Chapter 5

DECEMBER (Part 2)

LUKE'S VOICE

I was putting the finishing touches to the classroom when I heard the front door open. I'd hauled up a huge basket of pine logs and the fire was crackling happily in the grate. An electric Christmas tree twinkled, illuminating the small pile of presents under it. Assorted Christmas frivolities were draped over lintels and light fittings and a candelabra with five scarlet candles flickered on the table. I'd manhandled the two armchairs out of my bedroom and placed them in front of the fireplace. The effect was a room for two people to spend Christmas in. I slumped into one of the chairs and waited.

I heard footsteps, then Uli put her head round the classroom door. She stepped into the room and turned round slowly, looking at everything, then spotted me.

'Luke, what have you done?' I blew her a kiss.

'Happy Christmas to us. There's champagne behind the candelabra and we're going to drink a toast to ourselves any minute. How was your day?' She came and knelt beside me, putting her chin on the arm of the chair, looking thoughtful.

'Different and interesting.' I poured some champagne and she began to tell me. The spa was wonderful and the woman who'd been looking after had been so helpful and kind. She put the lights on to show me. Her hair had been subtly trimmed from its usual severe pageboy, and the effect was to minimise the girl and accentuate the woman. Her skin glowed, and her finger and toenails had been manicured and coloured. She looked gorgeous, and I felt my cock twitch longingly.

'One thing was odd though, ' she said. She was too caught up in the flow of her story to be embarrassed. 'After the massage she did my legs and armpits, really delicately, with scented wax, and then she asked me if I wanted the rest done. So I asked what she meant, and she looked at me ... down there, and said she'd never seen such a mess. She got a big book out and showed me pictures. I never knew people did their hair down there. I thought it just grew and that was it, but she told me that hair was fine but beards were for men and whiskers were for cats, not pussies. So I found one I liked and said OK, I'll have that one. It stung a little bit, the wax down there, I mean, and having scissors so close to my ... I was a bit nervous at first, but she was very careful. It feels really different, ' I smiled to myself.

'I bet it does. What else?' It had all been wonderful and the woman had given her a tray of things for lunch and a glass of wine and had talked to her as if she was grown up. I listened to her and was glad I'd tipped in advance.

'What about the shopping?' She bit her lip.

'I didn't buy anything. There was so much stuff and I don't really know what's what, so I bought a huge pile of magazines, and I'm going to look at them tonight and then I thought I could go shopping tomorrow.' I cheered silently.

The next day she arrived back at five, looking exhausted. I came up from the kitchen to say hello and couldn't help smiling. She was sitting on the bottom stair, her purchases piled round her, rubbing her feet and wincing. She heard my footsteps and looked up.

'Shopping is really hard work.'

'That's why men don't like it. Never trust a man who says he'll be happy to go shopping with you. He's a liar. Did you get what you wanted?' She smiled tiredly.

'I think so. I'm one huge ache. I spent the cab fare and had to get the bus back. I'm going to have a quick shower before class.' I put my hand up.

'No. you're going to have a long bath, and then we'll have supper, and then you can show me your clothes. You've grown up enough not to grumble about making the class up later. Go on up. I'll bring your parcels in a minute. I need a shower too.'

By seven-thirty we were sitting in the classroom staring at the fire and digesting. She'd eaten hungrily and we'd split a bottle of wine. She'd dressed properly after her bath but I'd just thrown on an old set of sweats.

'I thought I was going to die when I came in. It was good of you to put the lesson off. I promise I'll make it up when you say.'

'If you behave like an adult I'll treat you like an adult. Jesus, woman, you're nineteen. You can vote, leave home, go to prison, get married, anything you like. When am I going to get the fashion show?'

'Everything's on my bed, still in the bags. Come and see.' I shook my head.

'I want the full catwalk stuff. I'll go and fetch everything and you can change in my room and come through and model it for me.' She looked delighted.

'Really?'

'Of course really. Don't go away.' I came back loaded, and with her robe as well, dumped everything on my bed, and went back to my armchair.

The parade was worth it just to see her look of concentration as she explained each item. It seemed as if everything went with at least three other things, but the subtleties of the matter escaped me. I watched and applauded and she beamed and beamed. She was totally alive, fussing over the garments, comparing them for me. I interrupted her.

