Girls Wear Swimsuits, Boys Go Nude

"Like revenge," Caleb muttered deviously.

"Oh my God, Caleb, what are you planning now?" Nick asked.

Caleb sat up and faced his roommate, resting his folded arms on the back of the couch.

"Marissa and Kristina both live in Shepherd Hall," Caleb said. "Ashley can get us in there."

Nick's ears perked up. He knew Caleb was up to something that could get them both in a lot of trouble. But he couldn't help but want to hear what it was.

Ashley sighed. "What are you guys planning to do?"

"Oh, you're helping too, babe," Caleb said, slapping her butt.

"Helping with what?" Ashley asked.

Caleb grinned.

"Helping us give those two a taste of their own medicine."

* * * * *

Nick and Caleb met in Ashley's dorm room in Shepherd Hall the following evening. Nick fiddled with Caleb's video camera while Caleb flipped through the user manual for his fog machine.

"You really think I should videotape this?" Nick asked.

"Hell yes, dude! Revenge is sweet! And you're gonna want to remember this for the rest of your life. Make sure the battery is charged and you got a fresh tape in there."

Nick inspected the camera and ensured it was ready to film. Caleb proceeded to pour fog fluid into the machine's tank. When it was nearly full, he screwed the lid on and plugged the machine into the wall.

"Now we wait for Ash," Caleb said.

"Okay," Nick said. He leaned back against Ashley's bed, wondering what to do to kill the time.

"So," Caleb began. "Tell me about the chick you banged last week!"

Nick blushed. He'd only told Caleb scant details about his experience with Shari. He was surprised it took him this long to press him for more.

"We didn't bang, it was just a titty fuck," Nick muttered.

"Were they big titties?" Caleb asked.

Nick grinned.

"HUGE."

"Nice!" Caleb held up his palm and Nick high-fived him.

"Better than Brianna Davis'?"

Nick shrugged.

"Well, come on, man, were they better or not? Cause I mean, Brianna, she was...damn!"

Nick lowered his head.

"Dude, did Ashley tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Caleb asked.

Nick couldn't tell if he was bluffing. He figured there was about a fifty-fifty shot Ashley told Caleb about his sexual history- or lack of.

"I never fucked Brianna....I'm a virgin."

It physically hurt saying it out loud. He braced himself for Caleb's reaction.

"No worries, bro. Your time will come," Caleb said.

"I hope so," Nick said flatly.

He wanted to believe it was true, but it just felt so cliche. Caleb was just spouting off the same words of encouragement people said to every virgin. There seemed little reason to take his words as anything more than polite etiquette. Still, he wasn't convinced Caleb was wrong.

He thought for a moment. "Hey. Would you say Ashley 'empowers' you?"

"Sure," Caleb said.

"Really?" Nick asked. "Like, how?"

"When she gives me blowjobs while I'm owning noobs in Halo 2, I feel like the biggest pimp."

Nick rolled his eyes. He knew it was possible to get mature answers from Caleb, but it always required extra work.

"Not like that, dumbass! Does she build you up, you know, emotionally?"

"Well, yeah! All the time!"

"How?"

"She motivates me. Makes me want to be a better man," Caleb said.

"Yeah, how's that working out?" Nick smirked.

"Like the opposite of your mom's treadmill, shit stain!"

As usual, it was difficult having genuine heart-to-hearts with Caleb. However, he felt his friend had answered a mature question the best way he was capable. All that was left now was for Nick to respond to him in his own language. Nick grabbed a purple dildo from Ashley's nightstand and flung it at him.

"Here, suck on your replacement," he taunted.

"It's too small, my good man, maybe she'll let you use it!" Caleb retorted.

Before Nick could reply, the dorm room door opened and Ashley hurried in, and shut it behind her. Caleb hid the dildo behind his back. Nick smiled at her innocently.

"I got them!" she squealed. She opened the large plastic garbage back in her hands and spilled Marissa and Kristina's clothes and towels onto the dorm room floor.

"Oh, shit!" Nick said, excited.

"They JUST got in the shower, so we should have time. Fire it up!" she said, excitedly.

Caleb pressed the button on the fog machine remote and the machine kicked on.

"Are you sure this will work?" Nick asked.

"Oh yeah. We used one of these last Halloween and they had to evacuate the whole building," Caleb said.

"Oh, this is going to be beautiful!" Nick muttered.

It took about five minutes for the machine to begin emanating thick gray steam. Ashley waved her hand to clear the air in front of her face when she could no longer see Caleb or Nick in front of her.

