The tall, redheaded woman stepped out of the hot tub and walked back towards the hotel, the warm water still dripping off of her body, leaving behind a darkened trail on the pavement. We were alone once again. I looked over at Michael. His eyes bounced up and down in perfect synchrony with her thong-clad ass. I elbowed him in the side. Hard.
"You're such a lecher, geez... That poor woman..."
"What? I was just admiring her swimsuit."
"Uh huh, I noticed you 'admiring' it the entire time she was here. You couldn't take your eyes off of it, I noticed. Tell me, what
did
you like best about her swimsuit?"
"I liked...how it...exposed most of her tits..." he explained, helpfully using hand gestures in case I had forgotten what her chest had looked like. Not much chance of that. I was going to have nightmares about being suffocated by cantaloupes for
days
.
I punched his arm. "Pervert! I'm surprised she didn't pop out of that handkerchief... What's so special about them, anyway? They're just big... She might as well stuff cantaloupes down her top."
"They're not 'just big,' they're amazing! Perfect shape, gravity-defying perkiness, those hard nipples poking through her swimsuit top... It'd be like totally ignoring Botticelli's
The Birth of Venus
right next to you."
The Birth of Venus
? Geez, really? Was that how seriously he took breasts? And were those the sort of breasts he liked? Huge? I had to admit, I didn't see any of the beauty that he did. I glanced down my far more substantial bikini top. It didn't have nearly so much to cover as hers had... "I wonder how mine are..." Where would they rank? Would they be
The Starry Night
or were they closer to that monkey Jesus painting?
"I'll judge them. If you want..." Michael offered.
My eyes widened.
I said that out loud
? Shit... My cheeks burned, even with the cool night air. My tongue touched the roof of my mouth, ready to say "No," but I stopped, my lips already parted.
Well, why not..? Michael was my best friend, ever since college. And he was certainly a connoisseur of the female breast, if his usual conversation topics were any indication. He'd be able to give me an idea of where I ranked on the Famous Painting Scale of Breast Amazingness.
Part of the problem was that no one had ever gotten the chance to tell me how they were. My conservative parents, born and raised in India, had forbidden me from dating as a child, and I hadn't dated in college. No one had really approached me, and I hadn't had any strong crushes to pursue myself.
Now that I had graduated, it seemed harder to meet guys, and so far, none had really grabbed my attention. To be honest, none of them really measured up to Michael's standard, even as a friend. He was always there for me, always ready to talk, always willing to give me a back rub or cook dinner or watch a movie with me when I needed some company. He listened to my neurotic worries. He gave me advice.
And he certainly wasn't unattractive, despite his scruffy beard. He really would look nicer clean-shaven... Even so, if I were being totally forthcoming, I would have to admit that I had previously wondered how he might kiss. I couldn't deny stealing a glance or two at him when he wasn't looking. He filled out his jeans pretty well, both front and back. The thought of him seeing my body felt, well, it felt a lot of things: embarrassing, exhilarating, exciting...freeing, fabulous, flagitious...
"Are you serious?" I asked, fearing he had just been joking.
His eyebrows arched. I doubt he had expected me to take him up on his offer. "Yeah. I mean, yeah, if you want me to, I'd be willing to do that for you."
I looked around. We were the only ones around. Everyone else at the hotel had gone inside for the night, leaving the pool and hot tubs abandoned. Except for us. "Okay, but be honest, I mean it! Don't sugar coat it! If they're bad, just tell me. I want to know. I know they're small, but size doesn't matter, right? I mean, they're still-"
"Urvashi, I'm sure they're fine. I promise, I'll be completely, one hundred percent honest with you."
"Okay. But close your eyes! You can open them when I say so."
"Alright," he assented. He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands.
The stars twinkled above us. Steam rose off of the water, wafting into the air. The only sound was the soft gurgling of the hot tub. I bit my lip. I couldn't believe I was about to do this, to show my best friend my breasts... What would he think of them? I hoped he'd like them... I reached behind my back and untied my top. It almost fell into the water before I caught it, cupping my breasts, preserving my modesty a moment longer.
I took a deep breath and flung my top to the side. It landed with a wet thwack. No going back now...
I looked down, studying myself. My butterscotch breasts lay completely exposed for the first time, my dark brown nipples already hard, poking out brashly, eager for their first bit of attention. I hadn't ever really thought about whether or not they were attractive before. Were they?
I cupped them gently, pushing them up a bit, briefly giving myself something that, at the right angle and with some generous benefit of the doubt, might resemble cleavage before surrendering to the limitations of volume. They weren't going to get any bigger in the next few seconds... "Alright, you can open your eyes," I instructed him.
He lowered his hands. His eyes widened. My hands gripped my thighs as I fought to stop myself from covering myself from his view. I was topless in front of a guy. A guy was staring at my chest. A lot... His eyes lingered on my breasts, his gaze caressing every inch of them. A grin crept up from the corners of his mouth. But he didn't say anything.
Seconds ticked by, the suspense driving me crazy. My heart pounded. An unexpectedβbut not undesiredβwarmth grew between my thighs as he continued to stare at me, ogling me like a piece of meat, admiring me like a piece of art. I had never been looked at like this before. It was thrilling. He was my audience. Did he find me attractive? Sexy? Was he turned on by me? Aroused? Repulsed? Disgusted? "So? How are mine? H-how do they look?" I asked shakily. "I know they're not-"
"They're gorgeous," he whispered.
"
Really
?"
"Really. They're pert and perky. They look very firm, too. They're beautifully round. And I just love your skin tone. Don't worry about their size, they look like a perfect handful," he explained, his eyes still focused on my chest. "I actually prefer petite breasts...
"You really have nothing to worry about, though. You have the body of a goddess. There should be statues of you in art museums."
My heart fluttered. A goddess? I had certainly never imagined that my breasts were
divine