01. More than I can Chew...

This is a very slow burn. No juicy bits in this chapter, but please don't let THAT put you off... plenty to come! My grateful thanks to @DawnDuckie for their invaluable help and insight.

The alarm went off. Hang on... it was Saturday! Oh, that's right, I'm off to the University of Bath! I hopped out of bed and headed for the shower. Mum was already in the kitchen when I appeared, so I gave her a hug. "Morning, Mum!"

"Good morning, sweetheart! Excited?"

I faked a huge yawn, "Nah, just another day!" She laughed and ruffled my damp hair. "Where's Dad?

"Putting our stuff into the car." Once they'd dropped me at the University, they were going to head back up the M5 to Cheltenham for a short break. The locum was already ensconced in the spare bedroom, and Mum and Dad had shown her the ropes over the last couple of days. Part of me almost wished I wasn't going, the locum was really quite attractive, and twice I had seen Mum raising her eyebrow at me when she caught me surreptitiously sneaking a peek at her bum. Well... she did like tight trousers!

Dad came in just as I was pouring out coffee and filling a bowl with cereal, "Hi Dad!" I hugged him, too. I loved my parents, and I was going to miss them terribly, but as Mum had said a couple of days ago, I needed to get out into the world and start to find out what it was all about, from the reasonably safe environment of a university.

I knew exactly what she meant; I had come out to them on my 4th birthday... oh yeah, I was born on February 29th, so I only had a "real" birthday once every four years, which amused me no end... and as I had pretty much expected, there was no drama, no histrionics, just calm acceptance and a big hug from both of them. Mum had quizzed me a bit on how I knew I was a lesbian, and when I explained about the total lack of emotions with boys, and the fluttery feelings with girls, she nodded, and that was more or less that, although she did warn me that I could possibly experience changes in the way I felt about my sexuality. There was no change in the way we all interacted, still lots of hugs and cuddles, lots of banter and shedloads of love. I knew they were proud of me, and it gave me tremendous confidence.

All my stuff had been packed into the car yesterday, and it was just a case of opening the gates, turning immediately left over the bridge, and driving down the valley to the main road. We picked up the M6 at Penrith, and I stuck my earbuds in and settled down for a few hours of Springsteen, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris, Peggy Seeger... eclectic tastes, for sure.

Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham disappeared into the rear-view mirror, and we stopped for lunch at one of the motorway services. The food was monumentally forgettable, and we headed south to the M5 and Bristol, accompanied by Rhonda Vincent, Kendall Carson, Dolly Parton, and the Cherryholmes.

Negotiating Bath was easy, but the University campus was a nightmare! It had clearly been set up with vehicular access as a secondary priority, and while that's great if you are walking everywhere, trying to get within a reasonable distance of my Hall of Residence was difficult. Dad managed it, and we didn't have to lug my cases too far.

I signed for my keys and we went up to the eighth floor. I'd been lucky to be allocated one of the single rooms, but I was a bit taken aback by how tiny it was - minute fridge and microwave oven, wardrobe, small chest of drawers, small desk, one chair, single bed - hmm, that was going to take some getting used to - and not a lot of room for anything else. There were cork boards on the walls for pinning posters and pictures if I wanted, and the concrete breeze blocks of the wall had been painted in a neutral creamy colour, but it was clean and had its own tiny shower room. It was fine, I was here to get a degree, not live in the lap of luxury!

There was a knock on the door and a girl poked her head around the door, blue eyes, curly ginger mop of hair and a lovely smile, "Hi, I'm Ginny Taylor, I'm next door. When you've settled in, give me a knock and we can go exploring, if you like." Yeah, I LIKE!

"Hi Ginny, I'm Charlotte Watson. That would be great, thanks... give me ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" said Dad with that deadpan look that said he was about to wind me up again, "You're only allowing ten minutes for your poor devoted parents to say goodbye to their only beloved daughter that they aren't going to see for months?"

I grinned and rolled my eyes at Ginny, who giggled, and I hugged Dad and said, "Make that fifteen, Ginny!" Dad cuffed me gently and ruffled my hair and Mum "tutted" and shook her head with a broad smile.

It was over half an hour later that I knocked on Ginny's door, looking suitably repentant, "Sorry, Ginny!"

"Oh, no worries, it took me an hour and a half to get rid of my mum this morning!" she laughed. "Was that your Mum and Dad?"

"Yeah," I said. "They're brilliant, so patient, and I really was a little shit when I was younger!"

Her eyes went big, "Oh, what? Like, trouble with the police or something?"

"Not really, but the village policeman brought me home loads of times, soaking wet, where I had fallen in the river trying to catch sticklebacks! Or I'd been caught up neighbours' fruit trees stealing the apples or pears!"

"You live in a village, Charlie?" I growled, and she looked alarmed.

"Sorry, Ginny, I don't like being called Charlie, that's a boy's name, and yes, I live in a village near Windermere in the Lake District. My Mum and Dad are the local doctors."

"Oops, sorry! It's gorgeous round there, you are so lucky! I've only ever been once and it was full of tourists." I think the irony of her statement had escaped her! "Anyway, let's go and find out a bit more about the place where we are going to be for the next three years."

After a couple of hours and what seemed like a lot of miles, we found ourselves in the cafeteria as the sun was going down. As we sat down with our food, I grumbled to Ginny, "It's just typical, isn't it? I'm doing Mechanical Engineering and my Hall is about as far away as it can possibly be!"

"Well, the walk will keep you fit, Charlotte... I'm going to get so fat, eating like this and my department just across the bridge."

