Inverted Intimacy

He watched her shirt rise and fall with each breath, and eventually his breathing matched hers. Anna released his head and resumed unbuttoning. She wasn't wearing a bra. After the last button, she put her hands down. With a deep breath, Anna looked Jake directly in the eyes and with a quick motion pulled her shirt open.

Anna's bare breasts brightened the room. Jake's greedy eyes took in more details from this first unobstructed view. Her left areola had a small mole on the perimeter at the six o'clock position. In the center of each impossibly pink areola were puffy little slits where the skin of her nipples folded inside instead of out. They were beautiful.

Jake looked up to Anna's face with a big grin on his face. She was smiling too, though still nervous. She covered her breasts with her hands.

"Sorry, it's just..." She looked down in thought. "It's intense, being looked at."

Jake was sorry to see her breasts covered, but sorrier she seemed upset.

"What if we get dressed again and continue like normal, then?" Jake said, suggesting the exact opposite of what he wanted. "It's okay, you know."

Anna shook her head. "Oh, I didn't mean that. I don't... I don't want that. I just needed a little break." Then, quieter, she added, "I like this."

Jake knew he needed to walk a fine line to balance Anna's feelings, their friendship, and his desperate need to get as much time with her breasts as possible. He also needed to occupy her hands with something.

"I do, too." Jake said, turning on the TV. "I also like schooling you in the ways of the Kart," he said, holding out a controller for her.

* * * * *

Their routine went back to normal, the only difference was neither of them wore shirts. Jake became accustomed to the sight of Anna's bare breasts, and eventually was even able to stop worrying about where his gaze landed. Anna didn't seem to mind him looking, though he tried not to stare. The exception was when she sometimes fell asleep while they watched a movie. Jake hated himself for violating her trust, but he couldn't help himself. The bluish light from the TV flickering over her breasts in the dark room was more engaging than any movie.

He was even able to stop having an erection constantly, much to the relief of his confused dick. Jake assumed this trend would continue until her breasts made no impact upon him at all. He was wrong. There was just so much to admire about them. How they moved when she walked, when she breathed, when she laughed. Anna seemed to like being topless as well. She never seemed quite as happy as she did when her shirt was off.

After a few weeks, Anna started coming by before work, too. She said she wanted to get better about exercising properly and invited Jake to join her. She would come by early in the morning, un-showered in her sleep shirt and sweatpants, hair pulled into a messy pony tail. As soon as the door to his apartment closed, she would pull off her shirt and fire up the exercise video game program. They would stand beside each other in front of the TV doing the routines, her breasts moving in all kinds of interesting ways. Jake wondered if she wouldn't be more comfortable with a sports bra, but she never seemed to mind, and he certainly didn't either.

One day a plumbing problem in her apartment resulted in the walls of her bathroom being torn open during repairs. He offered his shower to her, and she began using it after exercising each day. And of course, since she was at Jake's apartment in the morning anyway, why shouldn't she eat breakfast there too? In this way Jake ended up with an apartment-mate in every way but one: She did not sleep there.

Normally Anna wore jeans, except for the mornings when she arrived in sweatpants. The first evening she came by in shorts was the first time he saw her legs. Jake found himself distracted by her bare thighs, solid and well-proportioned with her figure. Spring was turning into summer and the days were getting warmer. He supposed that's all it was.

June brought the first hot day of the year. All the windows were open with a complicated arrangement of fans to get the air to circulate. They both sat on the couch watching a dumb show, drinking ice water, and sweating.

"It's soooooo hot," Anna said. "Every stitch of clothing is a burden. Would you mind if I stripped down to my underpants?"

Jake took a long sip of ice water to stall as he thought of how to respond.

"You don't have to take your shorts off too," Anna continued, "though you're welcome to. This heat is unbearable, don't you think?"

Jake agreed it was hot, though he also knew it wouldn't make much difference whether their shorts were on or off. What was she up to? He was strongly tempted to call her on the weak ruse and deal with it directly.

He remembered that when she first wanted to bare her breasts to him, she was only able to manage it because he played along as if everything was normal. Jake supposed it depended on whether he wanted to see her in panties.

