Chloe and the Heat Wave

"Nah," Ben couldn't resist adding to the conversation. "She flashed her butt at him last night."

"Oh my god," Sydney blurted out, clearly surprised by the scene being described.

"Really, Chloe?" Hailey replied, seemingly not terribly shocked at all. "Well, as your oldest friend here, and knowing some of your college escapades, I have a suggestion." Staring directly at her and smiling, she continued, "I think you should up the ante next week. Maybe flash your boobs next time or keep your clothes off for a bit longer every night." She paused, "For as long as the heat wave continues, just like Brandon says."

This seemed to inspire Brianna. "I think we need to be more specific. How about this for a dare?" she continued, thinking out loud. "If it gets above 95, Chloe has to take off her bra." She paused before adding, "And leave it off."

Now it was Hailey's turn to add to her friend's potential embarrassment. "And if it hits 100, then you've got to strip naked," she said, turning to her friend with a devilish grin. "Not, of course, that any of us want it to get that hot."

"Oh, God forbid," Brianna added in mock horror.

Not to be totally left out of the planning, Natasha added, "Then, next Friday we all get together at our apartment, and Ben can report back on your progress." Turning to Sydney and Marcus, she added, "You're invited too, of course."

The newcomers weren't about to be left out of the follow-up to all of this, so they quickly accepted the invitation. The rest of the group all seconded this idea, while Chloe tried to appear reluctant before announcing that she guessed she'd have to accept the dare. "If it's okay with Ben," she said, and then seeing his eager grin, continued, "well, what the hell." She was trying to sound very casual about the whole thing, but inside she could feel the butterflies in her stomach as she already started to think about the possible scenarios for each night as the heat wave continued.

****

It was a couple of days before Chloe got to try any of them out. By the time they returned home Friday night, they were both exhausted and the neighbor's apartment was completely dark, so she and Ben went directly to bed. And the next day, Ben made a point of regularly checking the window across the street and announcing he could see no sign of activity. Finally he concluded that their new friend was out for the day, if not the entire weekend.

On Sunday, they were barely home at all. First they had to do their weekly food shopping and run some other errands, then they headed out to Ben's parents' cottage on the lake. It was an hour's drive, but well worth the trip to get a break from the heat and go for a swim. Plus, Chloe got to wear a bikini and show off a bit for Ben, something that she was especially happy to do after the two nights where she hadn't had a chance to perform at the window. Even during the outdoor barbecue at Ben's parents' house, Chloe kept the bikini on, barely covering herself with one of her boyfriend's old shirts that she found in a spare bedroom.

Beyond the fact that she was treating Ben's dad to a nice view of her legs, the evening at the cottage passed uneventfully for her. It was still in the upper eighties when they drove back home, so Chloe had merely kept Ben's shirt on over her swimwear. When they finally got back to their apartment, she quickly stripped down to her bikini, figuring it was just as good as lounging about in her underwear. After all, since the heat wave continued, she decided she had to honor her commitment to her friends in case their neighbor was watching.

It was close to nine but there was still no sign of light from the apartment across the street, but this time Chloe got to the window before Ben. "I'm not sure but I think my new boyfriend is back," she said in a teasing voice after having carefully checking things out across the street.

Suddenly an inspiration struck Ben. "I think you better stay there for a few minutes," he said, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "I have an idea...," he continued with his voice trailing off as he grabbed his phone from the table. "Better take a few pictures in case our friends ask for proof to see if you've lived up to their dare."

Chloe's eyes lit up as she turned to face him, putting her hands on her sides and bending her hips in a slightly provocative manner. "Snap away, Benny boy," she said as a warm tingling feeling sensation started to flow through her body.

After a couple of clicks, she turned back to the window, leaned down with her elbows on the window sill and jutted her butt out toward the phone. She could hear several more clicks, and then a pause. She straighten up and turned back to her boyfriend.

"I was just thinking," she said with a curious smile, " that maybe you should send the pictures now. Just to make sure they know I'm keeping my word."

Ben apparently needed no persuasion. After a brief look of surprise, he began furiously texting away, raised one finger and emphatically clicked on a button before Chloe could reconsider. "There, your wish is my command. I've just sent the proof to everyone."

