PROLOGUE
(Friday, 18th February 2000)
Heather had been looking forward to Marcia's party for weeks. According to all predictions, it was going to be wild. Legend had it that Marcia's parties were always wild. The stories told by past attendees could be positively toe-curling. Apparently her shindigs set off as raunchy and steadily progressed to debauched. Like every single time. This one was guaranteed to be no exception. As usual, she was throwing it exclusively for students and it was subject to just one rule:
No men allowed!
"No men" was more of an attraction than a problem for Heather. She was at that exhilarating stage of life: nineteen years old and free to play the field. And good grief, wasn't she playing it well! She was here tonight hoping for at least one gratuitous sexual encounter. No, she was here expecting at least one gratuitous sexual encounter. Girls only? So what? Who needed a man for sex anyway? Not her. Her eyes had long ago opened wide. She'd come to university thinking that, fresh from five years of single-sex schooling, she knew it all. In fact she'd come thinking it might possibly be time to give blokes a bit of a go.
Silly idea, she'd soon concluded. Silly me.
The size and depth of the university's lesbian community still astounded her. After her first few days she'd realized that her schoolmates had been mere girls, experimenting in the absence of boys. Mere slips of girls; and ones very tentatively experimenting, at that. Suddenly, in this exciting new setting, she was surrounded by grown women with a vast range of experiences, tastes and preferences. Realizing exactly where she'd happy-landed had given her a massive thrill. Experiences, tastes and preferences needed to be fully explored, she'd decided.
Sod blokes! Blokes could wait . . . perhaps forever.
Marcia was a final year student with a large house. She had had housemates for a while but they'd dropped out, leaving her to pay the rent. Throwing what she called "a few big bashes" was her way of getting value for money. And if it worked for her it definitely worked for others: the place was rammed already, standing room only.
Out of habit, Heather attended the party alone. So too did a smattering of other guests, but most were paired-off. That was the drawback with clubs and societies, she reckoned. They fostered relationships, and relationships tended to discourage gratuitous sexual encounters. Not that every relationship was stuffy and hidebound . . .
Perhaps I can fix up a nice, no-strings tumble with one of the more adventurous, liberated couples. That would be fun, wouldn't it?
Heather smiled to herself as she went into the kitchen for more wine. Her schoolmates at The Manor had been almost exclusively well-to-do, most of them with well-pampered good looks. The women at this party came in all colours, shapes and sizes. A lot of them didn't particularly care about appearances. And rightly so, of course. Being textbook pretty didn't guarantee that a girl was perfect in bed, did it? Just as having a shaven head and hairy armpits didn't mean a girl wasn't brilliant at tribbing.
Sipping her drink Heather looked around, recognizing a few faces from previous encounters, exchanging nods and grins. Talking about shaven heads and hairy armpits, Angie was there, seemingly unaccompanied. Heather's heart had been in her mouth when the fierce-looking dyke approached her, back in her very first term. She didn't scare so easily and hadn't been physically intimidated, but she had wondered exactly what Angie wanted to do to her. The possibilities had seemed endless. Endless and, if not downright scary, just ever-so slightly unnerving. Somehow Heather had kept up her half of the conversation, politely saying "Oh, yes please" when the subject of sex came up.
She chuckled to herself. Oh, yes please! In a cut-glass, Manor accent! How frightfully posh of me!
Thank God she'd taken the opportunity. Angie hadn't been really fierce between the sheets. Her tribbing was forceful rather than violent. She was also prepared to lie back and take a big dose of her own medicine. And her huge appetite almost matched Heather's; they were both happy to keep clashing bodies for hours on end. As an added bonus, the girl sixty-nined even better than she tribbed.
Hmmm, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'll keep an eye on Angie Baby . . .
'Hiya.'
Heather was surprised by the voice behind her. She turned and immediately liked what she saw. The speaker was around her own age and nearly as tall as she was. She had absolutely gorgeous strawberry blonde hair that fell onto her shoulders, framing a face she'd stolen from an angel. No, she must have stolen it from a goddess, and one of the top-ranking goddesses at that. Dressed in jeans and T-shirt, like practically everyone else, she looked better than just good. Everything about her was yummy. She radiated health and sexuality.
'I'm Rita,' the girl went on.
'I'm Heather or Hev. You can take your pick.'
'Pleased to meet you, Hev.'
Rita was holding out her hand, smiling. Heather smiled back as she shook it, noting Rita held on a lot longer than necessary. That slightest bit of bodily contact was pleasant. Muscles were involuntarily twitching in appreciation; very intimate muscles.
Oh yes! Yes please!
'Nice to meet you, Rita,' she said smoothly. I haven't seen you on campus. Where have you been hiding?'
'I'm a late starter.' The blonde's smile was getting lovelier by the second. 'I've just transferred from Nottingham. I've seen you about, though. Once or twice, anyway. It's taken me until now to pluck up courage. To introduce myself, I mean.' She laughed, obviously not really lacking in courage or confidence. 'I don't know anyone else here apart from Marcia. And you look like a friendly port in a storm. As well as a very beautiful one.'
'Everyone here is beautiful,' said Heather. 'Some just show it in non-traditional ways.'
'I agree. But I'm not averse to traditional beauty. Not at this moment in time.'
So it was like that, was it? Heather could play that game. And some. 'You like the looks of me, do you?' she said brazenly.
Rita nodded. 'Take that as a yes.'
Heather studied the other girl, wondering how closely she'd experienced Marcia's tastes and preferences. Surely she had at least dipped a toe in the water. A straight girl wouldn't attend a party like this.
Or introduce herself like that . . .
Perhaps Rita was a mind-reader. 'I'm single and have no interest in blokes whatsoever,' she said. 'I don't want a commitment, but I also don't want to sleep on my own tonight. That's why I'm here, making a fool of myself in front of the most attractive woman I've ever met.'
That's us sorted, then, Heather thought, feeling the usual surge of anticipation.
'I can't say I've no interest in blokes,' she said aloud, 'but I'm definitely not looking for one at the moment. That's why I'm here, fancying the pants off you.'
'We're Mike and Ike on that, then.' Rita laughed again. 'Let's see if we're totally attuned. Do you want to sleep on your own tonight?'
'No.' Heather grinned. 'And I'm not going to. I'm sleeping with you.'
*****
Marcia intercepted them on their way to the Dancing Area (aka the lounge). 'Oh good,' she said to Rita, 'you've made a friend.' Then, frowning at Heather: 'Behave yourself, you. She's only a bairn.'
Rita snorted. 'Listen to you, Marce! You never asked to see my birth certificate.'
'That's because I'm famed for my self-restraint. This one's famed for not having any restraint at all.'
'I know. That's why I asked her to dance.'
'Dance!' Marcia shook her head. 'Excuse me, I have to go make sure nobody's copulating in the Smoking Area. Or smoking in the Copulation Area, come to that.'
As their hostess left them the strawberry blonde smiled at Heather. 'Technically, I don't think two girls can copulate.'
'There are ways, I'm sure. And I'm sure Marcia doesn't really mind. Just as long as nobody's smoking and copulating at the same time.'
Dancing together was fun, if more than a little sweaty. The lounge was packed and very lively. At first the music was all by t.A.T.u. and in Russian. Then a new DJ must have gained control of the CD player because there was a sudden shift to k.d. lang. This resulted in a shift to quite intimate, body-to-body dancing. Heather took that as her cue to close in for a kiss. Rita wasn't in the least adverse. She welcomed her with open arms and a probing tongue. Later (a whole LP later) they broke for air.