5 Bikers for Valentines

I scowled at her. “That's not the point.”

While Lila had a supermodel kind of body—slim and trim, naturally—I was more on the curvy side. I had hips and a little belly on me. My breasts were larger and fuller, which was the one thing I had on Lila I supposed. But it wasn't something I was proud of, thanks to my mom always chastising me to keep them covered up to “avoid tempting the wrong kinds of men.”

“The best part about a cruise like this, Josie, is you'll never see any of these people again,” Lila smiled. “So you don't have to be ashamed and you don't have to worry. What happens on this ship, stays on this ship. You can let loose, get naked, have wild sex with a stranger in the hallway and never have to worry about running into him again. And you never have to worry about anybody here judging you because we're all here for the same thing.”

I had to admit, it sounded nice in theory, but I knew I was frigid. Not that I didn't want to have sex. I just froze whenever things headed that way. I'd freeze and bolt, the echo of my mom's voice in my head condemning me for being a whore.

“We'll see,” I sighed, falling back onto the perfect little cloud I'd be sleeping on. “At least the bed is comfortable.”

ooo000ooo

“Just because it's clothing optional doesn't mean you have to get naked, you know,” Lila said. “You can still wear your swimsuit, no one will care. That's the definition of the word optional, silly. Didn't you learn that in college?”

“But that means I have to stare at a bunch of naked people.”

Lila raised an eyebrow. “What, you don't like naked men?”

“That's not what I meant,” I countered. “Having them parading around in front of me, all dangling and flopping around like that—it'd just be weird, that's all.”

“Nothing weird about it,” Lila argued. “Just because you were raised to be a prude, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with nudity. The human body is a beautiful thing. A work of art, even. You should enjoy it as such.”

My cheeks flushed red and burned with the heat of embarrassment. I knew there was no way she was going to let me get out of it. Lila had always been wilder than me, and she got a kick out of pushing me out of my comfort zone. Most of the time, it was a lot of fun and I could later admit that I needed it, but sometimes, it was a bit too much.

Still, she was right. I liked men as much as any straight, warm-blooded female, and I could admire their naked form as much as the next girl.

“As long as I can stay dressed, fine,” I said, grudgingly.

Which was how we ended up in the top pool deck, surrounded by naked people. Men and women, strolling around and letting it all hang out like the didn't have a care in the world. As I looked around, though, I noticed that I wasn't the only one hesitant to take their clothes off, thankfully. I wasn't alone up there.

It almost seemed to me like the folks who stripped down the quickest were either seasoned pros or perhaps had been hired to help people get more comfortable. There were also quite a few people who remained partially clothed. A few women removed their tops. Guys wore nothing but a towel covering their privates.

Lila was wearing a tiny bikini that barely covered anything as it was, and she reached behind and undid the halter straps, letting it fall and exposing her A-cup breasts in all their glory. I gaped at her, not even close to believing she'd just bared her chest for the world to see. Lila's breasts were paler than the rest of her skin.

“About time I got some sun on these puppies,” she said with a wink as she laid back on the lounge chair.

But Lila wasn't done shocking me. Oh, not even close. Before she got herself completely settled, she slipped off her bottoms. Seeing her laying there, entirely nude, made me flush and look away. It wasn't like I hadn't seen her naked before—we'd changed in front of each other countless times. But this was different. I didn't want to stare at my best friend's privates, especially not in public.

Part of me envied her ability to strip down and bare it all without a care in the world. I loved the idea of being free from my swimsuit, allowing my own breasts to get some color, and maybe even attract a little attention while I was at it. Though she'd been nude less than two minutes, I noticed that Lila was already drawing a little attention and felt a pang of jealousy shoot through me.

Men and women glanced down at her naked form, admiring her perky, small tits and thin body. If Lila noticed, she didn't acknowledge it. Instead, she sipped her cocktail and put on some sunglasses, getting cozy in the chair like this was your normal pool, and she was fully clothed. “It feels so nice having the cool ocean air on my body,” she said. “You're missing out, Josie.”

“I'm good,” I said.

Lila had talked me into getting my first bikini for this trip, though looking at the naked and half-clothed people around the pool, I didn't know why she bothered. I liked the bikini, though. It was a vintage style with a high waist and a halter style top. Navy blue with white polka dots. I'd thought it was cute and sexy, but now I felt overdressed as I stared at the folks around me. Even the folks with swimsuits were still pretty bare—G-strings and strapless bikini tops. And, of course, there were muscled bodies and toned abs everywhere.

It was a lot to take in. A lot to absorb and process. And I wasn't quite sure where to begin, to be perfectly honest.

“Oh my God, Josie, don't look, but there's a mega hot guy heading our way,” Lila whispered, adjusting her glasses and staring off to her right. “Do you see him?”

“You told me not to look,” I muttered, doing as she said.

Lila slapped my arm as if I should have been able to read her mind. I turned my head and glanced in the direction she was staring, and my eyes fell on him immediately. As I took in his form, I felt like I couldn't breathe for a second. It was a tired old cliché, but he looked like a Greek God. He clocked in at well over six feet and was built like a statue.

What stood out to me the most was that he wasn't naked. He was actually dressed really nicely. Very stylish and fashionable in a pair of black pants and a deep-blue, long-sleeved button up that hugged the hard angles and planes of his chest tightly.

His hair was chin length, maybe a bit longer, and a deep, rich brown that went well with the golden tan that dusted his skin. His eyes were dark and set deep into his face, above chiseled cheek bones and a sharp, angular jaw that was so perfect, it physically hurt. My heart raced as I stared into those rich, dark, almost black eyes.

“See? I told you he was hot,” Lila whispered.