I took a leaf out of Dad's book and put a deadpan face on. "Have you ever considered eating less, Virginia?" She glared at me for a moment, and then realised that I was pulling her leg, and laughed. "Oh, I play badminton a lot, I'm in the County 2nd team back home, so I don't think it's going to be a major issue, but for mass catering, the food's not bad at all!"

As we ate, we talked about the various things we had discovered; tomorrow, Sunday, was a slack day, to let late arrivals get themselves sorted out, but Monday was the start of Freshers' Week. Ginny's elder brother, Tim, had told her that it was almost a week-long party, copious amounts of alcohol and local bands. During the daytime, you got your timetables, book lists, bought your textbooks and stationery, and joined the various clubs and societies that took your fancy.

I wasn't at all sure about the "copious amounts of alcohol". I'd never been a drinker, after I'd had a large swallow from Dad's beer one Sunday evening when I was five or six. It was horrible; it was bitter, and the bubbles went up my nose, and I had nearly gagged on it. I had rushed into the kitchen and spat the remains of my mouthful into the sink, coughing and retching to the sound of both my parents laughing. I roared back into the living room, furious, and Dad picked me up and gave me a cuddle, which made me stop being angry immediately. "It's definitely an acquired taste, Charlotte, and too much of it can make people do silly things. I won't complain if you never drink again, but I'll bet you do... eventually!"

"Uh-uh!" I shook my head emphatically, "Never, never, never! It's disgusting!"

I grinned at the memory and said, "I'll probably give the alcohol a miss, but the music sounds just up my street."

"Not a drinker, hey?" said Ginny.

I shook my head. "Plenty of opportunities to, but I never really fancied it much. A glass of white wine perhaps, but that's about it."

Ginny laughed, "Definitely not a proper student, then. Students live on beer and noodles, according to Tim!"

I pulled a face, "I'm going to dehydrate very quickly then!"

We finished our meal and headed back to the Hall. Ginny decided that she was going to catch up on her social media accounts. I grabbed a towel and my swimming costume and headed back out to investigate the University's Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The following morning, I came back from my run to find Ginny knocking on my room door. She looked at me with a mixture of horror and surprise, and said, "You do know it's Sunday morning, don't you?"

"Yes... why?"

"Nobody, but NOBODY, goes running on a Sunday morning, Miss Watson!" she said with a huge grin.

"I'm the exception to the rule, Miss Taylor!" I retorted, returning her smile. I wondered how you could tell whether someone was gay without actually asking them, and knowing my luck, I'd probably ask the wrong person.

"I'm going for some breakfast... you coming?"

"Eww! No way, gotta have a shower first. Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll join you." I'd heard that some people had a gaydar thingie. Clearly, I did not... or I was casting my eyes on the wrong people.

"Nah, bang on my door when you're ready, Charlotte. We'll go together." A line from a Bill Withers song jumped into my head: 'just one look at you, and I know it's gonna be, a lovely day'! I smirked to myself as I got into the shower... yeah... right!

I wondered whether I should shave. Wouldn't want to be an unkempt jungle... bah! Who was I kidding? I needed to find a girlfriend first, but when... not if... when I did, well who knew what might happen?

I towelled off and caught my damp hair in a long ponytail, using several evenly spaced elastics to get a wave when it dried, and banged on Ginny's door. "Come on Taylor, there's sausages with your name on going cold!"

Ginny had checked on the University website and found that there was a band playing that evening in the Students' Union. We decided that it might be worth checking it out, especially as it was free. Ginny also said that booze was cheaper in the Union, but I wasn't overly impressed. I remained unimpressed for the entire evening. The band was truly awful, the drummer couldn't keep the beat, and the singer couldn't carry a tune, although I'm not entirely sure that there was a tune for him to carry!

Shortly after nine, they took a break and a DJ came on. I hadn't thought that things could get any worse... but they did. Ginny was deep in conversation with a tall, dark-haired guy, and there seemed to be lots of smiles and little touches going on; oh well, there's my love life out the window. I grinned to myself and wondered where I had managed to get the idea that everybody at Uni was going to be gay... I realised that I had been looking at every girl as a potential girlfriend, especially Ginny.

I caught Ginny's eye, and tossed my head towards the door. She got the message, and disengaged herself from Tall and Dark, and came across, "Ginny, I've had enough, the DJ's rubbish and the band is worse, so I'm heading back to Hall."

Ginny laughed, "Even I think it's bad, so it must be dire! Just let me get Eric's phone number, and I'll come with!" Oh, HO! It must be serious! Phone numbers at first meeting, eh?

It was surprisingly chilly outside and I was glad to get away from the noise and the mass of humanity, and I fervently hoped that not all gigs were going to be like that. We weren't quite shivering by the time we got to the Hall, but we were cold.

"I've got some drinking chocolate and plenty of milk, if you'd like something to warm you up, Ginny?"

She paused and looked me up and down. "You are full of surprises, Miss W! Not JUST a very pretty face... most students have coffee or tea, some have both, but, no, you have drinking chocolate. It's official, you are now my very best friend! And yes, I would LOVE a hot chocolate!"

I opened the door and bowed her in with a flourish. "After you, Miss T!"

It's quite surprising how long it takes to heat a mug of milk to the right temperature in a microwave, but I persevered. We sat in a companionable silence, sipping our drinks. I was expecting the request for an opinion on Tall and Dark at some point, but it took a lot longer than I had anticipated.

Eventually, "Um... Charlotte?"

"Yes Ginny?" Here it comes!

