I'll be the first to admit I used to be something of a prude when it came to nudity. I guess it was just how I was raised, which was probably typical by most middle American standards. But things can change and sometimes that change can be pinpointed to a specific, formative event in one's life.
In my case, that formative event took place over seven nights, and it's a story worth sharing.
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Night 0 (vs. the Stakes)
"Bow before me, your Queen of Bear Creek!"
I rolled my eyes at Becky's pronouncement, made while perched atop her boyfriend (and my best friend) Chuck's shoulders. The blonde held her arms wide as if accepting the applause of a crowd, one that didn't exist.
"Sorry," I muttered to Eve, my partner in our losing effort at playing chicken in Becky's backyard pool. Unlike the other two, and much to my chagrin, we weren't a couple. The four of us had grown up together in the small neighborhood of Bear Creek, attending the same schools and sitting in a group on the bus twice a day for a decade. I'd crushed on both girls over most of our high school years. Circumstance and fear of messing up a good friendship had prevented me from ever asking Eve out, even after Chuck and Becky broke through that unspoken barrier.
"Don't worry," Eve said, clearly not too bothered. She ran her hands through her brunette bob to pull the water out after being unceremoniously dunked. "Becky cheats."
"You're just a sore loser," Becky taunted while Chuck simply smiled and avoided getting between the two girls.
Max, a new-comer to the neighborhood but one who'd easily meshed with the four of us thanks to his goofy, easy-going nature, chimed in from his seat on the side of the pool. "There's no cheating in chicken. I'm afraid this round goes to Becky."
"Your queen." Becky winked.
Becky and Eve, despite their differences, had been best friends since grade school. They'd also shared something of a rivalry, often an open and heated one, over just about everything. Each had a competitive streak a mile wide. Fortunately, they made up quickly when things got out of hand. Chuck and I had long since learned to stay out of the fray.
"I'd hardly call a game of chicken enough to warrant that title," Eve said. "Not even close."
"Oh, I smell a challenge coming on," Max said, sliding fully into the water. There was a glint in his eye and I couldn't help but smile. As a spectator, this could be fun.
"Bring it, then," Becky said, tapping Chuck on the head to get him to let her back down.
"As if you could beat me in anything." Eve crossed her arms beneath her modest breasts, which only served to draw my attention that way. Where Becky tended to dress fashionably in tight everything, leaving little to the imagination in terms of her curvy figure, Eve preferred to dress casual and modestly, making her summer bikini appearances something of an annual revelation.
"Okay, so it's to be a challenge," Max said. "I nominate myself the referee. Anyone opposed?"
No one objected.
"Let's find a suitable challenge," he continued. "Eve -- what's the most daring thing you've ever done?"
Eve tilted her head in thought. I'd heard a few of her stories, including some things she and Becky had done during summer camps together. The single-most daring, however, I had no idea.
"Probably the time I went up to a stranger's house in nothing but my underwear and rang the doorbell," she said. There was a hint of blush to her face as she said it, visible even under dim lights of the pool at night.
Becky blew a raspberry. "That's it? That's nothing!"
"Yeah, well, I had to do it alone and at night," Eve continued. "And to win the dare, I had to borrow their phone and call my friend to prove it."
Wow! I was impressed. I was also surprised she'd had the guts to do it.
Becky seemed slightly mollified. "Better. But did you actually do it?"
Eve smiled. "Of course I did. And the guy who answered the door was cute. Too old, but I'm pretty sure it made his year.
"But I suppose you think you can do better than that?"
Everyone's attention turned to Becky, who was already grinning with confidence.
"I went skinny dipping in a stranger's pool," she said. "Also on a dare. Had to spend ten minutes in it, too."
And to think I'd been impressed with Eve's adventure. Skinny dipping? It boggled my eighteen-year-old mind. Becky had a lovely figure and full chest. Given the skimpy bikinis she liked to wear, it didn't take much imagination to picture her nude. My mind had certainly gone there more than a few times and I jealously cursed Chuck for having gotten to see the real thing.
Eve seemed less impressed. "And did anyone see you, or was this under cover of darkness?"
Becky shrugged. "My cousin, Wendy. Can't say if anyone else did. And, yeah, it was dark out."
Max raised his hands. "Okay, I think I see the challenge here. Both of you seem less than impressed with what the other did at their most daring. So, it's time to back that up."
He turned to face Becky. "Becky, your challenge is to visit seven different houses over seven days, all in Bear Creek. At each, you must pose in your underwear with the owner or a resident."
Becky blanched a little but didn't say anything.
Max grinned. "Oh, if you want the title of Queen of Bear Creek, you're going to have to earn it. To make this a worthy challenge, there are a couple complications. First, the person you're posing with also has to be in their underwear."
