Chapter One
(Friday 11th October 2002)
'Hello sexy,' Heather began the moment her call was picked up, 'how's your ass for spots?'
'It's even smoother than yours,' Taryn replied predictably. 'To what do I owe the honour?'
Heather allowed herself a girlish giggle. Taryn was one of her three current girlfriends and (in keeping with the rest of her body) her ass wasn't sexy at all. Not unless you preferred females who were built more like men; on a guy her ass would be sexy as hell.
Heather liked girls in all their various shapes and sizes but, just lately, she'd developed a "thing" about mannish ones. Taryn wasn't particularly attractive until you saw her for what she was: a short-haired, butch-looking and stocky young dyke with flawless white skin. And that skin really was flawless; she'd probably never had a spot on her bum in her life.
'I'm ringing about Katie's party,' Heather said. 'I wondered if you needed a date.'
Taryn cackled like the witch she was. 'Sorry,' she said, her voice dripping insincerity, 'I've already got the hottest date I could ever hope to have.'
Heather wasn't jealous or even slightly put out. Her relationships were always founded on freedom. The way she saw it, there was never any need for jealousy. She was, however, as curious as a barrel of monkeys.
'I thought I was the hottest date you could ever hope to have,' she replied, mock-indignant.
'Yeah, well I've had you loads of times, haven't I? This is breaking into new territory, my friend. This is an offer I can't refuse.'
Heather was sure of the date's gender but couldn't begin to guess her identity. Taryn only ever dated girls, and the university's pool of really hot dates was (sadly) not too big.
'Who is she?' she demanded.
'You just wait and see,' said Taryn, deliberately evasive. Then, being curious in her turn: 'You're going with Caroline, aren't you? Why are you suddenly wheedling up to me?'
'Caro's got the flu,' said Heather, not bothering to fib. 'She'll be playing the dying swan all weekend. I left her with a bottle of whisky and a cartload of Lemsips.'
'Typical.' Taryn snorted. 'You only want a date with me because Miss Supermodel is in dock.'
'No, I want a date with you because you're terrific in bed and I'm crap at comforting dying swans.'
'Too bad; I'm fixed up already. You'll have to wait until I've a gap in my social calendar.'
'It'll be a while before you get a gap that matches with one in mine.'
'Ask me if I'm bothered.'
'Okay, I give in.' Heather chuckled. 'You've got a super-hot date and I'm not getting a look-in. Serves me right for neglecting you recently. So who is she?'
Taryn's latest witchy cackle was straight out of The Wizard of Oz. 'You just wait and see. But trust me, you'll be drooling. Bye for now. See you at the party.'
For perhaps ten seconds Heather wondered whether she should ring around for an alternative date. It wasn't often she got turned down. Come to that, it wasn't often that she was the one asking. She had spent most of her life declining offers from ardent young men and accepting offers from equally-ardent females.
At that point she grinned. University for her had been like a big, free sweetshop. She'd not kept count but reckoned she'd had sex with as many guys as she had girls. That was only the tip of the great big iceberg, though. Guys quickly lost their allure where she was concerned. Most of them got one night or . . . if they were exceptionally lucky . . . two. Girls tended to get lots and lots of nights.
And the "female factor" made a difference. As well as having more nights in bed with women, she also had much more sex during a night with a woman. When she added in those two important elements, it probably meant ninety per cent of her shared sex had been girl on girl.
Of course that only backed her frequently aired claim that she was "well on the lezzie side of bi".
Dateless, Heather laughed. So she was going to Katie's party alone. So what? It wasn't a "girls only" gathering but there was always the chance of a pick-up. No, there was more than a chance; if she put her mind to it, it would be a dead cert.
She might even have a go at Katie herself. Katie was decidedly bi-curious: she just didn't realize it.
Not yet.
*****
Heather had a second reason for not phoning around: she was very proficient at karate and the inter-university championships were coming up soon, including a championship she intended to win.
She was, she knew, blessed in dozens of ways. Not only did she have the looks and a body to die for, but she was smart with it. And she was also naturally gifted at hobbies she tended to like: hockey first and foremost, but also golf, football and (from out of simply nowhere) martial arts.
Karate was a relatively new find for her. She'd only started two years ago, as a young undergraduate, eager to try everything. And she'd soon become really good. In fact she had got so good that she had been beating her university coach since last Easter; so good that she had recently been matched with guys. And so good that none of the guys anywhere near her weight wanted to fight her anymore.
Beating up men was fun, but she was never sure how hard they were trying. And they didn't represent the opposition she would meet in the championships. Her female opponents would have much faster muscles and much more flexible hips than any of the men she'd been up against. She would have to use different tactics altogether.
