Chapter 1: Introduction
I was thirty-seven when I first realized that I felt most at peace in the nude. I felt free to be myself with no judgment or no concern; just free to be naked and do whatever I felt I wanted physically or emotionally.
I loved my wife, Jane. I worshipped the ground she walked on and would never want to cheat on her. If I did have the occasional x-rated dream, she was always included. I wanted her to feel the same way. I couldn't think of anything better than to enjoy life with me. Part of that was spending time naked together; not necessarily just having sex. I just loved the intimacy, the freedom of nudity, and I so wanted to share that with her.
I tried to introduce the idea to Jane, but she wasn't having any of it. She said she felt uncomfortable and vulnerable, and I understood, but I still felt a deep longing for it. I needed a release from the pressure of society and its expectations. I needed to be myself, naked, free, and open in my own space.
At first, I would get naked, whenever she and the kids were gone. However, it just got to stressful, always looking to see if anyone was coming home. I finally just gave up.
Then, one day, we were given a free week to stay at a condo of one of our friends. I thought it was a great idea, but Jane couldn't go. She told me to go and just spend the week, write, and enjoy myself. So I did.
The first couple of days, I enjoyed just being alone, writing, and spending time my myself. However, there was something missing. That's when I decided to do something I'd never done before. I stripped and stayed naked the rest of the trip. It was exhilarating!
Yes, I was alone in a condo. Of course, no one else could see me naked. But it felt great! I studied naked. I cooked naked. I slept naked. I was free to be myself, finally!
After that, it became a habit. Every few months I would go away to the condo and spend a Nude-Cation week, as I called it. I'd beg my sweet, beautiful wife to join me, but she always refused. "I know what your doing, and I just can't find myself enjoying being naked, like you do," she would always say.
"But I understand why you love it, and I want you to be happy."
I was now in my mid 40's. I can't tell you how many times I'd been to the condo; several. And every time I'd leave for my "Nude-Cation," as I called it, I'd ask my wife to come. Every time, she turned me down.
I had arrived early, before the sun had even come up. I'd just gotten to the place, had stripped as soon as I came in, and had put all of my stuff up. "Ah, FREE at last!"
This time, I decided to use the private deck of the condominium to enjoy my favorite moment of the day: my morning coffee, naked. The sun was still low in the sky, and there was a comfortable coolness that filled the air. I sat, sipped my coffee, and looked out over the dense forest in front of me. In the front, that thick forest protected any onlookers. On both sides, were two walls protecting anyone from seeing my naked visage. So, I thought I was free to enjoy my nudity outside. I was wrong.
I was lost in thought, when I heard a voice. "Such a nice day, isn't it?" The voice was coming from the balcony directly next to me. It was a female voice. "Was this voice speaking to me?" I asked myself as I froze in place, completely naked and vulnerable.
I wasn't sure if I should respond or pretend I didn't hear her. I decided on the latter, but I started feeling a little uncomfortable. I looked over to my right. All I could see was wall. This woman must have been speaking to someone else.
"I took a deep breath and decided to ignore the voice. I continued to sip my coffee, trying to calm my racing heart. But then the voice spoke again.
"So, are you here alone?" The voice WAS speaking to me!
My mind racing, I wanted to run, but that would be just too obvious and strange. I tried to think of a response that wouldn’t make it too obvious that I was alone and naked on my balcony.
"Oh, um, yes, I'm just enjoying my morning coffee." I said, casually. I turned my head slightly in the direction of the voice, but all I could still see was only wall.
"Nice! I'm also alone. I enjoy getting away from everyone. Just to get away from all the craziness. I love the boys, but its nice getting away from them for a while."
"Boys?" I asked casually, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
"Yes, my sons. They're both still living with me. They're in their early twenties now. One's a musician, always playing his guitar, and the other... he's in school. Always studying."
I could tell that she sounded tired. I could only imagine the amount of work that went into raising two grown sons by yourself, let alone having them still living with her. But then my mind snapped back into the moment. I was talking to a woman, while sitting naked on a deck. I was so glad she couldn't see me; at least that's what I thought.
