Chapter 1

“Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Stroke.”

If I think about that as the beginning, maybe it’s the wrong place to start this story. Let me take you back a bit, so I can give you some background. My name is Nicholas Duke, son of Mary and Alexander Duke. Although I was born in Paris, I’m sad to say that I don’t remember anything about France. After our short stay in France, we moved to Denmark for four years until I was six. Next, my father found out that we’d be moving our family to Japan. What caused all this uprooting was that he was a United States Ambassador. Before I was born they had him stationed in Morocco, so this current move to Japan, is the fourth country where he has served as the US Ambassador.

I’m an only child, but have many friends from school, and from other families also attached to the embassy. I tend to have older friends based on the demographics, and the small population of other kids around my age. My best friend in Japan is Billy Carter. His father is head of Embassy Security, and he’s been in Japan longer than we have. Because Billy is three years older than I am, I try to act older and more mature. I keep my mouth closed, and listen most of the time, because that’s what my family has always taught me to do. My parents weren’t the lovey-dovey parent types, but they were the type that always wanted to see me succeed. As such, I always found them in training mode to help me learn about life’s lessons.

Billy took me under his wing, so I learned about girls and sex through magazines, and talking with the more experienced boys. He had sex his first time at fourteen, and I was only eleven at the time. As we matured, he told me all about it, and his other experiences. Because we both had diplomatic immunity, it meant that we didn’t need to sweat the small stuff.

Mom was always correcting me about right and wrong. She didn’t want me to cause the start of World War III. When she was around, she was always teaching me one thing or another. Another constant was that Dad was always in one meeting or another. Daily, he not only took care of the American citizens living in Japan, but he also worked with the Japanese government regarding US-Japanese relations. The reason they made Dad an Ambassador was because he not only had the family connections, but he also had the appropriate education and the money to fit in the role.

Both of my parents came from old money, so neither needed to work for a living. This was their way that their family could give something back to the country. At least that’s what they told me. Dad had gone to Harvard Business School and Wharton for his MBA. He attended high school at Emerson Academy in southeast New Hampshire. Mom went there as well, and even had a dorm named after her family in recognition of their contributions to the school’s endowment fund. They also paid for the building. Mom came from a family that was in banking. Up until they merged with another larger bank a few years ago, her family’s name graced some of the tallest buildings in some of the most familiar skylines.

While we stayed in Tokyo, I spent my days learning at the American School, and my afternoons playing. I was on the basketball team, the swim team, and the cross-country team. My dad also had an exercise contraption that he called an ‘Erg’. He had it set up in the embassy residence, so he could hop on it for thirty minutes a day, and then he would force me on it for an hour. It was essentially a high-tech rowing machine that worked the muscles in your arms, legs, back, and stomach. It also gave you an undeniable cardiovascular workout.

Every school day in the afternoon PE class, I would work out in the weight room for the different teams I was a member of. But both of my parents were still adamant that I do my Erg workout every morning before I left for school. They didn’t care how late I stayed up, studying, or reading. Every morning they forced me to pull that damn handle! What I realized was since I was already in great shape, and the early morning endorphins helped me feel good before I left for school, I really didn’t hate doing it, as much as being made to do it.

The American School had grades K to 12, so Billy and I rode together every day on the train to and from school. He played the same sports that I did, but on different aged and skilled teams. I didn’t have a girlfriend, but had a few friends that were girls. I’d talk with the girls during school, and, if needed, I could always find a date for the school dances, or if I wanted to go on a date. Those were usually double dates with Billy, and I found that he and his date usually did more than my young date was willing to do.

As I got to middle school, things started to change. At the same time, Billy was getting further in high school. He started to use me as an excuse so he could convince his parents to let him out more. At the same time, I used him as a chaperone to watch over me, and to convince my parents to release their hold on me. When he received permission to take one of the embassy cars, I realized that I now had my first opportunity to kick off the ‘parent shackles’, and to see more of the world. He ended up taking one of the embassy cars and I could get out on my own. I also spent time watching him make out with his girlfriend. At first, she felt a little freaked out, but it also turned her on. When I reached the age of fourteen, and I was in eighth grade, I had my favorite girl with me, and although I was still a virgin, I was getting to second and third base quite often. The alcohol was never a problem with the local police as they just looked the other way.

After graduating from eighth grade, my family informed me that I’d be going to high school in the United States. The Emerson School was a tradition in our family since it opened in the late 1800’s. The school has a great history in two areas; its excellent academics and strong athletic programs. It wasn’t a cheap school and actually cost more than most colleges. It was also a co-ed boarding school, so kids came from all over the world to be exposed to the best education and form relationships that would help them for the rest of their life. I was a kid, so for me it meant leaving my parents, leaving the country that I lived in and leaving my friends.