"What did you think of Eric?" Do I come out to her, or make some non-committal response? I suppose she'd find out some time, and there was a possibility that she would distance herself, but we had become friends out of necessity - new kids, new environment - so it could be likely that we'd drift apart as we developed our own circle of new friends.

"Umm... not entirely sure I'm the best person to ask for an opinion on a boy, Ginny," I said gently. She looked puzzled. Oh dear, was it upbringing or just the unexpectedness that had thrown her?

"Why?"

"No boobs, Ginny!" The penny dropped, and she looked surprised and then laughed.

"And a couple of extra bits and pieces that you aren't interested in?" I was pretty grateful that she hadn't immediately slammed the shutters down, but had responded with the same humour that I had introduced.

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Oh, that's cool! I'd never have known!"

"We don't all have short haircuts, wear old army boots, and prey on innocent little redheads, you know!" I said tartly.

She nearly snorted her drink, "Argh! Don't make me laugh! That was entirely the wrong thing to say, sorry! I just wasn't expecting it."

"Nah, you're fine, Ginny, but as far as Eric goes, from a totally disinterested perspective, he's good-looking, I guess, and he certainly seems to like you."

"Mmm. And I've got the added security of knowing that you're not likely to shag him behind my back!"

"Ah, but does he have the security of knowing that I won't shag you behind his back?" In for a penny, in for a pound, put all the cards on the table. Make or break...

Ginny roared with laughter. "Nope, Charlotte, ain't ever gonna happen! But you could always be my winger when I go on the prowl!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Does that mean you'll be my winger when I go on the prowl? The only straight girl in the lesbian bar?"

"Oof! I suppose I asked for that, didn't I?"

I grinned at her, "Only a bit!"

"Hmm. I suppose it might be interesting," she said, "What are they like?"

"Ginny, I have absolutely no idea, I'm four birthdays old, eighteen and a half in real terms and there's a desperate shortage of lesbian bars in the Lake District!" Quick! Throw in a red herring to divert the conversation, to avoid letting on that I'm a virgin...

"Four birthdays...?" Bingo! Bait taken...

"Yup. Born on February 29. Only get a real birthday every four years."

"Oh, wow! That's weird, or awful, I'm not sure which!" I shrugged.

"I get to choose whether to celebrate on the 28th or on the 1st of March, I've got more chances of having a birthday weekend!"

The conversation drifted off to other topics, including what we were going to do tomorrow, and by the time we'd made a plan, it was getting on towards midnight. Ginny yawned, stood up and stretched.

"Ooh... thanks for the hot chocolate, Charlotte, I should sleep well tonight." She gave me a hug, "And thanks for sharing that with me. I'm cool with it, genuinely!" She smiled and gave a little wave as she closed my door behind her.

I'd like to say that Monday dawned bright and clear, but as I walked back into Hall after my run, rainwater was running off me and pooling on the floor. I even left a small puddle in the lift, so I rushed back to my room, grabbed some paper towels and did my best to mop it up before heading for a hot shower.

There was no sign of Ginny as I put my waterproof jacket on, so I banged on her door, "Oi, Taylor! Breakfast?" There was a sleepy-sounding response, so I pushed open the door. A muffled voice from under the bedclothes said, "It's pissing down, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not hungry enough to get wet this early."

"Skin's waterproof, you know!"

"Maybe, but it doesn't retain heat like a duvet." I nodded, very quick, Ginny, and a fair point! I grinned, "I'll wake you up when I come back, then."

"Ta, babe... and don't bang the door, please!" I giggled and went for breakfast.

I fluttered my eyelashes at the middle-aged man behind the counter, and he put a sausage into a bread roll for me to take back to the slug-a-bed, who was suitably appreciative as she emerged from her warm cocoon, blinking sleepily like an owl.

"Oh god, Charlotte, you are a bloody lifesaver! I don't think I would have made it through to lunch time without this," she muttered indistinctly from behind her sausage sandwich. She grinned at me and said, "Could you put ketchup in it next time?"

"You cheeky bitch! I could have just let you starve, but I thought about you, and what thanks do I get?" She cackled and blew me a kiss.

"Luv ya, babe!"

I grinned evilly, "Only when I've got food, hey? Come on, get up. Things to do, people to see. The rest of your life starts here!"

"Oh, piss off, Miss Cheerful!" I laughed and let her be while I went to clean my teeth.

The rain had pretty much stopped as we headed across the campus to the Freshers' Fair and split up, agreeing to meet for lunch. I had a pretty good idea of what sort of things I wanted to get involved in, so I signed up for a choral group. No experience with music required and no need to be able to read music, and although I had both, the idea of a bunch of people getting together to sing for the fun of it, sounded like something I would enjoy.

I had noticed a huge banner across the bottom end of the hall when we'd walked in, advertising something called the University Officer Training Corps. I had more or less ignored it, but as I worked my way down to that end of the auditorium, I noticed that there were a bunch of people dressed in military uniforms milling around various stands and tables. Curiosity got the better of me, so I worked my way across to it and started looking at the posters and exhibits.

So... join the Army on a temporary basis while at University, see what it's like, get paid for doing it. It was becoming more appealing by the second, hell, I'm a poor student! If I didn't like it, I could leave. If I did like it, I could join full time and be an officer once I had my degree.

I wandered around, looking at the exhibits, and my eyes kept being drawn to one of the girls in uniform. Dark hair cut in a bob, gorgeous blue eyes, quite a bit shorter than me, and, as far as I could tell under the less than flattering combat smock, quite curvy. Mmmm!

I was reading a display about outdoor activities including hill-walking - yes please! - and sailing, canoeing and others, when Gorgeous Blue Eyes appeared at my elbow. "Hello, I'm Hannah Parker! Is there anything you'd like to know?" Shit! Maybe I do have a gaydar after all! Yes, I'd like to know whether you'd go out with me!

