Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2020 08:51:55 -0600 From: Billy Wright Subject: Us, For You (Chapter 7) As always, please remember to donate to Nifty, it's a free service we've all enjoyed and it needs your help to keep being that way. Please, consider donating. Furthermore, this story deals with sex between minors, it is inspired in real events, yet it is still fiction. This story is was written by me, if you want to give suggestions, comments, constructive criticism or just chat, here is my e-mail: billy.alexander.wright@gmail.com or you can look for me in Wattpad (where this story will also be published) under the user @Billy_Alex_Wright Without further ado: Characters: Alexander - Me, a boy of 15 Christopher - My brother, two years older Minakami - Japanese boy of 15 Ekrem - Turkish boy of 17, the younger tour guide Part 2 Moon over the Sea 3 (Turkey) The Great Bazar, the Topkapi Palace, the Bosphorus, the more places we visited in the Magical Turkey, Istanbul, the more I noticed the discreet glances the guide, Ekrem, threw at me when he thought I wasn't watching. I lowered my head, Minakami was still in my mind. "You have a lot of or very bad luck, it all depends on how you look at it. So... how are you going to look at it?" He was right. Ekrem had a boyfriend and he had invited me to meet him, to go out with them and, in case I said yes, to do a little more. I took it as something weird, offensive even, he was disrespecting his boyfriend and me. Now, however, it wasn't so weird, it was, if I chose to see it as such, an opportunity. "A lot of or very bad luck," I recited the words, I knew them by heart, walking along the Bosporus. "It all depends on how I look at it," it was a hot day but the breeze from the water made it tolerable, a little chilly, even. "So? How am I going to look at it?" The tour stopped. "Okay, this is where we are going to eat, you can chose one of these two restaurants," the guide announced. "Both are good and have more or less the same menu. Let's take an hour and a half to continue." I sighed, closed my eyes and walked towards my parents. It was time to decide. My brother, Chris, was still sick and angry at me. He blamed me for ruining his trip by forcing him to eat local food. I tried to ignore him. My parents looked at me funny when I told them that I had asked the guide to tell me more about the local food, so I was going to eat with him. They believed it due to my love of foreign dishes and the good impression Ekrem had caused on the group. I held my breath, my lungs had transformed; I inhaled anxiousness and exhaled opportunity. I was a machine, the world, my life, it was what I chose it to be. Ekrem was on a table, alone, waiting for me. "Alex," he pronounced my name with that heavy accent of his. "How are you?" My mind started racing, "he is talking normally," I thought. "Like nothing was happening. He knows his offer took me by surprise, he knows I'm confused and still, he has been nothing but kind and he doesn't stop smiling. "Ekrem," I greeted him, calm. "Everything's okay, what about you?" "A little worried," he replied. His voice was warm, it was always warm, although he did sound a little worried, not afraid or ashamed, only worried, like a father asking about a son. "Worried for you." "For me?" "Yes," he looked at me while I took a seat. "I don't want to scare you." "I'm not scared." Ekrem looked at me, doubtful. "Alex, when I told you I had a boyfriend you, well, you became pale and that worried me. You spent the rest of that day all serious." I tried to avoid his eyes, look away. I thought I had been discreet, that the storms in my mind had gone unnoticed. Was I really that transparent? Through the corner of my eye I saw Ekrem, there, looking at me, attentive. Maybe I wasn't transparent, maybe Ekrem was a good observer; or maybe he found my storms because he knew there were storms to find. "It was..." I doubted for a second, what word should I use? Weird, strange, an insult, an opportunity. "Unexpected." Ekrem stayed silent. "I'm not used to people having a boyfriend and, at the same time, you know, talk like you and I do." "Flirting, you mean?" Ekrem completed, God that boy had no shame, that or he had a confidence far bigger than the world. "Yes, it's not that common, I think. A little bit more each day. Although, as I told you, I don't want to confuse you or anything. If you are not comfortable or if you prefer it, we can forget it happened." "No," I said as fast as I could. "It's okay. I understand." "You understand?" "Yes," a pause. "Well, I didn't get it but I think I do now?" "You are doing now? Who?" Ekrem and I raised our heads to find a boy, a tall one, taller than me but younger than Ekrem. Just like the guide, his factions were a little rough but pointed, his hair was a sweet dark chocolate brown and his eyes were green that contrasted