Freshers Ch. 01

"I'm sure I wouldn't!" I replied with a smile, "I'm really looking forward to developing my skills, especially since it'll help me on the fashion design course."

"Well, from what I have seen of your work so far, I have every confidence that you'll be a very successful student." Phyllis answered, "But remember to keep practicing those basic skills at home, it may seem tedious doing silly little sketches of flowers and bowls of fruit, but practice makes perfect and instantly seeing how the interplay between light and shadow and form affects one's perception of how we view the world around us will ultimately mould you into a much more rounded and fully competent artist."

"Thanks Phyllis, I'll bear that in mind." I said.

"I know you will!" She replied with a smile.

I checked my watch for a second, noting that time was getting on and I had a bus to catch.

"I could chat all day but I'll miss my bus if I'm not careful!" I said as I hauled my bag onto my shoulder.

"I wouldn't want that to happen! See you on Tuesday then, we'll be looking at some works by the Old Masters and discussing how their techniques translate to modern contemporary works. It sounds boring I know, but I think you may actually find it quite fascinating."

"Oh, I'm sure it will be!" I replied, "I'll see you on Tuesday, bye Phyllis!"

"Bye Beth!"

New Members (Tommy)

Beth and I had a busy afternoon ahead of us, since we had a couple of meetings to attend. The first was the annual welcome meeting for the newest members of the university RAG, something I was looking forward to getting involved with. The second meeting was for the naturists society that we had joined. It was this second meeting that I was more apprehensive about, I mean sure, Beth and I had enjoyed our small ventures into the world of naturism while on holiday, and we both enjoyed simply spending time naked together in our flat, but to socialise with a group of people in the nude was yet another new experience. I was sure we'd be okay and that we wouldn't be the only new members there, but still there remained just a small grain of doubt in the back of my mind which simply refused to go away. The only thing I was certain about was that it was required etiquette to bring a towel each with us to sit on.

The RAG meeting was being held in a vacant lecture room in the Social Sciences faculty building at my university. I had arranged to meet Beth at the university refectory and we would go and find the room together. The meeting was scheduled to begin at 4pm and was scheduled to finish at around 5:30pm, leaving us plenty of time to get to the naturists meeting at 7pm. However, as I sat in the refectory waiting for Beth to meet me, I noticed that she seemed to be running late - as I looked up at the clock on the wall I noticed it tick over to 3:55pm. Where had she got to??

Of course I reasoned that either her last lecture of the day had finished later than usual, or that she had missed her bus, but part of me still worried. I guess I inherited that from my mother - she was always a bit of a worrier. Since we arrived in York, she had insisted on us calling home every couple of days to reassure her that we were both okay and that we were eating properly and were properly engaged with our studies. If only she'd known what Beth and I really got up to!

Eventually, as the clock ticked over to 3:58 the familiar shape of my sister came through the double doors and into the refectory.

"What kept you?" I asked her after greeting her with a kiss. Of course, here miles away from home, nobody knew we were brother and sister so we could act almost like a conventional couple. To all my fellow students, we were simply boyfriend and girlfriend.

"There was some kind of accident on the ring road, the traffic was terrible and the bus was running late." She explained, "Anyway, I'm here now. Where is it we have to go?"

"Room 212 in the Social Sciences building - it's only across the way from here." I replied, "We'd better get a move on, though!"

We rushed out of the refectory and across to the Social Sciences building on the opposite side of the courtyard. Finding room 212 was fairly easy and the meeting was only just getting started when we arrived. Two third year students, a guy called Shaun and a woman named Myra were the co-chairs of the RAG society and once they had welcomed the new influx of members, including Beth and myself, they got down to business which basically outlined the calendar of events for the academic year and what charities and organisations they were supporting and what events they had planned.

A couple of causes caught my attention and I gladly put my hand up to volunteer my time. The first was for the men's health group, that year they were going to organise a few events to raise awareness of testicular cancer and to raise money for a specialist testicular cancer research group based at the nearby hospital. The other cause was for York's largest rescue centre for cats and dogs, something both Beth and I enthusiastically volunteered for. Various sub-committees were organised and would be meeting over the coming weeks. All in all it promised to involve a lot of fun and high jinks in the name of raising money and awareness and both Beth and I were looking forward to getting stuck in.