'You're loving this. Why don't you send off to some design schools? More fun than a Catholic university, I should think.' She stood stock still for a moment and then went on with her explanations. She didn't answer but I knew the seed had been planted.

Finally she ran down. She came out of the bedroom tying her robe round her and flopped into her chair. I got up and gave her a glass.

'Brandy and Tia Maria. It's too sweet but I drink it at Christmas because it's festive. Sip it slowly or it'll knock you out.' She sat and sipped and looked into the fire. She didn't speak and neither did I. After a few minutes she looked up.

'You're a very comfortable person to be with.'

'You're pretty good yourself.' She looked thoughtful again, then determined

'I'm going to show you some other stuff I bought, and I want your honest opinion about whether it's alright or not. And if it isn't I want you to explain why.'

'OK.' She went back into the bedroom and I sipped my brandy. Then she came back in shyly, and stood in front of me. My heartbeat accelerated. She was wearing a short cream silk camisole that reached to her hips, and a pair of wide legged French knickers. Her smooth young flesh glowed in the soft light and her face was serious. The camisole had a scalloped neck line that brushed the top of her breasts and the silk was fine enough to give a hint of the lushness that it covered.

'Is it alright? I love the way it feels, but I don't know when I could wear it.'

'Uli, it's beautiful, and it makes you look even more beautiful. It's something that a woman would wear for her lover.' She twisted her hands together.

'I sort of thought that. I bought some others that are more for everyday.' She hurried back into the bedroom.

The other sets weren't as erotic as the camisole; but more practical and chosen to go with specific outfits. She made me come into the bedroom while she slid in and out of her new clothes again, darting into the bathroom to change her lingerie, unselfconsciously pointing out why this bra went with this top and why these panties were good with that type of skirt. I sat on the bed and watched her.

'Uli, enough. None of it's vulgar, all of it's beautiful and so are you. I'm going to have another brandy and try to get my blood pressure down.' She blushed.

'I suppose I should cover up. But I haven't been embarrassed. You're different somehow, Luke. Thank you for being so patient.' I shuffled back into the classroom, trying to hide the bulge in my pants, and she began to put things back in their bags.

She came out and poured herself another brandy and Tia Maria, then sank into the chair opposite me. She'd put her robe back on and stretched her toes out to the fire. She examined her feet critically.

'I like the colour they did these, but I'm not sure about the fingers. You'd have to redo them every time you changed your clothes.' She sipped her drink. 'This stuff is nice. Luke, can I ask you something embarrassing?'

'Embarrassing for whom?' She smiled.

'Me, I suppose. You're the only man I've ever talked to except for my father and Karl. That's not normal, is it?'

'No. But it's not your fault, so go ahead: we're here and we're relaxed and we like each other. If I'm embarrassed I'll tell you, and if you are I'll take no notice and never speak to anyone about it.' She looked relieved.

'OK, then. Am I sexy?' I nearly spilt my drink.

'Yes. You don't realise it yet, and when you do you'll be dangerous, but yes. You're the sexiest woman I've met for a long time.' She nodded.

'People were looking at me in the shops and I felt uncomfortable when I noticed them doing it.'

'I look at you too. Does that make you uncomfortable?'

'It makes me feel funny inside sometimes. I've got another embarrassing question.' I looked quizzical. 'It's sort of personal too, but there's no-one else to talk to. I mean I go to school and it's the nuns and the other girls, and I come home and it's just Karl and Frau Ugly. The girls at school have their little gangs and boyfriends and all that, but I'm older than them and I'm supposed to be a bad influence, and I feel ignorant and they think I'm snooty.' She looked ready to cry.

'What are you worrying about?'

'About private things. Mother's no help, and Karl's my brother, and there are things I don't understand. I've read books and things but books don't answer questions.'

'Uli, I said we'd talk openly and I can see you're having trouble, so I'll tell you what I've noticed about you and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong, OK?' She nodded nervously and I went on. 'I think you're worried about your sexuality and whether you're normal. I know you masturbate, like everyone in the world does, and I think you probably play sexual games with Karl sometimes. And last of all, I'm sure you want to find out more about that part of yourself before you leave home, and I agree: if you don't you'll be a disaster area. Am I more or less right?' She was blushing scarlet.

'How do you know all that?'

'Well, the first part is easy, or you wouldn't have started talking about it. The games with Karl are a guess, but I've seen how you look at each other sometimes. And I've seen you masturbate. I watched you in the classroom once when you thought I was asleep.' She went even redder

'Why didn't you say anything?'

