chris, at least for now. But she has sometimes asked about you. She's a bit shy, you know. Maybe you should work on her. She's going to sleep over tonight."

"I wouldn't know how to begin," he moaned. "I don't have a clue."

"Maybe I could teach you a few things," she said a bit wistfully, taking hold of his hand. "After all, we are pals."

"Kids," Emma called up the stairs.

"We're not kids any more, Mom," Melinda yelled back.

"Yes, that's my point. I'm going to spend the night with Grandma Horger. You two can take care of your own supper."

"Terry is sleeping over tonight," Melinda called down the stairs.

"That's fine, dear. Just don't be too rowdy."

Chris and Melinda stood in the latter's bedroom gazing out the window as Emma backed the Taurus down the driveway.

"So," she finally said, turning to him, "I suppose I could teach you how to kiss properly."

"What do you mean, 'properly?'"

"Well, some boys, many of them, think that if a girl lets them kiss they have an invitation to grope. That's not so. In fact that's a real turn off for most girls."

"I won't grope," Chris promised and stood close to her waiting for the kiss.

"No, no! The guy is supposed to take the initiative. You're supposed to kiss me."

Chris, blushing, put his hands on her waist and pressed his lips to hers.

"That's better. Now try it with more feeling. Pretend I'm Terry."

He took Melinda into his arms and kissed her the way he had seen it done in the movies. She embraced him and kissed back with evident eagerness, even flicking the tip of her tongue at his lips. It became sloppy after a minute.

"That's very nice, Chris, very nice, but you don't have to get so wet."

"Let's do it lying down," he whispered into her ear.

Melinda stood apart from him for a moment with an uncertain look on her face.

"Let's take our shoes off first," she suggested and sat on the edge of the bed.

They lay on the bed beside each other, for a moment embarrassed, but they then began to kiss with a growing fervor. Melinda squirmed in excitement as Chris lay half atop her, holding her in an embrace, their tongues dueling.

"Would Terry let me start groping her now?" Chris gasped.

"I think so, darling," Melinda sighed dreamily.

Chris palmed her modest left breast with a quivering hand. She moaned at the touch.

"It's so soft!" he exclaimed. "May I see it?"

Melinda, her eyes closed, failed to reply, but she did not protest when his fingers fumbled at the buttons of her blouse. She lifted her upper body to aid him in removing the garment.

"How do you get this off?" he asked, pulling on her bra.

She sat up and looked down at him as she reached behind to unsnap it. "You're pretending you're with Terry, right?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah," he responded unconvincingly, his face wide in anticipation as her bra began to move. "Oooh!" he exclaimed when her pale orbs came into view. He fell upon them with his mouth and hands, crashing Melinda back down onto the bed.

"Not so rough!" she squealed, giggling for a moment, before she began to moan as he nibbled on her hard nipple. She fondled his head with one hand, and with the other guided his hand to her crotch. "Rub me there," she gasped, moving his fingers to just the right spot. She wriggled in growing pleasure, repositioned his fingers that had gone astray, and surrendered herself to an orgasm that quickly approached.