Marianne and her friends
I remember it as if it happened yesterday.
I had the afternoon free - something very rare at that time. I was walking the dog after lunch and went into a terrace for a coffee. The terrace was empty with the exception of a table with three teenagers - two girls and a boy.
I took a short expresso, as usual after lunch. The air was cold - it was early October - but the sun was warm. I leaned back on the chair and closed my eyes for a moment.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw the three teenagers heading to the table football that was in the center of the terrace.
The shortest girl made a sign to the tallest girl, and she immediately walked towards me, stopped in front of me and, hesitantly, asked me if I could join the group for a table football match.
I was surprised - what, at my age, is less and less frequent. A moment of hesitation and, moved by an unknown impulse, I decided to accept the invitation.
I followed the girl to the group, and the shorter girl held out her hand and made the introduction.
"I am Marianne", and pointing to the other girl and the boy, "she is Cath and he is Rick."
"I am Michael. Thanks for the invitation. I must warn, however, that I haven't played table football for many years."
Marianne made a sign to the other two and they placed themselves on one side of the table, the boy on the back handles and the girl on the front handles. Marianne took the two front handles on the opposite side and, with a movement of the head, pointed me the back handles.
I realized I had started to learn her sign language.
Marianne threw a ball at the table and the game started, slow enough to allow me to watch my game partner carefully. Brunette, nice face, approximately 5.5 feet tall, a very beautiful body shaped inside black leggings, a very fair top and a lined jacket, not buttoned. But her most distinctive trait was the piercing gray eyes.
The pair across the table was entertained in a circumstance conversation. Marianne looked at me twice intentionally, obviously inviting me to say something. I smiled, this time decided not to allow this game of signs.
She understood, smiled back, and asked me politely what my professional activity was. Of course she wasn't interested in knowing my professional position or my resume, so I responded briefly, "Professor."
"Professor of what?"
"Mathematics," I replied.
"Oh!"
We both took our eyes off the table, and the other girl took the opportunity to put a goal in my bay. The pair on the other side slammed their hands.
It was my turn to ask questions.
"You don't like math?"
"I do!"
"You probably have good grades?"
"Not really. I'm too lazy for that," she replied with her gaze down.
Marianne went back to the game and put a raging goal in the adversary's loophole.
I took a mental note of this. I kept quiet for a couple of minutes before I spoke again.
"Is this your free afternoon?" I asked.
"It's the day we celebrate our anniversary."
"Cath and I were born on the same day, though with a year of difference." - she added.
"How will you celebrate?" I asked.
Marianne looked at me and said:
"We decided that Cath should stop being a virgin today."
Before my eyes clinged to Marianne's I saw Cath blush intensely and the boy smile slightly.
"Oh!" - I exclaimed.
"Shocked?" asked Marianne with a smile, putting a goal without looking at the game.
I swallowed it dry. I remember thinking, *you decided*. My face should perfectly express my astonishment.
"Surprised," I answered.
An uncomfortable silence was interrupted by a ball thrown by Marianne to the football table.
"Well, it's probably time to remove myself elegantly," I said in a low voice.
"No! Why?" - returned Marianne.
"If I understand correctly, Rick and Cath have an urgent task scheduled."
"Rick?" said Marianne smiling. "No. He's not interested in doing that. He's a bizarre and he's only interested in her back virginity."
In confirmation, the boy slapped the girl's butt and she let out a giggle.
I remember thinking: *Damn! This conversation is getting really weird.*
I took the general distraction to score a goal from the defense.
I was willing to see how far the girl would take this, and I asked her:
"But then, how do you think you'll manage to... implement your intention?"
Before throwing the last ball into the game, Marianne looked me in the eyes and said:
"Why do you think we invited you to play with us?"
I'm sure I've been blown up. Finally I said:
"You can't be serious..."
"Dead serious," she replied.
I was 51 year old at the time, and I'd heard very strange things. But this was probably the weirdest of all.
Marianne added, "You don't mind, do you?", and I swallowed it dry again and remained silent.
I looked more closely at Cath. Taller than Marianne, she would be a little less than 5.7 feet. Her face, pleasant, was more childish. The eyes and hair were hazelnut color. She had widest hips and a bigger ass, both also inside some black leggings. She wore a light-colored pullover made of cotton mesh that allowed to perceive beautiful breasts. She was, however, less well proportionate than Marianne.
The last ball in the game gave me some time to think.
After the game ended, Marianne continued the conversation as if there had been no interruption and all that had been said before was completely normal.
"However, we're gonna need your help. We need a discreet place where we can be completely comfortable. That excludes any of our homes."
"I understand. No money."
"That's not it. We have money. But no decent hotel would rent us a room - at least without making a full inquiry."
"It would still be more strange for me to rent a room and then be seen entering with you guys." - I said.
"Yes, of course. We need an apartment."
Marianne looked me in the eyes intensely and said in a low voice: "An apartment of someone not present. Or a bachelor's apartment, for example."
I felt a sudden cold in my back that made me shiver. The girl was extremely shrewd and probably had noticed that I didn't wear a wedding ring, or any other sign of relational commitment.
It was then that I took the most risky, irrational and also the best decision of my life.
"Okay, show me some documents that prove you're telling the truth about your ages. "
It was true. The girls were 18 and 19 years old the day before, and Rick was 18 before that.
I had the key to the apartment of a colleague who had accepted a guest place at a university in another city.
"Do you have a car?"
Marianne nodded.
"I'm going to take the dog home and then I go to this apartment, which is not mine but whose key was entrusted to me."