The growing hardness between his legs both answered that question and presented a problem. If she took her shorts off, he would feel obliged do the same. But his briefs would do little to conceal his excitement. Feeling a little frustrated, Jake decided to stop trying to hide it. She wanted to share more of her body? Well, his body had a penis, and sometimes it had a mind of its own. If it made her uncomfortable, she could tell him.

"Way too hot for shorts, agreed," he said. Jake stood up and unbuttoned his shorts. He took them off, folded them, and placed them neatly on the side table. He resumed his seat, slouching on the couch in front of the fan, a bulge rather obviously straining against the fabric of his briefs.

Jake pretended to be interested in the TV. He was pretty sure he saw Anna looking at his crotch for a second. Then she also stood and removed her shorts, revealing plain black panties. After a while, Jake's body calmed down and things felt normal again. They sweated their way through the end of the show and parted for sleep as usual.

The next morning when Anna arrived for their workout, even though it was not nearly as hot, she stripped down to her panties again. Jake followed her lead and they exercised wearing only briefs. From then on, and without further discussion, stripped to briefs was the new normal. Jake started to doubt his guess of her motives. Perhaps it really was just a temperature thing and Anna wasn't working up to revealing more.

The issue was resolved Friday evening after dinner. It was another uncomfortably hot evening. Anna sat next to him on the couch wearing her new normal outfit of nothing but panties (royal blue today) and a concerned look on her face. Jake sat up and turned off the TV. She looked like she had something to say.

"What's the matter, Anna?"

She hesitated, then said, "Do I embarrass you?"

Jake laughed. "What are you talking about?"

Anna looked unsure of herself as she spoke, "When I first wanted to show you my breasts, it was to overcome a particular insecurity."

"Stupid fuckin' Andrew," Jake said.

"Yes, stupid fucking Andrew," Anna agreed. "And I'm so grateful you agreed, because it has changed how I feel about myself. I didn't realize how much that shame was weighing on me. I really think I've moved past that." She looked down in thought. "But you may have noticed I haven't been inclined to put my shirt back on." Her face reddened a bit at this. "What I hadn't anticipated was how good it would feel. Is that weird?"

"I don't know if it's weird," Jake answered. "But I feel the same way. I like hanging out with you like this. It just feels... right. It feels good."

Anna's eyes brightened at this. "I was hoping you felt the same way, but sometimes I doubt myself and wonder if I'm just being ridiculous. I'm afraid you're rolling your eyes at me while I prance around topless."

Jake laughed again. "Impossible. Never! Anna... ugh, you're right, it is weird to talk about this." He took a deep breath. "Anna, it gives me joy to be with you, my friend. And it gives me like a hundred-times joy multiplier to be with you with our clothes off."

Now Anna laughed. "Joy multiplier? Sounds like you've been playing too many video games." She thought for a moment before shrugging. "But I suppose that's as good a description as I can come up with too."

"Then we're good?" Jake asked, "You're okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Anna said, though she obviously had more on her mind. She cleared her throat. "I can't help wondering... would it feel even better to just be... you know..." As she spoke, her voice got softer and softer, until it was a barely audible whisper, "... completely naked?"

Jake had been anticipating this, and secretly hoping for it, ever since she first took her shorts off. He had suspected topless wasn't the final destination, but he dared not believe it till now. He did his best to fight the growth of his troublesome, eager dick.

He desperately wanted to avoid messing this up, and he thought he knew her well enough now to plot the right course.

Before his courage faltered, Jake stood up and pulled his briefs down. For the first time in his adult life, he was completely naked before a woman. His dick was in a state of tension, fighting between arousal and his mental urging for calm. Jake hadn't planned it this way, but he was pleased with how it turned out: A bit large, though still limp and non-threatening. It was the best first impression he could manage.

"Like this?" Jake asked. He busied himself with carefully folding his underwear and putting it aside, while in his peripheral vision he saw Anna looking between his legs. Without waiting for an answer, he handed her a game controller as he sat back down and looked at the TV.

Starting up the game was just the motivation Anna needed. Without a word she also stood up, removed her panties, and sat back down to play. Jake could tell there was a triangle of brown hair between her legs, though he couldn't make out any more detail.

