Ruthie at the Beach

"C'mon, Ruthie, you can just leave that top untied."

That was Jason, one of my friends -- definitely not my boyfriend -- and what he wanted was for me to sit up on my beach towel without putting my top back on. A bunch of us -- three guys and three girls -- had headed to the beach at Atlantic City on this hot July day, and as girls are wont to do, we'd all untied our bikini tops while laying on our stomachs, so we wouldn't get a back strap tan line, of course.

Monica and Alice were both very well developed, C-cup girls I'd guess, but I was your typical late bloomer, and even late, I hadn't bloomed very much. My butt was still skinny, but now definitely feminine, and my boobs, well, they were just barely boobs at all. The only thing I had going for me up top were two outrageously puffy pink nipples.

That also meant that while the other girls were still (barely) decent when they raised up a bit on their elbows, the business ends of their boobs still against their beach towels, when I did that, not thinking, I was in full view of the three guys, and hadn't even noticed it for a bit, until I spotted their leering eyes.

"Damn it, girls, you've got to tell me when I have a wardrobe malfunction!" I bitched to them, but they just laughed and said it was a beach towel malfunction, and it wasn't their fault I was a member of the Itty Bitty Titty Club.

At any rate, I plopped down safely, then pulled my towel around my sides, so I could move again without flashing the guys. When Monica and Alice retied their tops, to sit up and have something out of the cooler, I reached around my back to hook my bandeau top again, when Jason put his hand in the way and asked me to leave it off.

"Uhhh, no, no way."

"Why not? There are a lot of girls here wearing almost nothing, and that bottom you're wearing is awfully skimpy, too. You can do it; just be brave."

I didn't have too much of an argument there, 'cause I'd picked out a lime green bandeau bikini with a 'cheeky' cut bottom, not quite a thong, but it did leave a lot of my butt out to get tanned. Monica had commented on it, and so had Alice, because they were both wearing fuller bottoms. Then again, they had their full chests to tease the guys with, while my tush was my better feature.

"None of the other girls are topless, Jason."

"So? You could start a trend. And you really do look awesome."

"Nope, no way, José!"

With that, Jason got on top of me, sitting on my butt while I was still laying down on my front. There wasn't much way I could struggle against him like this, and he knew it. Still, he wasn't trying to wrestle me or force me. Instead, he picked up my suntan lotion, and started massaging more of it into my back.

Oh, crap, his hands were magnificent! He was using the lotion the way a masseur uses oils, and my whole world was the feeling of his two strong hands massaging my back. Whether he had lessons, or just a natural talent, he was working his will on me, and I was just helpless in his hands . . . so to speak!

Well, everybody else was giggling, the guys as well as the girls, because they could see what he was doing to me, they could see the effect he was having on me. When Alice asked me if I was going to give in to Jason's requests now, I didn't answer, and they all knew that he had me hooked.

When Jason got off me, he nudged me to roll over again, and show off my chest. Everyone was enjoying the picnic lunches we'd bought, and then the rest of the group chimed in and egged me on as well.

"You'd better not let me get in trouble," I said, as I didn't exactly sit up, but rolled onto my side, putting my itty bitties into the group's view, but still not exactly showing off to everyone on the beach. "Get me a sandwich, Jason, so I don't have to sit up."

Well, he was very obedient in that, pulling out a tuna salad sandwich and some chips, and a soda out of the ice water. "You look incredible, Ruthie," he said to me, a huge smile, an appreciative smile, on his face.

You know, this was a turn on for me, too, but it was also amazingly comfortable as well. In just a couple of minutes, I wasn't feeling nervous anymore, but just, heck, just right. When I wanted to grab my cell phone out of my bag, I simply sat up all the way, really without thinking about it, and then I realized I really was exposed to the whole beach -- not that anyone more than thirty yards away would really have noticed -- and I didn't care.

The guys were smart enough not to make a big deal about this, liking having my bare tits in view and not wanting to spoil things, but the girls had to tease me about it. For a second or two, I was embarrassed, but then I got defiant, and knew that no, I was not going to cover up just because they were ragging me. Heck, they both had much better chests than I did, but they were keeping theirs hidden, and the guys were appreciating mine, for a change. Monica looked kind of pissed, because one of the guys, Allen, was her boyfriend, and she wasn't all that pleased that he was admiring my tits.

