Stealing is the Ultimate Gift

Exhibitionism/voyeurism are the primary themes of this story, which is why I feel that it belongs in this category. But readers should be aware that it goes (far) beyond exposed nudity. Enjoy!

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Amanda looked nervously around her as she walked along the boulevard, her golden-brown ponytail whipping from side to side she scanned the people she passed. Could they tell? How could she have let her girlfriends talk her into this? Going without panties just wasn't normal for her. It wasn't fitting for a woman of her stature, even if she was on holiday.

It was a series of unfortunate events that had prompted this situation, the major one being the fact that she apparently had forgotten to pack any panties in the first place. She could barely believe she had messed up like that. It just wasn't like her. She was an experienced traveler and had a well-rehearsed routine for packing her bags. She always placed each group of items in separate plastic bags before packing them, ensuring that they wouldn't get damaged in case something leaked into her suitcase. It also made it easy to find things when unpacking. The system had never failed her before. But it undoubtedly meant that if she forgot to pack one bag, then she was left without any of those items for the entire trip. In this case, without any panties.

They had rented what could only be described as a mansion. Veronica immediately challenged everyone to a race for the backyard pool when they arrived. Amanda normally didn't get caught up in Veronica's games, but they were on holiday and she thought she might as well humor her friend. She rushed to her room and quickly changed into her bikini. She glanced over herself in the full-length mirror and almost changed her mind. Why had she let Sabina come along as fashion advice for a new bikini? True to form, her blonde friend only picked the skimpiest bikinis for Amanda to choose from. The model Amanda finally agreed on was probably modest by Sabina's standards, but it was still far more revealing than anything Amanda had worn before. Bright green, it would have garnered attention even if Amanda's breasts hadn't overflowed the top.

Mali didn't join them in the pool. Instead she announced that she was putting in a load of laundry. It seemed a bit excessive given that they had only just arrived, so the only thing anyone possibly wanted washed was what they had worn on the flight over. But she argued that they only had the one machine between seven people and should keep the machine busy. As always, it was hard to argue with Mali's logic, and while the rest of them chilled out in the pool, she offered to gather up everyone's laundry.

So, when Amanda discovered that her panties weren't in her suitcase, the panties she had worn on the flight over were in the washing machine and her bikini bottoms were wet from the pool.

"Can someone lend me a pair?" she desperately asked when her girlfriends gathered in her room, ready to head out.

"Uhm," Mali began. "We're not exactly the same size."

The petite Thai girl was right. Amanda was an exceptionally tall woman and was also built with far more curvaceous proportions than either of her friends.

"Why don't you just go without," Sabina giggled.

"Yeah," Veronica enthusiastically agreed. "I dare you!"

Mali's eyes traveled over Amanda's light summer dress. She nodded softly. "It's not like anyone would notice."

Amanda gave her friends a bewildered look. She expected this sort of outrageous suggestion from Sabina, maybe even from Veronica. But from Mali?

"We really should get going," Mali continued. "The guys are already waiting for us at the restaurant."

"Yeah, let's go!" Sabina said, and grabbing Amanda's hand, she pulled her along.

Amanda stumbled after in confusion. She would have normally refused but she couldn't really think of any other solution. She felt as if her lack of panties put her in an inferior position, making her more susceptible to the peer pressure.

"Don't worry," Mali comforted her as they made their way through the crowd. "No one can tell."

"And you're on holiday," Veronica added. "You don't know anyone here."

That wasn't quite true. Even if they had stuck to the original plan, she still would have known her girlfriends. It was embarrassing enough that they knew that Amanda was walking around without panties, but they had all decided to bring their husbands along. So now she also had them to worry about. The closer they got to the restaurant where Marco, Paul and Alex waited, the more anxious Amanda became.

As they entered, she was sure she saw all three guys staring at her dress, as if immediately picking up on her secret. But she tried to relax, telling herself she was being paranoid. Sabina made her take the seat next to her husband Marco. Amanda would have normally appreciated the gesture, making her feel less like a third wheel on what had turned into a couples' vacation. But in her self-conscious state, she would have preferred to remain in the periphery. She carefully pulled at the hem of her dress as she sat down, making sure it didn't creep up.

