I failed to get the required grades in my exams to go to university; to say I was upset was an understatement.
I knew I'd messed up in my final exam, I'd revised, I was ready, I knew my stuff. On the day though it wasn't there, I had a mental block and I knew I'd failed. This was what happened last time, but luckily it was only one exam this time round.
When the results were released they confirmed what I already knew; I wasn't going to university that year. Retaking the subject for another year loomed in front of me.
I realised that spending time at College studying one subject was going to give me a lot of spare time. However, my parents were determined that I wasn't going to be loafing around the house and that I would get a part-time job. They said it would give experience, and some savings.
I wanted to study business management at University, and as luck would have it my mother had a friend who knew someone who was looking for some admin support at a local company who supplied parts for the construction industry.
I thought it was far from exciting, but trying to put a brave face on things I accepted. I had nothing else lined up, and my parents weren't going to let me just sit around.
On my first day there I met the staff, it was a largish company with quite a few staff but I was working in an area with about four women who were responsible for keeping track of stock levels. It tuned out to be very busy, but actually quite enjoyable. This was where I met Bernie; her name was Bernadette, but everyone called her Bernie; including the guys in the warehouse.
The guys in the warehouse were quite an intimidating lot, and part of our job required the production of stock lists. It was all computer controlled, but any computer system is only as good as the people who use it. So any stock levels that weren't matching up had to be checked by the warehouse guys, and on occasion we were required to go down and chase these reports.
Bernie was a very bubbly character and had a body to match her outgoing persona. She was 25 and about 5' 6", with spiky blonde hair, she was curvy with large breasts; I later found out she was a 36DD. She dressed well but always had something on that showed off her figure, and she always flirted with the warehouse guys when we were down there. I just couldn't join in with the sometime sexually explicit banter that went on; I just wasn't worldly wise enough, and besides I quite fancied Bernie, so teasing her didn't feel very gentlemanly.
Yes; I'm that kind of guy.
As a result I was often referred to as Bernie's toy boy, or sex slave.
"Don't let it get to you" Bernie said to me right at the start, "The guys will push and push to try and get a raise out of you, so just suck-it up and don't be a prick."
I'd said that I wasn't a prick; but maybe in too sulkily a way.
She just laughed, Bernie had a laugh that implied very naughty things, and told me that to them I was a high flier because I was off to University, and this kind of job was all they could do. I felt that this was a little harsh, but I followed her advice.
I had stock hidden, the lights turned off on me when I was deep into the warehouse, I was sent off the find stock they hadn't had in years; just the general piss taking that goes on in some work places.
However, I took Bernie's advice and didn't get upset, I just 'sucked' it up and after a bit they accepted me and I was left to get on with my job. I found out that in the past they'd had temp workers come in and just not do the job properly which in turn made their job harder. When I started actually tidying up some of the records and suggesting ways of improving some of the processes they stopped being dicks.
I enjoyed the work there, but I didn't shirk my College work as the months went by. Bernie would give me a right bollocking if I'd ever skipped some revision when she asked; she seemed more determined than me that I get the right grade.
We actually got on really well, and it was nice working with her. I liked it when the other women weren't around and it was just the two of us chatting; this happened quite often as two of the other women worked part-time hours, and the other full-time worker Janet was often out at meetings or sorting out her son at school.
It was during one of these chats that I found out why the lads in the warehouse flirted so much with Bernie. She told me that after an office party a few years ago that she'd ended up screwing one of the guys in the warehouse; she explained it in quite graphic terms; Bernie loved a good dirty story. The guy had then told the rest of the warehouse team, so now they all thought they might have a chance; hence I got my nicknames. She said that they thought I'd be in with a chance because I worked with her all day.
When she said that I just sat there thinking that I'd jump at the chance. Bernie must have seen the look on my face because she just laughed her laugh and told me to dream on! That was my fantasy shattered.
"Anyway" she said, "A boy like you should be beating them off with a stick; that gym work is paying off."; as well as working and studying, I was also going to the gym regularly, and watching what I ate.
When I'd said that I didn't have a girlfriend she'd been amazed.
"Seriously?" She'd asked, "Don't tell me you're still a virgin"
I'd admitted that I was, but tried to defend myself by telling her that lot of people were still virgins, and that she didn't have a boyfriend.
"Yes, that's true." she'd said "But I've already told you I'm not a virgin, and at the moment I don't want a boyfriend, they just complicate things."
Then she just looked at me, "So have you actually seen a girl naked?"
At times Bernie was very direct. She dragged me over to her computer once to comment on some bras she was thinking of getting. "What do you think?" She'd said, "The blue or the red? Of course the blue one seems a little flimsy; you'd see everything through that!" She'd gone with both in the end, and a week later had me staring at her chest to see if I could see her nipples through her blouse. That has been an intense experience, but that was what Bernie was like.
I managed to say that yes I had seen a girl naked, but before I could explain Janice came back into the office, so nothing more got said.
I could see that Bernie was dying to know more; she was always asking me things about myself.
Luckily for Bernie, Janice was finishing early that day, and the moment she was out of the door Bernie rounded on me.
"So?" she demanded with a half smile, "Who's the girl you saw naked?"
There was something about talking to Bernie that maked you want to explain yourself, but I didn't want to give everything away, so I just said that it was woman who'd live opposite my parents, and that it was last year.
This wasn't enough for Bernie. "Go on." She promoted, "Tell me everything."
So I did. I explained about the weather and getting caught in the rain, then explained in great detail watching Nicole.
It was a good job I was sitting at my desk, because by the time I'd finished I had a raging hard on, and Bernie looked just as flushed too. Her eyes were sparkling and I could see a red flush across her chest.
I was feeling daring so I then told her what I did after Nicole disappeared. I wanted to see what Bernie would say; I wanted to see if Bernie would suggest that maybe the next time I saw a girl strip off in front of me it would be her.
Instead, she just looked curiously at me. "You tell a great story." was all she said, and then turned back to her work.
I was left a little confused, so I got on with my work. This episode wasn't mentioned again until I was leaving.
A few months after this I sat my exams and got the result I needed to get into University.
I was due to finish work at the company at the end of August and then have two weeks off with my parents before leaving to go to University. I was to be studying in a city a few hours away.