Best Friends Pt. 01: Becky's Secret

Lisa looked at her friend. Becky's face was flushed, she was almost overflowing with excitement and positivity. Whatever this was about, it clearly held some real importance to her.

"Was that why you sent so many Snapchats?" Lisa asked. Becky nodded.

"I wasn't sure how to say it. I didn't know what words to use. So I thought, if I showed you, maybe you would pick up on it. Like you did. And then you'd ask me, and then it would feel right to tell you."

Lisa laughed. "You shouldn't act like it's such a big secret. So you walk around naked at home when nobody's watching? So you like it? That's really not the big deal you are making it out to be, you know?"

Becky lowered her eyes. "It's not just that," she said quietly, her cheeks coloured.

"What is it, then?"

Becky shook her head. "No, you're right. It's not a big deal. I dunno why I was so worked up about it."

"Becky..?"

"No, seriously, it's fine. But... thanks for saying that. That it's not a big deal. Thanks for being cool and understanding and telling me it's normal and not finding it weird..."

"Well," Lisa laughed, "it is a little weird. But it's no problem for me if you like it."

In truth, Lisa had been wondering since their conversation the previous evening exactly what Becky saw in being naked.

Lisa didn't hate her body, but she certainly didn't go through life blessed with confidence about it either. Slightly-built and small in the bust, she remained slim but with a fuller bottom and wide hips which gave her a pear-shaped silhouette and left her conscious of her "big bum". Combined with a face she felt was rather plain, and blonde hair which never seemed to have any life to it, and she generally spent a lot of her time feeling, if not actually unattractive, then certainly the least attractive person she knew.

Especially when she compared herself to Becky - leggy, curvy in all the right places Becky, with big eyes, a cute nose and that mass of bouncing brown curls. Becky was a real head-turner - but modest with it, never over-sure of her own beauty, never letting it cause her to seem unapproachable or aloof. She was both the easiest and the hardest person to be friends with - easy because she would never deliberately make you feel unattractive, but hard because you couldn't help but compare yourself to her and come up wanting.

So when Lisa had learned Becky's little secret, that she preferred not having clothes on, her first thought had been; "of course you do." If I had her body, Lisa thought, I'd walk around naked too. Heck, I'd walk around naked in public!

But for anyone else? Lisa didn't see the point. Undressing out of school clothes after a long day was comfortable, sure, but so was putting on the pajamas she wore to bed. But she didn't wear them all the time at home, and you certainly didn't get her carping on about how her pajama self was her true self or whatever it was Becky was saying. It all seemed rather strange.

Strange - but at the same time, intriguing. Lisa continued to feel that anxious, electric sensation at the back of her mind when Becky spoke about her naked life. This side of her friend, the side now being revealed in their conversation, suggested something more than what was being spoken.

As they sat in class that day, Lisa looked over to her friend. Becky sat, leaning forward, elbows on the desk, her chin resting on her cupped hands. She was listening intently to the teacher prep them for their forthcoming exams. The two girls and their classmates were almost too old for school now - sixth form would soon give way to study leave, lessons done forever. If they passed their summer exams, the next stop in the autumn would be university. Becky would be 19 in September, Lisa a few months after. New lives would find them then, adulthood, with adolescence far behind them.

The teacher droned on, but he didn't have Lisa's attention - it was all on Becky. She blinked heavy eyes a few times, falling into daydream...

The classroom was the same, but Becky changed before Lisa's eyes. No longer clad in the blouse, tie and dark grey skirt of her school uniform, now Becky sat in the class stark naked.

Lisa's pulse began to race as she realized what she was seeing. Her friend nude in the classroom. She knew it wasn't real, just a fancy of her imagination, but it seemed vivid, almost tangible. Becky alongside her, in profile, chin resting on her hands. Bare but concealed, her full breasts hidden by her arms. Sat as she was, her stomach compressed, not taut, her belly in soft folds. Her naked back curving down to her shapely bottom and those long, bare legs tucked beneath the hard plastic chair, crossed at the ankles, her feet as nude as the rest of her.