"Maybe crack the door a bit to make sure it reaches the smoke detector," Caleb suggested.

Ashley opened her dorm room door just a crack, and soon the fog filtered out into the hallway.

"Here it comes..." Caleb said. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

He didn't make it any further before flashing red lights filled the hallway and an ear shattering alarm engulfed the building.

"Let's go!"

Nick, Caleb, and Ashley jumped to their feet and fled into the hallway. Nick lifted the video camera to his face and began recording.

"Fire! Fire! Everybody out of the building!" Caleb shouted.

Nick followed Caleb to the nearest exit, while Ashley ran back to the bathroom. One by one, the dorm room doors opened, and students began filing out.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Caleb urged. The annoyed students, many in pajamas, followed him out of the building.

Ashley ran past the bathroom just as Marissa poked her head out.

"What's going on? Did someone pull the alarm?" Marissa asked.

"I think there's a fire! Hurry, you need to get out of the building!" Ashley shouted.

"Where's our clothes?" Kristina shouted from inside the bathroom.

"You two need to run! It's coming this way!" Ashley ran for the exit.

"I'm not leaving without my clothes!" Kristina shouted.

Marissa looked out into the hallway and spotted a thick cloud of steam spreading throughout the building.

"Oh my God, Kristina, I see smoke! We have to run!"

Terrified, the two soaking wet naked coeds stepped into the hallway, covering their breasts and private parts with their arms.

"Follow me!" Ashley shouted. Marissa and Kristina hurried after her. They ran through the cloud of steam as fast as they could, listening to Ashley's voice to guide them through.

Marissa sniffed the air. "Wait, this doesn't smell like-"

"HURRY!" Ashley shouted.

The students gathered in a huddle just outside the building's exit. Nick moved to the front of the crowd, where he readied the video camera and filmed each student as they exited.

When Ashley appeared in the doorway, she grinned ear-to-ear and hurried down the steps, stepping out of the way for Nick to get a clear view at the two ladies behind her.

And no one appeared. Ashley looked back through the doorway, confused.

"They were right behind me," she said.

Nick kept the camera rolling, but nothing but steam was exiting through the doorway.

"Ah, damn it, they didn't fall for it," Caleb grumbled.

Nick was just about to put the camera away when two shapes appeared in the doorway. Marissa emerged, with a green poster board wrapped around her body that read, "Get To Know Your R.A." Kristina followed, holding a pink poster board that read "Bake Sale!" around her body. Both girls awkwardly struggled to keep the stiff boards wrapped around themselves to give their bodies full coverage.

"Oh my God, this is HILARIOUS!" Caleb shouted.

The students that had gathered in front of the building burst into laughter as the two poster-wearing coeds stumbled down the steps. Kristina was the first one to slip, and the instant she stumbled, she let go of one side of the poster, causing it to swing open, exposing her naked body to the crowd of students.

Marissa gasped, and she too accidentally let go of her board, and gave the crowd a peek at her body as well. Realizing their attempts to use poster boards as makeshift clothing was fruitless, the two nude women resorted to using their arms to conceal their bodies from the gawking crowd.

Nick dropped to one knee, capturing every precious moment on camera. The naked girls spotted him.

"Oh my God!" Marissa screamed. "Nick, you asshole!"

"Nice tits, bitches!" Caleb shouted, prompting both exposed ladies to raise their middle fingers at him. He ran to Nick's side and put his arm around his friend.

"My man, I think you're even now."

* * * * *

"You're in a good mood tonight," Courtney said.

Nick had to suppress a laugh. He wasn't going to tell his sister what he'd done, as much as he wanted to gloat about it.

"Something funny happened last night, that's all," he said.

"Well it's nice to see you smile for a change."

Nick liked being happy too. He just wished it was because of something a bit more wholesome than revenge.

"After you finish cleaning the popcorn machine, you can go home," Courtney said.

"Cool," Nick said, and picked up the speed at which he was cleaning. When the machine was crystal clean, he tossed his cleaning rag into a bucket and headed to the time clock to punch out.

"Oh, Mom says you're invited to dinner Sunday night," Courtney said. "She said it would be nice if you came by more often."

He sighed. He knew he hadn't visited his family in a while.

"I'll see how much homework I have to do," he said, and swiped his card through the reader to end his shift.

He headed out into the parking lot to head home for the night, when he caught a glimpse of a spark coming from the shadows. He peered closer to see what it was.