"You're looking good, Amanda," Marco said and kissed her on the cheek. "I love your dress."

Amanda was surprised to feel herself blush. As soon as Marco had filled her wine glass, she drained half of it straight away.

"Thanks for letting me and the other guys come along for your birthday vacation," Marco said.

"Oh. I'm glad you did."

And she was glad. It just wasn't what she had envisioned when she had first booked a week-long holiday with her girlfriends. But she liked their husbands and got along well with all of them. The running joke was that they all owed her; she was the one who had set them up. In the case of Marco, he was a former co-worker who used to insist on asking Amanda to go out dancing with him. She constantly refused, mainly because it went against her policy of 'don't shit where you eat'. And he wasn't exactly her type anyways. Self-conscious about her height, she preferred men that were taller than herself. And his smooth Latino manners were somewhat lost on her.

But he was an undeniably sexy man, so when she switched firms, she halfheartedly agreed to go on a date with him. That night they ended up at a party at Sabina's house and it became obvious to everyone that he and Sabina clicked. So Amanda just sort of passed him along. It had taken some convincing to make Sabina accept that Amanda really didn't mind. Not much could be said about Sabina's morals when it came to being faithful to the men she dated back then, but she was always a loyal friend. And as hungry as her appetite for men was, it was rare to see her seriously interested in anyone. Now, five years later, they were married.

"I hear you got a promotion," Marco said after they ordered their food.

"Yes, she's the youngest ever to make full equity partner at the firm," Sabina added.

"I'm not surprised," Marco said. "I've always said you were as smart as you are beautiful. Congratulations!"

He hugged her, pressing her against him. To her surprise, he left his arm around her shoulder as he refilled her glass.

"This calls for a toast," he said and raised his glass. "To the most brilliant business lawyer the world has ever seen!"

Everyone around the table cheered for her. She felt herself blush again—not so much because of their praise, but because the discussion of her professional status emphasized to her mind how inappropriate it was for her to sit there without any panties.

Marco's arm still lingered around her. Why did he do that? She gave Sabrina a concerned look but the blonde didn't seem to mind the physical attention he was paying her. Amanda shivered as his fingers brushed lightly against her skin. Was that on purpose?

"Let's take the beach boulevard home," Sabina suggested after dinner. "The sunset is said to be spectacular."

Amanda would have preferred not taking a detour. But she didn't want to bring attention to the reason—her lack of underwear—so she didn't object. She soon regretted it. The beach was indeed very beautiful, the setting sun painting the sky pink and gold. But the ocean breeze was more than invigorating and seemed determined to lift her dress up and reveal her condition. She walked awkwardly, using both hands to hold her fluttering dress in place.

"You shouldn't worry about it," Sabina said as she caught up with Amanda. "Loads of women go without panties from time to time."

Amanda gave her a wearied look. "You mean you do it?"

Sabina smirked. "I sure do."

Amanda looked her friend up and down. Sabina's dress was hugging her slender body, preventing the wind from revealing anything underneath.

"But not tonight," Sabina continued, grinning knowingly. "This time it's just you flaunting yourself."

"I'm not flaunting myself!" Amanda exclaimed, pressing her dress even tighter around her thighs to make sure she stayed decent. "And it's not like it's on purpose!"

"What's not on purpose?" Marco asked from a few steps behind.

Amanda looked anxiously over her shoulder at Marco and the other guys behind her. "Nothing! Nothing important."

Sabina giggled, and Amanda shot her a miffed frown. But she couldn't help giggling nervously herself. Maybe Sabina was right—she was on holiday. Perhaps she didn't have to take herself quite so seriously. At least they'd be back at the mansion soon.

Always the fast walker, Veronica marched up ahead, the wind playing with her long red curls. She stopped and turned when they reached the path leading up to their temporary home.

"It really is a nice evening," Veronica said as the rest approached. "Who's up for walking further up the beach?"

Everyone except Amanda seemed enthusiastic about the idea.

"Not me," she said. Under no condition would she risk walking any further. "I'll just head back home."