Becky sat, oblivious, but the other occupants of the classroom stared, wide-eyed in amazement at her nakedness. The teacher seemed to be struggling over whatever it was he was saying - stood at the front of the room, he had a clearer view of Becky's exposed form than anyone else. But still Becky sat, oblivious. She closed her eyes, a smile crossing her face at some inscrutable thought.

With equal suddenness, the daydream ended, and Lisa returned to reality. Becky sat in her chair fully-clothed, attracting no more attention than she usually did (which was not to say no attention at all). The teacher wasn't distracted and indeed the only person having trouble concentrating was Lisa herself, who was breathing hard, a hot feeling at the tips of her ears. She shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, a tightness between her legs. A few discreet, deep breaths calmed her, and she looked away, a little troubled.

What had that been about?

Chapter 3: Study Methods

School broke up for the upper sixth a few weeks later, with a fortnight or so before the first of their A-level exams. It was commonly called "study leave" - their coursework completed and nothing more to teach them, the students were dismissed from school to go home and work on revising what they needed to know before they would return in groups to sit the examinations that would grade the end of their schooling and help define the next path they took in life.

For a great many of the students, study leave had another implication. For with younger siblings still attending normal school, and parents out at work, these 18-year-olds were now being trusted to be home alone for something like 8 hours a day, often for the first time. It was symbolic in a way of a greater freedom, a recognition that these young people no longer required adult supervision in the crucial moments of their lives but could instead think and work for themselves and look after themselves.

Of course it also meant that those with bad habits might find it harder to break them. Gamer kids might find it hard to pass up the lure of eight-hour sessions in order to study hard for their future, stoners embraced the opportunity to indulge their habits at greater length, and social animals simply viewed it as two weeks where they could hang with their friends with nobody to tell them what to do.

For Lisa, though, there was an importance to revision that she couldn't ignore. Always an achiever, always near the top of her class, she was feeling the pressure to do well. A poor performance in her exams might well mean missing out on a place at the university of her choice - more than that, her doctor parents put a lot of value on academic performance. They would be so disappointed if she failed, so she had resolved to work hard and organize her revision as best she could to do well.

Becky, though, wasn't quite the academic that Lisa was. While certainly no bimbo, she wasn't as interested in or engaged with her school work as her friend was, and tended to "just get by" when it came to her grades. This never normally bothered her - but Becky, too, had ambitions to go to university and realized the importance of her A-levels.

"You're so much better at this than me," she'd pouted to Lisa at one point a few months ago, as the two had talked about their revision.

"I'm not, really," Lisa said, kindly. She'd never felt smarter than Becky - yes she did better in class but Becky's personality and confidence meant she never appeared less clever in Lisa's eyes. "I'm just... good at organizing myself."

"Why don't we study together?" Lisa had suggested - and Becky agreed it was a good idea. A good few of the days of their study leave, therefore, the girls had planned to spend together - either at Becky's house or at Lisa's.

Lisa had set aside the Monday of the first week to plan and cover some basics in some of the topics she and Becky would be working on, and although it wasn't the most exciting activity, she was looking forward to spending a good few days with her best friend.

Tuesday she awoke early, showered, and was dressed and having breakfast as her parents left for work. A short while later, carrying a bag of text books and revision notes, Lisa stepped out of her front door and began her walk to Becky's house.

It was a warm morning in early June. The two girls lived in the same village - actually more of a suburb now; once a small collection of houses and a few shops in the country which had been swallowed up forty years or so ago by the growth and development of the nearby town. Everyone still called it a village though, and it had retained something of that sense of community and character in spite of the development of some newer, more identikit housing on its outskirts.

It was in that part of the village that Becky lived, around a 20 minute walk for Lisa from her own larger and older house. By the time she arrived at Becky's house, the air had begun to grow hazy from the heat, and fat bumblebees buzzed in the hedgerows.

Lisa rang the doorbell, and stood momentarily on the doorstep waiting for Becky to respond. She glanced around - Becky's mum's car wasn't in the driveway; obviously she too had left for work. The two of them would have the place to themselves.

The glass panels in the front door were textured, rendering everything on the other side wobbly and indistinct in the name of privacy. She could only see Becky as a shape as she came to the door, until she opened it.

