"Yes," repeated Kate, softly and seriously. "And I suppose I have to admit it wasn't at all pleasant at the time – in fact, I was terrified. But, now – well, it still gives me a thrill to recall it. I had just turned eighteen and I was on holiday, with my parents – under serious protest. We were in Weston-super-Mare, and I had taken up with a local boy, called Jim. He worked on the deckchairs and he was a bit rough, but I had to have some company apart from my parents, and he was quite good-looking, so I saw quite a lot of him."
"And he saw quite a bit of me! - but above the waist only! Nobody had got into my knickers then and I wasn't going to let him and, although he kept trying, he was O.K. about it. Well, one afternoon, my Mum and Dad and I were on the beach, sunbathing on deckchairs, when Jim passed by in front of us. Mum and Dad didn't notice him – they had only seen him a couple of times and I had never introduced them. As he passed, he sort of jerked his head at me to follow him and I got up, pretending I was going for a dip in the sea. I followed about ten yards behind him."
"He walked in a wide circle and eventually slipped inside the opening of a canvas changing-tent thing – right behind my parent's chairs! It was quite big – about three yards square, and about eight feet high. After a quick look to make sure my parents hadn't spotted anything, I crept in after him. There was nothing in the tent – just Jim and a lot of soft sand – oh, and a travelling rug. Of course, as soon as I was inside, he kissed me, then he told me he had put the tent up deliberately there because he knew it was where we sat."
"We had to keep our voices down, because we were only about two yards away from my Mum and Dad, but, of course, that added to the thrill – as he well knew it would – and especially when he started touching my breasts, on top of my swimsuit. I was really turned on, but I got a bit frightened when he started trying to pull my straps off my shoulders and I stopped him at first. But eventually the thought of him touching my naked breasts so close to my parents got too much for me and I let him pull my swimsuit down to my waist and play with my bare tits."
"Then we lay down on the travelling rug and I was lying on my back with Jim kissing my nipples when, suddenly, the tent-flap opened and three boys came in! I saw them immediately and pushed Jim off me and pulled the front of my swimsuit up to cover myself. Jim just rolled over and stood up, and I struggled to my feet. By then I had recognised the boys. One of them was Jim's older brother, Colin, who was about twenty-one, and the other two were friends of his. They were a bunch of wasters who just hung about the beach when the pubs were shut, and I had had nothing to do with them."
"I looked at Jim, waiting for him to get rid of them, but he was smiling, sheepishly, and standing apart from me, and I realised that this was no surprise to him. I turned back to Colin, and he pointed to where my parents were sitting, outside the tent, and put a finger to his lips. Then Jim took hold of my wrists and Colin forced my hands open and pulled my swimsuit out of them and it fell back down to my waist."
"Jim held my hands behind my back and they all looked at my breasts. I couldn't do a thing. I didn't dare make a noise, or even struggle, in case my parents heard. Then Colin touched me, then the others, and their hands were all over my breasts and nipples. Then one of them pulled my swimsuit right down to my feet, and I was completely naked. I was crying, but I even had to do that quietly, and, anyway, they just ignored me."
"I just stood there, naked and shivering and crying, while they touched and felt me all over. Jim was feeling me, too. He let my wrists go, but I couldn't defend myself against four pairs of hands. I really thought they were going to rape me . . . but, they didn't."
"What happened?" asked Anne, her eyes like saucers.
"They just suddenly . . . left," said Kate. "One minute, there were hands all over my body, then I was alone in the tent. I collapsed on the rug but, after a few seconds, I suddenly thought they might come back, so I stood up again and put my swimsuit back on, then I slipped out of the tent and ran down to the sea and dived in. I swam for ages, crying from fright, and relief, then went back up the beach and rejoined my parents. They accused me of sneaking off to meet 'that boy' again!"
"What did you say?"
"I said I had been for a long swim," said Kate, simply. "In fact, I don't suppose I was in the tent for more than a quarter of an hour, at the outside, so it was mostly true."
"Did you see Jim again?"
"Well, I saw him, but I didn't speak to him. Actually, he looked quite embarrassed. ."
"I should think he did," exclaimed Anne, hotly. "He's lucky you didn't go to the police!"
Kate shrugged. "What could I have said? It would have been my word against four of them and, anyway, I'd have had to admit, in front of my parents, that I'd been letting Jim play with my tits. Anyway, there was no real harm done. Nobody raped me – in fact, they didn't even put a finger inside me, although they all had a good feel between my legs ...'
She laughed. "Of course, I spiced it all up a bit for Philip – as far as he's concerned, they made me spread my legs and they all felt me inside, then masturbated on me!"
Anne shook her head, wondering how Kate's husband could enjoy hearing about that sort of thing, then, suddenly, Kate jumped to her feet.
"Come on," she said. "It's getting late. We'll have to find somewhere to stay the night – unless you want to go back with Marco and Roberto … "
*********************************************
It was only a small hotel, but it was clean and comfortable, and their rooms backed on to the long, undulating beach. Each room had a shower and a small bed, easy chair and dressing table, with a balcony, equipped with deckchairs, overlooking the beach.
Anne had had a long shower, her mind filled with the images of the day, but she now felt relaxed as she slipped into her two-piece blue swimsuit and looked forward to the pre-dinner dip in the sea, which Kate had suggested.
There was a knock at the connecting door, and Kate appeared. Anne was not surprised to see her friend wearing a startlingly brief bikini – in fact, by now, she would have been surprised by anything else! It was bright scarlet, and left little to the imagination. For a second, Anne had a fleeing sense of admiration at Kate's courage in wearing it – she knew she would never dare to. But then, she reassured herself, there was a bit more of her to cover! As a reflex action, almost, she picked up her beach robe and slipped it over her shoulders.
Kate strolled in and made for the balcony. Anne followed. It was nearly six o'clock and, although it was still warm, there were only a few people left on the beach, mainly strolling by the distant shoreline.
There were also one or two joggers, and Kate nudged Anne and pointed at a tall male figure, in very brief trunks, running along the edge of the water. Even at this distance, they could see he was very fit and well-muscled, with long black shiny hair, tied back in a pony-tail. He seemed to catch the movement of Kate's hand as she pointed, and his head turned towards them. He lifted a hand in greeting and Kate waved back, enthusiastically.
