Hey, I was just going to have a shower...

No, it's OK, you can come in, I don't mind.

Stay and talk to me.

You know there was a time I could never have done this, stripped off in front of you, or any guy. I used to be really shy about my body. I hated any situation where I had to undress in front of anyone. Locker rooms were the worst - I felt all those other girls were staring at me.

You can probably imagine how I was with guys.

I mean, I liked boys a lot. Still do, as you know. Even had fun with a few of them ... you know what I mean. But that nakedness thing really freaked me out. I'd be like "sure, second base, third base, bring it on ... but let's do it in the dark." I was just afraid of being examined, and judged. You know.

Obviously I'm not so shy now. You're already aware of that, I suppose.

I guess that was one of the things that changed when I was at college. A lot of things changed then. Do you want to hear the story? I've got to warn you, it's rather sexual. I know how much you hate that stuff.

OK so picture me as an innocent 18 year old, living away from home for the first time. I'm taking it very seriously, studying hard. No time for boyfriends, though I wasn't a virgin by then.

Cast your mind back to the Storie Street dorms. I stayed there in my first year. Do you remember the place? Victorian made of brick, kind of run down. But do you remember the most significant fact? I'm sure you do.

It was all girls!

It was the only all-female dorm left. No guys allowed. So the girls who chose to stay there tended to be the more serious type, like me. If you wanted to party your way through the year you went somewhere else.

OK. So here's the story.

There was no air conditioning in that place, and it was one of those horrible muggy nights. I'd gone to bed around eleven and it must have been an hour or two later. I was basically just lying awake in bed, sweating. I decided to give up on trying to sleep for a while, and go for a shower. Maybe being clean and cool would help me sleep.

Now let me tell you about the showers in that place. Pay attention, because this actually matters. They weren't communal - thankfully, or I would never have showered. On my floor there was a shower room with three individual cubicles. They all had good thick shower curtains, so nobody could see you. It wasn't great, but it was private enough.

The only problem was that the cubicles were too small to bring your clothes and towel into. They'd get soaked. So I used to keep my towel hanging up outside the shower curtain, and my clothes on the bench on the opposite wall.

That gave me two problems to solve when I wanted to shower. First, I had to get undressed and get in the shower without being seen. Then I had to get back out.

So I usually had my shower late at night or early in the morning when no one else was there. When I was done I would peek out, make sure the coast was clear, grab my towel, wrap it round me, and then get dressed under the towel.

So anyway, there I am. It's after midnight. I'm in an all-girls dorm, having a relaxing shower.

My clothes and towel are outside. Then, all of a sudden I hear a male voice coming through the door! Let's just say, this comes as a surprise to me. But not so much as when I hear another one. And then another. There are three guys in the shower room with me!

My heart's beating like crazy and I feel like I can't move. I hear their big, loud voices echoing around me. They're happy, joking with each other, but I realize I don't understand the words they're saying. They're talking some other language. I think it's German or Dutch. Later I found it was German.

But either way, they sound very big, and very male. At this point I have no idea who they are or what they're doing there.

Then there's the sound of zippers unzipping and pants dropping to the floor, and I hear the shower curtains on each side of me being opened, and the water starting up. All the while they're bantering with each other, the two in the showers and the one outside.

I'm feeling very, very naked. And I'm horribly aware that my clothes are outside, where that guy is.

So I'm letting the water run over me, hoping they'll be gone soon, that they won't pay any attention to me. And at the same time, I have to admit I'm a little bit excited by the thought of those naked guys so close to me.

Then I'm hearing the word "tuch, tuch" over and over in their conversation.

The guy on the bench gets up. He steps towards my cubicle! I hear him say something about "tuch" again. I wonder if he's peeking in at me, but I don't want to turn around in case he is. But then he sits down again.

So the guys are having their showers, and I'm basically standing there, trying not to attract attention, wondering how to get out of this situation. I guess the guy left outside wasn't sure if there was actually anyone in my cubicle at all, because there was no movement, just the sound of running water.

After a little while I guess he convinced himself there was no one there, because he stood up again, said something like "sind see...", and pushed the shower curtain open a little to check.

Now I have to tell you, I don't think he had any idea there was a girl in there. When I heard the shower curtain move I looked over my shoulder and caught his expression. He was shocked! I bet my expression was a picture too. His eyes quickly flicked to my butt, then back to my face, and then without saying a word, he closed the curtain and sat back down.

So at this point I was a bit shocked and very embarrassed. But I thought I could still get out with some dignity.