Luke at University Pt. 01

At one tutorial session, Nic Aspergini asked if any of us fancied going to see the Italian film at the Rialto. It was rather short notice and the other five students in the group had previous engagements, but I said yes, I would go. I will be frank: this was because I wanted to get to know him better. I had no idea what his sexual proclivities were, or whether he would adhere to the rules and not make any advances.

We met outside the Rialto on a Wednesday afternoon, when there are no classes. The film was an early black-and-white film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, 'La Signora senza Camelie' (The Lady without Camellias). We each bought our own ticket and took our seats near the back. The cinema was very quiet, perhaps a dozen spectators. The film was good, although, as with all foreign films, it was difficult to concentrate on the dialogue and avoid reading the subtitles. At one particularly tense piece of action, I gripped the armrest between the seats with my right hand, only to find that Nic immediately placed his hand on top of mine. I relaxed my grip on the seat, and he immediately took my hand in his. When I did not remove it, he turned sideways and quickly and cautiously planted a kiss on my lips. No further action took place, and when we left the cinema, I thanked him for his company and said that I had to meet someone in half-an-hour, and regretted that there was no time to go for a drink. "Maybe next time, then," he said. I shot off back to college, my mind in a whirl. Maybe he really fancies me, I thought, he certainly now knows that I'm gay.

I wished that I could talk about my experience with Nic with someone, but I could scarcely raise the topic with Tom, as he appeared to be so straight. At the end of term, we each had our college Progress Test, which Camford colleges put their undergraduates through each term. It took the form of an oral test with our tutors, though some tutors used multiple-choice tests instead or in addition. They were a useful tool to monitor of our work and the college used them too to see if we were eligible for a scholarship. I passed mine successfully and Dr Cagliari said that I was in the running for a scholarship if my performance did not deteriorate.

Chapter 18

Civil Partnership

Since I had left choir school four years earlier, we had reverted to my parents' old practice of going to Loxton for Christmas, but this year, my grandparents came to Ixton for Christmas and the New Year. My Uncle Jeroen was now married with a family and living in Switzerland, so he could not join us. The reason for this change in our arrangements was the Civil Partnership Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, which took effect in England on 21 December 2004. In Camford there was a massive waiting list of gay and lesbian couples wishing to be legally united as soon as the law permitted. Bookings had been taken by Registrar's Offices for several weeks before. Among others, the Provost of M College and the Gibbonsian Professor of Sculpture had decided to come out of the closet and make honest men of their live-in boyfriends.

Pop and Dad had sent out invitations to a very select group of guests to attend their ceremony at Camford Register Office on 31 December 2004. Basically they were the same persons who had been present when Uncle Edward conducted their Commitment ceremony in the prayer room at Rockwell's Barn on the same date some 20 years before (my grandparents, Uncle Tim Ingledown and Edward), although Uncle Jeroen and my mother of course were absent. Also present were my sister and me and Marcello and Caterina. The two legally required witnesses were myself and Uncle Edward. My fathers signed the register in their new surname of Singleton-Scarborough and since my sister and I had arranged to take the same double-barrelled surname, I signed with my new name. Dad and Pop then changed their commitment rings from their right hand fourth digit to their left hand. Photographs were then taken by several of those present. My parents both wore the same shirts and ties that they had worn twenty years ago, but they had had to have new trousers, because, although they were both very fit, they had put on some weight round the waist! The movement of the diaphragm that operatic singing demands had led in Dad's case to some hypertrophy of the abdominal muscles.

After signing the register, we all adjourned to the function room in the Sparrowhawk, the pub where my parents had eaten dozens of meals over the last twenty years, which we had booked for the occasion and after yet more photographs, we sat down to an excellent meal and drank large quantities of Prosecco, the fizzy Italian wine that my parents love. Tim and Edward both gave short speeches wishing the newly legalized pair a happy future, and Dad replied with the following speech:

"Friends, it is so wonderful to see you all here on this happy occasion. When I was Luke's age, I thought that legal recognition of gay partnerships would never happen. Today the union of love that has brought our two children into our family has finally achieved legal recognition. Jon and I both thank you all for all that you have been to us and have done for us in the last twenty years. I thank God for all of you and pray that our children will grow up as happily as we have. We just regret that Jon's mother cannot be present with us today, but she always says that the weather in England in December will kill her! We're sorry too that my little brother Jeroen and his family have not been able to get here from Switzerland, but we send him our good wishes, and we will of course E-mail him some photographs."