Veronica gave her a disappointed look, and Amanda braced herself to dismiss whatever stupid dare her friend was about to come up with. But to her surprise, the redhead just shrugged her shoulders.

"OK, suit yourself," she said. "Here's the key to the mansion."

Veronica threw the key to Amanda, who acted on reflex, reaching up high to catch it. And just like that, the wind was free to lift her dress. Astonished that she had actually caught the key, she didn't even notice what had happened at first. She shrieked in shock when it dawned on her that she was standing there naked from the waist down, surrounded by prying eyes. She was paralyzed at first, unable to grasp the reality of the situation. And when she finally managed to act, she instinctively pulled down the front first, leaving her naked ass further exposed to the three men behind her.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed as she finally managed to get some control over the flapping fabric. "I can't believe that just happened!"

She giggled nervously, certain that the group would burst out laughing and tease her. But they just smiled calmly back at her as her jittery eyes wandered among them. Were there actually hints of awe in their expressions?

"See you later," Marco said and kissed her softly on the cheek before continuing up the beach. The other two men followed suit.

"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" Veronica asked.

"No, I... I'll just head home," Amanda said, confused that they didn't even acknowledge what had happened.

"Do you want me to go back with you?" Mali offered.

"Uhm, no. Thank you. No, I'll be fine."

She watched as her friends continued up the beach. With or without panties, she had definitely made the right decision not to tag along. A sunset walk along the beach seemed like more third-wheeling than she was comfortable with. She was single by choice, at this point in life happily married to her career. But that didn't mean she didn't sometimes miss the perks of a relationship. Her sexual hunger was as strong as ever, probably more than her girlfriends could guess. But with no real time to meet Mr. Right, she kept those desires bottled up. She rarely ever met anyone outside of work, so there weren't many opportunities for casual relationships. Smiling to herself, she thought that at least she had helped her friends bag good husbands.

The exposure incident still haunted her as the water from the shower head splashed against her body a moment later. How could she have been so reckless? And why had she agreed to go pantieless in the first place? At least her friends hadn't made a big deal out of her exposure. She had expected them to taunt her but they had just watched her in silence, acting like it was perfectly normal.

But it wasn't normal. Not to her at least. What a foolish sight she must have been! How long had she exposed herself? And why had she been so slow to react once she discovered what had happened? Perhaps it was pure shock, or maybe her reactions were delayed due to the generous amount of wine Marco had served her. Whatever the reason, she had given them plenty of time to take in the sight. She ran her hands over the rounded curves of her ass, thinking about how her friends' husbands had stared at it earlier. That humiliating feeling came over her again.

But this time it was followed by warmer emotions. The touch of her hands against her soft cheeks now sent thrills through her body as the memory of her exposure ran through her head. Her hand wandered in between her cheeks as she recalled the expression of the onlookers. Her touch made her want more and she found herself craving the sensation of her fingers at the sensitive center of her ass. It surprised her. That desire usually only awoke at the peak of passion. She pictured the way the guys had stared at her ass. She was sure she had sensed admiration in their gazes. Had they fantasized about her before?

She stopped herself, shaking her head at her own thoughts. It wasn't appropriate to think about how her friends' husbands might appreciate her body. She was obviously tipsy. She turned the water temperature to refreshingly cold, hoping it might sober her up.

The events of the evening still spun in her head as she lay in bed soon afterwards. Marco had been paying her a lot of attention during dinner, to the point of being downright flirtatious. She remembered his soft touch against her shoulder. Had he acted like that when Sabina wasn't around, Amanda would have been seriously worried about his intentions. But he had done it right in front of his wife. That left Amanda more confused than upset.

Her confusion lasted through the night. Images from vivid dreams flashed through her mind as the morning sun woke her up. Dazed, she thought at first that maybe the whole exposure incident was just a dream. Her heart sank as her memories crystallized. She really had showed her naked ass to the guys. And hadn't the girls just stared too—straight at her most private parts? The humiliation weighed heavily on her and she didn't look forward to seeing them all for breakfast. Yet she pulled herself out of bed. She couldn't hide forever.

