I loved church. I loved the calm, the friendships, the joy of the Lord and knowing the love of Christ and that he would always be with me.
We belonged to a modern liberal church. As a child, Sunday School was like the brightest part of every week. Youth group was a wonderful safe place to grow and feel at home and the church my beacon and my parents my compass. Life for me felt charmed. I was sheltered from harm and protected by the naivety of youth and God's love.
Church was never heavy, never hard, never a chore.
My parents trusted and loved me and when I was 17 they allowed me to reach further into the world outside of family, church and school. With my best friends I went to the cinema, to parks, some parties, to the city, across town and we talked and we laughed. I felt very adult and every Friday or Saturday night I came home and thanked God for my day and my life.
I had a few non-church friends. One was named Chloe. Chloe was a bit rough and very wise on what I thought was the darker side of life. She was also full of energy and very positive. We shared that: I was positive about life, she was positive about fun.
I knew that Chloe smoked and drank. I also knew she hung out with the 'bad boys' at times and rumour had it, she had had sex. According to rumour she had a lot of sex, although I never knew that first hand and we never discussed it. Maybe it was just rumour.
I liked her and she liked me. Nothing else mattered. I trusted her as a friend and I was also attracted to her more 'sinful' style. She had not and ounce of faith in her. We were different, but felt close.
A week after my 18th birthday Chloe insisted we go to a bar for my first time. I was reluctant, but also excited by the idea. I prayed on it and talked to my parents and they had faith in me and encouraged me to put my trust in God and Chloe. That trust in Chloe may have been misplaced, but they did not know that at the time.
Saturday the 3rd of August 1997 is a day I will never forget. I sometimes think of it as Sinful Saturday or Sexual Saturday. Around midday on that day I walked the 15minutes to Chloe's house to spend the day and night.
When I arrived she was home alone as her parents had gone away for the weekend. They had a massive house with 5 bedrooms. I knocked on the front door and was met by Chloe who embraced me, took my bag and dropped it inside the door and then we walked to the shops.
I had not had an 18th birthday party so only a few of my friends had given me gifts. Chloe told me she had a special gift for me and led me into her hairdressers. The hairdresser was given instructions by Chloe to make me look 'hot'. I was a bit concerned about that and stressed that my hair was not to be cut, other than trimmed and it was not to be coloured.
We walked out of the salon 90 minutes later and I loved the way that I looked. My black hair was now so shiny and the natural waves were gone. It was dead straight and it seemed longer, beautifully shaped and also a little 'tarty'. I felt so glamourous.
Back at her house we began the process of preparation. Firstly we did each other's nails (Both blood red) as we watched Pretty Woman, which I had never seen before. I was taken by the beauty of the Julia Roberts. It was the most romantic and also the raunchiest movie I had ever seen.
Chloe poured me a glass of wine, a Sauterne. Her mother's favourite. She said I should begin with a sweet wine and I found it fruity and delicious. She drank something else with coke, but I was happy sipping that sweet nectar and enjoyed the buzz that settled over me.
We had an early dinner of Pizza in preparation for our big night out.
Chloe poured my second drink with a smile. I drank it slowly as we watched Julia Roberts get swept from her feet by Richard Gere. I felt very mellow, calm and relaxed. I also felt a little light headed and left most of my glass and got myself a glass of water. Chloe however, finished her third drink as the movie ended.
Then we went our separate ways to shower. Chloe took the bathroom and insisted I use her parents ensuite and insisted I use her mother's razor and showed me where the new blades were. I tried to tell her I would be ok but she was adamant and as she left the room she said "Pits, Pins and Pussy and I will check, so do it!"
I laughed, she laughed and she left.
I looked in the long mirror and was struck by how I looked: my hair, the colour in my face, my nails. I said a little prayer of thanks. I undid my cuff buttons, then my top button, then the next and then another. I felt a tinge of excitement watching myself undress. Revealing me to myself as though it were the first time.
I smiled and I saw that smile return from the mirror. I felt so attracted to my own image. That thought made me laugh and brought me back to reality. But, then I undid another button and another. Then I opened my shirt like I was opening a curtain to let the sun shine into my life. The shirt fell to the floor. I felt good.
I ran my hands over my tummy and then undid my bra from the front. It was as though I was revealing my breasts to myself for the first time. The bra fell away. My dark nipples were hard and were so proud and on show against my pale breasts.
I cupped my 34b breasts like I was nurturing a baby bird and gently felt them all over. All the time watching.
Long dark hair, bright nails, pale skin, proud dark nipples and flesh so smooth. My fingers roamed from my tummy to my neck, around my breasts and then over my breasts...feeling, fingering my nipples. As I watched.
I whispered "thank you lord."
I slid off my track pants and then stood and the image was ruined by my plain white panties. I looked at my reflection and smiled, then slowly I slid them down and stepped from them. I revealed my naked self to the mirror. I slid my fingers into the hair of my vagina and it felt beautiful, but Chloe's words came to me, "Pits, Pins and Pussy." I lifted my arms and saw a stubble. I reached for her mother's razor and turned on the hand held shower piece.
I soaped my vagina and then smoothed down my pubic hair. I slid the razor down a first pass mowing into the base of my pubic hairs. I was not a 'hairy' girl by any means and my pubic hair was on the fine side. I rinsed and soaped myself again and continued the process then took a new blade and finished with a sharp clean blade. I fussed around my labia and all around my vagina. I was hairless for the first time since I began growing pubic hair.
All done I soaped again and ran my hands over myself: my vagina, my inner thighs and all around my pubic region. It felt.....I felt amazing and I was feeling my arousal grow. I stopped myself afraid that I might lose control, get lost in masturbation and wet my hair!
10 minutes later I stepped from the shower: Smooth armpits and smooth pussy and a token effort on my 'pins' as I was wearing jeans out anyway. And, most importantly dry hair!
I looked at myself in the mirror and said a word I had never said before in my life "fuck."