A quick warning to the reader - I'm English, so I've used English spelling for this one.
The moons were just rising in the Summer sky, Clotho almost full, Atropos gibbous, Lachesis still below the horizon, the evening light blueing the sunset red and gold. When Jack Palin took him aside, Toby wondered for a moment what it was about, until Jack took the print of an email from his pocket and showed it to him. Ah - Club Eros!
"Toby, what do you know about this?"
"Club Eros?" said Toby. Jack nodded, mute. "Dave told me about it when he came home last year. What he said, it's a way to get the guys and gals together on a Friday night for a fuck, no strings, no commitment."
Jack's face was a picture. "You're not joshing me?"
Toby shook his head. "Nope. It's the real thing, apparently."
"Did you get an invitation to this briefing thing?"
Toby nodded, and grinned at his friend. "Yep, sure did."
"You going?"
"I am. Look, Jack, you're a normal, red-blooded, heterosexual male, right?" Jack nodded. "This offers you the guarantee of meeting a girl every week, and the knowledge that the meeting is so that you both can get laid. What's not to like?"
Jack grinned. "When you put it like that, nothing. I'm not ready for commitment, anyway, but I surely do like the idea of getting laid."
"Come on, we only have ten more minutes until class. We'll go to the meeting tomorrow together, okay?"
*
Toby looked around, wondering if he was doing the right thing, or a little out of his mind. From the looks on some of the faces, others were wondering the same thing. At the front of the room, Peter Chelis stood up, waiting a moment for the hubbub of conversation to die. He looked around at the expectant faces, and grinned.
"Welcome to Summer University. More particularly, welcome to Club Eros," he said, "perhaps better known to a lot of us as The Sex Society." He waited a moment to let the cheer die away. "I'd just like to remind you of what it's all about. About ten years ago, at the turn of the twenty-second century, two students at this fine university were discussing sex. As we all know, sex is the student's prime focus at university. Education comes a poor second. Yeah, right. Calm down. Anyway, they were discussing sex. Our male founder remarked to his lady friend, in bed, just after they'd been enjoying each other, asking her why couldn't things be simplified? Why couldn't the girls admit they were just as horny as the men? And she said, we do, but you guys think we're sluts if we admit it. We enjoy sex just as much, or more, as you men do.
"It took a few more conversations before they came up with the idea of random pairing. Male A is linked with female J, male C with female A, and so on, for a night of sex. No strings, no recriminations. Next week, a different partner. Whether any of the couples got together at other times was up to them, but on a Friday night, with no classes on a Saturday, the men would link up with that Friday's woman, and both of them would know that the other expected sex.
"That first experiment, there were nine guys, and seven girls. Which meant that each of those men got to sleep with each of those girls at least four times during the college year. At the end of the year, five couples were in a permanent relationship, but they had kept their promises for the Fridays. The following year there were more guys, and more girls, and the tradition has continued.
"With the advances in medicine, and the contraceptive implant for both male and female at puberty, the conventional anxieties have gone, too. Which brings us to now. Here at Summer University we are now beginning a new scholastic year, so this year's cohort for Club Eros is being established. Gentlemen, there are thirty-three of you here, thirty-three who have expressed interest in taking part in this year's Club Eros. My contact amongst the ladies tells me that twenty-seven of them are attending the girls' briefing. Now, it's time for the rules. They're simple, but they're a contract of honour, and anyone breaking them will be declared a non-person. Believe me, you don't want that!
"After I've explained them, anyone who wishes can withdraw, no questions asked, no stigma, but those who stay and opt to take part are obliged to follow the code. In a moment, after I've explained the rules, those remaining will be given details of a web site. This is a private site, and only members of Club Eros are permitted. There is a nominal charge for everyone of fifty credits, for maintenance. When you access the web site, you will be asked to choose a name by which you will be known to the system. Only to the system, I emphasise, not to anyone else." Chelis looked around, spotted a raised hand. "Yes?"
"Known to those running the site, too, surely?"
"Good question, Andy, but no. The system is automatic. Any computing student who wants to verify that is welcome to check it, but it has worked, I'm told, for the past seven years without problems. Okay, to continue, you choose a name by which you will be known to the system. If any of you choose the same name, whoever was first gets it, and the system will ask the other to choose again. With me so far? Good.
"Okay, as soon as all of the names are on the system, they will be sorted, or perhaps that should be
un
sorted, into random order, and linked with the list of girls. The first name on the men's list will be linked with the first on the girls' list, the second with the second, and so on, and the names will advance one each week, until each of you guys has had every girl on the list once, then it repeats. Any questions? Yes, Adnan?"
The speaker was slight, dark. "Yeah. If there are say, thirty guys, but only twenty-six girls, what happens to the four guys drawn last?"
"They're celibate that week!" Chelis grinned, waiting for quiet. "No, you can relax, not quite that bad. The girls ask for volunteers from last year's group to make up the difference. You don't mind fucking an older woman, do you?"
"Shit, no!" said Adnan, grinning, as he sat.
"Any other questions?" said Chelis? "No? Okay, then, every guy has a girl, and none of those girls will be virgin, not technically, although they may lack experience. Like a lot of you, I suspect." Chelis waited until the laughter died down before continuing. "The next stage is an email contact, which will be sent to your personal comm unit. You will be given a girl's code name, and a location, and a time, which by agreement will be between twenty-hundred and twenty-two hundred. You will present yourself at that location at the specified time, and you and your girl will then have sex, because, remember, that is the primary function of Club Eros, bringing consensual partners together for sex without strings. Any other questions? Yes, Will?"
"What if we can't stand each other?"
Chelis laughed. "Tough. It happens, but it's rare. Remember you're both there for the same thing. We have aphrodisiac pills available, but experience tells us they're rarely needed, because both partners are usually horny as hell!" He looked around again. "Yes, Adolo?"
"Names? Real, or Club Eros?"
"Up to you and your partner. Inevitably, you will already, or will soon, know some of the girls from classes, or even from home. Remember, too, that we have some older students, and that includes among the women. Some of them join in. Three years ago, one of the most popular of the women was getting close to forty. She had experience, she had skill, and she loved young cock!" He waited again for the laughter to die down. "Any more questions? Yes, Zack?"
"Commitment? Do we have to see this thing through?"
"Yes, you do. Whatever other agreement you may come to with any particular girl, you turn up for your Friday meetings. The girls are making the same commitment. You only commit for this year. Second year and on, you make your own way, or form a private group of your own. Any more questions? No. Okay, anyone who wants out, go now."
Toby sat back, looking around, seeing only three or four making their way out. He smiled, wry, recognising one of them at least as a self-avowed gay. 'What the fuck was he here for anyway?' he wondered. The door closed behind the departees, and Peter Chelis did a quick head count.
"Okay, guys, there are twenty-nine of you left. On your way out, pick up an envelope from Dave at the door. It has web site details. Over the next week, log in, set up your account, and don't forget the address we send your contact data to. The system starts on the Friday of the following week. You can expect your contact details on the Wednesday. For now, guys, goodnight, and happy fucking!"
Toby stood, joined the queue and collected his envelope, making his way out into the cool night, breathing deeply of the scented air from the night-flowering Alvan plants. A hand touched his shoulder, and he turned. Jack.
Jack grinned. "Coming for a beer?"
In his room, later, Toby opened his envelope, logged onto the website. Discreet, subdued, little evidence of what was behind it. A name? What to choose? He dithered for a while, rejecting things like 'stud' and 'dick-meister'. A grin crossed his face, and he typed in his choice. 'Optimist.' That was him, for sure. His comm beeped. Incoming email. Already? Ah. From Chelis.