-----

The first meeting over, Beth and I made our way towards our second meeting of the day - the first meeting of the University of North Yorkshire Naturist Society for the 1985-86 academic year.

This time the meeting was being held in Marijke and Ben's house not far from the city centre. It was quite handy because it meant that it was roughly halfway between the university campus and our own flat which meant that we could walk there rather than take the bus. Perceptive of my emotions as she always was, it wasn't long before my twin sister picked up on my nervousness as we walked along the street towards Marijke and Ben's place.

"Are you... are you nervous about going?" She asked me as I strolled by her side.

"I... I don't know." I replied hesitantly.

"It's okay to be nervous you know." My sister replied, placing her hand on my arm and trying to reassure me.

"I'm not nervous." I insisted, although I wasn't entirely certain of my feelings.

"Then what is it then?" Beth implored, "Come on, I can tell something's not right here."

"Well, it's... it's a step into the unknown isn't it." I said, turning my head to face her, "I mean, that day we spent on Ille Solharvre was wonderful, but what if being nude in someone's house in York feels completely different?"

"Oh Tommy." Beth said with a sigh, "It'll be fine believe me. You'll find that everyone there is friendly and totally non-judgemental."

Beth was always the 'voice of reason' in our relationship - for whatever reason she always had a level-headed approach to things. For my own part, I was the more sensitively natured sibling. Some might say that normally it would be the boy that was the level-headed one and the girl that should be the sensitive and emotional one, but what is normal anyway? I often hated the narrow definition of masculinity - the so-called 'man-box' in which one must occupy in order to be considered a man. Why can't I display my emotions and still be a real man? I always wanted to argue.

"I know you're right." I replied, "But part of me is still worried about... you know."

"About what the other members might think of your er... member?" Beth speculated.

"Well, a bit." I answered bashfully, "But also because of... well..." I looked down at my crotch hoping I wouldn't have to put it into words.

"Oh, that." Beth said, suddenly enlightened as to the root cause of my nerves.

"I mean what if it happens? I'd die of embarrassment!!" I answered.

"Tommy, you can't keep worrying about getting an erection! It wasn't a problem when we went to lle Solharvre!"

"I know." I groaned, "It's just that, well, Ille Solharvre was quite a liberal sort of place. What if this club is a lot more... conservative about such things? I don't want to be thrown out because I can't control my penis!"

"You worry too much!" Beth scoffed, "You sound just like Mum sometimes! The more you get nervous, the more worked up you get. And the more worked up you get the more likely you are to get an unwanted erection - it's a self-fulfilling prophecy! If you calm down and relax you'll be more in control and it'd be less likely to happen. Just calm down okay? You'll be absolutely fine."

"I should have asked Ben and Marijke about their club policy vis-a-vis erections when we were at the Fresher's Fair!" I moaned. Embarrassing as it was, I knew I should have asked them discreetly about whether a male member in a tumescent state was something that was frowned upon or was accepted like it had been on that sun-kissed little isle in the Mediterranean we had visited that had opened our eyes to recreational nudity.

"It's a good job that I picked this up while we were there then isn't it!" Beth said triumphantly as she dug out a leaflet from her bag.

She opened it and read out the passage from the leaflet's Frequently Asked Questions section she had obviously read for herself some time earlier.

"Question: What happens if I get an erection? Answer: Perhaps the question we get asked most often! From time to time, it is natural for male members to become erect." Beth read from the leaflet, "While this is not something we encourage, we accept that sometimes it can be an unavoidable reflex. Our basic rule is that as long as a male member doesn't deliberately draw attention to his erection or flaunts it in an inappropriate or lewd manner, then it will be tolerated. If you are new to naturism, the occasional unwanted erection can occur - the more time one spends in nude company, the more one becomes accustomed to it and the less likely a man is to be afflicted with unwanted erections. With this in mind, we also respectfully ask female members to refrain from drawing attention to a male member having an erection as it can cause offence and embarrassment and can sometimes only make the problem worse for all concerned."