"Um... yes please!" I could feel goosebumps forming on my arms, and a little shiver ran up my spine as she smiled at me. "Can you tell me how much commitment is required, and how much it's likely to get in the way of my studies? I'd like to know how it can benefit me with job prospects and what the commitment might be if I decided to actually join the army at the end of my degree. I also want to know about the bursaries that are available if I decide to become an Army Scholar."

She smiled again, "We can pretty much get you any information you might need, but have you ever considered either the UOTC or the TA, the Territorial Army, before?"

"No, I've heard of the TA, but never thought about joining... I'm only 18 now, so not much of an opportunity."

"Hmm. Analytical and decisive, they'll love that," she said, rather cryptically, "Come on over to the table at the back there and we can have a talk with the PSI. Would you like a coffee or a tea? What's your name, by the way?"

"Charlotte Watson. I'd love a coffee, black no sugar, please, Hannah, but what's a PSI?"

"Oh, sorry, Charlotte, military jargon!" she grinned, "Permanent Staff Instructor, he's a regular army soldier attached to our unit to coordinate training and other activities. By the way, you don't have to, but he would love you forever if you called him 'Sir'!" She giggled. "I'll come and find you again in about half an hour, and we can talk some more. OK?" Oh yes! Yes PLEASE!

"Yeah, that would be great, Hannah, thanks."

She took me across to the table and introduced me to the PSI, "Mr Bedford, this is Charlotte Watson, she's got some questions about commitments and bursaries that you know a lot more about than I do, can I leave her with you?"

Mr Bedford stood up from behind the table and just seemed to keep on going! I'm tall, but this guy was huge! At least four or five inches taller than me, six foot two or three, and he looked to be about the same width too! How the hell did they get a combat jacket to fit that massive chest?

"Miss Watson, good morning. I'm WO2 Bedford and for my sins, I have to try and train this horrible lot!" The smile contradicted the words, and I could see that this was a man who would easily command respect. He extended a hand the size of a shovel.

"Good morning, sir." I shook the shovel, and grinned at him. He looked at me sharply and then smiled.

"Take a seat, Miss Watson, and start your interrogation!"

As I sat down, I knew that Hannah Parker was back, I don't know how, but I did, and before Mr Bedford's eyes flicked to something over my shoulder. "Cup of tea, Mr Bedford! Just the way you like it, and coffee black no sugar for you Charlotte."

"Ahh! Thank you, Miss Parker, I'm glad to see that I've finally managed to teach some of you to make tea properly!"

"Thanks, Hannah," I said, and caught her eye. She held it for slightly longer than might possibly be necessary, and I saw a flash in those blue eyes. Oh, YES! Oh SHIT! What happens now? I could feel a damp spot forming, dear lord, please don't let it be obvious when I stood up, please...

Fortunately, Mr Bedford proved to be a mine of very useful information, and I had several solid options for career paths in the Army when I had finished speaking with him. I was seriously considering whether that was the way forward for me... despite the additional incentive of joining something that gave me increased access to Hannah Parker!

When we'd finished discussing what I wanted to know, I told Mr Bedford that I was very interested, but that I wanted to discuss things with Mum and Dad first before committing to anything. He nodded, "Without wishing to sound patronising, I think that it would be extremely wise for you to do just that. You are still young, and you do not want to be making decisions about your life without at least talking with them." His eyes twinkled, "But, of course, you don't have to take their advice, my twins didn't take mine and now I have to salute them every time I'm in uniform!"

I must have looked a bit puzzled, because he said, "When they both told me that they wanted to join the Army, I advised them to get a trade... you know, mechanic, telecoms engineer, or somesuch, but they both decided to take a Commission and become Officers! Hence why I salute them... and one day, Miss Watson, I may even salute you!" He smiled at me, a genuine, all-the-way-to-the-eyes smile!

"But, here's Miss Parker, no doubt come to take you back under her wing, and try and twist your arm a little more into joining the UOTC!" Oh, it won't take a lot of twisting, Mr Bedford, believe me...

"Thank you very much for your time, Sir," I said.

"No, thank you for your interest, it's good to meet someone who knows what they want and where they are heading. I look forward to meeting you again!"

Hannah had another prospective victim... er... recruit in tow, and she winked at me as she introduced him to the PSI. Oh look, getting into the jargon already!

She took me gently by the elbow and steered me out of earshot of the table. I had goosebumps all up that arm, and the blood was pounding in my ears, so I almost missed what she said. "God! That one's gormless! Daddy is a Captain in some TA unit somewhere, and he thinks that gives him the automatic right to join the Army as a fucking general! Hah!" She put on a drawling, very affected accent, "And, how would I go about accessing accelerated promotion, corporal?" I giggled as she continued in her normal voice, "First thing to do, your royal fucking highness, is learn the bloody rank insignia, and the second one would be to get a lorry-load of ability mixed with a substantial amount of personality!" I was laughing so hard that I had to hold on to one of the displays! "Grrr! I hate people like that," she grumped, "Somebody needs to learn that if Daddy is old enough to have a sprog that age, then Daddy is unlikely to progress further than Captain... ever!"

My sides ached from laughing, "Do I take it that you don't think he's suitable officer material, Hannah?"

"Oh God, NO! Not in a month of Sundays! But unfortunately, he'll be allowed to join the UOTC; that's our mandate, it'd be up to us to show him the error of his ways, BEFORE he goes for regular selection. Christ! The Regular Selection Board would eat him alive before he got off the transport!"