My grandparents and Caterina sat with tears of joy running down their faces.

"Dad, please sing something for us," said Cathy. Dad stood up and sang 'Dalla sua pace' without any accompaniment. Then coffee was served and we all then piled into a hired bus that took us back to Rockwell's Barn, dropping Marcello and Caterina at their house on the way. We arranged with Uncle Tim that the four of us would meet him in London on January 2, to sign new wills for our parents and me and to finalize the arrangements for Cathy's and my name changes. Then we set about seeing the New Year in.

Chapter 19

Extract from the 'Camford Express' of 2 Jan 2005

'Civil Partnership

Scarborough-Singleton: On 31 December 2004 at Camford Register Office, D.M. Scarborough, C.B.E., M.Chem., M.A, Ph.D and J. Singleton, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.C.'

This press notice was a compromise between Dad's determination that my parents' partnership should be made generally known, and Pop's insistence that his name should never appear in the media in case his wealth should become publicly known. His huge donation to the Camford Men's Fitness club, for instance was on record as coming from a trust under his and Tim Ingledown's joint control.

Chapter 20

Wills and money

My parents had had, over the last few years, to keep a careful eye on their tax and inheritance situations, and this had necessitated several remakings of their wills. Now after civil partnership, which had invalidated their previous wills, it all had to be done over again, to take advantage of Inheritance Tax laws and the fact that I, as an heir needed to make a will for myself. Cathy was not old enough to make a will. All this activity was important, because in addition to Pop's large personal fortune, Dad was now a substantial earner, with fees coming in in all sorts of different currencies. Uncle Marcello had long since ceased to be his agent, and his bookings were now handled by a reliable woman agent, strongly recommended by Marcello, called Evelina Jackson.

Tim Ingledown would now handle the financial affairs of both of them including their pension contributions, except for Dad's professional fees. Tim's wise trusteeship had vastly increased the value of Pop's property portfolio, and had ensured that the three other ventures of Pop's, the Afforestation Trust, the drystone walling repair trust and the Camford Men's Fitness Centre were all financially secure. The Fitness Centre in fact had been such a success that there was a waiting list to join, and an extension of the facilities was being considered. Dad and Pop had also launched a venture into the social services area, a counselling service for homosexual Christians, which was not expected ever to become financially self-supporting, and would always require support by committed donors.

My will was complicated because I had not yet determined my future, and had to make provision for any partner or children that I might have and provide a destination for the ultimate beneficiaries in the event of me dying childless and partnerless. In that situation, my estate would go to Cathy or if she predeceased me, to her children. If she left no children, half of the estate was to go to Uncle Jeroen's children and half to Buckingham College.

Chapter 21

News of Mark

Before it was time for me to move back into college for the Candlemas term, I was writing a series of letters on my laptop to banks and other organizations about my change of name, when the phone rang. It was a call from Mark, my boyfriend in my last year at school, and we arranged to meet at a local pub. "How are you getting on?" I asked him.

"Fantastically!" he replied. "In my first term, I've bedded two first year boys and been bedded by a second year!"

"Oxbridge must be a hotbed of gays!" I said, "When you say bedded, what do you mean?"

"Well, with the first two boys, I just sucked and was sucked, but I let the second year boy fuck me."

"So, is the first fuck as painful as they say, or are you ready to do it again any time?"

"When I told him it was the first time, he was fairly gentle and asked me to stop him if the pain got really bad. But he used lots of lube and stretched my hole with his fingers, and after he'd got in, it was OK."

"I hope he used a rubber. There's still a lot of HIV around."

"Oh, yes he did."

"You've not tried doing it yourself yet then?" "

"No, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a natural bottom."

"I think you would know from your feelings for these guys what you wanted. If they filled you with lust and the desire to fuck the shit out of them, then you're a top, but if you felt a desire to submit, then you're a bottom."

