Chapter 1

"That must be a weight off your mind," said Louise.

"Dead right," said Annette with force. "I just hope I'm too old for him by the time they let him out. I never want to see or hear from him again," she added with a shudder.

"I'm glad no one ever tried that on me," said Louise, "although there was one bloke who was chatting up Mum who used to look at me. He gave me the squirms."

Annette nodded sympathetically. "Um, Lou, can I ask you something a bit personal?"

"'Course you can. I'll tell you to eff off if it's too personal."

Annette smiled and then got serious again. "Lou, have you ever had an orgasm?"

"Ye-ah. Often. Why?"

"Well I heard my mum screaming a few nights ago and I thought she might be in trouble so I crept out onto the landing with my hockey stick to see if I could help her and all I could hear was Richard telling her how much he loved her. So next day I asked what she'd been screaming about and she said there were orgasms and orgasms and some were whoppers and made you scream. Well, I knew from sex-ed what orgasms were but I didn't understand the rest of it. What does one feel like?"

"You've never had one?" asked Louise incredulously.

Annette shook her head.

"Haven't you ever played with yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know. Down there."

Annette shook her head. "After 'that man'," she said, "I could hardly bear to touch myself down there except with loo paper and to wash myself."

"Didn't that give you any pleasure?"

"No. He made me think my fanny and things were dirty."

"Oh God, Tig (a nickname Annette had picked up due to the tigerish way she played hockey), you don't know what you've been missing."

Annette stared at her. "I always thought it was wrong," she said.

"Did your mum tell you that?"

"No but when 'that man' touched me he always told me not to tell anyone because it was wrong and people would say I was being dirty."

"The bastard!" said Louise with feeling. She went and booted up Annette's computer. Next she googled 'masturbation', selected Wikepedia and then 'female techniques'. "Read that," she ordered.

There was a small indistinct photograph of a woman playing with herself. Annette gasped but did as she was told. She discovered that masturbation was natural and practised by the vast majority of women. She read through the techniques but became confused.

"I don't understand what they're talking about," she confessed. "All the bits," she added blushing.

"Would you like me to show you?" asked Louise gently.

Annette blanched.

"I won't touch you," said Louise gently. "Just show you. OK?"

Annette nodded mutely. Louise took off her jeans and knickers, sat back against the pillows and opened her legs. Her sparse pubic hair was the same dark brown as that on her head.

"You've got more hair than me," whispered Annette.

"It's only recently started to thicken up. I may have to trim it for swimming next summer though." She parted it so that Annette could see her slit. "What you can see at the moment are the outer lips or labia majora..."

She led Annette through an anatomy lesson. By the end, both girls were flushed with excitement.

"W-would you show me how to do it?" Annette stammered.

"OK," said Louise nonchalantly. "Hey, why don't you sit opposite so that you can watch and copy me? You'll have to take your bottoms off though."

Annette's flush deepened but she did as she was told and moved into the same position as Louise with their feet touching.

"Now," said Louise authoritatively. "Gentle, feather light touches until you feel the need to press harder. First use one finger on either side and draw them up slowly from the bottom of your slit to the top."

"Oh, wow!" breathed Annette.

"Keep going." They both did.

"Hey," said Annette. "Your lips are opening."

"So are yours. Look. Now, keep doing what you are but use your first and fourth finger to do it and use your middle finger between the lips."

Annette did as she was told and then gasped and jerked as her finger ran over her clitoris.

"You don't want to touch your clit directly yet," advised Louise, "but use the other two to brush it on the sides."

They continued.

"Gosh! I'm getting all tingly and wet," gasped Annette.

Louise smiled knowingly. "It's beginning to build up," she said. "Find your hole with your middle finger and push it in. Spread the moisture as you go."

Annette whimpered as she did so. "How far in?"

"As far as you can unless you feel a blockage."

Annette slid her finger fully in and then looked expectantly at Louise.

"Nothing in the way?"

"No."

"It's all that hockey. Your hymen must have busted."

Annette's mind raced back through sex-ed and she recalled the talk about her hymen and virginity.

"Oh," she wailed. "Does that mean I'm not a virgin?"

"No, Luvvie," smiled Louise. "You need a cock inside you to lose that."

Annette stared at her. The thought appalled her and she paled.

"Oh, Tig, I'm sorry. That was gross but true." She giggled and put on a school-mistressy voice. "My dear, you will never lose your virginity unless you have sexual intercourse." Then, as her mother's daughter, "Unless he only has a weeny," and screamed with laughter.

Despite her embarrassment, Annette could not help but laugh too.