I’m sitting in 1st class en route to Hong Kong. It is luxury at its finest, with a whiskey, the strongest drink, to calm my nerves. I am a nervous wreck on flights; my hands are sweating and the plane has been delayed by half an hour. Probably karma as I only just made the flight, having squeezed in a very special client last minute. I’m calling it ‘farewell’ sex. It has certainly left me with great lasting memories and was well worth it. Our naked, sweaty bodies pounding each other as we had steamy, hot sex in the sauna, followed by sex in the Jacuzzi, followed shortly after with sex in her husband’s bed. Thinking back a couple of hours, my cock starts to rise from the pleasurable memory. Fuck, more whiskey and a cushion, please. I look around at the passengers; do you think they can tell I had multiple orgasms only a few hours before boarding? 

In the half-hour delay, I am left thinking of the events of the past year, and trust me, a lot has taken place. I’m twenty-one years old, two years left at university and a whole lifetime ahead of me. All I can think of now is the meeting that lies ahead in Hong Kong with a new business partner and to the start of a new chapter in my life. Do I have any regrets over the last year? A few; I think you will know which ones I mean. Would I change anything? No fucking chance. I am loving life and this is only just the beginning. 

1 year earlier… 

It’s funny how life pans out- one minute your 4 years old starting primary school - for me, an innocent scrawny child clinging on to my mum as if going to school was the worst thing that could ever happen in my life. But throughout this time, my confidence blossomed, I grew into my own skin, exploring the boundaries and experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly. I came away with stories to tell, hitting the milestones, until one day it was time to say goodbye to the person who you were clinging onto at the school gate, ultimately flying the nest.

What’s in store for you, John Hunter? Well, I guess you are going to find out….

To cut a long story short, I am no longer the scrawny child that clung to his mum on the first day of school. I’m John. John Hunter. I am 20 years old and recently left home to study Business & IT at a well-established university in Oxford.

I had fun and games at university as you can imagine. I chose Oxford as a location, not actually because I had a choice, but it was the only one I got accepted for. Which is funny, as you would think of a university in Oxford as being one of the best; the other universities obviously didn’t see my potential. This is what I tell myself and others. On the downside, it’s not cheap to live there and the surrounding areas, other than the student union, are pricey to eat and drink. Luckily, my best mate, Jimmy, sorted the accommodation for us, or should I say his dad bought him a two-bed flat right in the centre of Oxford, close to the university. I am suspicious of his reasons as to why he is going to the same university as me; he had no plans to go and only just scraped through his A-levels. He is doing a Degree in Psychology, nothing at all related to his A-Levels. His dad is happily paying for it as it gets him to leave home, and if I’m brutally honest, I don’t think he wants him running the family business just yet. I am a little sad that I am not experiencing halls of residence, but grateful for saving on the accommodation cost. Plus, Jimmy and I will have a laugh, after all, he is my best mate, the brother I never had. We had spent the year before going to university together on a GAP year. We spent six months travelling Australia and then we were privileged enough to go for six months to Africa, where we did voluntary work at a nature reserve, as well as helping with a building project for a tiny village, which was run through the church that my parents go to. It was a great year, but it was now time to settle down and work out what I wanted to do with my life.  

I’m from a middle-class background, possibly richer than some – I am an only child so I got more than most and am a typical mummy’s boy. I still go home most weekends for my mum to do my washing, have a Sunday roast dinner and accompany my mum to church on Sunday morning. I keep this information to myself. My mates would tease me for life if they knew. I’m not a religious person and have done things I am not proud of, but I have discovered by going to church I feel better, mainly because the people who go are troubled, and in comparison, my life seems normal.  

My parents don’t live too far from Oxford, so my mum was pleased I was close, although knowing her she probably would have moved wherever I got in. They paid for my course and paid rent money to Jimmy’s dad, so I am lucky in that respect. So, the student loan is my beer money, which doesn’t last long in Oxford, so it was in my best interest to get a part-time job to help fund the rest. I was also in a bit of debt from the travelling, which my mum did not know about.

I’m not going to lie; it wasn’t easy finding a part-time job. A lot of students are in the same boat as me, and some are even funding their tuition fees themselves, so jobs were limited. I had several interviews and didn’t hear back from most. It was around the end of November when my luck changed and lots of places were advertising for casual workers to meet the Christmas party demand. I had bar skills, drinking skills and knew how to charm, so it seemed fitting that I worked in a bar. I got a job in a plush hotel as a barman. I think the manager fancied me. A short, attractive woman called Kirsty, who looked like she could do with a bigger uniform as her shirt button was popping open and I could see her bra; I didn’t know where to look; huge knockers. I barely had an interview; she showed me around the reception, the lobby area, restaurant and bar and then asked when I could start. I had no idea what this job would lead onto. If I had, maybe I would have run from the start. It definitely wasn’t what had been advertised! I had assumed it was acasual, part-time job to earn me my beer money – and that’s how it did start off. What I didn’t know, was that this job was the start of my career.