Beach Cabana

Jessi and Ally raised their arms for Dani and me to pull their dresses off, making them topless. We folded our dresses, sipped our drinks, and resumed dancing. After a minute to overcome the initial stage-fright, it felt amazing. I focused on the beat and danced crazily like no one was watching. Daisy Duke girl noticed our wardrobe change and danced a circle around us, waving her arms in the air. She unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them off, revealing butt floss and a tiny lace triangle. She twirled her Daisy Dukes over her head and gave us a rebel yell. My nipples, ass, and pussy tingled as they realized how many people could see them -- fully clothed people as well as partially undressed and nude.

The crowd ebbed and flowed. A large group arrived and joined the dancing, but except for a couple of guys and one lady removing their shirts, none of them took anything off. Most of them looked utterly terrified and soon left. A group of four arrived, a little older, maybe in their early thirties. They all stripped naked except the girls kept their panties on. Half an hour of dancing later, the girls took their panties off.

The two raised-arm couples I noticed earlier were dancing near us. For the eighth or tenth time, the guys reached behind the girls to undo their bras. This time, the girls let them. The guys went to the side, adding the bras to their pile of clothes. They spoke briefly, glancing at those of us on the floor who were already naked. They stepped out of their boxer briefs and rejoined the dancing. It was a shame they were already taken, they looked quite fine!

I saw Daisy Dukes girl at the side, taking off her thong. I pointed her out to Jessi and Ally, who shrugged, and finally pulled their panties off. They're always slower than Dani and me to get fully nude. They always say later that they wish they hadn't waited so long, then next time they're just as slow.

Any time someone got their cell phone out to tweet or take a selfie, it was amazing how quickly a bouncer would appear, having them either put it away or go out onto a separate balcony behind the bar, away from the naked people. Very smart -- most phones have cameras, and most people would be much less uninhibited if their photos might be on the internet within moments.

Dancing on the rooftop without a stitch on felt fabulous. A warm breeze caressed my skin, and the up-tempo music kept the energy level up. We were surrounded by a fascinating blend of people: some naked, some topless, some clothed, some attractive, some not, some slender, some large, some old, some young, some dancing well, some dancing poorly, some just drinking and not dancing at all. We all shared one thing -- having a great time. It felt so free, I just wanted to shout to the heavens. I channeled that energy into my dancing.

As people got dressed and left, and new people arrived, I started trying to predict who would undress and who wouldn't -- I couldn't do it. Some of the rowdiest and most extraverted-looking stayed completely dressed, and some of the seemingly shyest and most prim and proper got naked. Some people with the most complicated clothing took everything off, and some of the ones with outfits that seemed designed to strip off easily never did.

I ended up thinking, if you don't want to undress, fine, don't. But if you choose to stay dressed, don't do it because people would see that your body isn't perfect. Hardly anyone will even notice you, and the ones that do notice, don't care. Their bodies aren't perfect either. I never saw anybody groan, puke, make a sour face, or get disgusted in any way at how somebody else looked. Obviously, it's beyond most people's comfort zone to take off their clothes around other people, but it's unbelievably liberating to face that fear, defeat your insecurity, overrule your negative inner voice, and get naked. Once you overcome your demons, all that remains is to be free and have fun.

The music was non-stop, and eventually we needed a break. We went to the side, held our drinks against our foreheads and between our boobs, and took long sips. The raised-arm foursome was still dancing, and one of the guys reached for his girl's panties. This time, she let him peel them off. The other girl still didn't let her fella remove hers, but when she saw her friend bottomless, she took them off herself. Their pile of clothes was near ours, and she scampered over to add their panties to the stack. I gave her a thumbs up and said, "You'll be glad!" She grinned and rejoined the whirl of bodies.

We danced another hour, maybe longer. Now that I was completely over any nervousness, I simply reveled in the freedom of being naked where it is not usually the norm. I found myself smiling wildly. Ally looked at me and said, "What?"

I simply said, "I love this place." She smiled, too.

: : : : :

It was after 2 a.m. when we got back to the guest house. As we passed the cabana, I heard the bubbles running. As soon as we got in our room, I took off my dress, grabbed a towel, and headed for the door, not wrapping the towel around me. "What now?" Jessi said.