"And they wouldn't eat me?"

"Good God, no. You're ideal material, Charlotte... and you're a lot prettier than him too." She winked, and licked her lips lasciviously. Oh YES! Definitely on the same wavelength, here! "What are you doing about lunch?" Direct! I like that...

"I'm meeting my next-door neighbour from Halls for lunch." She looked disappointed.

"Is she..." she made a tiny gesture with her hand, pointing very quickly at me then her. Deep breath, cards on table... again!

"Uh-uh! Completely straight... why don't you come along?" The relief on her face was so obvious, I grinned. "We are on the same wavelength, aren't we!"

"You bet your cute little bum, we are! Let me tell the PSI I'm going to lunch, and I'll be with you!"

I called Ginny, who declared that she was fainting with hunger and would it be all right if Eric came too? This could be interesting, I thought! "Yeah, of course, I'm bringing someone too. Main entrance in five?"

Lunch was fun, Hannah seemed to fill the space around us, she was confident, witty and very friendly, and what was even more amusing was that Eric didn't seem to have got the message. I could see that Ginny was going to have to do some educating there, including "don't drool over the gay girls"!

Hannah excused herself and headed back to her exhibition, and Eric departed shortly afterwards. Ginny regarded me curiously over the rim of her coffee cup. "You've done rather well," she said, "Although I wouldn't have put you down for girls in uniform!"

"Takes all kinds to make a world, babe!" I said, stealing her term of endearment and laughing, "And I may also be one myself, in the very near future."

"Wow! Really?"

"Yeah, there are some outstanding benefits, career-wise, and there's extra money to be had, as well."

"I don't suppose one of the benefits has blue eyes, does it?" she said, her face the picture of innocence. I could feel myself blushing! I don't often blush, but when I do, it's usually a doozer!

"Oh, Charlotte, you'd be crap as a poker player! I can feel the heat from here!" That just made it worse, and I must have been almost purple as I fled the cafeteria, laughing fit to burst, closely followed by a giggling Ginny!

Out in the fresh air, I gasped and fanned my face with my hands while Ginny laughed at me, "Brilliant, I wasn't expecting to get that sort of reaction!" she said, "But she is rather nice, I'll give you that... tell her your straight friend approves!"

"Bloody hell, Ginny, stop it! I'll never get myself under control, if you don't!"

"Mmm. I bet Hannah's hoping that too..."

"GINNY!" I howled. She was almost crying with laughter as the blush worked its way across my shoulders, down my back and arms and even onto my hands. I was so grateful it was cool and I had long sleeves and long trousers on; I'd have looked as if I was badly sunburned!

"Maybe you'd better go and take a cold shower... no, better still, go and sit in a cold bath, and I'll get in afterwards, it should be nice and warm then!"

"Oh god, Ginny, stop it!" I laughed, burying my head in my hands.

"Whaaat! And spoil a priceless opportunity to take the mick? No way, Jose! Oooh! I've got a stomach cramp where I've been laughing so much!"

"Serves you right, you shitbag!" I grinned at her to take away any malice. I'd certainly provided her with plenty of entertainment, and it felt good to have a really good laugh, even if it was at my expense. "So, what's the plan for the rest of the afternoon?"

"There's still a couple of groups I want to check out, but there will be a whole load more tomorrow that aren't here today, so I don't want to fill up my calendar right away," she said.

"There's nothing left that I want to see today," I said, "So I'll come round with you, if you don't mind? There are one or two that I'm considering, that will have stands out tomorrow, according to the list, but I might not have time during the week, depending on my conversation with Mum and Dad tonight."

She said nothing, her eyes said it all, and she started making a silly snickering noise like Mutley from the Wacky Races. I rolled my eyes at her, and we both started laughing again. She slid her arm through mine and we set off back to the big auditorium.

We spent a couple of quite pleasant hours talking to organisers from some of the smaller clubs and societies, and I was persuaded to join quite a niche group of almost experimental musicians who were looking for singers to work with, using the human voice to complement different instruments. Ginny thought that Eric might want to know about the group; apparently, he played the acoustic guitar. Ginny said that she thought he played quite well, and I remarked that she probably wouldn't recognise good playing if it hit her in the face. That, of course, sparked off another bout of mutual abuse which left us shrieking with laughter and having to retreat to the outside because we were getting so noisy! It was great that Ginny and I seemed to be getting along so well, having very quickly discovered that our senses of humour were as warped as each other's.

My phone did the "arrow striking the target" noise that told me I had a text, so I fumbled it out of my back pocket and looked at it. "It's from Hannah!"

"Well, open it, open it, you muppet!" Ginny squealed, trying to look over my shoulder...

Hannah P: WRU?

You: Outside main hall

Hannah P: Just finishing come inside

Hannah P: pls x forgot i cant order you around... yet lol

You: kk 2secs : P

Those blues lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw me, and I felt very flattered that I was having quite such an effect on somebody that I was already seeing as older and more experienced, more worldly-wise. At the time, it didn't strike me that the likelihood was that she could be less than a year older than me, possibly quite a bit less.

"Hello, you! Hi Ginny!" If she wasn't pleased to see Ginny with me, then she made a damn good effort in hiding it.

"Hi Hannah," we chorused, and Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed.

"At this rate," she sniggered, "we're going to be finishing each other's sentences...!"

Hannah looked puzzled and glanced at Ginny, then at me. I grinned and shook my head, "We've had an afternoon being weird, just don't ask!"

"She might tell you about it, Hannah, but don't hold your breath, it's no big deal. There is one thing that she is supposed to tell you though... I told her to tell you..."