"How about you, Luke? Any hits?"

"Not yet. There are two possibilities, but I need to go carefully. I'm not really after cock, I'm after a relationship with someone who shares my interests, even if one of the interests is getting laid."

We were sitting in a hidden corner of the pub, and so Mark put his arm round me and kissed me on the lips, and said, "But I'll never forget that you were the first!" We agreed to keep in touch via E-mail.

Chapter 22

A visit to a gay pub

The Candlemas term soon began, and Tom arrived back from Yorkshire more inscrutable and taciturn than ever. I asked him if he had had a good Christmas, and he just said, "It was OK, I suppose." I was at a total loss to understand him. He did not show any inclination to go out with girls. He was always ready to go out with me unless he had work commitments. In spite of his reticence, I found myself becoming increasingly interested in him. When he unwound, he had a charming smile and an excellent sense of humour and I began to fancy him seriously, but disciplined myself out of fear of spoiling our comfortable friendship. It was my birthday in the second week of term, and we signed out of college dinner and I took Tom out for dinner at the Venezia. We got through a bottle of Barolo betwen us and went right through the menu: antipasta, pasta, main course, dessert, followed by espresso and Marsala, and went back to college happy and full of food.

On our weekly visits to the Camford Olympic swimming pool, we usually swam twenty 50-metre lengths. I found it particularly difficult when we showered afterwards. Tom had a lot of darkish hair on his muscular chest and flat belly, with a prominent hairy treasure trail down his belly to his pubic hair, which was abundant, and out of it his long but thin tool dangled enticingly. There was no hair on his back and shoulders, to my relief, but his arse and legs were very hairy. He had good muscular legs and big feet. I was also pleased to discover that he was free from tattoos or body piercings. The idea of sex with any boy with a 'Prince Albert' on his cock did not appeal to me. I, in contrast was a about 5 cm shorter than Tom. My hair is intensely black, worn rather long, and I have a darkish, mediterranean skin colour and a big 'five-o'clock-shadow' problem. I weigh about 70 kilos, which makes me skinny for my height. My tool is quite long and thick, and my legs are long and not very muscular and my arse and back are hairless. My arse is small and rounded and my hips are narrow. When we were under the showers, I had to think hard about my work or the anthem that I was learning for the choir, and avoid looking at Tom, because it was a desperate fight to avoid an erection. Most of the time I was half erect, but fortunately, if he noticed, Tom did not comment.

Tom and I resumed our previous term's practice of going out to one or more pubs one night per week. In about week 4 of the term we went to a pub that we had never visited before, in the town centre near the theatre. We went in, and I took a seat while Tom went up to the bar to buy the first round of drinks. To my surprise, a guy with a ring in his nose walked up and sat on the bench seat next to me and put his arm round my shoulder. Such a thing had never happened to me before, and I realized that we were in a gay pub! I looked at this guy and said to him, "What do you think you're doing?" Before he had chance to reply, Tom came up carrying two pints of the local brew, West London Bitter. I must have looked extremely embarrassed, but I had no idea how to get rid of this guy. "Hello," Tom said, "what can we do for you?"

"I was just asking your friend what he wanted to drink."

"Why do you suppose that he wanted you to buy him a drink?" Tom asked, "He's with me and here is his drink. Do you think that we came in here in search of a pick-up? We just want a quiet drink." The guy did not stand up or withdraw his arm from my shoulder in spite of the attempts I was making to release myself. "Look, please leave us alone to get on with our drinks." The man reluctantly stood up, removing his arm, to my great relief. Tom put the glasses on the table, and the soliciting character still had not moved away, so Tom bent across and whispered in his ear, "Piss off, he's mine." Having heard it spelt out, albeit untruthfully, the guy finally got the message and left the premises.

"Thanks, Tom" I said, "he was an awkward customer. I hope we don't meet him outside when we leave."

