This story follows on from
Bikini Shopping with the Boys
.
It was still the height of summer in Oceanview, beautiful weather most days, warm and sunny. Usually I'd be out swimming at the beach, but I'd got a summer job at the fitness center on campus working the front desk. I did have weekends free. A while before, I'd kind of suggested that we go visit the beach, my best friend, Satomi with Takuya and Hiro, two Japanese guys who were studying here over the summer.
This was all well and good, but after my encounter with Takuya in the mall, I had to rethink. Every time I do things like that... you know, like I mean get naked in public or whatever, I always feel so guilty afterwards, worried that I'll bump into people who saw me, and end up in real trouble. I hadn't been back to that mall since. I'd even stopped hanging out in Satomi's dorm so I wouldn't run into Takuya.
It's not that I was angry at him exactly. Well maybe a little. It's a long story, but one thing he did was run off with my t-shirt leaving me naked in this little alcove in the mall just across from the sporting goods store. He probably got carried away on seeing me naked. I was kind of hoping he'd protect me, give me my clothes back at least before running off. Ryosuke's usually good about that. If I go too far, Ryosuke will stop, and try to get me to cover up again. Takuya was the exact opposite. I don't know if he's shy, or if he was deliberately trying to provoke me, but he kept running off taking my t-shirt with him, leaving me standing there all by my lonesome naked and afraid. He was excited I guess. So was I.
I did take a look at the video he made of me on my phone posing for him in the mall. I did look good, naked, cute with my black choker with the bells on it. I had a ribbon in my long black hair, my bangs brushed back out of my eyes. I look a bit nervous not really used to being naked in such a public place. My breasts did look big, my shoulders sleek and soft. His camera work wasn't perfect though. When he swung around to the next aisle, fans got in the way so you couldn't see my body.
The video of me standing naked in the alcove could have been good, my pink skin standing out against the alabaster of the wall behind me. I was so nervous in this one, I did this little kama sutra dance, trying to show that I knew this was weird. The video ended soon though, because Takuya ran off to talk to Hiro. Ah well. It doesn't matter. I'll just lock this thumb-drive away, and not show anyone for now. I don't even know what I wanted it for. Just to prove I'd done it I guess. It is kind of risky though keeping it around.
Anyway, I should probably go see Satomi. As far as I know, she didn't know anything about me running around naked at the mall. She hadn't said anything about it anyway. I dropped by to see her one day before work, and she mentioned that Takuya and Hiro had been asking when we could go to the beach. I put it off as long as I could, but I knew eventually I should probably give in, and go face them. I hadn't really talked with Takuya since, so I wasn't sure how he felt about me. He had made a big fuss over me that day, complimenting me on how sexy I look, touching me, trying to get me excited. Is he like into me now? It was hard to know for sure. Maybe he was just teasing me, seeing how far I'd go. Who knows?
Slowly, I began to think more about how to handle this. At the end of the summer, most of the ESL students who were staying in Satomi's dorm will go back to their home countries. Takuya is from Osaka in the west of Japan while my parents live south of Tokyo in the east, so it's not like I would see him when I go home. I should probably just relax, not get all worked up about it. Hopefully, he's settled down too, and we can go back to the way things were.
Anyway, I finally told Satomi I was free that coming Saturday to go to the beach. She seemed pleased, looking forward to it. I thought about telling her about what happened between me and Takuya, but decided not to. Satomi is a bit old-fashioned. I didn't want to shock her with all the details.
When I woke up on Saturday, it was another beautiful day. The sun was up, birds, chirping outside my window. I guess I can admit I was looking forward to this myself. I love the beach, the sun, the blue water, the sea breeze, the cute guys, the whole atmosphere. Everyone there is all charged up, looking to meet up, have fun. Maybe you know.
Anyway, I got up out of bed, went across to the bath room, and got cleaned up. I looked at myself in the mirror. My skin was kind of orangey pink, my lips pink and kissable. My black hair had grown quite long, my bangs hanging down in my eyes. It gives me a mysterious look I think, my black eyes peeking out from behind this fringe of hair. I tried to fix my hair, dab at my cheeks with my washcloth to get them less shiny. I guess it doesn't matter so much how I look. I should just try to relax. It's no big deal, I kept telling myself. Just another day.
I started to unbutton my p.j. top, peeking down at my own breasts all perky in the morning light, when suddenly, I heard my smartphone ring back in my room. I ran back, and answered it. It was Satomi.