The fact that she still didn't have any panties soon dawned on her. She wasn't sure where Mali might have put the one pair she had left. For lack of better options, she slipped into her bikini. She looked herself over in the mirror, once again questioning her judgment. Or rather Sabina's judgment. If Amanda had Sabina's body type, that bikini probably would have appeared less like she was flaunting herself. The curse of Amanda's outright massive breasts was that most things she wore could risk coming off as suggestive. At least Amanda perceived it that way, and she usually dressed conservatively so as not to draw attention to them. But this bikini top was doing the exact opposite.

And the bottom part was not much better. Cut high, most of her round ass was on display. Concerned, she fiddled with the knots at the sides. Sabina had assured her that it was safe—even safer than a standard elastic model because the straps could be adjusted to fit just right. But Amanda wasn't convinced. It looked risky and she didn't want to end up exposing herself again.

But what choice did she have? Strangely, her old bikini was nowhere to be found when she packed for the trip. She was sure she knew where she kept it, even though it had been a long time since she had last gone on a beach holiday. Sabina was with her when she realized it was missing and the blonde had insisted that they go shopping for a new one straight away.

Amanda covered herself with a beach tunic before going downstairs. There was no way she'd walk around the house in just a bikini. She'd already flaunted herself far too much.

"Good morning!" Mali greeted her in the kitchen. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Yes. Uhm, pretty good," Amanda replied, thinking about the dreams that had haunted her throughout the night. She had been even more exposed in her dreams, left completely naked around her friends without any possibility of covering up. It resembled the classic nightmare scenario of turning up at school completely naked. But now when she thought about it, she didn't recall them as dreams of horror. It had actually felt rather liberating.

She shook the memories out of her head, thinking that her surreal dreams were too irrational to be analyzed.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"No, why don't you have a seat?" Mali suggested. "I'm just making pancakes for everyone. The others will be here soon. Though it seems like Sabina and Marco might be awhile. They sounded, uhm... busy."

"Oh, I told you that someone else should have taken the upstairs room. It would have made much more sense to put a couple in there. You know, with privacy and all."

"Don't be foolish," Sabina said and smiled at Amanda. "We're here to celebrate your birthday. Of course you should have the nicest room."

It was indeed a nice room, one window overlooking the ocean, the other the backyard pool.

"But I don't need that big room for just me," Amanda argued. "And it doesn't make sense that one person should have the one room with its own shower."

"It's fine," Mali reassured her. "Maybe we can use your shower if needed, but we're not here to hang around inside anyway. And speaking of which, Paul and Alex went to pick up a boat they rented for the day. There are a bunch of smaller islands we can go to. That sounds exciting, right?"

"Well, maybe," Amanda began. "But I really need to go shopping first. You know, for new underwear."

She gave Mali a sheepish look, knowing that she had just reminded her friend of last night's exposure and now that image would be in her friend's mind.

"I understand, but the thing is..." Mali said, and turned her attention to the pancakes. "I thought you might, and I looked around to see where you could pick up some new underwear. And there's nothing open on Saturday on the entire island. In fact, none of the clothes shops will be open until Monday."

Mali wouldn't meet Amanda's gaze, looking downright guilty as she delivered the bad news. Amanda frowned in disbelief. Was she supposed to walk around without any panties for two more days?

"But we'll mostly do beach stuff anyway, so it's not so bad," Mali comforted her.

"What's not so bad?" Veronica asked as she joined them in the kitchen.

"I was just telling Amanda that all the stores are closed for the weekend, so she can't go shopping for new underwear."

"Ah, I see," Veronica said and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you'll be OK. We're just going on a boat ride today, so you just need your bikini. Are Paul and Alex back yet?"

"I think I saw them anchoring down by the beach a few minutes ago," Mali replied.

Amanda looked out the window and saw two shirtless men walking up the trail towards the house. She couldn't help staring, thinking that both Paul and Alex were in great shape. At least in the case of Paul it wasn't surprising as he used to be her personal trainer. If she was honest with herself, his looks had motivated her to go to the gym, knowing that she was going to spend time with such a fit man.