Kathleen was a fresher like me and my next door neighbour in university halls. We met when moving into halls ahead of freshers' week. Once our parents had departed I plucked up the courage to knock on her door and introduce myself. As I recall, it was all a bit awkward at first, and I realised that she was quite shy. I told her I was heading down the hall to the communal kitchen to cook if she wanted to join me.
"Yeah sure! A man that can cook is always worth following," she said, "and trust me, you don't want to rely on my cooking if you're looking fed. I hate cooking and had to get mum to give me a crash course this week."
"That's okay, lucky for you I like to cook, it's just the washing up I hate."
She laughed, and followed me down the corridor to the kitchen.
As I set about preparing spaghetti bolognese we struck up a good conversation.
"So what are you studying Mike?"
"Economics and Social History. And yourself?"
"Computer Sciences. I'm hoping to get into programming and robotics. It was kind of a toss up between doing electrical engineering and computers."
"Wow." I heard myself say and then instantly regretted. "I'm not very technically minded," I fumbled, "so I kinda admire anyone who is." Good recovery I thought.
"Good! Just so long as you're not one of those neanderthal males who thinks girls should stick to knitting and sewing."
I started to respond before she interrupted me with,
"That was a joke Mike."
I beamed a broad smile before adding,
"Not bad for a domestic goddess like myself."
She burst out laughing and for the first time her whole face lit up and I saw that she was really quite beautiful. She had short cropped black hair which was shaven either side of her face about two inches above her ear. Combined with her narrow face and big brown eyes she was quite stunning. She had a slim frame, stood about five three in height and possessed a sizeable bust.
"Jack. Jack!" she yelled. "You're spilling the bolognese on the stove."
"Oh shit. I was lost in thought just now," I explained.
"Well, you were staring at me as if I didn't exist."
"Sorry, it's been a long day. Anyway, I think this is about ready if you want to grab us two plates."
And so began our friendship that would grow in the weeks and terms to come
"Hi, I'm Beverly, Kathleen's best friend from school, but you can call me Bev. Did she tell you that she can't stop talking about you when she rings me at art college/"
I looked at Kathleen, who immediately blushed and said,
"This is Bev, she's prone to exaggeration, in case you hadn't noticed."
I sat on a chair while the two girls sat up on the single bed. They'd been listening to a new the latest T-Rex single. We listened to it two or three more times, before agreeing it was another sure fire hit.
I asked Bev what course she was doing at art college.
"Fine art. I'm in second year. We did a foundation year which was sampling a range of different art forms before I settled on fine art."
"What's involved in fine art then?" I asked, showing my ignorance.
"Painting mainly, in a variety of forms and mixed media. We also do performance art. But I mainly like to paint. You could always come and model for me." Bev teased, a lot I would discover.
"Leave him Bev," Kathleen pleaded, "Besides! The college employs professional models for its students."
Bev shot her a disappointing look before adding, "I suppose your right, but I bet he'd have fewer wrinkles than the models I usually get to paint."
Bev then changed the subject.
"Kathleen tells me you like to play games, Jack, would you like to play a card game with us?"
Beverly was smiling and gave a knowing look to Kathleen, who half smiled before looking down at her hands resting on her thighs on her short skirt.
"Okay. What do you have in mind?"