Chapter 4

Sian quickly nipped over to the Union after breakfast on Thursday morning, and reported back to us that the band for the Freshers' Ball that year was going to be Steeleye Span, promoting their new album 'Parcel of Rogues'.

We all liked their music, and thought that Maddy Prior had an amazing voice, so we quickly agreed to go en masse, and I went straight off back to the Union and bought our tickets.

There were a reasonable number of unsold tickets left when I got there, but with only two days to go before the concert, it wasn't worth taking the chance. At the beginning of the year, with everybody flush with money, the concert was going to be a sell-out.

Heck, even the very sugary Cliff Richard would have sold every ticket for the first concert of the year, despite labouring with the huge disadvantage of belonging to our parent's generation. His song 'Congratulations' had blighted my teenage years - perhaps blighted is too strong a term, but it still bugged me.

As I had promised, I got a ticket for Malcolm as well, and dropped it off to him on the way back, also inviting him to pop by the house for a cup of tea later in the afternoon.

When I bought the tickets, I had also picked up a souvenir 'Parcel of Rogues' tee shirt for my sister Jen, to send to her as a surprise present, to remind her that I loved her and was thinking of her.

I really hoped that she wasn't too homesick in her first week at Reading, but I knew from my own experience the previous year just how frantically busy, yet incredibly lonely, the initial few days at University could be. I remembered how good it had been to get a letter from home, telling me by its very arrival that I wasn't forgotten.

I wondered if Jen would manage to meet a nice lad that week, as all the Freshers trooped around Reading together to explore their new surroundings. I wasn't sure that she would recognise any romantic approach; we were both fairly shy and retiring (neither of us was ever going to be the life and soul of the party, as Mum put it), and although we could, and would, be pleasant enough if people tried to strike up a conversation, neither of us went out of our way to make friends.

I was fairly confident that she would identify, and avoid, the second-year lotharios preying on the innocent new girls; I had warned her several times about that menace. I had no fears on that score.

If she did happen to come across a decent boy, Adrian and I had probably taught her enough about sex that she would be able to train him up as a good lover. And if she did have any questions about educating her new man, I was sure that Julie would happily answer them!

That got me thinking.

I decided to set Vee and Julie a mission, and told them about it over lunch.

"Julie, do you remember that I originally intended you to take Adrian's cherry when the twins arrived for that weekend?"

"Yes, I do, but I still think it was better letting the twins be the first for each other."

"Yup, I quite agree, but it didn't resolve the question. I still want you to deflower a virgin, if that is the right term for setting you on some innocent young lad. I thought the Freshers' Ball might be the ideal time."

She looked astonished. Okay, my idea had come to me like a bolt from the sky, and it was the first she had heard of it.

"Is this just another perverted fantasy of yours, Jon, or is there some reasoning behind it?"

"I just think you should experience the feeling of taking someone's virginity; I still feel so proud that you entrusted me with yours, though it may not be quite the same when you turn a boy into a man."

Sian butted into the conversation.

"When I finally coaxed Jon into my bed, it did feel a bit special to have a virgin, even though the sex between two beginners was pretty woeful. Now that you actually know what you are doing, you ought to be able to give a fit young lad a night to remember!"

Vee also spoke up.

"I lost my virginity to another virgin when Jeff and I first did it, and it was pretty disappointing for both of us - we couldn't understand what all the fuss over having sex was about! Mind you, after these holidays, I'm now not at all certain that Jeff ever will understand that. I wouldn't mind trying to train up a virgin myself!"

Julie still looked uncertain.

"But won't you mind me screwing someone else, just out of curiosity?"

"Not a bit, actually I think it will do you a lot of good! You really enjoyed training Adrian, and breaking in a boy from scratch could be great fun for you."

She stared at me, with a quizzical expression in her beautiful eyes. She obviously decided to humour me and play along with my joke.

"But how am I going to find a really nice boy with excellent manners and a ten-inch cock, who can give my ovaries a proper razzling?"

"That, my darling, is something I cannot possibly advise you on! You'll have to work that one out for yourself, but without getting yourself arrested for sexual assault, please."

She harrumphed at me. She didn't seem at all excited by my idea.

Vee, on the other hand, was now looking a little mischievous. I was pleased to see some sparkle coming back into her eyes; she hadn't been her usual self at all.

We then chatted generally about what needed doing around the flat before term started; we agreed on a major shopping trip for food the next morning, with all hands on deck to carry the goods back home.

It was much cheaper to buy things like rice in bulk from the Asian supermarket, and with four of us to eat it, it was worth buying a seven-pound bag of staple ingredients at a time. The catering size pack of a thousand teabags was also well worth getting; at our rate of consumption, we needed at least one a month.