"Ginny!" I snapped, "NO!"

"... that her straight friend approves! I'm off to find Eric, have a good evening, and don't do anything I would do!" The suggestive chuckle that followed that bombshell and the innuendo made me blush again! Fuck! Twice in an afternoon, she was impossible!

"Wow," said Hannah, grinning, "She doesn't have many filters, does she?" I was so embarrassed I could barely look at her, but when I did, I could see that her cheeks were a rather pretty shade of pink. At least they weren't magenta like mine probably were.

As she looked up at me, she took a step closer and rested her hand just above my elbow. That, with the after-effects of Ginny-caused blush, was enough to send my pulse rate rocketing. "You look a bit warm, love, shall we go outside?" Yes! Yes! Do you need to ask?

I cleared my throat to make sure I didn't squeak, "OK, sounds good."

We sat on a low wall outside and Hannah said, "I thought we could go to a rather nice pub just off campus and grab a drink and a bite to eat? They've got an Amateur Musicians' night on Mondays, and sometimes it's quite good. Sometimes it can be the pits, but that's the luck of the draw, almost its charm, really!" My ears pricked up at the Amateur Musicians bit.

"Yes, that sounds like it could be fun!" I said.

"OK, then I need to nip over to my Hall and put something on that doesn't look as if I'm ready to dig a trench on Salisbury Plain. Come on!"

She jumped up and grabbed my hand, and started to pull me up. I followed her lead, and she didn't let go of my hand. It felt strange to have someone other than Mum or Dad holding my hand! Strange, but in a really nice way.

Her Hall was pretty much the same as mine, built on the same pattern. We got into the lift, and she pressed the fifth-floor button. As soon as the lift started moving, she swung me round, grabbed my other hand, and standing on tiptoes, she pulled us together and our lips met. I wasn't sure quite what to expect, but they were warm and soft, yielding, and they sent my pulse rate soaring again. I just started to respond when the lift "dinged" and the doors flew open. "Oh shit," she breathed, "better get out before the doors close! Just down here."

She was in a single room, like mine, but hers had the marks of a much longer occupancy. I puzzled over that; my occupancy agreement stipulated that I had to clear all my belongings at the end of the academic year, because other people would use the rooms over the summer recess. My puzzlement ended abruptly as Hannah almost pinned me to the wall as the door closed. Oh wow... her firm boobs pressed into my chest as she stood on tiptoes again and grabbed the back of my neck to pull my head down to hers.

Oh god... what do I do? Shit... this is nice! Do something with your hands, idiot! The thoughts exploded in my skull like New Year fireworks as my heart raced to try and catch up with my breathing... and then she was gone again, whirling into the centre of the room undoing the fastenings of the combat jacket to reveal a well-filled, olive-green t-shirt with some sort of small crest over her left boob with the letters UOTC underneath. Good grief, why was the placing of designs always done by blokes? If you wanted to know what the design was, you had to look at a girl's tits... my mouth went dry... it served its purpose then, and how!

I was leaning against the wall by the door, almost exactly where she had pushed me. I remembered the expression "... like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights...", bloody hell, I knew what the rabbit must feel like, and suddenly, I wasn't so sure.

Hannah was taking off her combat boots, sitting on the edge of the bed, casting smouldering glances at me, and by smouldering, I mean fucking RED-HOT. She dragged off her socks and stood up. She held my eyes and began to undo her trousers. Now I definitely felt edgy, was this what always happened? Did you charge into someone's room, strip off and just have sex? How did you do it? Oh god, I wished I had been a bit more adventurous!

The trousers joined the socks and jacket in the untidy heap on the chair, and she murmured, "Enjoying the show?" I was transfixed; I couldn't even nod as a pair of white lacy knickers were revealed. She crossed her arms in front of her, gripping the hem of the t-shirt, and with one fluid movement, she pulled it off, shaking her head to free her hair and tossing the shirt onto the pile. At times like this, the mind notices the strangest things, and I can still, to this day, remember that the shirt was inside out, and one sleeve was caught inside itself. I can only guess that her bra matched her knickers. I don't remember.

As she padded barefoot towards me, I felt very uncomfortable, panic was building, I didn't know what to do, I wasn't in control, everything was going too fast, was this how it was supposed to be? I wasn't sure about this. Did I really want to do this? Was I even bloody ready? I could feel tears starting to prickle behind my eyes, I was frightened. No, I was fucking TERRIFIED!

Her blue eyes looked predatory, scary and her mouth was slightly open. I noticed that her lips were swollen slightly, her tongue flicked out and licked the corner of her mouth and I broke! I pushed her away with both hands, and as she staggered back a step, I flung the door open and bolted. Primal instinct of self-preservation. I ran. I ran for the emergency stairs and hurtled down to the lobby, sobbing. I flung open the entrance door and charged into the darkness.

My base instinct was telling me to get out of there, to get away from the threat, to put as much distance between me and it. A couple turned, their eyes full of concern and questions, I heard one call "Is everything all right?" as I ran. I didn't answer. Too busy running.

Then the thinking being began to exert its influence over the terrified small furry animal, and I slowed down and stopped under one of the many street lights. It was irrational. Why the hell was I running? I realised that my phone was impersonating an arrow volley into my backside, and I pulled it out, my hands trembling...

Hannah P: WTF?

Hannah P: WRU?

Hannah P: Sry. dint mn 2 frightenn u xxx

Hannah P: come bk need 2 talk xxx

I rang Ginny. I didn't know what else to do.

"'sup babe?" her voice sounded relaxed and dreamy.