Ron was admiring them, too, and his girlfriend wasn't with us today. If Jason had a girlfriend, I didn't know about it.

This was actually getting casual, almost normal, the six of us sitting there, shooting the breeze, laughing, snacking and just enjoying ourselves, the only unusual thing being one girl sitting there topless. Allen and Ron had pretty much stopped paying any special attention to my tits, and even Jason was talking to my face and not my chest now. I was back to almost feeling normal, but still had a heightened sexual awareness.

That was when everyone decided it was really hot, and time to hit the water. I thought about it for a second, and then grabbed my bandeau. Jason wanted me to leave it off, naturally, but I said no, not this time, not leaving the sort-of safety of our beach blanket and heading into the crowds at the water line. The guys were disappointed as I put on my top, but we had a blast playing in the water. Jason was paying a lot of attention to me, and we were in about chest deep water when he finally pulled me close to him, to give me a kiss.

I can't say it was unexpected, but it was a lot nicer kiss than I had guessed it would be. Jason kept holding me next to him, his arms low around my waist, and my arms up over his shoulders, around his neck. We weren't talking about anything serious, but it was definitely talk that made it seem like he wanted to keep seeing me in the future.

Back to the blanket, and I didn't hesitate: I whipped off my bikini top as soon as we got back there, while I was still standing up. That was as bold a move as I had made, but I was turned on by the situation, and had been turned on by Jason's hugs and kisses in the water as well. That he was also turned on was obvious from what he had pressing into my belly as we were standing there, embracing.

More normal stuff, and Allen was nagging Monica to drop her top as well, but she wouldn't do it. Another hour, maybe an hour and a half, and we were heading back to the water, me with my top back on again. The best part? Jason took my hand while we were walking down to the surf, and that really got me going. I'd never thought of Jason as good boyfriend material, but who knows, maybe he wouldn't be so bad after all. He was tall, probably six inches above my 5'6", kind of muscular but still on the lean side. He'd been like most of the guys in high school, hitting the weights to get some definition, 'cause anymore, the guys who didn't were losing out in the competition for girls. Me? I'd been such a late bloomer that none of the guys had even been interested in me, the girl who looked like she was 11 when the rest of the girls looked like they were 18. Heck, a few of the 18-year-olds looked like they were 22!

The truth was that I was still a virgin, while by senior year most of the girls weren't. Then again, that's at least what the stories were, but I thought that some of the stories might not be even close to true. There was the time when Eddie, star quarterback, was bragging in the halls that he'd bagged Martha, a junior class hottie, when she heard it, and walked right into the conversation, saying, "I'm no virgin, but I never fucked him!" That brought Eddie down several notches, and shut him up completely. From what little I heard, Eddie was many days living that one down.

Now, here I was, finally graduated from high school, ready to start college in late August, and the self-induced tingles I used to satisfy by myself were now being induced by a real guy, and if not the best-looking guy from my school, not exactly ugly either. Jason had a kind of rough look to him, a kind of angular face, one which made him on the interesting side at least. We were back to hugging and kissing in the surf, and I was really enjoying it.

Back to the blanket for more of our beach party, more soda and the last of the picnic food, more gabbing and bragging and talking about where we were going to college in the fall. The afternoon had worn on, and it was about 4:30 or so, when Jason pulled me to my feet to walk back to the water for the last time. He picked up my top for me, but I was so turned on by the touch of his hand -- and the fact that a lot of people had already left -- that I just dropped it back down on the blanket and we walked hand-in-hand down to the water with me still topless. Jason was smiling from ear-to-ear, but, you know what, so was I.

Down by the water, it became more obvious to the lifeguards that there was a topless girl there, but while I got a few dirty looks, nothing bad happened. Jason and I waded into the surf, which was getting a bit rougher as the tide was coming in, and wound up laughing and playing and hugging and kissing.

We wound up a bit further out, at shoulder-depth water for me, just talking and kissing. The other four stayed with the stuff, leaving Jason and I to ourselves. Jason definitely appreciated the feel of my bare chest against his, and I was liking the feel of his erection swelling his board shorts as he hugged into me. I was fantasizing about pulling off our bottoms, and making love right there, in the ocean, with all of the people still left on the beach watching us, and I'm pretty sure that Jason was thinking the same thing, but we didn't try that.