I told the girls the story of when Mum had proudly brought back from the cash and carry a seven-pound tin of grapefruit segments in juice, and served them up for breakfast, and for dessert that evening, and breakfast the next morning, until even she was heartily sick of grapefruit. Dad had refused to put the remaining half-tin on his compost heap, saying that citrus fruit messed up the delicate chemical balance, and had flushed them down the toilet.

"Don't worry, Jon, we don't want anything like that in bulk, just the basics!"

"And no half-hundred-weight sacks of onions or potatoes, either! I like my liver and onions and mashed potato just as much as the next man, but even with four of us, we won't get through them before they start rotting in the sack."

"No chance, love, if you think Julie and I are going to lug half our weight of vegetables around town, you've got another think coming! We're taking you and Sian as the beasts of burden, and there's probably going to be quite enough other stuff for you to carry!"

When the bell rang at half-past-three, I suddenly remembered my invitation to Malcolm, and went down to let him in. The girls needed no further encouragement to put the kettle on again, and Malcolm endeared himself by having brought a packet of chocolate biscuits with him. We all sat around the kitchen table as the water boiled.

He had been up to the Chemistry building again, and gave me back a couple more circulars from my pigeonhole.

One of them advertised a walking trip in the Black Mountains the next weekend; the Departmental mini-bus was taking a group of twelve for a days hike, with lunch at a pub.

Malcolm had looked a little nervous to me when I had let him in, so I wasn't greatly surprised when he addressed Sian.

"Sian, you know when we were watching the cricket back in the summer, that you said you really liked walking, I thought, ummm, would you perhaps like to come along with me to the Black Mountains next Saturday, please?"

She beamed at him.

"Thank you, Malcolm, I'd love to! I haven't got proper walking boots any longer, I've grown out of my old ones, but I'd really enjoy that! I've heard that the Black Mountains are absolutely lovely, so yes please!"

He looked massively relieved. I suspected that he'd really had to steel himself to take the big step of asking Sian out.

"Great! I'll nip back in a minute, and put our names on the list."

Julie and I tried not to get caught exchanging a satisfied smile; Malcolm had now taken the first step, and Sian had clearly been pleased to be asked. We had thought for some time that they would go well together, but it was a decision that they had to take for themselves. If either of them noticed us actively matchmaking, we'd rock the boat, and it probably wouldn't happen.

Malcolm didn't stay too long; he was eager to nip back to the notice board and get their names safely on the list of twelve who would definitely be going, rather than risk being one of the reserves in case somebody dropped out. Sian saw him downstairs; she was back in a moment, and making another pot of tea.

Julie and I went out for a short walk to get some fresh air, and to discuss in private the budding romance between Sian and Malcolm. We agreed to say nothing to Sian, but Julie coached me on my responses should Malcolm ask me anything about her - I could truthfully tell him that she was an extremely nice girl, that she seemed interested in him, and that I hoped they could become good friends.

Of course, if Sian asked me about Malcolm, I would be able to truthfully give him an identical reference and recommendation!

Sian made us all cheese and ham omelettes for supper; they were very good, but because she could only cook one omelette at a time in the frying pan, the meal was a little disjointed: Vee, who was served first and urged to eat it while it was still hot, almost had an empty plate before Sian had finished cooking and serving her own.

After we had washed up, I showed Julie the tee shirt that I had bought for Jen. She thought it was an excellent idea, and added a little note of her own:

'Darling Jen, This is to keep you warm in bed until you come down and share our bed one weekend. Jon has kissed the bit where one nipple will touch, and I have kissed the other! Can you tell which? Lots of love, J&J'

I chuckled as I read that.

"That should get her nicely worked up! You are going to have your work cut out when she does finally get to experiment with your body! I think that she's going to be VERY enthusiastic."

"Goody, I can't wait! Orgasms from both my boyfriend and his sister - can it get any better than that?"

"If I remember rightly, you've tried that with Adrian and Sheila?"

"And it was utterly wonderful! We were painting the shutters, and had to wait for the undercoat to dry before we could put on the first coat of gloss, so we went back to bed for an hour. They worked really well as a team, Adrian kissing my top half, and Sheila the bottom half, and Adrian said afterwards that I'd come like a steam train!"

"We'll have to make sure we do that with them again, then!"

"Oooh, yes please!"

"And then you and I will teach Jen how to do that sometime."

"NOW you are talking!"

We found some brown paper and string, and wrapped up the tee shirt to post to Jen.

We all had a cup of tea and a piece of toast in the kitchen before going to bed; it was so good not to have to skulk in the bedrooms so as not to upset Bryony and Rebecca, their somewhat staid flatmates from the previous year.

I felt that I could get used to being with my three female flatmates all the time!

Having said that, the pace of life so far had been a bit too fast for my liking - I had been back nearly forty-eight hours, and had fucked Vee the first afternoon, Sian the second, and Julie in between.