"I'm going to the hot tub," I said. I mean, someone in a hot tub that late is bound to be interesting.

Ally groaned, and whined, "I guess you expect us to come with you."

"Up to you," I said, sashaying out the door.

Jessi hissed, "Wrap the towel around you. 'Cover up when you stand up.'"

"I'm a scofflaw. Sue me," I said over my shoulder. "Rules lady isn't here."

Dani said, "Wait, I'm in," and joined me, also carrying her towel. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, we heard our door shut as Ally and Jessi scurried after us. They hate it when we goad them to do things, but they really hate it when we don't pressure them.

When we got to the hot tub, the bubbles weren't running anymore, and I thought maybe whoever was there had gone in. The cabana wasn't empty, though, there were two couples shoulder-deep in the water. It turned out the bubbles were on a timer which had run out. One of the ladies stood, naked of course, to turn the bubbles back on. "I'll get that," Dani said.

"Thanks," the lady said, sitting back down. Dani hung her towel up and turned the timer dial, restarting the bubbles. Jessi and Ally arrived, wrapped in towels, and wearing bikini bottoms -- unbelievable. Sometimes they aggravate me to pieces. At least they took them off without being prompted. The funny thing was, by being more cautious, they had to give more of a strip-tease show.

The hot tub only held six people comfortably. There were four of them, and of course four of us. It could have been awkward, but they squeezed together to give us room. "Thanks," Dani said. The hot water felt amazing, relieving the stiffness of a long travel day and several hours of dancing.

"No problem," one of the ladies said. "I'm Shannon, this is Mark," she continued, and gestured at the other side, "and Holly and Jason."

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Cait," I said, and introduced the others.

They asked what brought us to Key West. We told them about making the dean's list and our parents' gifts, and they congratulated us. We asked about them, and it turned out they all worked together at ZNN, the cable news channel. None of them was in a relationship, so they travel together.

"Didn't we see you guys at the club?" said one of the girls.

"Yeah, that's right!" Dani said. It was so dark in the cabana I hadn't recognized them. Now that my eyes were adjusting, it turned out they were the two arms-up couples I kept noticing.

Jessi said, "Small world!" Everyone agreed.

"Wait a minute," I said. "You said you're four friends." They nodded. "It sure looked to me at the club like you're two couples." They glanced at each other awkwardly as if the story was difficult to explain. Maybe I could offer a shortcut: "Friends with benefits?"

One of the girls, Shannon I think, said, "That's the short version, but yeah."

All eight of us had arrived today, none of us had ever been to Key West before, and we were all leaving Sunday -- us to go home, and them to drive to the mainland for a week at South Beach.

I stood. "Any of you ever do hot-cool-hot?"

Jason said, "What's that?"

"When you've been in the hot tub awhile, it gets to where it barely feels warm. If you get in the pool for a few minutes, then get back in the hot tub, it feels super-hot again." Leaving my towel on its hook, I stepped out of the dark cabana into the lighted walkway.

Holly said, "Aren't you supposed to 'cover up when you stand up?'"

Jessi piped up, "She's a scofflaw! She only obeys the rules when someone's watching."

Mark said, "We're watching."

I turned, shook my tail feathers at him, and grinned, "Like what you see enough to follow me?"

Apparently, they did. We all strolled to the pool, not a single towel among us.

: : : : :

Our policy when we travel is we get up early -- we can sleep late at home for free. Saturday morning, though, early wasn't going to happen -- it was after 4 a.m. when we tucked in. I awoke about 10:30, and with no one else up, got out my tablet. Surprisingly, I found out Key West only has a few beaches, and only one of them allows toplessness.

Ally stirred shortly after I did. Dani and Jessi were out cold, so Ally and I left a note, wrapped ourselves in towels -- we would observe the rules during daylight -- and headed to the pool. There was one couple already there, much closer to our age than the folks yesterday. They were laying out in the sun in their swimsuits, reading intently. Jessi and I took chaises a couple down from theirs, removed our towels, and stretched out. We closed our eyes and basked in the warmth of the sun.

Five minutes later, or maybe twenty-five, in the tropical sun I wasn't sure, I stood to do a lap in the pool to cool off. Although I had not heard any swoosh of fabric gliding over skin, the reading couple was now naked. I stepped into the pool, swam a couple of lazy laps, and stepped out. I didn't need to towel off, the hot sun overhead dried me quickly.