"I want you, Ruth, I want to make love to you," Jason told me between kisses. Even that was different; I was Ruthie to all of my friends, had been ever since elementary school, but Jason just called me by my formal name. Was that deliberate?

"I want you to, Jason, oh my God, I want you to just so much!" That was what I was feeling, but it was still kind of safe to say it out here, where we really couldn't. "I just don't know where we can."

It was strange, but once we were past that commitment, we started talking more seriously, to plan where we could make love. We both still lived with our parents, and with me going to college only eight miles away, I'd be staying at my parents' house rather than wasting money on an apartment or dorm room. Thoughts were just racing through my mind, about where we could, about when, and, of course, about birth control. I had to raise that subject, and I had to tell him the truth, too. "Jason, you know I'm still a virgin, don't you?"

He got serious about that, but was serious with a huge smile on his face. "Oh, my gosh, Ruth, that's so special. And I've got to admit it: I am, too."

"Really?" I just threw myself on Jason at that, kissing him madly. "I'd never have guessed, not with that bad boy image you try to project."

When we finally settled down a bit, he told me, "Yeah, naturally, I've tried to lose it before, but I always klutzed it up. Every time I thought that maybe it was going to happen, I said something stupid and ruined everything."

"Maybe," I said, putting my arms around his neck and pulling Jason closer, "that was fate saving us both for each other. Think how special that would be."

"It would be, it really would. Today, all of a sudden, I'm just amazed with you."

"What, 'cause you nagged me into going topless?" I gave him a real sarcastic smirk with that one.

"In a way, I suppose, I guess, maybe that's just the physical manifestation of it, but it's more your attitude, your gutsiness, just something I never knew about you. You're just awesome, Ruth, and I never knew that before."

Well, that sure puffed up my ego! I've been called a lot of things in my life, but awesome was never one of them. A flat-as-a-board late bloomer was never going to get called awesome by anyone.

"That's really sweet of you, Jason," I said, and I meant it. Then I got serious. "How about we try dating a bit, while I go ahead and get on the pill. I mean, if you're a virgin, too, we don't have to worry about STDs, and I think it would be really special if our first time didn't have a condom between us. Can you wait that long?"

"For you? Yeah, I can. You take care of the BC, and I'll take care of the arrangements for our first time."

Giggling, I said, "Gee, how clinical we just got."

"Seems strange, doesn't it?"

"Yup, sure does, but you know what? I'm happy right now."

We were both all smiles as we headed back to the blanket, this time with our arms around each other. I know that I was getting some stares from the remaining beach-goers, and I liked them: they were giving me more and more confidence with every glance.

And then I realized that Jason had given me more confidence as well, not just his sexual attraction to me, but the way he spoke seriously to me as well. I kept standing at our blanket, as we were drying ourselves off with our towels, while Alice ragged me about being little Miss Nudist.

"Hey, this is actually fun," I told her, "and you ought to try it. I didn't get in any trouble for it, you know."

"They probably just think you're a showgirl from one of the casinos."

"Shit, I'm way too flat-chested to ever be a showgirl!"

"You aren't so flat-chested that you don't have Jason wrapped around your little finger! Or is that wrapped around your little nipples?" I play-punched Alice in the shoulder for that one.

It was past time for us to head out, so I pulled on my cargo shorts -- I wonder why I wore such baggy to-my-knees shorts to the beach -- and only then put on my grey sleeveless t-shirt; I hadn't put my bandeau back on. All of the guys were appreciative, but by now, I was only caring that Jason liked this, liked the new me.

We had Monica's mom's Buick Verano, parked on Pacific Avenue, and that meant we were crammed in, with Ron, Jason and me smooshed together in the back seat. That left Alice sitting on Monica's boyfriend's lap up front as we headed back home. Jason took my cell phone, and put his name and number in it -- I guess that's 21st century true love! -- and then called his own phone, to get my number into his.

Monica dropped off Alice first, and even though Ron isn't her boyfriend, he got out, too, since his house was on the same block. Jason lives kind of far away from me, so he wasn't getting out when Monica dropped me off, but he did hold the door open, and I kissed him goodbye.