She was, after all, in it to win it.
And so was the opposition.
Before Heather could voice her concerns about lack of competition, clearly having thoughts along the same lines, her coach had come up with a solution.
The coach's friend was called Jenny. Jenny was thirty-something and, her academic life over, worked in "finance" in the centre of Manchester. She had also been a black belt forever and, whilst secretive about her actual ability, had once kicked heck out of a male 6th Dan.
'She won the title you're going for,' Coach told Heather,' 'over ten years ago and stylishly. Since then she has only got better. She's the best opponent I'm ever likely to come up with for you.'
The good news was that Jenny, for the sake of Coach and her old alma mater, was happy to instruct Heather, taking her on as a "six week project". The bad news was that she wasn't a typical nine-'til-five office worker; the best she could do was one or two sessions a week, at times that seemed to be picked at random. This week's second session was tonight, at seven o'clock.
How inconvenient was that for pre-party pints in the Union Bar!
Heather wasn't really put out by the timing. She was grateful for the extra coaching and, by now three weeks into the "project", she had come to like and admire Jenny. Superb fighting skills aside, she was a perfect specimen of womanhood. Beautiful and blonde, she was built like an Amazon warrior: very visibly powerful but shapely with it.
Yes, Jenny had featured in several of Heather's bedtime fantasies.
Not that she fantasized while they were on the mat. She had to keep her wits about her. Being kicked in the ribs by that particular blonde was not an easily forgettable experience.
Normally their sessions lasted ninety minutes. That Friday it was closer to a hundred and twenty when Jenny finally called time.
'That's me done for this week,' she announced, hardly a hair out of place. 'The weekend starts here.'
Heather wasn't nearly so unruffled. She felt good though, and not too badly bruised. She also felt very impulsive. 'Talking about the weekend,' she said, 'I'm off to a party. Do you fancy tagging along?'
'I fancy that a lot,' Jenny replied, 'but Maggie'd have my ass in a sling.'
"Maggie" was also known as "Coach". Heather had harboured a few suspicions about her new karate instructor but none at all about the long-term one.
'Maggie's got a boyfriend,' she said, assuming an innocence she'd never possessed. 'Surely she'll be out with him on a Friday night.'
'I've got a boyfriend,' Jenny replied, maintaining intimate eye contact. 'But boys aren't in the frame for tonight. If you know what I mean.'
Heather had a fair idea. 'You're sleeping together,' she said, stating a fact rather than asking any sort of a question.
'We have been for years,' said Jenny. 'Boyfriends come and go but what we have just carries on.' She laughed infectiously. 'I owe you a vote of thanks, by the way. Normally I only get half a dozen nights a year in Maggie's bed. Tonight will make it half a dozen in less than a month.'
Heather laughed with her. 'Glad to be of service,' she said, dropping a curtsey. 'That's the third time I've been turned down today, but with far and away the most credible excuse.'
'Turned down?' Jenny raised an eyebrow. 'Sorry Heather, I can't believe you've had three noes since you were at school, never mind three in one day.'
'Well I have. One girlfriend reckons she's got flu. Another is already on a red-hot promise. I didn't ask my first reserve in case she made it a hat-trick of fails. So I asked you instead.'
Jenny smiled at the very deliberate surfeit of information. 'Maggie and me aren't committed,' she said. 'I suppose we do have something going, emotionally, but we've never sworn vows. We're both free to do whatever we like. Except on occasions like tonight, when plans are already in place.'
Then, her smile stretching into a grin, she added: 'Mind you, she won't be expecting me much before half past nine. I could be free until then easily enough; assuming you could be, too.'
The elevator in Heather's tummy must have had its cables cut. It fell like a lead weight. 'That's always been the way I operate,' she said, as brightly as anyone without one single air molecule in her lungs ever could. 'Born to be free; that's me in a nutshell.'
Jenny linked arms with her. 'Let's go check out the dressing rooms. If they're quiet you might talk me into soaping your back.'
Chapter Two
It was late by then and the usually busy changing rooms were deserted. Even the sportiest of sporty girls had already headed off for bars, restaurants, parties and pubs.
'Not a soul to be seen,' said Jenny.
'Race you into the showers,' said Heather.
Along with the rest of the university's sports centre, the showers had recently been renovated. They had brand-new, adjustable fittings that could easily be redirected. Jenny redirected those either side of Heather's, aiming so they were both spraying directly at her, then joined her under the combined torrent.
'Feels good,' she said.
Heather had to agree. The triple dose of jetting water did feel very good on her bare skin. So too did the feel of Jenny as their bodies kept "accidentally" coming in contact . . . again and again and again.
'Feels wonderful,' she said, unable to stop herself laughing.