"So what time are you coming?" she asked. "Should I make us some onigiri or something?" Onigiri are rice balls with flakes of salmon or tuna in the middle. She was obviously all keyed up, anxious to make a good impression.
"I was just about to have a shower. Onigiri is fine, but there's probably places to buy food at the beach."
"Don't you think Hiro would like onigiri? Remind him of home?"
"I'm sure he'd love them. I'm just saying don't worry so much. He's probably looking forward to seeing you too."
"Oh I hope so. Hiro seems nice. He's nice, don't you think?"
Hiro is a bit of a pretty boy, like one of those idols from a boy band, fidgety, always getting himself in trouble, but I don't think he is a bad guy really. As long as she likes him, that's what matters.
"Yeah, he seems fine. Anyway, don't worry. I'll get ready, and be there soon."
"Thanks, Emi. Give me a call when you're close."
"Yeah, will do. See you in a bit."
I dashed back across to the bath, stripped out of my p.j.'s, and turned on the shower. It felt good to get naked. Brandon's room is right across the hall, but I hadn't heard a peep from him. He's probably asleep or playing video games or something.
I stepped into the spray, basking in the feeling of the warm water on my naked skin. I poured some soap into my hand, and lathered my body up, scrubbing away at my breasts, between my legs, my hiney. It felt good to get clean, invigorating. This was going to be a good day.
Once I was done, I dried myself off as quickly as I could, wrapped a towel around me, and scooted back to my room. I fished out my lucky necklace that Ryosuke gave me, and clipped it on. I leafed through my closet, looking for t-shirts. I didn't want something too sexy, just normal. I'm mainly going to support Satomi. What about this Vans one in white? The stretch cotton is plush, soft. It's one of my longer t-shirts, decent. And this grey Inside one is nice too. I packed the grey t-shirt in my small black backpack along with a change of undies. I pulled on white panties, a white clingy sports bra, beige jean shorts and the Vans t-shirt, checking myself in the mirror. Cute, but not too sexy. This is perfect.
I stuffed sun block, my shower kit and a couple of towels in my backpack, clipped my sunglasses onto my t-shirt, and then headed downstairs for some breakfast. Brandon looked sleepy, but Loretta had laid out some salad fixings for me: chick peas, quinoa, tofu, avocado and cherry tomatoes. I had some, ran back up to the bath to brush my teeth, and then pulled on my white sandals (kind of like beach clogs), and headed out.
At Satomi's dorm, she was still rushing around getting ready. She's a cute girl, her skin whiter than mine, her long hair a bit wavy and dyed brown these days. I think her eyelashes are natural, but they look a bit like Betty Boop's, spiking out like spokes on a bicycle wheel. She was wearing black eyeliner, had tweezed her eyebrows, her hair shining bright in the light.
"Did you dye your hair again?" I asked.
"Yeah. How does it look?"
"Lustrous. How do you get it like that?"
She ignored my question, and signaled we should go. She had on a short yellow sundress with blue flowers, wholesome but attractive.
We found Takuya and Hiro out in the hall. Takuya is incredibly tall, 6 feet easy. His face reminds me a bit of my grandmother's, the way he holds his mouth, the retro spectacles, weathered, earthy. He can be quite forward at times, but he has this gentle side too. He had this funny expression on his face. I guess he'd noticed that I hadn't been around much. Maybe he could tell I'd been avoiding him. Ah well.
Hiro had on these mirror sunglasses and a weird dayglo lime green jacket. He didn't react so much when Satomi and I walked up. He does tend to play it cool at times.
Anyway, once we were all ready, we went outside, and caught a bus. I went half way down, and then slid into a seat for two. Takuya was behind me, so he slid in next to me, while Satomi and Hiro headed right to the back of the bus, and sat there. I glanced over at Takuya, wondering if he was going to say something. He's usually quite the chatterbox. He just sat there for the longest time, and then finally spoke up.
"Listen. About what happened at the mall the other day..."
I was curious about what he had to say, but Satomi and Hiro could probably hear, so I waved for him to shush. I don't think either of them saw me running around naked at the mall, not completely anyway.
"Not now, OK?" I whispered nodding at them. They stopped talking, and looked over at us, curious. I just smiled at them, and nodded for them to carry on with their conversation. Looking around for a new topic, I noticed he had a little white cord hanging down from one ear.
"What are you listening to?" I asked.
"Tropical house. Hear listen," he took out his earphone, and gently held it up to my ear, so I could hear. "I was thinking we could use it for our next video."
The music was upbeat, cheerful, summery. I like his taste.