I turned my head again towards her direction, almost feeling like I should be able to see her, but all I could still see was the wall separating us. I imagined that she had to be around my age, or maybe even a little younger.
"That's nice," I said, trying to keep the conversation going, while still trying to maintain my composure. I didn't want to give myself away. "So, what do you enjoy doing when you come here alone?"
She laughed. "Oh, I do all sorts of things. It depends on my mood, really. But I mostly sit, read, write a bit. I love to go out walking. Of course, as you well know, you're fairly limited when you're just wanting spend time in the buff.
"As you well know?" those words hung in the air. Was she telling me that she knew I was naked . . . and . . . that she was naked also; surely I heard wrong!
I felt my heart race again. I didn't know how to respond, but I had to say something. I had to make it sound like I hadn't really noticed what she said.
"I, uh, I know, uh, what you mean." I stammered, not knowing what to say.
She just giggled.
"Yes, you do!" she continued. "I must admit, you caught me off guard a bit. I didn't expect to see someone that enjoyed being nude as much as I do."
I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. "How, uh, how do you know, I'm uh . . . "
"Naked?" she responded casually. "I can see you through the hole right there."
I couldn't believe it. How did I not see it before. There just few inches down was a hole about the size of cork.
"That hole is at exactly the right place, when I lay back in the recliner. I can see you perfectly; well accept for the rails, that is." she said, still giggling a bit. She thought it humorous. I was freaked out!
"Go ahead and look through the hole." She casually invited.
I couldn't help it and my eyes went to the hole. Looking through it, I saw a leg, then some of the bannister, then her side . . . and yes, I could view a part of her breast. Yup, she was definitely laying there naked.
"I'm really not sure what to say." I truthfully answered.
"Well, we're just having a conversation, right? We just happen to be naked." She seemed so sure and matter of fact. It actually put me quite at ease.
"I guess that's definitely one way of looking at it." I responded. I couldn't help but glance through the hole. I thought that I could actually see her hand between her legs, with her fingers moving a bit. "Could she be . . . nah, couldn't be," I thought.
"It's nice to to speak to someone freely; in all sense of the word." She seemed almost giddy, when she said it.
It was then that we just started talking; two people with a wall between us; laughing, telling stories, comfortable and completely nude. Once in a while, I'd hear a small hitch in her voice, or maybe she'd exhale deeply at times. At this point, I was really enjoying the conversation, and I have to admit, it could have just been my imagination as to what she was doing over there.
Suddenly, I caught what I had involuntarily been doing. My fingers had been teasing my balls and my cock into an unintentional hard on. What was I doing?! What if she had seen that?! I quickly stopped, hoping my cock would follow. It didn't. The stupid thing just stayed up, as if saluting to some, erotic, invisible force. If she did see it, she didn't confirm it; well, accept for the periodic sounds that came up. Again, that was probably just my imagination.
Either way, I felt quite comfortable in our conversation; more comfortable than I'd been with anyone for quite awhile, including my wife. But there was one more curveball about to be thrown.
"So we've talked for awhile, and I don't even know your name," she remarked.
"It's Jason."
"Well, hi Jason. I'm Shari, Shari Jones."
"Jason Samuels," I continued.
"Oh my gosh! Jason Samuels?! It's me, Shari! Shari Woods! I thought I vaguely recognized that voice!"
Now I was completely freaked out. Shari Woods; the girl I grew up crushing on; not just for a little while, but the entire time I was in school. She was my secret school crush, from elementary all the way to my senior year. I had crushed on her so much, that I had seen her as untouchable. I just never had the guts, the gumption, the confidence to ever ask her out. Every other girl I dated seemed to be just someone I was using to build up my mental strength to ask her out. Unfortunately, I ended up getting a scholarship to play basketball, went away to college, met another beautiful woman and married her. I hadn't seen her for years and had lost all touch with her. And now, suddenly, she was back in my life. I couldn't believe it.
Shari Woods, the girl I had a crush on for years, was naked and talking to me through a hole in the wall. My mind was racing. I remembered her long chestnut hair and her beautiful brown eyes that could light up a room. She was so beautiful.