"What!?" Becky couldn't hold back at that. Eve just smiled.
"And..." Max let the tension build. "You need photographic proof."
Becky groaned. "Perv. And, geez, that's not going to be awkward trying to get all that."
"A lofty title needs a serious challenge," Max said. "And, don't think I'm going easy on you, Eve."
Eve, bobbing in the water beside me, tensed up. After hearing Becky's challenge, she had good reason to be nervous.
"You get to go skinny dipping. Same deal -- seven different pools over seven nights, all in our neighborhood."
Eve tried to look unmoved. "Of course."
"With pictures for proof," Max said. "But you're allowed to blur out the private bits."
That was a hell of a challenge, for the both of them. On the surface, it seemed like Eve had the worst of it, but then she apparently didn't have to interact or have witnesses. It might just mean a lot of sneaking around late at night.
"Yikes, those are both rough," Chuck said, echoing my thoughts.
Max's evil smile widened to Luciferian levels. "Oh, I'm not done. Becky, you have to bring Chuck along and he has to pose in his underwear as well."
Chuck's eyes bulged. "Me? Why? I'm not in the running for Queen."
Max's eyes turned on me and I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "And you, Rand, you'll have to skinny dip with Eve in order for her to get credit."
Eve cast a glance my way that was utterly unreadable. Me? On one tiny level, I was thrilled at the idea of getting to see Eve naked, of having this skinny dipping adventure together. On the other and infinitely bigger level, I was terrified of being caught...or being seen by Eve, or embarrassing myself, or...
"What Chuck said," I said, lamely.
Max latched on to my discomfort like a leech. "What, you don't want to see Eve naked?"
"I didn't say that!" I felt my face burning. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that, but, I mean, it's the girls' challenge. I wouldn't want to risk holding her back or anything."
Eve's expression softened slightly, but I still couldn't tell how she felt about it. At least my fumbling response hadn't pissed her off. She was, inwardly, probably just as freaked out as I was. She just wouldn't want to give Becky the pleasure of seeing it. Because Becky, after hearing about Chuck's involvement in her challenge, seemed rather pleased.
"Sorry, folks, but those are the terms," Max said, brooking no dissent. "You guys will be along for support and protection, since these dares aren't entirely without some risk."
Well, he did have a point there, not that I felt like some great protector. Hell, I'd be naked, too. How capable would I be in keeping Eve from getting caught or running some nosey neighbor off? If anything, having two of us would make it more likely we'd get caught.
"Are there even seven pools in our neighborhood?" I asked.
Our neighborhood of Bear Creek was so small as to be almost unknown outside those who lived here. It constituted all of one road that looped in an oval with houses around the periphery and in the middle. Three-quarters of the neighborhood was surrounded by woods, while the rest butted up against a private golf course. The homes were nice, but hardly mansions, and the yards weren't so big that neighbors couldn't be nosey. At best, there were maybe twenty-five or thirty homes in total.
Max hesitated. "Hmmm...good question. Let me check."
I wasn't sure how he intended to do that until he hopped out of the pool and turned on his phone. Ah -- Google maps in satellite mode. Nothing like a little surveillance snooping. The rest of us got out and crowded around him as he zoomed in and started counting.
"You're in luck," he said. "I count seven."
"Not exactly any flexibility built in there," I said. "They get to pick from all the houses."
Max shrugged. "Yeah, but they have to get the owners to join them. You don't have to be seen."
"They'll probably just sneak in at like four in the morning," Becky said, also finding issue with the disparity in the tasks. "That's hardly risky."
Max considered that. "Okay, how about this? All photo proof from each team has to be time-stamped between 6am and midnight. Photos also have to be geo-tagged to verify the location. Eve and Rand's can be fuzzed out to make it PG, but not so much as to question whether nakedness was achieved. I'll also allow Becky and Chuck to fuzz out their host's face if requested, but only twice. Fair?"
I wasn't happy about losing the wee hours option, but the neighborhood was quiet enough that we'd probably be just as discreet in the eleven to midnight hour. I wouldn't have to come up with stories for my parents, either, as to my late-night excursions.
"Sure, I guess," Eve said. Becky nodded in agreement. Chuck and I exchanged a glance, equally resigned to our roles.
"Okay," Max said, setting his phone aside. "Game on, then. The challenge starts at 6am tomorrow morning and ends at midnight in seven days. Send you pictures to me by 12:15 each night, and you can't do multiples on one day. Has to be one each day with no repeats. Cheating will result in forfeit! Highest score wins title of Queen of Bear Creek, and sidekick."
Sidekick indeed. Eve looked up at me and there was a glint of determination in her eyes. Awkward as this might be, I could tell she intended to win. I didn't want to let her down.
