It was Schoolies Week and I'd gone to Surfer's with a number of friends. Well, when I say friends I guess it's more of a case of a couple of close friends and a number of school-mates, people you know well even if you're not particularly close. We'd rented a couple of adjacent units in one of the big motels, the girls in one unit and the boys in the other, and it turned out we were high enough to have a spectacular view.
I woke up early on our first morning there and went and hung out on the balcony. I could already see that it was going to be an 'S' day, sun, surf, and sand. You may notice that there is one 'S' word missing. That's because, while I wasn't going to be beating the boys off with a stick (chance would be a fine thing), neither was I going to be jumping into bed with the first boy who asked. I would keep my options open. One never knew what might develop.
I have to admit that one of the reasons that I wouldn't be jumping into bed straight away was that I was just a little nervous about it. I wasn't a virgin but one fumbled experience doesn't really do much to prepare you for a second experience, especially when the boy from the first experience dropped me and bolted so fast that he was a dot in the distance before my panties were back on. He claimed the sight of blood made him panic. In that case he shouldn't try it on with virgins. I think he was just a. . . but I won't go into that, such language not befitting a refined young thing such as myself.
We all finished up down on the beach that first day. I had no doubt that we'd all wander off in different directions as the days passed and our various preferences made themselves known, but for day one the beach was a must.
We spent the morning working on a bit of a tan, slathered in sunscreen to make sure that we didn't burn. Spending the holiday prone on a bed and bright scarlet from sunburn is not my preferred way of spending the time.
I had a new bikini for this holiday (just like all the girls, I bet). It was cyan in colour and what I considered rather abbreviated. It was certainly the most daring bikini that I'd ever worn. I found that compared to some of the bikinis the girls were sporting it was almost demure, not that I'd be going with anything more daring. My natural modesty forbids.
I did fill out that bikini very nicely though. I didn't have a super-abundance of bust and bum but I certainly had enough to make the boys look. It was just a pity that some of the girls had considerable more than me and were displaying it in bikinis that were smaller than mine. Really, I don't know why a couple of them even bother with the bikinis. Three small pieces of tape would have covered the same area and been a lot cheaper.
I stayed close to my own friends. We were all just relaxing and taking it easy. The stress of exams was behind us and the stress of finding a job not yet with us. We were young adults, getting primed to move onto the great adventure of being adults, just taking a break before it all happened. Scary when you think about it, so we didn't, or I didn't anyway.
I indulged in my hobby of people watching. They call this place Surfers Paradise but genuine surfers probably called it something else. The current surf was pathetic, leaving the water more suited for swimming than surfing. Most of the people around us were about my age, give or take five years. Families with young children seemed to have congregated further down the beach, near the park with children's play equipment. Older people were non-existent. They were probably flaked out on lounge chairs around motel pools and drinking Singapore Slings or other exotic drinks.
Naturally enough during Schoolies Week there were the predators. They were easy to spot if you knew what you were looking for. Somewhat older than the rest of us, pushing thirty and acting thirteen, pretending to be young and hip. They wouldn't get far with most of the girls but I have to admit that some girls are dumb bimbos and they were the predators' target.
There were a couple of men who had me stumped. They arrived at the beach together and were clearly friends. Just friends, was my guess, as they didn't give off that gay vibration. They first joined up with the boys, just guys getting to know each other, and they weren't checking the guys out sexually. (That didn't stop Peter scoping them out but he also seemed to pick up on their straightness and backed away, disappointed.)
Those two must have been smooth talkers because after they'd been chatting with the boys for a while the whole group came over to start flirting with us girls. The new guys were in their middle twenties by my guess and they didn't seem to be predators or even predators in the making. They just seemed genuinely interested in meeting everyone, checking out the girls, but not in a blatant or offensive manner, and they didn't try to follow up on it.
I have to admit that I was mildly flattered when they stopped to talk to me. Don and Neil were their names, and they were a welcome change from boys who were all over you at the slightest excuse. Not that I thought either of them would be chasing after me; not with the smorgasbord of femme fatales lying around. It was perfectly obvious that if the boys had whipped out collars and leashes a couple of girls would have been doing the collars up themselves to save the boys the trouble. Really, the way they fawned over the boys was mildly nauseating.
Eventually the boys all drifted off again, including Don and Neil. Those two immediately became the subject for speculation, and quite ribald speculation at times.
While we'd all brought drinks to the beach we hadn't bothered about munchies. Why bother when there were shops available and the motel we were staying at was just over the road. We could grab a snack anytime we wanted or run up to our unit if we wanted a more substantial meal. With lunch time coming up my stomach was telling me that lunch was a good idea.
I grabbed my bag and announced I was going to get some lunch. This was met by a chorus of groans and a general disinclination to move. Lazy bitches the lot of them. I shrugged and headed for the path through the bushes that separated the beach from the strip of parkland that ran next to the road. I'd just got on the pathway when a voice hailed me.
"Hey, Anna, wait up a moment."
I turned around to look and Don and Neil were approaching, smiling.
"Ah, hi," I said. "Do you want something?"
"I'm glad you asked that question," said Don. "Yes, we certainly want something. You."
I blinked, trying to take that in. He wanted me? For what? Not sex, surely? I mean, if he just wanted sex all he had to do was whistle and point at a couple of girls and they'd probably come running.
"Me?" I said cautiously. "Ah, what for, exactly?"
"Are you really that naïve?" asked Neil, his smile wider than ever.
"Ah, I guess not," I mumbled, "but why me? Why not Cheryl, for instance?"
"Cheryl?" asked Don.
"The one with the hair and the boobs," said Neil which, I had to admit, was a good if succinct description.
"Oh, her," said Don. "What's the bet that in six months her name will be Cherri and she'll be dancing around a pole in a nightclub? Thanks, but no thanks."
"That still doesn't explain why you're coming onto me," I pointed out, while privately agreeing with his assessment of Cheryl's future.
"Because you're quite lovely," Neil said, sounding quite sincere. "You make me think of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. An innocently charming beauty."
"Quite right," said Don approvingly. "It is our intention to take you in amongst those bushes over there, take off your bikini, and love you with great enthusiasm."