"We'll go out at the same time as another group of people," he said, and we settled down to enjoy our beer. There was an amazingly assorted clientèle in the pub. We could spot actors from the theatre, quite a few discreetly dressed elderly men, some of whom might have been dons, the usual collection of tattooed, leather-jacketed, unshaven young men on the prowl, and a number of student types, some wearing GLBT T-shirts, among whom I recognized a couple of Buckingham men. Although we did not exactly relish the company that we found ourselves in, we had another couple of pints each, and left the pub by tagging on to a group who were leaving, and slipped away and headed for the Lion, a pub just around the corner from Boni's. Here we took it in turns to go to the toilet. We had not dared to go for a piss in the gay bar for fear of some kind of assault. We were probably being paranoid, but violence seems to be associated with randy gay males.

In the Lion, we had another pint and then went back to college. "Do you want some coffee, or more beer?" I said to Tom, "I've got some bottles of White Shield in my cupboard." We split a 500-ml bottle of the beer between us and sat on the sofa. Tom took a swig of the beer, burped loudly and boldly put his arm round me.

"Thanks for getting rid of that guy," I said.

"Think nothing of it" Tom said meaningfully, "I would do a lot more for you than scare off a lecherous gay looking for a pick-up."

"You know, I heard what you said to him as he was leaving," I said.

"Did you?" he asked, "I wish it were true! You're not mine, but I want you."

To my total amazement, he pulled me to him and kissed my lips. "Let's talk about this tomorrow when we're both sober," I said. It was now nearly midnight and we were both rather drowsy. I cleaned my teeth, muttered a few incoherent prayers, and fell into bed.

Chapter 23

Sleeping partner

Within a few minutes I had fallen into a deep sleep. It was broken about 2 am by a need to piss, and the washbasin came in useful again.

I got back into bed and fell asleep, only to be wakened about an hour later by someone getting into bed beside me! It was of course Tom. He snuggled up close to me in the narrow single bed and put his right arm round me, pulling me on top of his naked body, face upwards. He grasped me with both arms and kissed my ear, before he fell asleep with me in his arms. It was a cold night and the warmth of his body made me feel sleepy myself and I soon dozed off.

I awoke about 7-30. I had forgotten to set the alarm clock the night before, but it did not matter, as my first lecture was not till 10 am. I gently disengaged myself from Tom's arms and went and pissed in the washbasin, farting noisily as I did so. "Better out than in!" said a voice from the bed, and there was Tom smiling sleepily at me. "I hope you didn't mind me getting into your bed, but I got a bit cold in the night after getting out for a piss."

"It's a good job we were both only half awake," I said, "otherwise you would have been in serious danger of rape!"

"It's only rape if the victim doesn't consent!" he said ambiguously, without spelling out what he would have done if I had tried it.

"If we're to get to our lectures comfortably," I said, "and allow me time for a shit after breakfast, we need to be in Hall at 8-30. Are you coming for a shower?" I pulled the sheets off him and told him to get his clothes. We went to the bathroom, which was free, and we turned on the hot water and squeezed into a single shower cell. We both had massive hard-ons, but we realized that there was not much time to fool around, and in any case the bathroom door did not lock (only the toilet stalls locked). However we were able to wash each other's hair and soap each other down, playing particular attention to each other's genitals! Clean, dry, shaven and dressed, we went into breakfast, and I for one was amazingly hungry considering our alcohol intake the previous night.

It was very difficult that day to concentrate in my lecture on the sonnets of Petrarch, and a later lecture on the language of Rabelais, although more interesting, also failed to hold my attention. I was totally mystified how a man who had been almost stony in his demeanour to me in the six months that I had known him should now suddenly be getting possessive, when nothing had passed between us except for a few kisses the night before. Thomas Appleton had a lot of explaining to do, and I could not help hoping that the explanation would be as sweet as his behaviour to me the night before. I had a French tutorial in the afternoon, and fortunately all I had to do was to read my essay to my tutor and discuss my conclusions. By 4 pm, I was through with classes, and went back to our room. I knew that Tom's lab classes finished about 4 pm, and I hoped that he would come straight back to college.

Chapter 24

Tom and Luke make love

I felt my pulse begin to race as I heard footsteps on the stairs. I heard the sound of a key in the lock and Tom came into the room. I was sitting on the sofa. He hung his coat on the back of the door and came and sat beside me. At once I spread my arms and wrapped them round him, smiling tenderly. "If you want me, I'm yours!" I whispered, and kissed him on the lips.