"Ben, are you sure I'm not being too naughty?" she said in an attempt to appear reluctant about continuing with the dare. But even the clueless boyfriend could tell she didn't mean it as he led her to the sofa.

"Come here," he offered. "Let's see what everyone says.

The first responses were simple "thumbs up" from Brianna and Hailey. Next, Natasha weighed in with some words of encouragement. "You go girl," she offered.

"I knew you wouldn't let us down," Hailey texted. That appeared to signal to Brandon that it was safe for him to say something, so he commented, "Thanks for the late night treat."

A few minutes later, Brianna added hearts to Brandon's comment while Sydney texted, "So nice to get a chance to see more of you," with a big smiley face.

"Wow," was Marcus's simple response.

Then, in a final text, Hailey added, "You know, nobody said anything about sending pictures," and she concluded with three hugs.

"So, I guess I haven't shocked our friends too much," Chloe said with a sigh. "And I don't hear any objections from you," she said, guiding Ben's hand toward the draw string on the side of her bikini, then stopping.

"What's wrong," he said, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"Didn't get above 95 today, did it?" Chloe mischievously grinned at him. She took a few steps toward the bedroom. "So that's the end of the show for tonight."

****

Monday saw a continuation of the heat wave, a fact that Brianna seemed eager to point out to Chloe as the two were leaving a conference room after a late-day meeting at work. "Hope we're all in for another treat tonight, girlfriend."

"Meaning?"

"Well, the high today was 94. So I assume you'll be in your underwear this evening."

Chloe blushed slightly, furtively looking around to make sure no one could hear their conversation.

"I know, disappointing, huh?" she said with a giggle.

"And that was your idea?" Brianna answered with a questioning look. "Sending the pictures and everything?"

"I left it up to Ben do decide," she replied emphatically.

"But I think I know who suggested it," her friend added with a smile as they went back to their desks and prepared to leave the office.

Back at her apartment, Chloe was as usual the first to arrive. Things were once again quiet across the street, with no sign of life in the neighboring apartment. That confirmed what she had been suspecting for the last few days. From the very beginning, she had been mistaken and that no one had ever been watching. But that no longer mattered -- things had taken on a life of their own and she now had a new and bigger audience. As a result, she was in no rush to shed her work clothes, only making sure that by the time Ben got home she had stripped down to her bra and panties.

Dinner preparation was well underway, and she was busy chatting with some out-of-town friends when he finally walked in the door. "So what's going on over there," were the first words out of her boyfriend's mouth as he pointed toward the window.

"Wonderful to see you, too, Benjamin," she responded trying to convey a slightly annoyed tone to her voice. "It appears that things are dark tonight. He must be working late.

"Too bad," he responded, as he went to the refrigerator to grab a beer for himself. "Can I get you some wine?" he asked as a kind of peace offering.

"That would be nice," she said. "I'm just getting ready to do a stir fry thing, but I'm thinking I better put on an apron." She gestured toward her exposed midriff and legs. "Not really wild about spattering oil on myself."

"Good idea," Ben noted, unhooking an apron from the hook on the back of the kitchen door and handing it to her as he proceeded into the living room with his beer.

He re-emerged in the kitchen about fifteen minutes later, just as everything was nearing completion. "No sign of our friend," he informed Chloe, gesturing toward the windows. "So, anything I can do to help?"

"Well, perfect timing as usual. Everything's just about done, but why don't you get out some plates and silverware."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Wait, I have a great idea." He went back to the living room to retrieve his phone, then came and stood behind Chloe as she continued stirring the food in the pan.

"Hey, what are you up to back there," she called out as she felt her boyfriend's fingers tugging at the clasp at the back of her bra.

"Just thinking this would be a fun picture," he said as the hook came undone and the garment started to slip off her shoulders.

Chloe stepped back from the stove for a second, turning to face him as she pointed out. "You know I get to keep my underwear on tonight. Temperature didn't quite reach 95."

