my affliction

if you have ever seen me in person you know what problem pains me day by day and hour by hour. it is one that cannot be hidden. one that you cannot help but stare at. my whole life i have tried to hide this curse that my father says i get from my mother. in public i try to cover it up, yet somehow it becomes seen.
when i was in high school i noticed the problem. i didn't really think it was a big deal until a friend "pointed" them out. he laughed and called me names. i tried to play it off, but there was no way around it. when i entered into college the pain followed. girls would laugh and the guys would point. even the president of the school made rude remarks.
now that i am an adult i have tried to embrace this unique character. but at the end of the day i am sad. my wife offten tries to comfort yet i see where her eyes go.
one day while speaking with an older lady at church, i noticed her eyes were not fixed on mine. yet she was boldly looking at what i worked so hard to cover up. i wanted to ask her to please look at my face, but i was afraid.
this is not something you find addressed in GQ or Men' Health. they even avoid the subject. i pray that someday someone will find the cure for my sickness.
what is this sickness i speak of? i blush to even mention it. the constant hardness of the nipples. laugh.. call me names... but please... don't look at them.