with Ekrem's coal black hair and blue eyes. I didn't had to ask, I knew as soon as I saw him. Ekrem stood up and kissed his cheek. I looked over my shoulder to the table were my parents and sick brother were, neither were looking in my direction. "Alex," Ekrem sat next to me. "This is Burak. Burak, this is Alex, the boy I told you about." I stretched my hand, Baruk smiled and received it with ease. I tried to smile back but only managed to form a crooked grin that I tried to hide by lowering my head. "Ekrem was right, you are cute," Burak said effortless. That only made me blush more, my cheeks were getting red. Were all Turkish boys so confident? "And shy, I see." "I'm not..." I decided not to complaint. "I'm sorry, this is all just very new to me." Burak and Ekrem looked at each other, comprehensive. They were like... "You know? You two, Ekrem, Burak, you two are like... like tea. If tea was a person, it would be like you. Warm, familiar, they make you feel better, safe and good about yourself even though sometimes they can be exotic and too spicy. You are tea." They both looked at me, not knowing what to say, before laughing. "No one has ever called me tea," Ekrem noted. "Did you just called me spicy?" Burak inquired. "Is that your way of flirting?" "It's a compliment, a description of how I feel. You are new and, well, you are tea. You know, warm water, a cup..." "Cup?" Ekrem interrupted. "Westerners. Dear Alex, in Turkey, Magical Turkey, we don't drink tea in cups, it's..." he paused, stood up and, from the counter, came back with a little glass, curved, with golden touches. "This, this is tea." Burak gave us his back for a few seconds and walked away. I used the moment to look over my shoulder to where my family was. Ekrem noticed before looking at his boyfriend and making him a sign, pointing to the door. "Come," he said. We didn't go far, we just went to one of the tables outside the restaurant, far from my parents' eyes. Behind us, a few seconds later, Burak appeared with three tea glasses and a closed box, ornamented, red and gold. "Ready," he announced. "Do you want to try some few Turkish specialties? Here is everything you need. Here, this one's for you, Alex, this one's mine and this one is for you, love." As soon as Burak called Ekrem "love" I remembered the reality of what they were and why I was there. I decided to get lost on the tea, taking it in my hands, smelling it before taking it to my lips. "It's black tea," Ekrem moved towards me. "But it's red." "The spice is black. Maybe we are tea, just not the one you imagined, you need to add a little magic and a little Turkey to your vision of us." "And, speaking of magic, here, try this," Burak gave the ornamented box, opening it to reveal little white cubes inside, just as if they had been extracted from a fairy tale. "Turkish delights." "Delights? That's their name?" "Delights, yeah," repeated Ekrem. "You can imagine how they taste." I took the tea in one hand and the delight in another. It was subconscious, my face was shining, I knew it but that was the effect trying something new had in me. The tea was splendid, not too hot or bitter as I imagined, it was sweet and it had a discreet touch of apple. The Turkish delight, on the other hand, was direct, evident, with a jell-oy consistence. The white on top was sugar, it made its taste strong on the inside and soft on the outside, it was made of fig, it took me a while to decipher it. When I ate it, my hand instinctively went for another. "I think you liked it." Ekrem seem happy. I closed my eyes, enjoying the flavors. "I don't know how do you know it or if it is chance but I love trying new things, I don't know, it's one of the things I adore, especially when it comes to food." "I knew it when I saw your face when you tried the kebab." Ekrem smiled. "Here, in Turkey, you'll find that is the point of food: to enjoy it, share it. The wine too, in fact, you know? There's a saying... A man is like a building." Burak intercepted. "A man without a belly is like a house without a balcony." I looked at the boys, aghast, I had to laugh. "What does that mean?" "It means that the most important thing in life is to enjoy it," completed Ekrem. "Everything else, looks, job, what people say, all that goes in second place. If you want to eat, eat, if you want to drink, drink. A balcony makes a house more beautiful and a man with a belly is a man who enjoys life." It was weird, curious; but in its weird, curious way it made sense. Maybe it was a lesson that the rest of the world should learn, although I wasn't sure that having a belly was a good way to show you enjoyed life. "I like it," I finally said. "Everything. That saying, the delights, above all the tea, I loved the tea." "Thanks," Baruk took a sip from his glass. I looked at him, confused. "Why thanks?" "You said you loved the tea above all, right? Well, didn't