Damaris sat upon a pile of wooden pallets smoking a cigarette. Nick waved to say hello and to apologize for the awkward intrusion.

"Hey man. What's your tee?" Damaris asked.

"What?" Nick asked. "Oh, I mean, nothing. Just heading home."

"What you poppin' this weekend? Taking your girl out?" Damaris asked.

"No, no girl. I'm not sure what I'll be doing. My sister asked me to come over for dinner at my parents' house, but I got homework to do so, probably that."

Nick shifted awkwardly, wishing he had a more interesting life to talk to his acquaintances about.

"You told her no?" Damaris asked, pointedly.

"Well, yeah, I'm kinda busy with school and stuff."

Damaris took a drag of his cigarette.

"Man, you know what I would give to have a dinner with my father and mother?"

"Uh, no?" Nick asked.

"You need to get your priorities straight. You got no girl and you're blowing off a dinner with your folks? You think they gonna be around forever?"

Nick was at a loss for a response.

"I suggest you reanalyze your life choices." Damaris leaned back against the brick wall and took another puff of his cigarette.

Damaris was the last person Nick would think to ask for life advice, yet he had to admit that he was right. He had taken his family for granted these past few months, especially given the great favors his father had done for him recently. Pondering this, Nick turned around and headed back into the theater.

Courtney was in the manager's office, counting the cash from the register. She looked up at Nick when he appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Court. You can tell Mom and Dad I'll be over for dinner on Sunday."

* * * * *

There was a vehicle Nick didn't recognize when he pulled into the driveway of his parents' house. A large black Escalade was parked on the left side. Nick didn't realize there would be additional company at dinner tonight, or he would have dressed slightly nicer.

He pulled up behind his sister's Chevy Malibu and parked, and headed inside to meet the other guest.

Nick couldn't place the face of the man when he saw him, but he did recognize the woman he was with: Teresa Schaeffer, his father's secretary. Nick felt his throat tighten, worrying that something dramatic was about to go down.

"Uh, hi!" Nick said warily.

"Hi, Nick!" his mother said, smiling. Nick breathed a sigh of relief. His mother was in a jovial mood; that meant she wasn't aware that the woman in her house had been naked in front of her husband very recently.

"You've met Teresa, haven't you? This is her fiance, Joe," she said.

"Oh, hi," Nick said, extending his hand. He shook hands with Joe, and exchanged a hug with Teresa.

"You're just in time for dinner. Have a seat!"

Debra Hosdale led her guests into the dining room, and invited them all to have a seat at the table. Teresa sat at one end of the table, opposite Albert. Nick had a seat between Teresa and Courtney, smiling awkwardly at the two guests.

"So Nick, if you didn't hear the news, Joe proposed to Teresa last week, and they're going to be moving to Boston. I decided to invite them to dinner to say goodbye," Debra said, as she placed a meatloaf at the center of the table.

"Oh, Teresa's leaving?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Teresa said. "I really enjoyed working for your dad, but, life moves on!"

"Too quickly," Debra said. "I was very sad when Albert told me his last secretary quit and I didn't get to say goodbye. Valia was such a sweet girl, so I wanted to make sure I sent Teresa a proper sendoff."

Nick twiddled his butter knife in his hand as he watched his mother attentively fill Teresa's glass with wine. The fact that he had seen this beautiful young woman, naked at his father's office just a few weeks earlier still seemed surreal. And now his mother was filling her wine glass, blissfully unaware of the day-long incident. He wondered if Joe knew.

"It's a big adventure you two are about to start," Debra said, filling Joe's glass. "I remember when Albert proposed to me. Changed our lives forever!"

"Well, I can't wait to start my new life!" Teresa said. "What's the best thing about being married, Mrs. Hosdale?"

Debra thought for a moment.

"Having someone there, committed to you, no matter what," she said. "It's very assuring. And, well, another perk is, once you've got that ring, no more BJs!"

Debra laughed. Nick and Courtney groaned and buried their faces in their hands, and Albert immediately took his wife's wine glass away.

"Oh come on, I'm just kidding!" Debra said, noticing her children's reactions. Albert made sure his wife wasn't looking when he rolled his eyes.

"Would you say you two empower each other?" Nick asked Teresa and Joe.

"Yeah," Joe said. Teresa nodded in agreement. "Teresa is my rock. I'm at the top of my game when she's got my back."

"Why do you ask that, Nick?" Debra asked.

Nick shrugged.

"Just heard some advice recently I was wondering if there's anything to it."

