Clothing Optional
Clothing Optional:
Evie checked her phone. Crap, it was going to be at least 80 today. With hope in her heart she scrolled down; maybe it would be windy? Nope, clear, bright day ahead
“Are you ready to go?” Her husband entered the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing her neck.
Evie closed her eyes, hiding from her image in the mirror. “Are you sure?” she asked for the hundredth time. She knew the answer. Sam had been practically bouncing off the walls for days, ever since she had finally agreed to go to the clothing optional beach.
She didn’t see him smile—her eyes were still closed—but she heard it in is voice. “Babe, it’s going to be great. Imagine swimming in the nude, the water flowing around you.” He knew it was on her bucket list to go skinny dipping, but she’d imagined a beach somewhere far away, a tropical island perhaps. She’d thought it would be dark out, nighttime, the stars twinkling above. She had not thought about full sunlight and a crowded beach thirty minutes from her home where everyone would be witness to her baring it all. “And anyway, you don’t have to take anything off. Promise,” Sam reminded her.
She watched as her husband gathered their things, blankets, towels, water. “Don’t forget sunscreen,” she reminded him.
He laughed, “Yeah, that’s going to be even more important today.”
She grimaced at the reminder.
The drive was scenic, the twisting back roads shaded by tall pine trees. Their car emerged from the shadows onto a sunny, open two-lane street that ran parallel to the beach. The beach ran alongside the river. The water was calm, glints of light reflecting off the surface.
Evie, having relaxed on the drive and enjoyed her time with her husband, began to clench her hands in her cover-up. She didn’t know why she wore it. The filmy material’s only purpose was to get her from the car to the sand. Then she would pull it off to reveal her bathing suit underneath. Of course, on this trip, the bathing suit was unnecessary as well.
Her husband parked and they pulled their supplies from the trunk. Evie couldn’t help but smile at Sam’s enthusiasm. He talked non-stop, regaling her with all he’d read about the area and the beach itself. “It’s been clothing optional for over fifty years. All kinds of people come here.”
Evie grasped his hand and gave a squeeze, letting him know she understood and appreciated his chatter.
They made their way to the sand. Evie tried not to look around but curiosity got the better of her. Her eyes shaded by sunglasses, she was able to take it all in without looking like she was staring.
The spot they had claimed as their own was halfway down the beach. A couple to the left, a man and a woman, lay on their backs, baking under the sun. Both had skin the color and texture of tanned leather. In front of them, closer to the water, a family of four played. The two small children were in swim diapers, the woman topless, and the man full nude. She heard snippets of their conversation and deduced they were speaking another language, French or Spanish.
The sand was speckled with people of all ages and sizes. Many of them were playing in the water or lounging in the sun, all at varying levels of undress. A few, not many, were like her, looking around and taking it all in.
“Well, honey, you ready?”
She looked at Sam standing next to her his thumbs already hooked in the waist band of his shorts.
A shiver coursed through her. Was she really going to do this? Slowly, still wearing her cover-up, she lowered her bathing suit bottom, a small smile on her lips as it skimmed down her legs. Next, she unhooked her top and slid it down her arms, pulling it off through the neckline of her cover-up.
Steps one and two done, she stood feeling the breeze travel up her legs, the heat on her shoulders. She was going to get naked; she was actually going to bare it all. A zing of anticipation had her bouncing on the balls of her feet.
Sam smiled and waggled his eyebrows. “On three?”
She smiled and nodded, finally feeling some of the naughty excitement he’d been experiencing for the last few days.
“One,” he said as she gathered the bottom edge of her dress.
“Two.” She followed as he untied the tie on his shorts.
“Three!”
Rebecca Lamprey 