In our school, my friend Gena was called a guest performer. When vacation came after summer practice on ships, all cadets were in a hurry to get vacation tickets with travel documents and leave home as soon as possible. Only my friend Gennady was in no hurry.

- Gena, did you get the documents? - I waved his holiday ticket in front of him.

- And where to rush? It's not over yet, - Gennady smiled condescendingly, obviously not keeping something to say.

- Um. This is not winter, but summer, and there will be a problem with tickets. Are you cutting? - I attacked.

- I have not all plans for Peter fulfilled. Some people, I still have something to do, - Gennady dismissed me as if he were an annoying fly ...

- I suppose, to Ilona again lather without me? - I quipped.

- I'm not a greedy person. And you are my best friend. How can I without you? We are with you an honor guard at the feet of our beautiful, - Gena, with a guilty smile, patted me on the shoulder.

- Okay. Persuaded. So be it, I will wait a little with my departure, - I answered, - having slightly poked his fist in the stomach.

The thing was that Ilona was introduced to me by her friend, my cousin Sasha. They both studied in the third year of university, and we - the "Guards" in the same course in the Higher Naval School. We were brought together not only by the personal qualities of each of us, so to speak — by common interests, but also by the fact that we were a match for the Cardinal's guardsmen. Gena and I, nicknamed us, were also grenadiers, each having 185 centimeters, and Ilona and Sasha 183 each, but when they were on their “Hairpins”, our solar caps didn’t allow them to match us. When the four of us walked along the Nevsky Prospekt, people looked back at us, calling us basketball players. One inconvenience prevented our meetings. I thought that Gennady, in gratitude for the acquaintance, would choose my bright cousin, my bright brunette cousin, to be the lady of her heart, a clever girl, and I would have the honor of winning the heart of blonde Ilona. But it all happened exactly the opposite. Gena - cattle, immediately fell in love with Ilona, ​​leaving in my care my cousin with blue eyes. Sasha was insulted to the depths of her soul, reproaching in all of me, saying: “You were so incompetent as a child, and that is how you stayed.

- Why so?! - I was indignant.

- And so! I thought that your friend is a higher-flying bird that knows how to understand real girlish beauty, and she pecked on a "draft horse." Therefore, we now prefer to meet only with her, leaving his cousin overboard. Sometimes I was bored with the role of mediator between Gena and Ilona, ​​when they quarreled and parted "forever." Then, Gena was almost on his knees, asking for my help, but I spoke with a malice in my voice.

- Today it does not work out, I meet with my cousin and her best friend Tanya, who, by the way, was a match for her cousin, but studied at the literary faculty, dreaming of a journalist’s career. Tanya was a very pretty blonde with a chiseled figure, almost like Aphrodite, with blue eyes, apparently stolen by nature from my cousin. She immediately tried to translate the acquaintance into a warm, sexual friendship. But this is not my "Metod", as one movie character used to say. We are cadets, accustomed to winning the female heart, and not taking it "on a silver platter". Therefore, I hinted that "the beauty of a woman's heart is prone to betrayal, but I change the first by him." This cooled Tanechka's fervor and angered my cousin with such excessive intelligibility of my older cousin. In spite of the fact that my seniority fluctuated in the volume of the month, it allowed me sometimes to put it off with words; "And you generally shut up, little one, when horsemen say."

At the same time, Sasha jumped up from the chair and almost in tears ran into the next room. But having an easy-going nature, she was the first to address me in a day, pretending that nothing special had happened.“An excellent wife will turn out, it’s a pity that it’s not mine,” I thought, looking at her merry eyes shooting blue lightning. In short, we are Grenadiers, both stuck to Ilona, ​​and she very much enjoyed walking with us on the sides, most often by the hand, walking around the streets of her beloved Peter. Gena, the mattress, did not make long-range plans for this girl. He, mean-spirited ham, used to say to me: “First I have to fuck her, and then you do with her what you want. “But to my surprise, Gena, our famous Don Juan at the school, did not immediately manage to capture this fortress. At his hint, Ilona, ​​here is a stupid woman, naively asked: "What about Eddie?". “And where does he come from?” Asked Gena. But he is your best friend! ”- the girl rolled her eyes at the ceiling. According to her concept, if a friendship turns into love, then she should be the first to make a choice, herself, without a friendly prompt. This greatly offended Gena, because Ilona gave a chance to win her heart to his best friend, which Gene could not allow. But to argue with the daughter of the famous Baltic admiral was useless.

Her word in the family became unwritten law, which only she could cancel. The admiral liked this very much, saying that “Ylochka is all in me” and was very sorry that she was not a boy. I knew about it earlier from my cousin, and did not prevent Gena from trying my strength against Ilona’s character, always and everywhere supporting her opinion. Ilona liked this position of a true friend and sometimes she hinted that love was a very strange and responsible feeling and it was impossible to exchange it for small coin. Thus, I had no choice but to lead a long, painstaking struggle for the heart of this wonderful, well-read and very sober-minded girl. Somehow there was a conversation about sex after watching one of the new movies of the time, which we watched four of us. After the film, we went to a cafe to indulge in ice cream and a dispute broke out. Gene argued that sex is the main thing in the relationship between a woman and a man, making it clear that he personally has this problem solved for him by a “boy” in his pants. Cousin Sasha at the same time carnivorous smiled, as if she wanted to ask about the size of his “child”, and Ilona just said: “Nonsense”!

Gena, foaming at the mouth, began to argue that love is based on sex, for he is the successor of the human race, and Ilona said that it is the brain, and sex is just a tool for making the extension of the race possible. I was diplomatically silent, but my eyes, caressing Ilona, ​​were not unnoticed and she firmly pressed my knee under the table, thanks to my mental support. I smiled back and slowly, stretching the words, said: “And, in my opinion, Ylochka is right. Without head, sex will not be a sweet pleasure, and will become a purely mechanical process. ” Ilona looked gratefully into my eyes and squeezed her knee again. Gene realized that he had lost, quickly switched to another topic, and then looked at his watch, apologized, and bowed. At the school, he began to argue to me that true friends did not do this, and that I tore off his attack on the girl's heart. The following Sunday, I left for the dismissal in the city alone, since my best friend was sent to guard for the protection of the school. I came straight to my cousin, hoping to meet Ilona there. But she chirped:

- Do not undress, I will soon. Today we go to the theater. A ticket ticket will be waiting for us at the entrance. By the way, where is Gena? Is he still free from the guard?

- What are you! The guard only took over his duty. This is a daily watch - I explained.

- It's a pity. Gene, apparently, wants to apologize to her for the last dispute? - concluded Sasha.

- You are mistaken, my lady. Gena is not one of those knights who need apologies to the beautiful ladies, who, moreover, are not the ladies of his heart. Here you are - is another matter. Before you, he would definitely apologize ...

- But I'm not his lady's heart ...

- And who is your knight?

- Guess! Guess I kiss ...

- Um ... Really I!

- Isn't it worthy to be the husband of such a girl? I am the future architect, and we will build a joint family nest, ”she smiled and, hugging my shoulders, kissed me tightly

- Sashun! You definitely went crazy! I'm your brother ...

- Cousin ..., - now ...