Chapter 1

"Yeehaaaaaaa!" whooped Kim McCall as she ran down the steps of the dorm, a sound that was echoed all over the sprawling college campus as students celebrated the end of the Spring Term. Jerking open the passenger door of the battered Dodge Dart before her, she threw the bags she carried into the back seat. Leaping into the front seat, she pulled the door closed and looked at the driver.

"Let's go!" The black-haired coed demanded.

"Your wish, fair maiden, is my command," replied Kim's roommate Pam Maguire.

"How long is it going to take us to get there?" Kim asked.

"We'll get there before dark."

"How about the others?" Kim pried off her tennis shoes and curled up in the seat.

"They'll meet us there. The map is in the glove box by the way. try not to get us lost."

"Why do they call this the 'glove-box'?"

"Goodness, Kim, how would I know?"

This was going to be fun. David Woods and his girlfriend Beth Robley, fellow Theatre students of Pam, had found an old rambling house for rent at the shore. Two hundred dollars a week was a fairly big chunk in the mid-60's so they had looked for others to share the cost. Two male friends, Brian Wright and Stan Thompson had signed up as had Sherri Middleton and Laurie Daniels. All were known to each other and all got along. Their rental actually ran from Saturday to Saturday but the owner had told Dan that he had no problems with them coming down on Friday as no one was currently in the house. The group had been so pleased they had dug deep enough to afford to stay for two weeks.

The two girls settled down for the trip. Kim opened Pam's tape case and popped an 8 track cartridge into the player. She braced her feet up on the dashboard as the sound of one of Pam's Broadway musicals came through the speakers.

One, two, three, four," she crooned as she tapped with her left foot. "Five, sex, seven, eight," followed the right.

Pam grinned. Her friend always claimed the reason she could perform so well as a cheerleader and a dancerette was because she put the music and movements into mathematical formulas. Well, whatever it was, it worked. Pam had nearly tumbled more than once during a track meet because her attention was drawn to the swaying body of her roommie and lover. In fact, she had a bit of a time keeping her eyes on the road. Finals for both of them had been challenging and kept them from doing much more in bed together than just sleeping when the opportunity arose.

The drive took hours, but the girls enjoyed it, swapping drivers every so often and keeping the music going. They had brought a cooler with soft drinks and sandwiches, stopping once at a roadside park to picnic. They had also enjoyed the rapt attention paid to them by a carload of Northern college boys but drew the line at accepting the groups invitation to go off into the bushes somewhere. The guys had been good-natured about their refusal and offered them a six-pack of beer "for the road".

It was just about dusk when the girls swung onto the island. Kim peered up at the road signs and down at the directions and brightened. She gave rapid-fire commands that Pam followed until they pulled up in front of a rambling old two-story house.

"There's Dan's car." Pam pulled up in the side yard beside the other vehicle and parked. By the time they got out of the car Beth was standing on the front porch and waving to them.

"Come in! You are going to love this place."

Pam and Kim grabbed their bags and followed Beth into the house. Both girls blinked and shared a long "Ohhhhhhhh" as they stood in the hallway.

"The house dates from before the turn of the century." David joined the three girls. "Isn't it great?"

All three girls agreed. Beth had already seen the house but Pam and Kim walked slowly through the lower floor, admiring the high ceilings, the plastering and the hand-crafted woodwork of the doors, the wainscoting and the floors.

"This is gorgeous!" exclaimed Kim.

"Yes." David smiled. "This place belongs to a friend of my Father's, which is how we were able to rent it. We'll have to cover some ground rules later when everyone is here. In the meantime, there are four bedrooms upstairs and you all might want to pick one out. Beth and I have the one farthest away from the stairs but you're welcome to any of the other three." A smile tugged at his lips. "I do assume you'll want to room together, unless one of you has developed something recent with Brian or Stan."

Pam laughed. "Nope." She winked. "But who knows what the future will bring?"

The pair scampered up the stair and started examining the bedroom. Kim was in favor of the one next to David and Beth's room as it was closest to the bathroom. Pam pointed out that it was pretty small and they should look at the other two before making a decision.

Kim was studying the next bedroom. There was one disadvantage she spotted immediately that it shared with the first one. Twin beds. True, they had them at their dorm room, but she and Pam had long ago pushed them together. Even on nights when the pair didn't have sex they both preferred sleeping close together. It was comfortable.

"Kim, come here," Pam's voice echoed down the hallway. Following her friend's voice, the young Canadian found herself in a corner room, her roommate throwing open windows and all but dancing around a huge bed, covered in a flowery quilt.

"Look at this," crowed Pam, dragging Kim to the front window. "There's the beach right down there. And we might not be near the bathroom but we're right at the top of the stairs. Its perfect!"

The girls rushed to get their bags and claimed the room for their own. Not long after that the other four arrived, having driven two cars but convoyed together. Everyone settled in and then wandered down together to the small living room in the front corner of the house.

Everyone took a seat as David explained the house rules. They were pretty simple. Keep everything neat and clean, no drugs, no damage. The refrigerator had a few items in it but they would have to stock it as a group. Arrangements were made about washing dishes and cooking and shopping. The usual deposit on the house was double what they were paying but because David was known by the owner he had allowed them to skip it based on David's solemn promise they would behave. They all agreed, at least as far as the house was concerned. How they behaved with each other was of course a different story.

David also showed them the beach below. They had unlimited access to the public parts, which incidentally included a big bon-fire pit just a few hundred feet down from where they could get to the sand. But there were private sections to be found if they roamed far enough and those were to be avoided. He did give a little grin as he pointed out the nearest house was some distance and that if they kept things down to a dull roar they wouldn't be bothering anyone.

That night the group feasted on pizza and beer in the living room. Carefully. They relaxed and listened to music from the reel to reel tape player that Stan had set up. there was a surprise for Pam. Kim had made a recording of the group's Spring theatre production "Once Upon a Mattress". Normally Pam worked behind the scenes or in bit parts, but the role of Princess Winifred called for athleticism and she had been cast in the part. She had loved it and was touched her friend had taped it for her.

When Pam's songs came up the whole group belted them out. Pam got carried away and reenacted the dance scene from "The Spanish Panic". Kim leaped up and danced it with her, then the rest joined in as they had all worked on the production. Gasping for air and with laughter they all fell back into their seats after the music ended.

Brian produced his guitar and they all sang the folk songs that were so much a part of the times. As the evening wore on, Sherri moved over to sit beside Brian and Laurie shared the couch with Stan. David sat on the floor, his back against that same couch and Beth snuggled against him. And not a single eyebrow was raised as Pam and Kim shared a big over-stuffed orange armchair, with Kim practically sitting in Pam's lap.

The theatre group had a ripe reputation among the general student population for being wild. Kim had discovered that reputation was extremely overblown. Yes, they liked to party, but compared to the run-of-the-mill frat party they were basically sedate. Sure people got drunk and people got high and couples often slipped off together. But there were never bodies scattered all over the place throwing up or half-dressed or anyone screaming "Look at me! I can chug an entire six-pack without taking a breath!" Instead, the party was mellow and relaxed and fun. Eventually the singing faded away and couples began to drift upstairs. David announced he would pick up and turn everything off.

The two girls yawned as they got ready for bed. Both tended to sleep only in a long t-shirt. Pam was ready first. She stood by one of the open windows, her hands on her hips.