Desi Arnaz, actor and singer

Teen Beat

The Cayo Smith boathouse... two dressing rooms, one for men and one for women. One of the dressing rooms was the scene of a very important event. My first experience with sex.
The daughter of the cook was a cute twelve-year-old black girl. One day this girl and I, who was also at the wise old age of twelve, wound up in one of those dressing rooms. After locking the door, we began to experiment about how this thing was done. Neither of us had the slightest idea. This may sound unbelievable today, because I am sure that there are very few twelve-year-olds who don't know exactly what the whole deal is and how to go about it. I didn't have the first clue about where to put my little thing. And she wasn't much help. But I was obviously anxious and noticeably ready for action, and getting more and more frustrated by the minute. We had tried a number of ridiculous experiments and were working on a new one when there was a loud knock on the door. It was her mother, the cook, asking her to come out. I didn't have any trouble putting on my trunks in a hurry. The small proof of my anxiety had disappeared. I wish I could have done the same. (Santiago Bay, Cuba, 1929)

from A Book, by Desi Arnaz (Morrow, 1976)