The reading couple introduced themselves as Don and Karen. While we talked, Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice arrived, then Dani and Jessi. We sunned for a nice long while, then Dani and I got up for a cooling dip in the pool. Rather than swimming, I just strolled in the water to the deep end, which was chin-deep for me, and back to the shallow. The water felt amazing, pushing back against any forward progress, teasing all my personal bits that are usually covered up, so I walked another lap.

Dani and I leaned up against the side in shoulder-deep water, enjoying the open sky, the warm air, the cool water, the breeze, and the freedom of this wonderful place. Carol and Alice joined us and asked how our evening had gone. When we mentioned the club, they nodded knowingly. "You must have been there later," Carol said. "We didn't see you, but we got there early and left early."

"What an amazing place," Alice said. When we first encountered these ladies, I was all snarky, only seeing their age. Now I realized I should hope to be as cool, confident, and open to life as they are when I'm anywhere near their age.

: : : : :

We donned bikinis, sarongs, and floppy sun hats, and took in some must-see Key West sights. We saw the marker for the southernmost point of the continental United States. We saw Ernest Hemingway's house. Descendants of his cats still live there, all with six toes per paw! US Highway 1 runs up the east coast, all the way from Miami to Maine. Across the street from a bar one block over from Duval, we saw the marker "US 1 Mile 0."

We had Cuban sandwiches and plantain chips for lunch, then we just wandered, taking random turns, immersing ourselves in Key West ambiance. Many of the houses were two-story with large porches and balconies, and we noticed that many of the "ceilings" were painted sky blue -- cool touch. Once we got onto residential streets away from the thoroughfares, there were many roosters roaming freely.

I said, "Did you notice the hours at the club?"

Dani answered, "I did. Very unusual -- it opens at 10 a.m."

Jessi said, "That's early for a dance club."

Dani said, "I asked the bartender about that. She said it's quite different during the day. They fill the dance floor with lounge chairs, and people get beer or water and catch some sun. She said sometimes there are a couple of dozen people there."

I asked, "Still clothing-optional?"

"Yup."

Our wandering eventually brought us back to Duval Street, and we headed toward the club. When we got near the guest house, Jessi and Ally turned and said, "See ya."

Dani and I continued up Duval. Dani said, "They're not coming?"

"I guess not, you know how they are." We walked in comfortable silence. Key West had plenty of interesting people-watching, even that early in the afternoon.

We reached the club and it was sad. There was one very large lady sunning topless, the lady bartender was topless, and a couple of naked older guys sat on stools in the shade at the bar. We bought bottles of cold water and chose a couple of lounge chairs. We took off our tops, arranged our towels, and looked at each other -- to strip or not to strip? I pulled off my bottoms and settled onto my chair, and she did the same. That got the attention of the naked old guys, who ogled us from the comfort of the shade.

The hot Florida sun immediately made me drowsy, and I dozed off. When I awoke, Dani was asleep, and several naked girls surrounded us, including Ally and Jessi -- they had rejoined us while we snoozed. There were also several naked guys, some topless girls, and a handful of girls and guys in swimsuits. The older guys still sat in the shade, along with a couple of younger guys, also naked.

A couple of the guys sunning near us rose to get cold beers. As they navigated a path between the chaises, I couldn't help noticing their cocks, swaying freely from side to side. When they passed, I let my eyes feast on their butts, how their muscles rolled and flexed -- it was almost hypnotic. I had never realized how fascinating body parts are that we don't have, or that are different from ours.

We turned over and sunned our backs, then got our bikinis on. We thanked the bartender, slipped a few bucks into the tip jar, and left.

Back at the guest house, we got fresh towels from our room. Shannon, Holly, Mark, and Jason were at the pool, and greeted us warmly, but were leaving -- going to a bar to catch a live blues matinee. As we peeled out of our bikinis, they invited us to join them.

"I dunno, maybe in a little while," Dani said as we settled into our chairs.

I asked, "We'll see you at the club later?"

Jason said, "Probably not. Been there, done that, y'know? Are you going?"

"Definitely," Dani said. "I mean, when will you ever find another place like that?"

"Good point," Mark said. "Maybe we'll see you there."

