Rod slid his swim shorts up his legs and looked at the mirror once again. He was a runner, and his legs, half hidden by the legs of the shorts, were the part he thought was his best. He did notice that there was no pinching in the skin at his waist and nodded approvingly. His first day at the beach this spring break, and he looked pretty good. His upper body lacked the big muscles a lot of women seemed to like, but he had very little body fat. Well, he thought, maybe this year I'll get lucky.
He grabbed his bag and slid into his flip flops for the two block walk to the beach. There would be plenty to look at, of course. Spring break and warm beaches made a great combination for watching skin brown, not to mention jiggle and bounce. His dedicated year of running had done wonders for his look, but he still lacked confidence and that morning at breakfast his attempt to impress some girls had ended with three different shades of giggle, and his cheeks three shades of red. He'd watched porn, heard the guys talking, but when it came to actually talking to girls, he was a train wreck in slow motion.
There were other people from his university down here, though none had invited him to stay with them. He'd gotten a place of his own, a little off the main strip, to save a few dollars in hopes of using them to buy a girl drinks. Last night's attempt went only a little better than this morning's try. He got angry with his dad again, as a defense against feeling that emptiness in his stomach that came with lack of self confidence and depression.
His father was a jokester, always saying puns, telling jokes, pulling pranks on people, or just finding a way to make people laugh and think he was amazing. With Rod, though, his dad was all business. He would say, "Once you understand how serious life is, then you can make fun of it." Apparently Rod did not understand, because his dad was still working on him.
Rod started running after a particularly bad period after first semester last year. He pulled a B in a History of Asia class and his dad accused him of being a complete failure, despite the A in advanced calculus and another in bio-chemistry. He started to feel the world caving in on him and ran out the door. He kept running. Later he looked at the map and realized he had run two miles. When he was done, he was physically tired, but emotionally up because he had met the challenge. A little over a year later and 35 pounds lighter, he had everything going for him except confidence with girls.
As he settled onto a spot in the sand he looked around. Nothing stood out about him, except the lack of fat. His hair was medium short, like most college guys, and a sandy brown brushed from one side. He was a little over five and a half feet tall, and his face was, well, normal. Ok, he knew he had one other thing a lot of guys would envy, but comparing himself to porn actors wasn't really healthy and he kept that part hidden in his shorts.
He left his stuff on the beach and went into the water for a while, returning later and putting on lotion before laying face down to work on a tan for his mostly pale skin. Half an hour later, he flipped onto his back to even it out. He was daydreaming about meeting a really pretty girl, actually being able to talk, finding out she loved nature walks and could name a dozen different types of deciduous tree, and of course, he kissed her. Just like in the videos, except they rarely actually kissed.
"Excuse me, but could you help me?" A female voice, nearby, cut into his thoughts.
He shaded his eyes and looked to see who she was talking to and found an attractive woman about his mother's age looking right at him. "Uhm, are you talking to me?" he stammered. Of course he stammered, he told himself, what could he do for somebody like her?
She smiled, sienna colored hair cascading over her shoulders with loose strands in her face, put there by a fickle breeze that teased her by moving them away, then dropping them back in her face. Her face was a bit roundish, but very pretty. Her breasts seemed to be an in between size and she must have opted for the smaller cup because she seemed to ooze out of them. He dared a quick scan down her bare belly and a look at her crotch as she stood near him, hoping she didn't notice.
"Yes, sweety, I was talking to you, and you won't find any stray hairs down there. The laser got them all." She smiled a knowing smile and he felt that world-caving-in sensation starting but she winked and added, "It's quite a thrill having a young man checking me out."
He sat up quickly. "I'm, oh shit, I'm sorry, Miss. Or ma'am, or, I didn't mean to be like that."
Putting her hands on her nicely rounded hips, she put on a sudden frown. "If you call me ma'am again, I'm going to kick sand on you and leave." The smile returned. "My name is Margie. What's yours?" He was pleased and horrified when she dropped to her knees next to him.
"I'm, uh, I'm Rod, ma'am, I mean, Margie." Oh shit, he was doing it again. Why was he so hopeless around women? When he looked back up he was even more flustered. She was looking right at his shorts. Not glancing, but looking. He could feel what she was looking at. "I'm, uh, it's not like ... I mean... oh shit."
Margie looked back to his face. "Rod, I'm at that age where having a college boy acting so interested is quite a compliment. And THAT, my boy, is really a compliment." She laughed softly. "So, is it Rodney, Roderick, something else?"
"No m-, I mean, Margie. It's just Rod." She gave a questioning look and he looked at the sand. "My dad is a big Star Trek fan, but Roddenberry was too long so he shortened it to Rod. Mom said she could name me Bartholomew and he would insist on Rod, so she went along with it."
"Your dad sounds like quite a joker. But you don't seem to enjoy the story."
"It's family stuff and not very interesting." He waited for her to talk, but there was silence. He looked up and she had an "I'm waiting" look, that smile still there. "Dad loves being the center of attention by telling jokes, puns, whatever. But with me, if I'm not first in my class and perfect in the process I'm just shi- .. I mean, I'm worthless."
His head went down until she lifted it again. With her left hand. It was when he noticed the ring with many stones on it. "Oh my god, I was up and, oh, I'm sorry Margie. You're married and I was all, you know, it was ..."
Her voice dropped so only he could hear. "It was hard, erect, and wanting me. My husband is off playing golf somewhere with his friends, who also brought their wives and left them. Yesterday they were fishing all day. So here I am at the beach. And I need lotion before I burn. Can you do that for me, Rod?"