This was a big turning point in my life, not only for the reasons I just mentioned, but this is the time that my mother made sure that I understood the facts of life. When she told me that, I thought that she meant the birds and the bees, but I was far from correct with that thought.

Since there were time differences, when the school year started and ended in Japan and America, my Japanese school finished in March. Once I returned to America, I wouldn’t start back to school until September, just after Labor Day. This meant that I’d enjoy a six-month vacation, or, so I thought. I spent the first month goofing off, and then, unexpectedly, my world turned upside down.

One afternoon, when I came in from playing basketball in the park, my mother let me know that we’d be having company for dinner. In embassy terms that meant they expected me to wear a coat and a tie to dinner, and be on my best behavior. It was a common thing for me with all the functions that my dad attended. So, without much ado, I went to my room, showered, and changed for dinner.

Our guests that evening were Mr. Hiraku Nara, his wife Jun Nara, and their daughter Mika Nara. Mika was a very pretty girl around my age, and from what I could tell, she was a little on the shy side. Mr. Nara was the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Over the last few years, he’d been working hard to improve the trade agreements with the US. He’d been speaking with my father one day, and happened to see my picture on his office desk. As they started talking about their children and their schools, my father mentioned that I’d be going to Emerson in the United States. Mr. Nara seemed to have some interest in the idea, and asked if my father could give him some information about the school. After he looked into the school, he decided to send his daughter there. They set up this latest meeting to discuss the school, and to introduce me to Mika, so that we’d know each other, or at least we’d know someone at the school.

Her father and my parents did most of the talking while I ate, and sneaked peeks at Mika and her pretty mother. At that point, in my life, I was fourteen, and a walking hormone. Mrs. Nara asked a few questions, but mostly listened. The subject-matter taught at the school was a given. My parents then continued by mentioning the significant number of activities, clubs, teams, and outings that the school made available to the students. It was close to the coast, but for winter activities, it was also near the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. Boston was an hour by car, so in a day you could see the city, country, mountains, and ocean.

After some time, I excused Mika and myself. I wanted to walk her around the embassy, and show her the parts that I knew I could show her. We started a discussion about school, and being away from home and our families. We also talked about the adventure of being in a new country with new possibilities. When she finally loosened up a bit, I found that she had a very pretty smile and a cute laugh. After we returned to the residence, she and her family stayed only long enough to let me know that we’d see them in the states just before the start of school.

I, however, would be leaving soon on a trip. The facts-of-life trip started, as most vacations normally do. Our first leg was a plane flight to the Philippines, so we could enjoy the beaches. With Dad along for the trip, before we could check in to the hotel and enjoy the beaches, we had to make our first stop at the capital. Once there we visited the US Embassy, said our hellos and went to check in. Once we settled in, I spent most of my time swimming and playing in the waves. One day, Dad took me aside. He wanted to go over the birds and the bees. After that, we talked about our family history. His side of the family was very big in business, and as such, they were very wealthy. He talked about the advantages and obligations that came along with such wealth. Along with that, he told me what to expect at school.

Some of the smartest kids in the country were there on scholarship. They attended, so they could take part in the education offered at the school. There would also be certain kids from some of the richest families from around the world. Some would have more money than others would, but most of the kids were from very rich families. Some parents send their children to the school for the education or relationships that they would develop. Others would send them just to remove their problem children from their house, and make them someone else’s problems.

They told me that I shouldn’t create a situation where the school viewed me as a problem. However, I should take every opportunity to spread my wings, and try new things. They encouraged me to push boundaries, but that I understood where the line was, and not to cross it. My dad, who is usually a very laid back person, told me that he loved me and was proud of me, both as a person, and with what I had accomplished so far in school and sports. He made me promise to keep up my work on the Erg. After two weeks on the beach, my father went back to work, and I continued my lessons with my mother.

To do that, she wanted to return to civilization, so we arranged to fly to Italy. When we arrived and settled in, we spent most of our time touring the country. We went from Naples to Rome to Florence and finally settled in for a few days in Venice. This is where Mom started her lessons on class. Upper class, middle class and lower class were the topic of the day. Givers, takers, workers, managers and owners were the pieces laid out on the chessboard.

She told me how, under normal circumstances, most people start with about the same opportunities. But in the end, people turn out differently. This was not necessarily true today, but this is the way it was back in the days when her family was alive. Some were gamblers, or risk takers, and some were conservative. Some were smart, or not so smart. It came down to how people looked at opportunities and accepted or rejected them. Some people saved and invested, others spent and wasted their income. Many people lived paycheck to paycheck. Some of them had more debt than they cared to admit to having. Others owned companies that paid them more than they could spend with no debt, or worries about money.