For the rest of the evening they both played video games like normal, pretending they weren't completely naked with each other for the first time. Jake's only real struggle was keeping a lid on how incredibly happy he felt.

Neither of them played particularly well. There was a lot of laughing and pretending everything was normal. At the usual time, Anna dressed to return to her apartment, giving Jake a good view of her bare bottom as she bent over to put on her panties. Then she was gone, and Jake was left wondering if completely naked was the new normal. He got erect at the thought and didn't bother trying to stop it as visions of her pale bottom and triangle of brown hair danced in his mind. It still felt awkward, but the arousal couldn't be denied.

* * * * *

The next morning, Jake was torn about how to dress. Until yesterday, he'd have been wearing his briefs when she arrived, and she would strip to match him. Would she be expecting him fully nude now? If he wore his briefs to wait for a signal from Anna, would he be sending his own signal?

He decided to gamble on believing what she said about wanting to be completely naked. If she changed her mind after last night, if she did not take it all off this morning, he had his underpants nearby.

When she arrived, Jake busied himself rolling the couch out of the way and unrolling the yoga mats while Anna undressed.

"Do you want to try the strength training routine today?" Anna asked.

"Sure," Jake responded as he looked in her direction and was delighted to find his glance timed perfectly to see her hook her thumbs into her panties and pull them down. She was leaning toward him as she pulled them off, giving him a chance for an unguarded look at the brown triangle dominating his thoughts since the night before. Being in shadow he couldn't see any more detail before she straightened, and he averted his eyes. The quick glimpse of Anna's breasts dangling in the foreground as she bent over and revealed the dark triangle between her legs swelled his dick enough for it to point forward suspended in air. Jake flushed with embarrassment at how obvious his arousal was, so he turned away to start stretching.

By the end of the exercise routine his arousal had relaxed slightly. He was relieved when Anna went to shower, and he hoped it would relax the rest of the way with her out of the room. He heard her start the shower as he rolled the couch back into position.

"Jake?" she called from the bathroom.

He walked to the hall and was surprised to see the bathroom door still open.

"Yes?" he answered from the hall.

"I left my new shampoo on the counter, could you hand it to me please? I'm already all wet."

Jake told himself to play it cool, but his dick wasn't listening.

"Sure, just a sec," Jake replied as he stepped into the steamy bathroom, grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the counter, and turned to the shower holding it out. The shower stall was deep enough the glass door wasn't needed to keep water from escaping. Anna had it open.

Her hair was wet and matted against her head. In her hand was a sudsy washcloth, and she was bent down scrubbing her thigh with it. The hair between her legs was white with foam. Her upper body was already covered in suds, and her breasts jiggled with her movement. Something about the sight of her wet soapy breasts caused his erection to jump to full attention without warning. He tried to turn away to hide it, twisting awkwardly as he held out the bottle of shampoo, feeling exposed and helpless.

"While you're here," Anna said, taking the bottle, "you're welcome to shower, too. There's plenty of room." She turned her back to him, opening a path to the spray of water. She resumed talking about the plot holes in a movie they watched recently, ignoring Jake's insistent erection.

Jake knew Anna noticed he was now more erect than ever. He felt ashamed of his straining dick, but he couldn't help it! He considered declining the invitation, though that seemed rude. Anna was kindly ignoring his raging party foul, and he decided it was okay to accept this kindness.

Jake stepped past Anna into the warm water. Closing his eyes as it streamed over his face, he tried to calm his arousal. Anna was still talking about movie plot holes, acting oblivious to Jake's struggles, and he was grateful for the normalcy.

"Excuse me, Mr. Water Hog," he heard her say. Opening his eyes, he saw her hair was covered in shampoo.

"Oops, sorry," Jake said as he stepped out of the way and started shampooing himself. Standing under the stream of water, Anna closed her eyes and tilted her head back. With her arms up as she rinsed her hair, her breasts looked amazing as they swayed with her arm movements. Soapy water streamed down her chest and between her legs, the fascinating triangle becoming brown again as the white soap washed away. Jake's erection throbbed in response, and he tore his eyes away reluctantly.