Beth handed me the leaflet.

"See?!" She said tersely, "If you get hard a couple of times nobody will judge you - just as long as you don't keep getting hard all the time and start waving your willy around in people's faces. And before you ask, no I'm not going to 'help you out' like I did in France!"

Shortly after we arrived at the little island paradise of Ille Solharvre, when we had discovered it was a naturist resort, both Terri and then Beth had disrobed with a 'when in Rome' attitude, but I myself was reluctant to undress at the time. With some embarrassment I confessed that casually stripping off was different for me because... well, because females don't have to worry about having erections. It was seeing that the very notion of getting naked in the open air amongst other people, and the fear of being seen with a raging hard-on, was in fact actually making me become sizeably erect. It was then that Beth decided to 'help me out'. She marched me behind a nearby bush whereupon she took down my jeans and my pants and proceeded to fellate me. It sort of worked, preventing me from becoming erect and I reluctantly stripped off and joined the girls. Well, it worked for a while at least but later that morning we met a woman who actually lived on the island and spent most of her time nude and explained to us that on Ille Solharvre at least, the sight of men in an erect state was tolerated so long as it wasn't flaunted too much.

"I never asked you to 'help me out' that day!" I retorted.

"Yes, but would you have undressed if I hadn't?" Beth replied.

"Well... probably not, no." I confessed.

"Look, just stop worrying about it okay." Beth reiterated, "Everything will be alright. And besides, don't you think that I might be feeling nervous too?"

"Well, are you?" I asked.

"Yes I am... a little."

"Why? I mean you don't have to worry about... y'know, getting unwanted erections!"

"Maybe not, but there are plenty of other things for a woman to get nervous about."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like taking my clothes off and being naked in front of a room of people I've never met before." Beth said, "Just because we don't get erections like you boys it doesn't mean women are totally comfortable taking our clothes off in unfamiliar surroundings and with unfamiliar people. Look, we don't have to go if you really aren't comfortable with it."

Could I really back out of this? I figured to myself. The thing was, during that carefree day on Ille Solharvre, once I got over my initial nerves I had felt a sense of freedom that I had never felt before. Being nude felt wonderful and I looked back on the experience with awed fondness - could pursuing naturism in Yorkshire be worse? Would I miss out on something wonderful and eye-opening if I wimped out of going?

"No!" I said firmly with a sudden flash of resolve, "We're doing this."

I stopped and looked my sister in the eye to convey my sincerity.

"We're doing this together."

-----

With a trembling hand and a racing heartbeat I pressed the doorbell of the address we had been given - the house the co-chairs of the society, Marijke and Ben shared - the venue for tonight's meeting. It was a grand old Victorian semi-detached villa, slightly Gothic in design with stone window surrounds in the form of the classic Gothic pointed arch with leaded windows that incorporated little stained glass motifs. The front door was heavy with sturdy brass fixtures that gleamed in the encroaching twilight. A light came on in the hall and suddenly Beth and I were bathed in multicolour light as the hall light shone through the front door's vibrant stained glass. Marijke opened the door dressed in a pale pink satin bathrobe.

"Ah! Welcome, it's Beth and... Timmy, isn't it?" She said as she welcomed us inside.

"Tommy." I corrected her.

"Sorry, Tommy - you'll have to forgive me, I have a terrible memory for names!" She replied apologetically, "Please come on in, we're all in the living room. There are one or two other new members to arrive yet but we've already started socialising. Can I get the two of you a drink?"

"Um, sure what do you have?" I asked.

"Well, we have some beer or wine if you'd prefer." Marijke replied, "Or tea and coffee if you don't want anything alcoholic."

"A glass of wine would be lovely thank you." Beth said.

"And for you Tommy?" our hostess asked.

"Um, yes a glass of wine please."

"White or red?"

"White please." I answered for both of us.

"Okay then, two white wines it is." Marijke said with a warm smile, "Now, the two of you can go upstairs to take your things off. Just use the front bedroom. Top of the stairs and straight ahead, you can't miss it. Once you've undressed, just come on down and you can introduce yourselves."