We were the upper class, and with that came privileges and responsibilities. She told me about economics, and that supply and demand didn’t just apply to widgets. People will pay for what they want, and there’s nothing wrong with making a profit. She went through some scenarios with me. If you met a man, who wanted to trade a dollar bill, for four quarters, then that would be a fair trade. If that same man was very thirsty and wanted a soda from a machine that only took quarters, and each soda was a quarter, he might settle for three quarters for his dollar. Would it be better for him to have a soda, and for me to make a quarter, or have him thirsty since I only had three.

She taught me that people make most decisions on three things, money, power, or sex. So for the rest of the trip, I learned all that I could about power, money, and sex. We covered love and friendship, but they were minor sub-notes to the main lesson plan.

An example she provided was, if you walk in a gas station, and buy a candy bar, it will cost you a quarter. You can go to the grocery store, and buy ten for a dollar. If you take ten candy bars to school, the kids will pay fifty cents each or five dollars for the ten. A short-term thinker will buy one at school last minute, or one on the way to school. A long-term thinker will buy ten, sell eight, give one to the prettiest girl, and eat the last one. In the end game, he’ll have the candy, the girl, and pocket three dollars profit.

We spent a couple of days discussing ‘power’. Mom gave me lectures on governments, business, media, land, cash, the banking system, and the power of sex. The original talk took place on the train to France, but carried over, as we continued our trip. Each time we talked the basic economic concepts of supply and demand kept coming up in each area. What do you want, what do you have, what’s available, and how available is it? Put everything on a scale, and figure out what it’s worth. These were the most important lessons on power that she taught me and were ones that would help me for many years to come.

She told me that every transaction in life is a negotiation. You’ll find that the result will usually vary, and most often, the basis for the difference would be on what you receive from the transaction, and what you have to give. We want to ride on the train, the owners of the train want money, so we pay the fare, and we gain the opportunity to ride. Although the owners have the prices posted, we have an undefined option. We can pay those prices, or negotiate for something better.

I asked, “Mom, how do you negotiate a fixed fare?”

“It’s harder in the back of the train, but when you’re paying more, unless the train is full then there’s wiggle room.” The next trip was from France to Germany. We walked into the station, and Mom went to the first class window. “Excuse me, I’m traveling with my son, and wish to travel to Berlin.”

The clerk named the price for a sleeper car since we’d be traveling at night.

Mom asked, “Does that include meals?” even knowing that it didn’t.

“No Ma-am, that’s just for the passage, meals are extra.”

“I’ll pay your rate but, I want it to include our meals, and a bottle of brandy after supper.”

He knew that he couldn’t approve such a request, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset a first class traveler, so he spoke to his manager. He in turn spoke with Mom for a minute. After that, he agreed to provide the meals and two glasses of brandy after supper. “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know if they’ll give you what you want, and the worst thing that could happen is that they say ‘No’.”

We boarded the train and had an enjoyable meal. After supper, they gave each of us a snifter of brandy. The fact that it was free made it that much more enjoyable. We went back to our sleeper cabin. As I was going to prepare for bed my mom dropped a bombshell when she asked, “Do you masturbate often?”

The question really caught me off-guard. I wasn’t ready for it and found that I couldn’t speak. She waited a bit and she then repeated the question. I thought about how to respond. The one thing that came back to me was that our family didn’t lie to each other. In fact, we didn’t hide things from each other, and we cared about each other. I’d give up some dignity for my mother’s benefit.

“Yes, I’m fourteen. I spend all day seeing girls, and end-up with my hormones churning into a panic. It’s the only thing that lets me sleep at night.”

“I want to watch you. Please take off your clothes, and take care of yourself.”

This was quite odd, and I felt myself start to freak out. I started to think back at the last few weeks traveling, and the lessons that they were teaching me. Was this a test; was she drunk; what should I do? After some deep thought, I finally said, “Since we’re negotiating for you to watch me masturbate, I think that a fair exchange would be for you to also undress. This way you can either masturbate yourself while I watch, or let me spew my load on you when I cum.”

She smiled from ear to ear. “You gave up the information, because I asked you as your mother. But being so smart, you figured out that you should receive something in return for your performance. That’s very astute. Now I have to decide if I should walk away, take your offer, or counter offer. I don’t think that I’m ready to let you watch me take care of my needs, but I think that letting you see me would be a fair exchange.”

“You can take it on your body, or in your mouth, but I’m not catching it when it starts to fly if you’re just going to sit there, and watch.”

“My dirty little boy, where did you learn about that kind of stuff?”

Chapter 2 »