"OK, Ruthie, who was that?" Oh, crap, my mom was home, and she must've seen me kissing Jason out front.

"Uhhh, that's Jason, from school."

"Not Jason Voorhees, I hope!" I busted out laughing at that one.

"No, Jason Carruthers, he graduated the same time I did."

"And just where's your bikini top?" Mom had spotted that I didn't have it on under my t-shirt.

"It's in my bag. Some sand had gotten in it, and it was chaffing me, is all." Man, I lied so slickly!

"This Jason your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, he acts like it, but we haven't said so in so many words."

"Just you be careful, young lady. You do know what boys are after, don't you?"

"Yes, mom, I do." Mom had given me 'the talk' before I ever entered high school, but nobody really needed that: kids talk enough about sex among themselves, and we all laugh about the hysterical sex education classes. "I kind of need to take a shower, to get all of the sand and salt off of me."

I hit the shower, while mom got supper going; my dad hardly ever gets home before 6:30, commuting all the way from Philly, so it's always mom who cooks. I took my shower, wrapped up in a big towel, and went into my room.

I had a couple pair of short-shorts in my chest-of-drawers, but I figured that I should dress more modestly now, to keep mom's questions to a minimum. Some plain white cotton panties, that would be appropriate, and another pair of cargo shorts. I pulled a plain white bra out of my drawers, but didn't want to put it on at all. I'm just a 34-A, and sure don't need a bra, but mom had already brought me up short about not having my bikini top on when I got home, so there was no way I was going braless now; I almost never did before, except a few times in the winter when I was wearing a heavy sweatshirt or something. Another grey t-shirt, this one with a red Rutgers logo, and I was plain old Ruthie again, modest and self-effacing, certainly not a girl who would ever go topless on the public beach in Atlantic City!

Mom was still cooking, so I got onto my computer to look up Planned Parenthood. Holy crap, their office on Atlantic Avenue wasn't four blocks from where we'd been at the beach; if only I'd known!

But, then again, you have to have an appointment, and, here's the part I dreaded, I'd need my insurance card. I guessed that maybe I could just pay cash, but the truth was I'd have to tell mom I was going. Gulp!

Well, dad was still at least half-an-hour from getting home, and if I wanted to talk to my mother about this, now was the time to do it. Jason had said that he admired my gutsiness, but, man, it's going to take a lot of guts to talk to my mom about this! I resolved to myself that yes, I was going to do this!

"Hey mom," I began, as I walked into the kitchen. Mom was making some sort of casserole, not exactly what I'd guess during a hot July day, but our house had good air conditioning, so I guess that it doesn't really matter.

"What's up, Ruthie?"

I steeled myself for this, and then went ahead and blurted it out. "Mom, I need to go to Planned Parenthood."

I half expected mom to drop the casserole dish on the floor, but she was as cool as a cucumber. "Oh, really? Because of that Jason boy?"

"Yes." I hated myself for dropping my voice so quietly at that; I wanted to be strong and proud, but Hell, I was talking to my mother about birth control.

"And have you . . .?" Mom left the question unfinished, but we both knew what she meant.

"No, not yet, but I think we will. And even if we never do, I'll be in college end of next month."

Mom proved pretty good at multi-tasking, continuing on with dinner just as though we were talking about gardening. "So, tell me about this Jason."

"Like I said, he was in my class at school, but we never dated before, and now we kind of want to. I don't really know anything about his family, but I'm pretty sure that he comes from a stable one. He tries to act the bad boy, 'cause a lot of guys do, but he really isn't, and has never actually gotten in trouble in school as far as I know."

"He going to college?"

"No, not exactly. His father's an electrician, and I gather that he's going to apprentice with him, or something, starting after Labor Day. His dad let him have one last summer vacation off, is all."

"Well, that's good to hear. Electricians are in demand, and not only do they make good money, but you have to be fairly smart to become an electrician. How about drugs?"

Whoa, I didn't expect that question, but I guess that I should have. "Not as far as I know. I mean, I've never heard of him talking about drugs, and he certainly didn't say anything about smoking pot or anything while we were at the beach, but I can't say for sure, I guess. I mean, some of the stoners, you just know they are, just by looking, but Jason never seemed like one."