Just then, the doorbell rang once again. Marijke excused herself and answered the door, a couple of women came in. Obviously, they were long-standing members of the society judging from the warm greeting of familiarity they gave each other. Beth and I headed up the stairs and easily found the front bedroom. It was clearly the smallest bedroom in the house, but it still had enough room for a double bed. It had obviously been pressed into service as a makeshift 'undressing room', judging by the piles of folded clothes laid on the bed. I counted twelve individual sets of clothes, which were of course soon to be joined by two more.

"Together?" Beth said as she stood before me.

"Together." I replied, and to show her that I was serious and had got over my initial nerves (at least on the surface), I unbuckled my belt and unzipped my trousers and pulled them down.

A couple of minutes later, and after taking a deep breath each, Beth and I stepped out of the bedroom as naked as the day we were born. Our only adornments were the small gold crucifix pendant that Beth wore and my small braided leather bracelet with sterling silver clasps that I wore around my wrist. Beth had given me that bracelet a couple of years back as a birthday gift, wearing it had taken on a whole new meaning for me since our first sexual encounter together - in some ways I regarded it almost like a wedding ring of sorts.

As we stepped out onto the landing the two women Marijke had welcomed a few minutes earlier came up the stairs.

"Good evening." one of them said, "You must be new members - my name's Elaine and this is my girlfriend Pam."

"I'm Beth." My sister replied, "And this is my... partner, Tommy."

"Hi." I said a little meekly.

"Are you two..." Beth began before being cut off.

"Lesbians?" Pam speculated, anticipating Beth's enquiry.

"No, I was going to say are you two new members too?" Beth clarified.

"Oh, sorry." Pam replied awkwardly, "It's just that we get asked whether we're a couple quite a lot - it gets a bit tiring after a while."

"That's okay." Beth said. I guess she figured that if they knew the truth about our relationship they'd see their own relationship in a different light.

"No, we've been members for what, 4 years now." Elaine continued, "We came here as undergrads three years ago, and now we're both taking PHD's."

"Are you... feeling a bit nervous by any chance Tommy?" Pam asked.

"No! why?" I replied.

"Well, it's just that you're... well, you seem to be a bit..."

I looked down.

"Shit!! I knew this would happen!" I groaned, my hands instantly and instinctively reaching down to cover myself. I was most decidedly erect.

"Shh, it's okay." Elaine said, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, not here anyway. It can happen if you're new to all this."

"This is only the second time we've done anything like this." Beth confessed, "I mean, with other people around."

"Well, once you get used to it you'll find it gets easier." Pam said, "I guess it was easier for Elaine and me. We both come from naturist families, you see - we grew up among naked people."

"I can't go downstairs like this Beth!!" I hissed.

"Don't worry, nobody will mind." Elaine said, "Once you make that first step you'll be fine - it'll go down on its own."

I tried to reply but for some reason I couldn't find the words.

"Tell you what..." Elaine continued, "I'll bet you five quid that after ten minutes downstairs that erection of yours will be a distant memory and that nobody even makes any mention of it."

"You're on!" Beth said enthusiastically.

She caught a glimpse of the look I suddenly gave her.

"What??" She said back at me, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing." I sighed, "Let's just get it over with."

We left Elaine and Pam to undress themselves in the front bedroom and nervously I descended the stairs closely behind my sister. It felt decidedly wrong, going downstairs completely naked toward a room full of equally naked people I'd never met before whilst my stiffly engorged penis waggled in front of me. But I knew I had to try my best not to let it spoil things. Beth and I crossed the hallway and stepped into the living room - a group of fifteen or so people all completely and totally naked sat and stood around the room mingling and chatting with each other. I half expected a deathly silence to ensue as I stepped into the room sporting a firmly tumescent penis but aside from a few surprised double-takes, nobody said anything about it.

"Ah, there you are!" Marijke said as she approached us with two glasses of wine. She too was now naked and she looked... well, she looked absolutely stunning!

She glanced down at my erection and I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment.