Scaling the Monument

This story was inspired by the real life Herndon Climb tradition at the U.S. Naval Academy, and features a shy young woman forced out of her shell by a series of very public wardrobe mishaps during a summer camp team building activity. This is my first foray into publicly sharing erotica, so feedback is very much appreciated so I can hone and improve future stories. Thank you and enjoy!

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Kelsey exited the mess hall to join the crowd of other campers that had gathered around the raised platform where the counselors, barely older than the campers themselves, stood ready to address the group. Behind them a beat-up old pickup truck idled, it's aging engine occasionally making a loud enough sputter to be heard over the din of laughter and conversation. Attached to its rusting hitch was a trailer loaded with the backpacks, suitcases, and sleeping bags the campers had been instructed to leave behind before being ushered off to the mess hall for dinner and orientation. The driver of the truck had the windows rolled up and was clearly enjoying his brief respite from the sticky, summer heat that the vehicle's air conditioning was providing. Kelsey envied him as she tugged at her t-shirt, worried that the white fabric would begin to show embarrassing pools of sweat if she didn't find her own source of AC soon.

She tried desperately to push the thought aside. This was a fresh start for her, and she couldn't afford to fall back into the old, anxious mindset she had developed as a wallflower and a late bloomer back home. She had considered herself utterly unremarkable throughout her middle and highschool years, but this was a chance to reinvent herself among the other 18 year old college bound campers that would be her peers for the next four years. At the moment, not a single one of them knew her name, and she was determined to make an impact before the weeklong leadership program came to an end. Of course, she had no way of knowing just how infamous the reputation she was about to earn herself would become...

One of the counselors produced a megaphone and called for everyone's attention as the murmuring of the crowd died down. "After a long, hot day and a big meal, I'm sure you guys are eager to get to your cabins to unpack and settle in for the week. Unfortunately, we have some bad news. Last night's storm knocked out power to half of the cabins and we can't get an electrician out to fix it for at least two days. That means half of us will be sleeping with no lights, no hot water, and no AC-" The rest of the statement was drowned out by the uproar of unhappy campers all trying to ask questions or voice complaints at the same time. The speaker increased the volume of the megaphone and was able to continue over the noise. "HOWEVER, rather than selfishly claim the working cabins for ourselves, the counselors have agreed to give you all a chance to prove your teamwork and leadership skills."

At this point the speaker pulled a square of red fabric from her back pocket and held it up for the crowd. "We have hidden a matching handkerchief somewhere nearby, and when I blow my whistle, you will have twenty minutes to retrieve it. If any of you manage to succeed, you will all be sleeping in comfort tonight! But if the clock runs out first, those cabins are all ours!" The other counselors gathered on the platform cheered and clapped at this. Their sly, confident smiles made Kelsey's heart sink. This clearly wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded...

A shrill whistle sounded and snapped Kelsey out of her despair. "Your time starts... NOW! Good luck!" Campers began to spread out, desperately searching for any hint of their prize. Before their first minute was up, however, a voice rang out over the excited noise of the crowd and the laughter of the counselors. "It's over here!" Kelsey followed the gaze of her peers and immediately understood why the counselors seemed so cocky. A hint of red fabric sat atop the massive statue that loomed over the entrance to the camp. It was nearly 20 feet tall and shaped like an obelisk, with four smooth, unadorned sides, save for a plaque at the base commemorating the camp's founder. Despite its size, it was surprisingly easy to overlook, since it was carved from the same type of stone that littered the area and it blended in with the numerous large boulders and outcroppings.

But something looked different about it, and it took Kelsey a moment to realize exactly why. Scattered around it's base lay discarded buckets wreathed in soapy white suds. The same bubbles were gathered at the foot of the monument, and the waning light of the setting sun glistened off of the slick sheen that coated every inch of the statue.

Emboldened by their discovery and acutely aware of the ticking clock, the gathered campers surged toward the statue, and Kelsey was swept forward in the pressing crowd. The first to reach it began scrambling up the side, making it only a few feet up the face before slipping back down, soaked in wet suds. This continued for several waves, all while the counselor stood on the sidelines, cracking jokes and clearly enjoying themselves. "Five minutes down, fifteen remaining!" the announcer's voice boomed over the crowd.

Kelsey, true to her demur nature, had remained on the edges of the crowd, observing. She noticed that despite any efforts at teamwork to climb on shoulders or boost up fellow campers, the slippery detergent undid any progress that was made, and even the most determined human pyramid eventually collapsed into a pile of slick, soapy limbs as falling campers were caught by their compatriots at the bottom. Except, that is, for the base. The press of human bodies had wiped away most of the slippery film and climbers were beginning to find purchase in the stone around its edge. Given enough time it would dry on its own, but with a strict time limit, that wasn't an option. Unless, that is, they could find a way to wipe it away... That's when an idea struck. An idea that went against every one of Kelsey's shy, unassuming instincts. It felt so out of character that she dare not back down. She had been looking for a chance to reinvent herself, and was worried that if she didn't take the opportunity now, she might never have the courage to again. This was her moment to stand out.

Biting her lip and feeling her heart skip a beat, she closed her eyes and peeled off her shirt. The white t-shirt, emblazoned in the camp's logo, lifted over her head, pulling her curly auburn hair free off its scrunchy, and allowing it to tumble across her shoulders and now nearly bare chest. The light mesh shorts and simple bra she now stood in revealed no less of her petite figure and full, perky breasts than most bathsuits she had worn, but in the press of bodies around her, every inch of bare skin felt all the more exposed. Before she could change her mind, she tossed the shirt forward to the campers closest to the monument base.

"We need to wipe away the soap!", she shouted at the confused boy who pulled the garment off his head, where it had landed. After a moment, comprehension dawned in his eyes and he began to scrub at the stone. Others caught on, and one by one each boy huddled around the base followed suit and pressed their own shirts into service. The progress was immediately noticeable, and bare chested climbers began making it increasingly higher before sliding back down. The victory was short lived however, as the first batch of shirts began to soak through completely. Calls for more fabric could be heard, and it became increasingly clear that victory would require the girls to contribute to the clean up effort as well. Bolstered by an interrupting announcement of, "Ten minutes remaining!", one by one the girls began to toss in their own shirts, as Kelsey had. Most had elected for practical sports bras, but sprinkled across the crowd, lacier, more revealing undergarments could be seen. A few of the girls adamantly refused to volunteer their tops, and it became clear through the now soaked and nearly transparent fabric, that most of them hadn't worn bras that day.

Real progress began to be made at this point, and the promise of victory was infectious. Finally able to gain traction, a human tower of wet, half naked bodies began to form out of linked arms. The weight of each person on the tower was cumulative, and after several tumbles, it became clear that the smaller campers would need to occupy the high rungs. One of the boys, eyeing up Kelsey's small frame, grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her to the head of the line. Fighting back an urge to protest, Kelsey eyed the wall of people, kicked off her shoes so as not to mar the bare shoulders of her teammates, and with a steadying breath, began to climb.

Outside of school dances, she had never been so close to a boy before, and as she climbed, she became increasingly aware of her bare skin slipping against the exposed chest of the muscular boys holding the bottom of the tower. Had they not been so exhausted and preoccupied, they most certainly would have appreciated the view of Kelsey's heaving chest and slick thighs as she passed. Working her way to the top, she now stood a dizzying fifteen feet or so in the air, leaning against the slope of the monument and facing outward to offer a hand to the next person attempting the climb. Once her row had been filled, they linked arms, steadying themselves and offering support for their neighbors.

"Five minutes remaining!" a voice boomed. At this, a noticeable change swept across the crowd, and suddenly the orderly crowd became a swarming mob. Climbers became desperate for handholds, and in the shifting weight, Kelsey had to lock arms even tighter to hold her position, lest she bring down her entire side of the monument. So there she stood, legs locked and arms bound by the vice-like grip of her neighbors.

She first realized something was wrong when she felt a painful tug at her hair. Seeking any purchase he could find, a passing camper had reached for her shoulder and ended up with a handful of her curls. Her sudden yelp of pain had the effect of startling the climber, and in his broken concentration, his feet slipped, and he began to slide back to the bottom. Desperate to stop himself, he blindly groped for a second anchor, landing square in the middle of Kelsey's bra. Her heart stopped and time froze for a moment, before the fabric gave way under his full weight, and with her hands bound, she was powerless to intervene as the straps broke and the boy disappeared into the seething crowd, bra still in hand.

Kelsey could now feel the warm summer breeze across her bare chest and was acutely aware of just how exposed she had become. She struggled to cover her breasts, but her arms were pinned to the stone surface by the human tower, and her desperate attempts at modesty were in vain. From below, she heard the raucous laughter and wolf whistles of the onlooking counselors as they took in the view.

Before she had time to do much more than blush, however, a new set of grasping hands announced the ascent of another climber. A hand that was clearly intended to reach for her shoulder as an anchor point fell short and landed squarely on one of Kelsey's breasts. She gasped in surprise, and the climber, realizing what they had done, froze. He hung there for a moment, held in place only by a precarious foothold, and his grip on her chest. Beneath his hand, Kelsey was surprised to feel her nipple harden, and the pressure of his grasp sent jolts of pleasure through her. She shuddered, and uttered another gasp that was much more breathless and primal than the first had been. This managed to break the spell placed on the climber and he shifted his weight to correct his transgression, but doing so compromised his balance and he began to slide back down.

Eager to slow his descent, he flailed for another handhold, and landed on the waistline of Kelsey's gym shorts. The draw string was never intended to resist that amount of force, and the fabric began to slowly slide down her hips. Feeling his fall slowed, but not stopped, the climber increased his grip and now the bunch of fabric in his fist also included the lacey fringe of her panties. His descent continued, and slowly her bottoms slid over her hips, down her thighs and past her knees.

The same breeze that had alerted her to the departure of her bra now danced through the carefully trimmed hair between her legs and caressed her exposed lips. Her efforts to cover herself were just as unsuccessful as they had been the first time, and she was powerless to stop her last shred of decency from slipping down her legs. Her feet slipped free of the shoulders they were standing on, allowing the shorts and panties to disappear into the mass of people below, and she would have fallen had it not been for the locked arms of her neighbors.

Her legs, now dangling freely beneath her, became enticing handholds for the next wave of climbers who were so focused on their task that they hadn't yet noticed the spectacle just above them. One ankle was clutched, and then the other, and for a moment that felt to Kelsey like a lifetime, she lay against the stone completely nude, her arms outstretched and her legs spread eagle. The counselors below couldn't believe what they were seeing and their cat-calls and cheers redoubled. Her perfect breast bounced as the tower jostled and shifted, and her legs were spread wide enough that the lips of her pussy parted, giving a clear view of her pink inner folds to anyone that cared to glance up. The counselors couldn't believe their luck, and their cheers and cat-calls redoubled. Humiliation coursed through her and she could practically feel their eyes darting over her exposed body.

Their view was briefly obstructed by one of the climbers that had used one of poor Kelsey's ankles as a handhold. He continued his trek, working his hands up her legs from her ankle, to her thighs, and eventually her waist. Kelsey felt him pause and his hands tighten around her hips. It seemed he had just now realized what he had been using as a human step ladder, and she could feel his breath panting against her lips as he came unexpectedly face to face with her pussy. He continued to climb after composing himself and was suddenly face to face with Kelsey.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Kelsey was heartened to see genuine concern in his eyes, and felt a flutter in her stomach and a warmth between her legs as she lay helplessly exposed beneath him. The bare skin of his chest was pressed against hers, and she could feel the bulge of his erection pressing against her. His intentions seemed good, but his body still reacted predictably to the sight before him.

Before she could answer there was another whistle blast from below. "ONE MINUTE REMAINING!"