"Technically, I think this will be okay as long as you're still covered," Ben said with a shit-eating grin on his face. "So how about..." he began as he reached toward her shoulder and awkwardly tried to slide one of the straps of her bra down while keeping the apron in place.

"Sometime you are hopeless," Chloe said gently mocking her fumbling boy friend. "Here, let me do this," as she pushed him away and proceeded to remove the undergarment and then tighten the apron strap around her neck to make sure her breasts were still covered.

"Ta da," she exclaimed, holding her arms out to her side as Ben snapped a picture of her. From the front, only the slightest bit of side boob could be seen, leaving it uncertain whether she was naked under the apron or not. But, at Ben's direction, she spun around and he grabbed another shot with his phone. From the back view, it was clear that she still had her panties on, but it was equally evident that she had nothing on above that.

"You know, I'm going to put my bra on before we eat," she spoke to him as if he were a misbehaving ten-year old.

He nodded somewhat reluctantly but content to have gotten the pictures. Later, as they finished eating and Chloe once again wearing both items of undergarments, Ben pulled out his phone and started texting.

"Just updating the gang," he said, waiting for her approval. Chloe nodded, and with a click, he sent off the two pictures. Looking up at her, he read his text aloud. "Ready and waiting but no sign of our neighbor. Very disappointing!"

Just like the previous night, within a few minutes all six friends had responded with various messages approving of the shots.

This time it was Sydney who added a more teasing note to the conversation. "Forecast for later in the week is for a high in the upper 90s. Keep us posted." That text drew immediate thumbs up and hearts from the group.

****

Knowing there had never actually been a person watching from across the street and with the temperatures still in the low nineties on Tuesday, Chloe decided not to make up a sighting. But Wednesday promised to be more interesting. As Sydney had predicted, the daytime high peaked at 97, which according to the dare meant Chloe had to strip down to only her panties that night.

Ben was certainly aware of that fact and made sure that he was home before Chloe. But when she entered the apartment, he was just sitting on the sofa gazing off vacantly into space.

"Hey sweetie," Chloe said coming over to greet him. Standing behind him and throwing her arms around his shoulders, she joined her boyfriend in staring out the window. "Any sign of our neighbor yet?"

"No," he replied with a sigh. "And just my luck when..," and he hesitated.

"When what?" Chloe asked, with a smile, knowing full well what Ben was thinking.

"You know," he said, starting to get up in the hopes of ending the conversation, "the temperature today and everything..."

"Meaning if he's there I'll have to go topless tonight?" she asked, trying to sound a little bit shocked by the implications of her boyfriend's statement.

"Well, you did say you would," came the rejoinder.

"First of all, I didn't say that. I'm pretty sure it was Brianna. And second, I think it's your turn to cook tonight, so why don't you go in the kitchen and get to work. She switched places with him on the sofa, took out her phone to check email, and glanced up. "I'll keep an eye out across the street."

About twenty minutes later, Ben heard a groan from the living room as Chloe got up and came into the kitchen, her eyes sparkling. "Hate to say it, big boy, but this may be your lucky night."

Ben turned down the flame and stepped back from the stove, turning to look at her. "You mean..."

"Yep. Pretty sure I just saw activity over there."

Ben put down the utensil he was using the stir the ingredients cooking on the stove and started toward the living room.

Chloe reached out and put her hand on his arm. "Not so fast there," she said with a teasing look. "I expect to get fed first. And besides, you don't want him to know that we can see him and then scaring him off, do you?" she asked teasingly.

'Guess not," he replied, and he turned up the flame to hurry the dinner along.

Ben fidgeted through the entire meal while Chloe seemed to delight in eating as slowly as possible. Finally, she stood up but gestured to him to stay seated. "I'm going to see if there's still some sign of life over there.

She reappeared in the kitchen almost immediately, giggling and said, "Guess I have to go through with it."

Ben practically cheered out loud but Chloe snapped back at him. "Shhh, he'll probably hear you from across the street," as she started to tug at the zipper at the back of her dress.

With the heat wave continuing, she had chosen to wear a lightweight dress and no pantyhose, so in a matter of seconds, she slid the straps off her shoulders and Ben watched the garment fall to the floor around her ankles. "Think I'll just hang this in the closet," she said as she proceeded to saunter through the living room and into the bedroom on the other end of their apartment.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the couch, Bennie," she called out in a playful tone. "I'll be right out."