'Because it was a private thing and spoiling the moment for you would have been an intrusion.' She flung herself off her chair and landed in my lap. Her shoulders were shaking and she began to sob.

'I do it and I don't know if I'm a freak or not, and it's never the way I want it to be, and it makes me feel dirty afterwards. The nuns say... ' I interrupted sharply.

'Bugger the nuns. They know nothing at all about the real world and I bet they've been filling your head full of old fashioned nonsense about evil and sin. When I was watching you all I saw was a young woman giving herself pleasure. It was beautiful. Tell me about you and Karl.' She was still crying but she sat up and wiped her eyes.

'You're so calm about everything. It's a game I invented. We tell each other stories and touch ourselves while we're telling them. The one who's listening has to copy what the storyteller's doing. Once we showed ourselves to each other completely and I watched Karl squirt. But we haven't played it since then.'

'You're growing up, that's why. You sound completely normal to me, just criminally underinformed.' She shifted in my lap and I gasped.

'What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?' She sounded as if she was going to cry again.

'You caught my er, my ... bits and ... Guys are sensitive down there. 'She got up and looked down at me.

'I can see the outline of you through those trousers and I saw you the other day when I came into your room. Your thing's bigger than Karl's.'

'Penis or prick or cock, Uli. And you've got a vagina, or a pussy, or a cunt if we're talking dirty.' She looked at me cautiously and I could see the brandy had got to her.

'Can we play the game, Luke, so we can see each other properly? I mean I've seen you and you've seen me, but not to inspect.' She was serious and vulnerable and I couldn't bear the idea of hurting her. I took a deep breath. Temptation is a terrible thing.

'Inspect? OK, we'll pretend it's a biology lesson. But go as slow as you like, and if you want to stop that's fine. You're in charge.' She nodded and went to the table, poured herself another brandy and Tia Maria, and came back to the fire. I wondered if this was ethical and then thought to hell with it. Christmas comes but once a year.

'Sit on the floor in front of the fire and so will I, and I'll tell the story and you have to copy everything I do, OK?' I slipped onto the floor and settled myself and she did the same. She fiddled with her hair for a moment, then she picked up her glass and took a healthy swig, pulled the lapels of the robe apart, and let it slip over her shoulders. She clasped her hands over her breasts and looked at me expectantly. I pulled the sweatshirt over my head and copied her pose.

'I was sitting doing my maths homework and I could see you in the armchair. You looked so peaceful. Your book had slipped onto your lap.' Her hands were moving lightly over her breasts but she wasn't letting me see them yet. My prick was throbbing and I could feel it slowly engorging. She squeezed her hands together and her cleavage deepened as she moved her hands in slow circles, rubbing the insides of her breasts against each other. Then she cupped herself gently, lifting them away from her body. I touched my own nipples, feeling the hair on my chest rasp against my fingers and watched her. Her teats were the darkest rose colour, set in narrow areolas of a slightly paler shade. My cock was stabbing at the fabric of my pants, but I didn't move. There was a dreamlike quality to the room.

'I thought you were asleep, but I imagined that you weren't and I'd deliberately taken my panties off before I came to do my homework, so I was feeling all warm inside, and a little bit scared too, but in a nice way.' Her hands had begun twisting and tugging at her teats and her breathing was becoming faster. Suddenly she took her hands away from her body and stood up.

'I don't want to play the game this way. I want us to feel each other.' Before I could react she let the robe fall to the ground. She was naked and my prick jerked.

'You left your underwear off deliberately, Uli, didn't you? Go on, admit it, Miss Shy Little Thing.' I pointed a finger at her and she blushed from her breasts to her forehead.

'You know everything. Sometimes I think you're a mindreader.' She looked at the clock. 'It's almost Christmas. My Christmas wish is for you to touch me like I imagined you were touching me that evening. Please, Luke. You said it would be like a biology lesson.' Her voice was soft and I knew that if I reacted wrongly she'd be lost and ashamed. I smiled at her again.

'Come on then. Sit down between my legs and relax and I'll try to touch you the way you want. But first I want to see your new hairstyle properly.' She looked shy.

'I'm not really used to it yet. I was looking at it this morning. I think it makes me look more grown up.' She stepped towards me and thrust her pelvis forward, and I twisted my head up to see better.