"There absolutely is," Debra said, sitting down and looking for her wine glass. "I've gotten so much farther in life having Albert."

Nick reflected on that as he stuck his fork in his meatloaf and took a bite.

"Let's have a toast!" Debra said. "To those who empower us!"

Albert filled a glass of sparkling cider and handed it to her. The diners present raised their glasses, clinked them, and took a drink.

"Congratulations, Joe and Teresa!" Albert said.

Nick and Courtney reiterated their father's words of good will.

"Thank you, everyone," Joe said. "I really appreciate the invitation here."

"You're very welcome," Debra said.

They began to eat. When they reached a lull in the conversation, Courtney spoke up.

"I have some news to share!" she announced.

"What is it, dear?" Debra asked.

"I've been offered a promotion at work!" Courtney said.

"Really?" her father asked.

Even to Nick, this was news.

"Yup," she said proudly. "You're looking at the new assistant manager of Lancaster Moonlight Cinema!"

"A new location?" Debra asked.

"Yeah, it will be a bit more of a drive, but I think the bigger paycheck will more than make up for it!"

Now it was Joe and Teresa's turn to do the congratulating.

"Thanks!" Courtney said. "And since my shift leader position is vacant now, someone else will have to take my place. I recommended Nick."

Nick looked at his sister in shock.

"Really?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Yes. You've done a great job lately. I think you'll do great."

"Wow," Nick said. He sat back in his seat, stunned.

"I guess we've got two kids to be proud of," Albert said.

"We were ALWAYS proud of both of you," Debra corrected.

"Thanks, Mom," Courtney said.

Nick had to admit, the evening had gone better than he'd ever imagined it would. He began to wonder if maybe he needed to come back home more often.

When dinner was over and Joe and Teresa were on their way, Nick approached his father out of earshot of his mother and sister.

"Hey Dad," Nick said quietly to his father in the hall. "So, if Teresa's leaving, you're gonna need a new secretary, right?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be tough finding a girl like her. Did you see that ass in that dress?" he winked.

Nick admitted he had. He hoped he'd been subtle about it, but Teresa was a bit of a babe. He couldn't help taking a quick peek when he got the chance. "Anyway, I know someone who might be interested in the job."

"Oh?" Albert said, looking on in interest. "One of the girls in your swim class, by any chance?"

"Sort of," Nick said. "But I think you'd like her. Hard worker. Professional. Easy on the eyes."

That seemed to get his father's attention. Albert immediately reached into his jacket pocket and removed one of his business cards.

"Tell her to give me a call," he said. He handed the card to his son.

"I'll do that," Nick replied. Out the window, he could see Joe opening the passenger door of his Escalade for his future wife to get in. In the kitchen, he could overhear his sister telling their mother more about her impending promotion.

He looked at his father's business card and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans, hoping there was one more person whose life could be made much better very soon.

* * * * *

"And, that's pretty much the gist of my job," Monica said. "Being a swim teacher isn't complicated, but it's very rewarding, and I'm really glad I did it."

Albert nodded at her understandingly.

"How did you feel about the student clothing requirements in your class?" Albert asked.

Monica folded her arms nervously. She'd hoped that her potential future boss wouldn't bring up the fact that she'd seen his son naked in every lesson she'd taught him, but now it was out there and she would have to address it.

"It wasn't my idea. I pushed to have them allow swimsuits for boys, I really did," Monica said. "I felt so bad for Nick and the other guys, but they all got used to it and by the second or third class they didn't think anything of it."

"Yes, I know," Albert said. "I was a student at LaPorte too, if you can believe it, and I got used to the nude swimming pretty quick. I just wish I had a teacher as lovely as you!"

"Oh, thank you," Monica said, sweetly. She started to feel more hopeful about how the interview was going.

"Tell me this, though," Albert said. "What if it was the other way around?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"What if, the administration requested that you and the female students be nude, but allowed the male students to wear swimsuits?" Albert asked. "How would you have dealt with it?"

"Oh," Monica said, surprised. She wondered if he was trying to test her with this question. "Well, if that were the rule, I'd abide by it."

"You wouldn't object?" Albert asked.

"No," Monica assured him. "I'd be nervous, yes, but I'd do it if they asked."

A smile broke across Albert's face.

"Fair enough," Albert said. "I think you'll fit in well here."

"Good! This seems like a place I think I'd like to work!" Monica really meant it. Albert had sweet, kindly eyes that reminded her of her own father.