Rinsed, Anna stepped past Jake's disrespectful erection and started toweling off, still talking about the movie. The distance helped Jake regain his composure as he washed himself. He hesitated when it was time to wash between his legs, as he just couldn't bring himself to touch himself in her view when he was so erect. Turning away, he soaped it in private and then finished up without incident before drying himself.

Anna blow-dried her hair in front of the mirror. Seeing her arms up once more and how it lifted her breasts, Jake's efforts at calming his arousal were foiled again.

Anna was still talking, pretending like everything was normal. Jake was grateful for her efforts to put him at ease, which in turn made him feel even more ashamed of his behavior. His friend was being so kind to him, and in return he was being grossly inappropriate. Jake brushed his hair miserably, when he realized Anna had stopped talking and was watching his face in the mirror.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Um, of course, why wouldn't I be?" Jake answered, forcing his expression brighter.

"It's okay to tell me if I pushed things too far," Anna said. "I didn't mean to gross you out."

"No!" Jake answered. "No, no, no, that's not it at all." He hated himself even more for making her think that, and it softened his erection. Realizing Anna was expecting an explanation, Jake relented. "I was ashamed of this," he said, gesturing down toward his crotch. He cast his eyes down in shame.

"Oh Jake," Anna said, shaking her head. She looked directly at his dick, perhaps a bit longer than necessary. "I don't know a lot about how the male body works, but I know you can't really control when it gets... hard. You were worried about that?"

Jake nodded.

Anna laughed. "I'm so relieved that's all it was. You looked so unhappy I was afraid you were grossed out seeing me shower. I think the novelty will wear off soon and your penis will get bored. Don't worry about it. I accept you as you are. Do you accept me as I am?"

Jake nodded again.

"Anyway, I don't think the plot holes ruined the movie, but it all seemed so avoidable..." Anna continued where she left off, repairing the awkward moment with welcome normalcy. Having Anna's permission to relax really did help, and he felt things slowly shrink while his heart rate returned to normal. With that raging distraction out of the way, he realized how much fun it was to shower with his friend.

"You're so right," Jake said, "it's best to just avoid the problems."

"Exactly!" Anna said with a smile.

* * * * *

Jake found himself genuinely enjoying the new normal of full nudity. Anna was right: Topless felt good, in only briefs felt better, and fully nude felt the best of all. Her nakedness served as an ever-present reminder of her trust in him, of their closeness, which in turn made all their disagreements shallow. When everyday miscommunications arose, it was easy to give the benefit of the doubt when that person was trusting you so completely.

What Jake struggled with were his confused sexual feelings. Anna kindly gave him permission to not hide his erections, though he still wished they were less frequent. With her breasts, eventually his curiosity was, if not eliminated, sated enough to lessen the urgency. It was different with her pants off.

Jake saw plenty of her endearingly cute bottom. It was well-proportioned to her frame and suited her perfectly. Every now and then she would bend over with her bottom toward Jake and his eyes would instinctively search for revelations, but always in vain because her bottom cheeks sealed off the details within. Similarly, at the front, her thighs managed to hide any details within the fascinating triangle of hair. A darkening of the hair where her cleft began was the most he managed to see.

Anna had told him she was only comfortable because things were not romantic between them. He tried to respect that, even though the sexual attraction he felt for her was strong. He couldn't help suspecting that she felt something for him in return. Nothing obvious, just the occasional look that seemed more longing than friendly. But he couldn't be sure, so he tried his best to pretend there was nothing romantic between them.

Whether she had sexual feelings for him or not, he couldn't help getting an erection when he got a glimpse between her legs. He got a bit of relief when she wore panties for a few days during her period, but when that was over and she was completely naked again his erection problem got even worse. Then another development made him give up all hope of controlling himself.

Jake was on the couch reading a book when Anna joined him. He sat with his back against the armrest, facing the opposite end, and she mirrored his position, facing him with her knees pulled up together. Without looking up, Jake could tell her legs were blocking a view of anything new. She pulled an electronics magazines up to her face. Jake started to relax again when more movement caught his eye. Very slowly, Anna's knees separated as the one toward the front of the couch started to swing down.