"Shari?" I stammered, trying to keep the shock out of my voice.
"Yeah, it's really me!" she excitedly replied. "I can't believe it's you, too. I mean, I never expected to run into someone I know here, let alone in this situation."
I was at a loss for words.
I glanced again at the hole in the wall. Though I couldn't fully see her face, I knew that she was gazing back at me; a huge smile on her face.
"Can you believe this?" she giggled. "Of all people, it's you, Jason Samuels. Wow."
I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. "I can't say I ever expected to run into you like this," I said, awkwardly.
Shari laughed again. "Well, I think it's pretty great, don't you?" She paused for a moment.
"So, that's quite something; two long lost friends meeting back up together in such an unusual situation." She giggled.
"Friends." Yes, they truly had been friends; hanging out at the town crafts festival, while her dad sold those amazing apple dumplings; best in town. I would even help periodically.
"Remember all those years at the festival? Those were the days." I found myself reminiscing.
"Boy, were they ever! What wonderful, innocent days. We sure had fun!" She said agreeingly.
Then I heard a sadness in her voice. "Dad passed away a couple years ago; around the same time I lost my husband."
"I'm so sorry." I said, honestly responding to her solemn words.
"Well, I'm just glad to have enjoyed the years God gave me with them."
I nodded, as if she could see me.
"So," breaking the silence, she asked surprisingly, quickly changing the topic, "So I guess I may as well ask now, what made you go 'nude' on your nude-cations?" Her voice still held a hint of amusement, but there was an undercurrent of curiosity.
"Umm . . . I suppose I just needed a break from all the craziness . . . all the people." I answered, truthfully. "I guess I just felt like I needed some time alone, you know? I just wanted to be free, just for a little while. I didn’t expect to meet anyone, even speak to anyone, much less to see someone I knew."
"I get that" she murmured. "For me, it's about breaking free from all the norms; forced to hide my true self. I'll be honest, James, after losing my husband, I just wanted to go get alone, which I did. The nudity just happened. It calmed me. and I've loved getting away naked ever since." Shari's voice had taken on a softer tone, and I could hear the sadness in her words.
I wanted to reach out to her, to offer her some comfort, but I couldn't. I was too far away, separated by a physical wall and an emotional one. I stayed silent for a while, not knowing what to say.
"So, how often you come here? Is your wife, Jane going to join you?"
I had told her about Jane earlier, but not her take on my desire to be nude.
"I only come every few months, and Jane, well, she just isn't that comfortable with it."
"Oh, I see . . . " her voice trailed off.
"So, it's, uh, nice 'seeing you." she sarcastically giggled.
"Well, how much have you 'really" seen?" I asked, knowing that it couldn't be much.
"Honestly, not much," she claimed. Though I felt there might me a little bit of a lie there. After all, she had seen me through that hole way before I had even noticed it. There was no telling how much she had really seen. It made me flush a bit, just thinking about it.
"So, what would you say to going for a jog, in a little while; maybe after breakfast?" she continued.
"Uhh, naked?" I asked, surprised.
"No silly! With clothes on! I'm not an exhibitionist! I just like being naked by myself." She laughed, though understanding the confusion.
"Oh, of course," I responded. "Sure, that sounds good!"
"Ok then," she said. "I'm going in now to umm . . . get a little bite to eat . . . and uhh." Her voice trailed off and my mind went somewhere else.
"Ok, sounds good.," I responded. I heard her chair move as she got up. I couldn't help but glance through the hole and caught a glimpse of her perfect round ass. I couldn't help but feel a bit aroused. "Stop it Josh!" I thought to myself. "you're married!"
But I couldn't help but imagine what she was going to go in and actually do. It was the very thing that I couldn't wait to do, as well. I felt like such a schoolboy. I was so horny.
"See ya soon," I said to her, as she walked off.
"Hmm, hmm," she responded. Again, it was probably my imagination, but as I continued to look through that small hole, I thought I saw her hand between her legs, fingering as she walked into the condo.