Lisa gave an audible gasp. Opening the door, in full view to anyone who might have been passing the end of the driveway, Becky was completely naked.

She was framed in the doorway. She wasn't covering herself at all - hourglass-figured, the morning sun illuminating every curve of her body. She looked breathtaking. Lisa whirled, looking around her. There didn't seem to be any other people around.

"Hi," Becky said nonchalantly to the staring, speechless Lisa, "coming in?" She turned from the doorway to walk back inside - mutely, Lisa followed.

"You okay?" Becky asked.

"You're naked."

Becky laughed, "yeah..."

"No. You're naked."

Becky stopped in the hallway and turned back to Lisa. "Is this... is this a problem for you?" She didn't sound angry - rather, genuinely worried, as if it somehow hadn't occurred to her that opening her front door to her friend completely nude would be in any way shocking or unusual.

Lisa blinked a few times, trying to clear her head.

"No..." she said at last. "No, it isn't. But it's just... oh my God Becky, you gave me such a shock just then. I mean... seriously, a bit of warning next time, rather than just POW! TITS! You know?"

Becky's tone was apologetic. "I'm sorry," she replied. "I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure I was going to do it. But I should have said something first, should have given you a warning that I might not have clothes on. I just figured it wouldn't be that much of a surprise given... what you know about me."

"Well," Lisa answered, " you told me a while back that you don't like wearing clothes at home if you don't have to, so no, I'm not wondering why it is that you're butt naked right now... but I also thought you only did that when nobody was around?"

Becky flushed a little. "I know! I did! But... well... you're my best friend, and you're the only person I've told about this... thing. And you were so cool about it when I told you that I liked being naked that I didn't think you would mind if I wasn't dressed while you're here. And it's not as though you've never seen me naked before? So I figured... if I can't be myself around you, who can I be it with?"

There was that refrain again. Be myself. The same thing Becky had said when she'd first told Lisa she preferred to be nude. Lisa still didn't fully understand why, but she did realize now that to Becky, this side of herself was in a way something very personally important. It wasn't just about not having clothes on to Becky, it was about something more, and she seemed to be reaching out to a friend for understanding. She was almost pleading, Lisa realized, for someone to tell her that it was normal.

"It's fine," Lisa managed. "Really, it's fine. You just gave me a shock, is all. I mean, what if someone had come along then, with you all naked out in front of the house?"

Becky's eyes flashed, suddenly wide and alive, but she said nothing, and Lisa continued; "But really, it is fine with me. Be naked if you want to, like you say, if you can't be comfortable around a friend..."

"So you don't mind if I don't get dressed now you're here?"

Lisa smiled. "Well, I've seen everything already so there's kind of no point..."

-

They'd spent the morning sitting on Becky's living room floor, working through revision - discussing, making notes, quizzing one another. It had gone well.

As the morning had progressed, Lisa had found herself growing a little more accustomed to Becky's nakedness. It no longer seemed unusual or out of place - rather, it had a sense of naturalness about it. Becky was relaxed and comfortable without her clothes on, her manner and behavior no different to what it might have been had she been sat there fully clothed.

That said, it was also impossible to ignore. Everything Becky did was done by Becky naked. Becky wasn't just studying, she was studying naked. She didn't just fetch them drinks, or snacks, she fetched drinks and snacks naked. She left the room naked, and returned to the room naked. She radiated nakedness.

Every movement of her body emphasized her lack of clothing. When she leaned forward to peer at a textbook, her bare breasts, unrestrained by a bra, hung round and full and free. When she leaned back against the base of the sofa and stretched out her legs, she revealed the neat brown triangle of pubic hair on her mound and a glimpse of the flushed pinkness between her parted legs. When she walked out of the room, her hips swaying, it was her soft, smooth, round, bare bottom that commanded Lisa's attention. Even her bare feet on the peach carpet seemed somehow more sensual when accompanied by such total nakedness.

It wasn't always easy to concentrate, and was made more difficult because, apparently now liberated by Lisa's acceptance of her friend's naked state, Becky's favourite topic of conversation for the morning had been nudity.