Moving to the sofa, he glanced furtively out the window, calling out to Chloe, "No light on there now."

"Do you think he's getting ready for a little show?" she asked, and then startled Ben by reappearing in the living room in just her panties.

Sitting down and cuddling up to him, she pushed her dark hair back from her face and purred, "So is this what you've been hoping for?'

Ben seemed speechless. The trick with the apron the other night had been one thing, but now he believed his girlfriend was calmly exposing her breasts to a total stranger staring at her from his apartment.

Getting no response from her boyfriend, Chloe stood up and deliberately walked over to the window, pressing her breasts against the glass.

She turned and caught Ben fumbling with his phone. Crossing her arms and covering both boobs before he could snap a picture, Chloe look at him in mock anger and asked, "Just what do you think you're up to, young man?"

Now it was Ben's turn to smile, as he finally could put words to his thoughts. "Got to be able to prove you went through with this, right? We don't want your friends to think you chickened out."

"I guess you're right," she sighed, as Ben started snapping some pictures. She slowly turned away from the lens, carefully repositioning her hands to make sure that her fingers still covered both of her nipples. Her arms were now somewhat lower, revealing the entire upper and outer curves of her b-cup breasts. "Think they can tell I was topless?" she asked coyly.

By now, even if it wasn't clear to Ben, it was obvious to Chloe that she was posing for her friends as much as for him. The initial fantasy of being seen by an imaginary person across the street had grown into something different, and she knew was enjoying it way too much to tell her boyfriend the truth.

Meanwhile, Ben continued taking pictures as Chloe seated herself on a chair facing him and waited for him to put down his phone. "Well go on, send them," she said as if dealing with a little child. "Don't you want to see what they have to say?"

At this point, in fact, it would have been impossible to determine who was more eager to hear their friends' reactions, Ben or Chloe. But somehow it added to her enjoyment to let Ben believe that she was somehow a reluctant participant in all of this, so she just slouched down in her chair and picked up a magazine to read.

They didn't have to wait long for the responses. Within less than a minute all six parties had been heard from. The simplest response came from Natasha -- just her usual string of emojis full of hugs, kisses and hearts. Brandon answered next, telling Ben he was the luckiest guy in the world and that he definitely didn't deserve a girl like Chloe. Marcus echoed the sentiment, while Hailey simply stated, "Looks like everyone's enjoying this."

Ben read each response to Chloe, including Brianna concluding remark, "Can't wait until tomorrow. It's supposed to break 100."

That set off a round of speculation, with Sydney reminding everyone that Chloe was supposed to get completely naked if that happened.

"What do you think, Ben?" Chloe asked as he read that last text to her. "Is that right?" She could feel a warm sensation spreading through her entire body, in spite of the fact that the air conditioning now had their apartment at a pleasant 73 degrees and she was sitting there in just her panties.

"That's definitely what Brianna said," Ben texted back to the group, eagerly nodding his approval at Chloe.

"Well, we'll see," she said, as she stood up and headed toward the bedroom.

It didn't take much for her boyfriend to pick up on the hint, although he paused as went to turn out the lights in the room. "How about a couple more shots," he asked in an almost pleading tone as he reached toward the switch. He had picked up his phone again as Chloe turned to face him. But now as he aimed his phone at her, she didn't raise her arms. Instead, she put her hands on her hips, turned to one side, and thrust her breasts forward slightly.

"Wow," was the only response Ben could manage as his throat grew dry. "And do you mind if I send one last one to the group?" he asked, hoping to push this game just a bit farther.

"That's just for you," Chloe said as she turned out the light and skipped into the bedroom. Both of them seemed to have completely forgotten the possible voyeur across the street.

****

Thursday morning the temperature was already in the 80s by the time Chloe arrived at work, and Brianna seemed intent on providing an almost hourly report to her friend as the mercury crept upward.

"Want go for a walk?" she asked as the two colleagues passed each other in the hall just before lunch. "I think it's only 93 outside."