"Ginny," I sobbed, "Sorry, I've been stupid, I'm scared, I don't know where I am, sorry, I need some help..."

Ginny's voice sharpened, "OK, I'm coming. Stay on the line. Talk to me. Find somewhere with lots of lights and find a signpost. Campus is full of the things, it'll tell me where you are."

"OK. Thank you, sorry, sorry."

"Shush babe, you're safe. All that matters. I'm coming! Find that signpost!"

I was still almost hyperventilating as I looked around and spotted one, and began to walk towards it and talked through the directions with Ginny. My phone delivered another fusillade of arrows...

Hannah P: SORRY xxx

Hannah P: r u ok?

Hannah P: wru?

Hannah P: pls talk 2 me i so sorry xxx

"What's that buzzing on your phone, babe?

"Hannah is texting me, Ginny."

"Is this over her?"

"Yes... NO, no, it's me, it's my fault!"

"Never mind, I know where you are, two minutes. Eric's here too."

I have never been so grateful to see another pair of human beings in my life, and I fell into Ginny's arms, shaking like a leaf as Eric folded us both into a hug. Suddenly everything boiled over, and I sobbed. "Oh Christ, I have been such a fucking IDIOT!"

"Hey, hey, babe... calm down, it's OK. Sit down here, tell me what's happened. Where's Hannah, do I need to dismember her or just kill her?"

Oh, god, I love Ginny; she can always make me laugh, and this time was no exception, although the giggle was a bit soggy! "Neither, Ginny, this is all MY fault!"

On cue, my bum received another quiverful of arrows...

Hannah P: r u ok pls tell me xxx

Hannah P: pls c i need to c u pls pls xxx

Ginny grabbed my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through the texts from Hannah. "By the looks of it, she's doing her nut with worry... I'm calling her on your phone, babe, you OK with that? I'll put it on speaker?"

I nodded. I was still shaking. She poked the screen, and the speaker erupted. "Oh God, Charlotte, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you..." Hannah was nearly as emotional as I was, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, where are you, please, I just want to talk, pleasepleaseplease, don't cut me off, please..." She sobbed.

Ginny looked at me, I nodded, and she said, very firmly, with a slight touch of anger in her voice, "Hannah, shut up! It's Ginny. Now you tell me what the fuck happened, and I'll decide whether I'm going to come and kill you or whether I'm going to let you speak to Charlotte."

"Oh god, Ginny! Is she OK? I frightened her, I didn't mean to, I thought... can I see her? Can I talk to her? Tell her I'm sorry... please, Ginny, tell her. Tell her I didn't know... I just want to talk to her..." I could hear her crying, as Ginny whispered to me, "Shall I tell her where you are?" I didn't need to think about that. I nodded.

"OK, Hannah. Listen carefully. I'll tell you where we are, but you have to promise that you won't come any closer than six feet away until I am completely happy with the whole situation. OK?"

There was a massive, wet, bubbly sniff, like those ones when you have a horrible cold and no matter how much you blow your nose, it's still running afterwards, and Hannah said, "Oh thank you, thank you, yes yes, I promise! Is she OK?" Another huge sniff.

"Yes, Hannah, she's fine, and all the better for hearing you, I think." She told Hannah where we were, and even before Ginny ended the call, over the phone speaker, I heard Hannah's room door slam and her feet pounding as she ran down the corridor.

Eric's comforting tenor exclaimed, almost reverently, "I knew she wouldn't be far away, but she must be really fit to be able to shift THAT quickly!" Hannah was pounding up the walkway, head down, arms pistoning back and forth. She almost skidded to a stop, and she had to take a step back to be outside Ginny's cordon. I looked at her, and even in the artificial lights I could see that her eyes were red and see the tear stains on her cheeks. She had put her green t-shirt and her combat trousers back on but was wearing running shoes.

She stared at me and started to sniff as she mouthed "Sorry!"

Ginny took charge. "Eric, hun, if this is what I think it might be, I want you to take a walk. Not too far, just out of earshot, 'cos I think the subject is likely to be embarrassing for you most of all!"

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded, bless him! I found myself hoping that he and Ginny would last, because they were "good people". I realised that my phone call must have interrupted something between them because he'd got his sweatshirt inside out and only one sock on, and Ginny's warm, checked lumberjack shirt was buttoned up wrong!

"OK, Hannah," said Ginny, "What happened?"

"I... I'm not sure, but we'd decided to go and get some food at a pub where there's music, so we went back to my Hall so that I could change out of uniform. We had a tiny snog in the lift and a bigger one in my room. I started to get changed, and the way Charlotte was watching me made me feel very umm... umm..."

"Horny!" supplied Ginny, drily.

Hannah blushed and looked down at her feet. Even in the semi-darkness, I could see that for a dark-haired girl, her blushes were nearly as spectacular as my occasional ones! "Umm... yeah... so I sort of started strip-teasing more as a joke... I mean combat kit is hardly the most erotic thing to peel off, is it? Anyway, I was getting pretty turned on, and I went to give her a cuddle, and suddenly she just pushed me away and ran out. I couldn't really run after her in my bra and knickers, so I started sending her texts as I was getting dressed again. Then you rang, Ginny. That's it."

She turned to me, and her arms, that had been cradling me all the time, tightened a tiny bit. "OK, babe, is that what happened?"

I didn't trust myself to speak, so I nodded, staring at the ground. I couldn't meet her eyes, I couldn't meet Hannah's eyes, I felt so foolish, so immature... because I had just realised what the problem was, and I was pretty sure they both knew what MY "problem" was.