The pool was surrounded by tall palm trees, so the lounge chairs, although open to the sky, were relatively shaded compared to the blaring sun at the club, much more relaxing.

: : : : :

We lazed at the pool so long that by the time we got dressed for the evening, the blues set was over. We ate at a little taco-stand-type place. I had grouper filets with fried plantains and Cuban black beans on the side, served on a paper plate -- funky but delicious. Dinner was so quick we arrived at the club in a much timelier manner. Our reward was it was utterly dead. Big dick guy wasn't there, the barflies weren't either, and energetic Daisy Dukes girl was nowhere in sight.

There were a grand total of four people dancing, and they were fully dressed. The beat fit the mood: lethargic. We got drinks and settled into a space on the side. A couple of older guys arrived, sat at the bar and took off their shirts, and an older couple settled near them and took off their clothes. A group of mid-thirties couples arrived, got drinks and began dancing. They all took off their shirts and shorts, and several of the ladies took off their bras.

Jessi said, "I'm not gonna be one of the first to get naked," and the rest of us nodded agreement. I couldn't see how the place was ever going to hit critical mass and get energetic. We hit the dance floor, fully dressed. We all wore panties under our dresses tonight, not to be more modest, but for the added fun of having more than one layer to take off. Ally and Jessi also wore bras -- sometimes I think they're hopeless. We danced a couple of songs to get warmed up.

A few more couples arrived and joined us on the floor. The DJ noticed the increase and kicked the tempo up a notch -- that's more like it! I held my arms up -- love that move -- and Dani pulled my dress off, then she held her arms up and I removed hers. Jessi and Ally took theirs off without the arms-up gesture, and also took off their bras. We stashed our clothes and took long sips of our drinks.

A group of eight or ten arrived and began dancing. They danced a few songs clothed, then began stripping, piece by piece. The girls eventually got down to their panties, and the guys down to their boxer briefs, but then they didn't go any further. It looked like they were in the same situation as us -- down to their undies, but feeling funny about being the first to go further. I said, "Fuck it. If they're waiting for us, and we're waiting on them, no one's ever gonna get naked." I glanced at Dani to make sure she was with me, and we dropped our panties. A song later, Jessi and Ally did as well.

We joined the dance floor next to them, and I thought they would see us and take their underwear off too, but they didn't. They teased the elastic at their waist with their thumbs like they wanted to, but they never pulled them down. Ten minutes later, they all put their clothes back on and left. Five minutes after that, Ally complained, "I feel weird being the only ones dancing naked." We all went to the side to sip our drinks, and Ally and Jessi put their panties back on. I was ready to get seriously aggravated with them if they put their bras back on, but they didn't.

It was approaching midnight, and I was losing hope that the night was ever going to get interesting. Who would have guessed that Saturday night would be so dead? An older guy arrived, wearing a polo shirt and baggy workout shorts. He settled near us and put his beer down. Feeling the night slipping away, I rather peevishly said, "Are you gonna take your clothes off?"

He looked at me funny, and I felt bad I'd vented my frustration at him. But he grinned and whipped off his shorts, with nothing on underneath -- like us, he had come here to get naked. He said, "Hell yeah I am. Is there any other reason to come here?" He lifted his shirt off, and there he was -- bare-ass naked. Dani and I whooped loudly, applauded him, and gave him high fives. He applauded back at us for our nudity. He said, "What's the deal tonight, it looks like almost everyone here's a fraidy cat!"

He grinned at Ally and Jessi, and said, "Your friends went the next step, are you gonna?" They glanced at each other and slipped their panties back off. He gave them each a lively high five.

Two girls had been standing near us for a long while. They had taken off their blouses and shorts and looked like they wanted to do more, but couldn't quite bring themselves to take the plunge. Naked guy leaned toward them and said in a conspiratorial tone as if he was sharing a deep secret, "It's only difficult the first time." They looked at him like he was an alien, their eyes widening when they saw his dick -- they hadn't realized he was naked. They still couldn't quite make themselves do it.

I was afraid he was going to pressure them, but he turned back to us, picked up his beer, and took a long pull. He set it down, and said, loud enough for reluctant girls to hear, "It's a lovely evening to be naked." He turned back to them and said something I didn't hear. He walked off toward the bar without waiting to see what effect it had (I assume he was encouraging them to undress).