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Tailed by her friends, a naked college girl runs into her crush.
This story is dedicated to reader Lara, who requested a character named after her. And to Matt: wherever you are now, thanks for making me smile during Fiction Writing class.
I hope you enjoy this entry to the 2017 Nude Day Contest!
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Candy lay scattered everywhere as I sprawled on the living room floor of my campus apartment, surrounded by my roommates. The rug cushioned my bare back and ass. Blowing a strand of long blonde hair off my face, I reached for the Mike and Ikes.
My tank top, panties, and skimpy shorts were crumpled on the floor. It had been awhile since I'd peeled my clothes off, just for the hell of it. But I'd always liked hanging out naked, and I'd been lucky enough to find roommates who didn't care. I'd met these girls on the track team freshman year, and we hadn't looked back.
Jade stretched out on the couch, slim and wiry, her braids in a twist, typing on her laptop with a bag of Sour Patch Kids tucked under her arm. Maggie rattled around the kitchen, her freckles standing out under the fluorescent lights, making another pot of coffee. Irina prowled up and down the living room, her boobs spilling over her T-shirt as usual: changing the music, popping Hershey's Kisses, and doing everything possible to procrastinate on studying.
"Just keep the sugar coming," I mumbled.
Jade tossed me the Sour Patch Kids. "You should really be writing your paper. It's 1 am, guys. It's the last night of senior finals, andβ"
"And I'm so done." Irina plopped down next to me. "Come on, we all are. We're graduating. We've done our time. We're leaving...moving on..."
"I don't wanna think about it." I chewed on a cherry Mike and Ike as I felt around for more candy. Next week, I'd graduate with my economics degree. A week later, I'd start working as a financial analyst in Chicago. Hello, adulthood.
"And Lara's naked." Maggie laughed, brushing back her short hair. Taking chipped college mugs from the cupboard, she began pouring coffee. Maggie was always cheerful, with a voice that was perpetually hoarse and a long runner's build, like me. "It's been too long. I didn't want to say it, but dating Nathaniel was making you bo-ring."
Irina reached over to give me a tummy rub. "Poor baby had a bad breakup."
I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of her soft hand on my bare belly. That first day of track practice, I'd been surprised to meet Irina, who didn't have anything close to a runner's build. Girl was all curves and didn't care how much she bounced. But she had endurance; I'd give her that.
"Two fucking months," I groaned. "That's how long I made a fool of myself, thinking we were on the same page. While all Nathaniel's friends knew he'd cheated on me with his ex during spring break in Mexico. And one of them decides to tell me yesterday...yeah, like that, Irina."
"I know." Even with my eyes closed, I heard the grin in Irina's voice.
"He should have been spending spring break with you, not his ex," Jade muttered from the couch.
I shrugged. "He'd bought the tickets months in advance. All his friends were there. I had plans too."
And I was trying not to care, but even worse than the cheating was the coverup. I liked things out in the open. No hiding, no lying, no secrets.
"Let's make it better." Irina's voice came from above. Icy fizz on my belly jerked my eyelids open. She shook the last drops of a can of Pepsi over my skin.
"Jesus." I pushed half-heartedly at her wrist, squirming under the prickles of cold liquid. "Let me suffer in peace."
Irina tossed the can aside. "You said ten minutes ago that you wanted to drown in sugar. I'm just giving you what you want." Maggie laughed, bringing in coffee. Jade rolled her eyes.
"Not literally," I protested. Irina tickled my ribs, and I grabbed her hand.
"Get a room, you two," Jade grumbled, tapping keys.
"Lara doesn't want to get a room," Irina said innocently. "She wants to talk about Matt. Her secret little crush while her boyfriend was off cheating."
I batted at her long, curly dark hair. Irina had a talent for reading minds. She also had a talent for getting people out of their clothes. We'd hooked up once sophomore year, and I could only blame the first few kisses on tequila shots. When she wanted something β or someone β Irina was hard to resist. I remembered being that way too, once. It was fun. Fun and far away.
"Matt who?" Maggie perked up. "You've been holding out on us. Matt Brown?"
"Nah." Jade reached down for the Hershey's kisses Irina had dropped. "Matt Sanchez for sure."
"Nope." I shook my head. "Matt Papadakis."
"Ohhhhh." Understanding broke across Maggie's freckled face. "In his pajama bottoms?"
"Mm-hm." Matt always wore plaid pajama bottoms around campus. With his easy smile and half-closed brown eyes, he looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep. But his comments in Fiction Writing class told me he was sharper than that. His broad body was all teddy bear. I'd tried not to let the crush get out of hand, even though things between me and Nathaniel had been going south for awhile. "He's just so...fuckable. Yummm... "
"Someone's eyes are glazing over," Irina teased.
"I can get behind that." Maggie settled cross-legged on the couch by Jade's feet, sipping coffee.
"Why don't you? Lara in front, Maggie behind." Irina's hands moved in a completely unnecessary gesture. "Make a Matt sandwich."
"Uh-uh." I picked at the foil on a Hershey's kiss. The chocolate was half-melted because the night was so damn warm, and the AC in our apartment was broken. "Matt's mine. He wouldn't go for that anyway. The guy just screams "wholesome." Like a tall glass of milk. And he has such a sweet smile..."
"So call him." Jade dangled her phone in my face.
"God, no. I barely know him. I just broke up."
This spring, I'd had room in my schedule for one fun class and signed up for Fiction Writing. The class made a good outlet as little spats with Nathaniel turned into big fights. Matt Papadakis sat across from me. He was just so damn cute. Quiet in class. His comments were to the point, and he didn't talk to hear his own voice β unlike me. But what got me was every so often, I'd catch him watching me with a look of burning curiosity. When I'd meet his eyes, he'd quickly look away.
I still had his feedback on my short story:
It seems like there's a lot more to your main character than meets the eye. An untamed wildness, hiding, just waiting to come out. Is she a shadow of her former self?
I'd stared at the typed words. Next class, I'd asked him if he wanted to have lunch in the student union.
He'd said yes. But the whole time, it felt like sitting with your middle school crush in the cafeteria. We'd smiled over our burritos, made eye contact that skated past each other, brought up topics that lasted a few sentences, and ended up sharing a brownie in awkward and hovering silence. Matt was shy, that much was clear, but I'd never been known for keeping my mouth shut.