"Hannah," Ginny said, "come and sit down on the other side of Charlotte, and give her a cuddle." I stiffened slightly, and she felt it. "Trust me babe!" she whispered.

Hannah sat down next to me, very carefully leaving a space between us, and lifted her arms. She didn't put them around me as Ginny had instructed, but looked at me questioningly... I realised she was waiting for permission, so I looked at her shyly... Hah! Me! Shy! I nodded and she sighed gratefully, and rested her hands lightly on my shoulder, one arm across my front, the other round behind me. Suddenly I needed to feel her against me, and I reached round behind her and dragged her in hard, buried my face in her neck and cried. I felt both their arms tighten, and I felt so much better.

"I'm so sorry," I said haltingly, "this is ALL my fault, and I'm sure you've both guessed this by now, but I'm a virgin. I've never had a girlfriend before. I know I come across all confident and... and 'OUT', but I am utterly clueless. I've never even kissed anybody apart from my Mum and Dad!"

"Oh, my poor babe!" whispered Ginny. Hannah sniffed wetly and stroked my hair.

"I was just too fast, wasn't I? I just overwhelmed you. It's no wonder... I'm so sorry, I just thought you were playing hard to get when you didn't do anything, and I ramped it up instead of taking it slow. God, I'm so blind... I'm SO sorry, Charlotte, please forgive me? Can we start again? Please?"

"Yes, Hannah," I whispered into her neck, "I'd really like that, please."

I felt her shoulders slump a little as the tenseness seemed to drain from them, and she exhaled noisily, as if she'd been holding her breath.

"Well," said Ginny, removing her arms from around me after a moment, and standing up, "My work here is done!" She leaned forward and kissed both Hannah and me on our foreheads, "Play nicely, girls, or Auntie Ginny will get cross!" Hannah giggled and I smiled at her.

Ginny turned to where Eric was loitering in the distance, stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a deafeningly shrill whistle. "Oi! Ric!" she yelled, "We've got a shag to finish before dinner!"

I squealed in astonishment and Hannah gasped and laughed! "Good grief, that girl has zero filters!" Eric had started walking towards her when she whistled, but seemed to stumble when she shouted, stopped and nervously looked around, before hunching his shoulders a bit and walking towards her.

"Oh god, I hope he learns to deal with that!" Hannah smirked, "They won't get far if he doesn't, I can't see that feisty redhead toning it down... AT ALL!"

"Anyway," she continued, "are you all right now?"

I nodded.

"Can we go back to my room, and I can get changed? I'll do it in the shower, so that it doesn't bother you?"

My stomach felt funny, but I had to do something. "OK," I whispered. I had to take that step some time.

"Thanks," said Hannah, "I'm not really dressed for outdoors in October, and I'm a bit chilly!"

"Oh, Hannah, I'm so sorry... come on then!"

I took her hand... and it was nice. I felt a lot less stressed straight away. I think I had been worried about initiating anything in case it got misinterpreted. Hannah's Hall was literally only yards away; I must have run in a circle when I had fled earlier!

As we got into the lift, she deliberately let go of my hand and moved into a corner as far away as possible, which was a lovely gesture, if a bit empty! The lift was so small she could have reached out and touched me anyway, but I appreciated it. After a second's hesitation, I took her hand again and smiled at her. It was odd; she looked a bit like the rabbit in the headlights this time, and I wondered whether she was worried about making a wrong move or something.

The door opened and I took a deep breath. I could feel my pulse accelerating as I stepped out. Feet from the make-or-break point. Hannah led the way. She unlocked the door and held it open for me. She was watching me. Watching for any sign that I might be about to crack again. I could feel the irrational panic rising. There really wasn't anything to fear... for goodness' sake, I'd put Tommy Clanfield on his back when he'd been bullying one of the youngsters at school, I could do it to Hannah if I chose. What was that quote? "Fear is the mind killer, the little death..." Not quite right, I was no Bene Gesserit, but I squared my shoulders and walked in.

Hannah let the door swing shut and almost ran into the opposite corner. She was allowing me as much space as possible. I realised that I had been holding my breath and let it out with a rush. I looked at her for a few seconds and then smiled at her. I could see the relief in those deep blue eyes. I hesitated and then held my arms out to her.

She beamed and crept into the circle, which I closed around her and whispered, "Hannah, I'm sorry I was such an idiot!" She rested her head against my shoulder and gave a wordless little sound, almost as if she was purring, and I could feel her arms encircle my waist. Ooh! It was amazing! I'd been in a similar position with both Mum and Dad, and although that was warm, comforting AND comfortable, this... this was something altogether different.

I relaxed my arms a bit, and I felt her head move as she looked up at me questioningly. I shivered a little, and saw alarm in the blue eyes that had caused the shiver, so I smiled and bent my head forward. She knew what I wanted, and tipped her head back, rose on her tiptoes, and our lips touched, very fleetingly at first, then a little more firmly as I savoured the experience. None of the fierceness, none of the urgency that I had felt before. This was sensual rather than sexual, and it was making me feel more relaxed, more in touch with what was happening.

Something made me push my tongue forward, I opened my mouth a little and gently touched her lips with it. I felt her mouth open... then suddenly her hand was between our mouths, and she breathed, "Baby steps, love, take it slowly!"

Disappointed but grateful, I looked at her and grinned, "Yeah... thanks, Hannah!" She smiled back at me, her eyes dark with what I would come to recognise as arousal, and said, in a husky voice, "Any time, Charlotte, any time!" I recognised the innuendo and giggled.

"Go and get changed, girl. After all the drama and prima donna behaviour earlier, I'm starving... and it can't have been easy to watch either!"