As soon as I read about the Summer Lovin' contest, I knew that I must write about an experience I had one magical summer. I was fresh out of college and was working for a large company with an international name. I thought it was the "cats meow" to work for a company that everyone knew. Even though, in reality, I was merely a speck of sand on the giant corporate beach.
I grew up in a religious family that centered its life on the church. We lived in a nice quiet suburb that had an early curfew and most everyone cut their yards diagonally. My experiences to prepare for the real world were thwarted by living in a "bubble of familiarity". I didn't realize it at the time, but anyhow, that doesn't matter for this story. This story is about summer
lovin'.
This is how a "good girl" discovered a different side of her life.
It was the first summer on my own. For the first time in my life I was away from the family, finished with college, and gainfully employed. I was living with my girlfriend Holly in a small apartment, in a trendy and somewhat dangerous part of town. (It was a convenient distance away from my home town).
I heard about a summer evening outdoor concert featuring the Lovin' Spoonful, one of my favorite bands from the past. Holly and I bought tickets as soon as we could, and prayed for a nice hot summer night to enjoy this concert. Neither one of us was dating very much, so we didn't have to concern ourselves with any guys.
Our prayers were answered, it was a gorgeous day, a little humid, but one of the summer nights that you dream about in the dead of winter. Holly and I entered the gates together, but were quickly separated, as is our usual routine. We almost always bump into each other on the way out of the gates.
As I said earlier, I was a shy "good girl" growing up, but I was starting to explore other sides of myself. Growing up a wallflower normally would have guided me to sit way on the outside of the baseball stadium so I could see better. I would also be able to get out of the gates fast to beat the crowd to the parking lot. (Wow! that sounds like my dad). This time however, I was drawn to the very front of madness, like a bug to a streetlight at midnight. The front is where people always stand, usually dance, guys put their girlfriends on their shoulders.
Holly and I had prepared for this by drinking a fair amount of Sangria before we left. We drank another glass in the parking lot, and I had a small wine skin with some Lambrusco. I didn't usually drink very much, but I was really enjoying the feeling that it gave me that evening.
As I mentioned, it was warm, and I was dressed comfortably. I picked out a light cotton shell, shorts, and sandals. It was the time when lots of women went braless, but I wasn't that confident yet. I was slender and had small (but perky) breasts. I envied the ladies that shed their bras, but I was self conscious of too much jiggling and of having my nipples show.
I kept moving towards the middle of the crowd. At first I felt a bit out of place. The ages of people were all over. People that grew up with the Lovin' Spoonful and many that probably have never heard of them. People were dressed both better and worse than me. I think I felt a bit like an odd duck because I didn't feel the same confidence and casual friendliness that most everyone else was showing. However, the wine was starting to help me out.
As I walked through the crowd I felt a fair amount on hands on my body. I'm not sure how much of it was accidental, but after a few "friendly assaults", I chose to ignore it. Not being bothered by all of that touching seemed to give me a little bit of confidence and freeness that I was witnessing. I was getting caught up in "familiarity" of the crowd. Everyone seemed like your friend, all smiles, lots of talking, lots of touching, and general closeness. They were singing and dancing along with the warm up band. I remember standing next to a group of people, four guys and two girls. They were all younger than me, and attractive. I would have dated any one of the guys. The girls didn't seem to "be with" any one of the guys, and were hanging on all of them. One girl in particular was pretty and was wearing a small halter top and defiantly not wearing a bra! I was trying not to look at her hard nipples, but it was like trying not to notice someone that was intensely staring at you. She caught me looking, and just gave me a girlish smile.
I'm not attracted to women, but for some reason, I kept glancing at her boobs. I wish that I had gone braless too, and would have, except for the fact of being
chicken.