"You remember when we were 10?" Becky said, by way of an explanation for why it was that she had come to find that being without clothing was her preferred state. "When we were playing in the fields and we fell in that irrigation ditch."

"Well," Lisa recollected, "I remember you fell in trying to jump it, and then you pulled me in after you when I tried to help you out..."

"Whatever, whatever. The point is, you remember when we climbed out we were all soaked in that smelly, slimy green water?"

Lisa made a face; "Ugh, thanks for reminding me. Yes, I remember. We were soaked to our skin. We ended up stripping off all our clothes and had to walk all the way back to yours starkers... Wait, are you telling me that ever since then you've had this urge to be naked all the time?"

"Well, it wasn't just that time, there's been a few similar experiences... but yeah I guess I've had this side of me in one form or another ever since. But recently I've felt more, I dunno, driven towards it, like it's something I really have to do."

"So was that when you started messaging me about it?"

"Yeah. I didn't want it to be my big secret. I wanted to share it with someone I knew I could trust, with you."

Lisa smiled warmly. The notion that Becky would trust her so much as to share her unusual, rather taboo secret was gratifying, and she was pleased that things had turned out as they had. But there was still that strange, nagging, electric feeling as she sat here, clothed, with her nude best friend. The more Becky shared, the more intimate the sense of what was going on between them became. It wasn't unpleasant, but to Lisa it was troubling.

The study wound down as they day went on, both girls having felt they had done enough. Becky suggested a break in the back garden.

"Sounds good to me," Lisa replied. "Are you bored of being naked now then?"

Becky looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well," Lisa answered, "if we're going outside then you'll have to put some clothes on."

Becky grinned. "No, I won't," she said.

"But you're overlooked? Next door can see into your whole garden, surely?"

"Yeah, but they're at work, there's nobody home there today."

"Well... if you're sure. But it's on you if you get in trouble about this."

Lisa opened the sliding doors and stepped out on to the patio. The sun was high in the sky now, the day bright and hot, and for a moment she envied her friend's unclothed state. But she felt no desire to join her, all the same - something about the two of them being naked together raised an uncomfortable image in her head, and she hurriedly put it from her thoughts.

The two sat in the garden for much of the rest of the day, talking as they normally would about life, music, guys and television, their main go-to topics of conversation. Becky at least seemed less overcome with desire to talk about her own nakedness, instead she just luxuriated nude in the sun, wearing nothing but her sunglasses, sipping Diet Coke through a straw.

As the afternoon wore on, Becky started suddenly. "What's the time?" she said.

Lisa looked at her wristwatch. "About 4.50," she answered.

Becky sat up. "Oops," she grinned, getting up and dashing back into the house. She returned a few moments later, no longer nude now, clad in a long, sleeveless t-shirt and beneath that a pair of colourful bikini bottoms.

"Mum'll be home soon," she explained, a tinge of regret in her voice.

"She doesn't know? About the naked thing?"

Becky shook her head. "Nah. I just couldn't tell her. I'm not sure she'd understand. The only person I've ever felt comfortable talking about it to, is you."

-

Lisa lay in bed. The night air was humid, sticky - her pajama top clung to her skin. She'd thrown the covers off but was still warm, but that wasn't the only reason she struggled to sleep.

Alone in the dark, her thoughts had returned to the strangeness of that day. Becky's nakedness had stuck in her memory long after her friend had reappeared clothed, and she had wandered home almost in a daze, her mind elsewhere. She'd picked at her dinner and gone off to bed early, explaining that she felt unwell, had caught the heat a little too much while out in Becky's garden.

Becky's garden. Where the two of them had sat, Lisa clothed and Becky naked, chatting as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Which, in a sense, it had been - Becky had seemed so relaxed and comfortable in her nakedness that it almost felt as though it would have been stranger for both of them to be clothed.

And yet, there had been an intimacy to that moment, a charge about it. It hadn't just been seeing Becky's body in all her glory, although that had certainly been something. But it was as much about Becky baring her soul as her skin, as much about her sharing what she had called her true self with someone she truly trusted. It had felt private, close, and sensual, and it had left Lisa with a sense of longing that she didn't fully understand.