you say that we were tea?" The three of us laughed with that, I was happy, not denying it, not admitting it. Being with them was different than Japan. Both were unknown, yes, but while Japan had been a new experience, something different, a place to realize what I could do, Turkey was a place to enjoy what I had learned, warmer, safer. "A man without a belly is like a house without a balcony," I repeated. It was odd how comfortable I felt with them. "That's what I meant," Ekrem took a delight in his hands, watching it. "When I told you about Baruk the other day. That's what I meant. We have one life and we ought to enjoy it, not to do stupid things or acting before thinking, but to savor every second. When I told Baruk about you he said you were handsome and, well, what we feel and what we do with our bodies are two different things, you know what I mean?" I nodded softly. Baruk, to my side, was watching his boyfriend as if he knew what he was going to say, familiar with every word, comfortable with his relationship. Me being there didn't make him uncomfortable, not one bit. "And, for the record, I also think you are handsome, a lot, Alex," Ekrem moved closer to me. "We would like to go out with you, not in a relationship, of course, you are on vacations but in a date and, if you agree, in something more intimate, too. You know, the three of us. Look, we don't want to have fun with you, we want to enjoy life with you. If it is uncomfortable for you, you don't agree or if we simply aren't you cup of tea, it's okay, believe me, we get that this is not for everyone." I raised my glass up of tea, stopped in the middle and put it down again. "I..." "You don't have to say anything now," Baruk interrupted. "The tour still has a week left, right? A little bit more? If you want time to think about it..." "No," I cut him. "I, well, since Ekrem asked me I've been thinking and yes, I like the idea of having a date with you. It's weird for me and new but, I don't know, there's a phrase I use quite a lot: 'don't think, act'. And I don't mean doing stupid things without thinking, just that, sometimes, there are things that must be thought and things that must, as you put it in Turkey, be enjoyed. So yeah, sure." Ekrem had his eyes on me, warm, a little worried. "Are you sure, Alex? You can tell us if you d..." "Yes, I'm sure. Of everything. The date, the bed, everything, yes." Ekrem and Baruk exchanged glances, smiling to one another. "Alright, there's still time left on the tour so I just have to think of something so your parents let you be with us without them worrying. The point of this isn't to cause trouble," Ekrem was fast-thinking. "Let me think of something." "Actually, my mother is going to have a conference, that's why we came to Turkey," I commented. "It will last two days I think and my father will go with her. That's why we came with a tour, so my brother and I wouldn't be alone." "That day we can have a date, then." I nodded, enthusiastic. To my side, Baruk sat closer. "Alex," he told me in a hypnotic, soft voice. "Still, if you don't agree with something, say it. The point is to be alright, okay? And, since we are at it, do you mind if...?" Baruk leaned towards me, little by little, cutting the inches between us; his face was just a palm away when I noticed his lips were pointing at mine. I didn't move, I stayed still, serene, quiet, until his mouth reached mine. For a second, I doubted, before letting myself go and leaning towards him too. It was intense, unexpected, a flame in my hands, powerful, brilliant. When Baruk stepped away, I was barely able to hear Ekrem on my other side. "That was incredible," yet, I didn't give him a lot of time to talk. I took his eyes in mine, asking him for his blessing to approach him and, this time, the initiative was mine. I kissed Ekrem as best as I could, I didn't think, I let my instincts guide me. It was different. Where Baruk had been a flame, intense, commanding and warm; kissing Ekrem was like kissing a Turkish delight: his lips were sweet, covered in sugar, making you believe you'd never be happy tasting anything else, they seemed firm but were soft, they were all flavor, consistency. The best candy in the whole world. "You are right," I heard Baruk. "Watching this is incredible." I smiled both. It was weird but exciting at the same time, kissing two boys, a couple, Turkish, in front of the other and they seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. I looked at the restaurant. My parents were still in, my brother too. That meant I had a little more time. "I can't wait to have that date," I said without thinking, out loud. "Me too," said Ekrem and Baruk at once. ----------------------------------------------------------- I hope this leaves very clearly the direction in which everything is heading and, above all, you can imagine what the next chapter is about.