Both their eyes widened and Kelsey managed to pant, "Go on, there's not much time! I'll be fine!" He nodded in determination and continued his climb. She felt his body press against her as he inched upwards. Soon his crotch was at eye level, and his throbbing erection was just inches from her face, barely contained by the taunt fabric. The sight sent another tingle between her legs and she realized that not all the slippery wetness between her thighs was from soap suds. It seemed she wasn't the only one to notice this, and she felt a hand run along her lower stomach and work it's way between her legs. This felt much different than the accidental gropings she had received up till now and she bucked her hips in sudden shock. The climber that had tried to take advantage of her state of undress was thrown off balance and reached for the only thing he could... the shorts of the boy that had expressed concern for Kelsey.

The garment gave way just as it had on her, and she found herself suddenly eye to eye with the rock hard cock of the cute boy she had just met. In her state of shock, she started to cry out just as the shifting weight caused him to slip a few inches. His cock slid between her parted lips, and for just a moment her mouth was filled with the warm length of his member. Gravity interrupted their unexpected interlude and he continued to slip further down. She felt his body glide over hers, and for a moment the head of his erect penis danced dangerously close to penetrating a second pair of lips. He managed to stop when he was face height with her breasts, and hung there a moment panting.

Kelsey looked down and saw that other, similar scenes were unfolding below her. With everyone so slick from soap and precariously balanced, desperate hands were grasping articles of clothing left and right. No one else found themselves as bound and exposed as Kelsey, so each of these wardrobe malfunctions resulted in their owners' hands darting to cover themselves. Each time they did, they released the link in the chain with their neighbors, and the tower became more and more precarious. Kelsey estimated that the whole thing was only seconds away from collapsing, and there was no way they would have time to regroup before time ran out. It was now or never, and she only had one chance to make sure her humiliation hadn't been in vain. And what could be further from the meek, shy person she wanted to leave behind at highschool than to return to ground level victorious and unafraid.

Another shock rippled through the tower, and this one shifted the people on her level just enough for Kelsey to free her arms. She glanced down at the boy clutching her bare chest and said, "I'm so sorry, I promise I'll make this up to you at the bottom." Then, adrenaline pulsing through her veins and drowning any remaining doubt or embarrassment, she leaned forward and kissed him square on the lips. He was so surprised that she barely had to push him at all to send him sliding down to the bottom of the pile.

Both arms now free, and no more deadweight around her waist, Kelsey turned around and began to climb. She was tiny, with lean muscle put on by hours of softball practice, and she was able to tread where her heavier, clumsier peers had faltered. Now that it was too late to turn back, she realized that her ass was the only bit of modesty she had maintained while bound spread eagle in the tower, but now it too was on full display as she scaled the last few remaining feet.

She passed one row, then another. The shifting was becoming more frequent now, and she knew only seconds remained before the whole thing came down. Soon, she was tantalizingly close to the top, further than anyone had made it until now. Her fingers stretched out, coming up just a hair's breadth short of the red cloth. She grunted in frustration and tried to climb higher, but began to slip. The person below caught her, then another set of hands joined in. "Just a little further!" she cried. Hands pushed up from below, digging into her back, her thighs, and her bare buttocks. Finally, her hands snatched their prize from the top from the peak of the obelisk and she shouted out, "I got it!"

Barely a heartbeat later, over the cheers of the campers, the megaphone shouted, "TIME'S UP! CONGRATULATIONS!" The tower beneath her began shifting again, and waves of exhausted people gave into gravity and slid down the sloped edges of the stone. The crowd was worked into a frenzy, and were eager to receive Kelsey at the bottom. In all the excitement, she nearly forgot she was completely nude until her new posse of adoring fans lifted her up and began crowd surfing their champion, and her protests were lost in a sea of cheers and the counselors were too outnumbered to intervene. She had been embarrassed before when she was on display for the counselors, but at least most of the campers had been too distracted to see. Now that she had become the center of attention, she felt more exposed than she had before.