Sophie's Bodypainted

Talking her gap year straight after leaving school was the best thing Sophie could have done. True, it was frightening to explore Africa alone at only 19, but it helped her to realise who she was, and how she fitted into the world.

Sophie loved animals, whether it was the gainliness of giraffes or the antics of chimpanzees, she was in awe. Yet a special place in her heart was reserved for the big cats. She could sit and watch them for hours. She adored their strength, their sleekness, their power, and their ability to state their presence even when lying down and seemingly chilling out.

Now back in the UK, Sophie remembered that year with fondness.

Time had moved on and she was in her second year at Bedford Art School, following her lifetime ambition to become an artist. When she'd first arrived, Sophie was sure her passion would be painting animals, but now her experience had taken her further. Portraits entered her vocabulary with a vengeance and she had been gaining a reputation among her tutors for the ability to capture the emotions of her subjects like no other students could manage.

And more recently, this had developed further after being introduced to life drawing. At first, Sophie had found this embarrassing. No matter whether she was drawing the male or female nude models, she couldn't quite concentrate on the task in hand - was it right to stare at the breasts and vaginas of the women, or worse still the penises and testicles of men?

But as time passed, familiarity took over. She drove to see beyond the superficial and explored the greater emotional understanding to be gleaned from examining the entire body. The accolades she'd received from portraying her portraits were even more pronounced when the life drawings were assessed by her tutors.

In short, Sophie was good; very good! But she worked hard at it by putting in the effort, dedicating long hours to her art, and ensuring her body was always in top condition through her diet and exercise.

Every morning the same routine was followed.

At 6.30am the alarm sounded, and Sophie would go for a 10k run. She pushed herself, always ending with a sprint over the last 100 meters. Then, without fail, she'd go back into her flat, take a few very deep breathes, then strip off for a shower. Towelling herself dry, Sophie always examined her naked body in the full length mirror. And she loved what she saw.

Her hair was a sensational ginger. She had piercing wide, brown eyes, and beautiful slightly pouting lips. Her body was in perfect proportion, not an ounce of fat in sight. Her biceps were well defined and her breasts were to die for. Not big and floundering, but smallish and pert. Perfect for running. The nipples and areola were bigger than the breasts might have suggested, but this suited Sophie fine. She knew about their sensitivity and loved the feelings they developed when aroused. Below the waist, the body failed to disappoint. Sophie tensed her buttocks and thighs in front of the mirror and felt so proud to see the response. These were solid. Magnificently defined. Not like the ugly body-building types, but belonging to someone who had confidence in herself, and rightly so.

Sophie would only get dressed after this ritual, knowing she would be ready for the rest of the day.

It was a Friday at the end of term when it happened. The atmosphere was happy, reflecting the holidays to come and Sophie joined her best mates, Jess, Tom and Ritchie in the coffee bar.

"Hey, Sophie, I'm knackered, you're knackered, we're all knackered. So we're going away. I've found this really great deal: £249, five days in Tenerife, so we're all going. When I say all, I mean the four of us. Now I know you can afford it 'cos you've just had some birthday money, so get yourself packed. Flying out on Sunday, don't let us down."

Sophie thought it was pointless to object. Apart from anything else the idea of five days in the sun with her besties sounded brilliant. Already she could see herself sunning on the beach without a care. Brilliant, she was going!

As per usual, Saturday was greeted by the usual 10k run, but today Sophie's mind was wandering. So much to do in such little time. The shower was followed by the ritualistic examination of the naked body in front of the mirror. "Looks good", thought Sophie, but the old bikini line could do with shaping up, and thinking about it, a new bikini was needed. The old one must be at least five years old, and her body had developed a bit since then.

A quick phone call and an appointment was made at the beauticians, but 5pm was the first time a slot was available. Still, that means I can get the trim with the new bikini on, she thought.

A quick trip to the shops seemed to take forever. Although she planned to buy a red outfit, no matter which she tried seemed to clash with her hair. Eventually a black one seemed to fit the bill. Smallish, but not slutty. With strings to hold it in place. Perfect.

And so, onto the beauticians. Sophie thought there was something wrong about a girl who looked about 12 playing around that area, but she knew the score and spread her legs a little while strips were applied to her tender areas. "Jeeeezus" she yelled internally as a layer of skin plus errant pubes were removed by the ripping away of the strips. Surely there must be a less painful way of doing it, and maybe one that could just be a little sensual?

Home to pack. Just a few t-shirts, shorts, a couple of going-out bits and a range of shoes. Oh, and a beachtowel, bikini and sun cream. And her running kit, of course.

Sophie was so excited when she left for the airport on Sunday, and this excitement rose to a pitch when she joined up with the others.

"Right, so this is the score" said Jess. "Sophie and I are doubling in one room, and Tom and Ritchie in another. We're with a company called 'Everything Goes', for under 30s like us. It's a biggish hotel, but it's got a great private beach. Should be perfect."

Sophie realised she had developed a mixture of excitement and dread. While she was really excited about the trip, she hadn't realised she'd be sharing a room, but worse, this sounded like it might be one of those 'all you can shag' holidays.

Of course, Sophie wasn't a virgin. Nobody was who studied at an art college. But she wasn't the sort who wanted meaningless sex. In fact this was the one area of her life that had disappointed her so far. Sex had always satisfied her physically, but emotionally it had been lacking. Being an artist she craved the combination of the two. Anybody could draw a person's physical attributes, but only a true artist could also capture the emotions within that person. Sophie craved the day for that to happen, but was determined not to throw herself into endless physical encounters that left her bereft.

From what she knew, this thought was shared by her three best mates. But she might be wrong. Maybe Jess had chosen this holiday because she wanted to get laid. She cast a glance at her mate and thought again. No, surely this wasn't her style. Still, she'll find out sooner rather than later.

The plane landed early evening. An hour's transfer to resort and the hotel was in sight. First reactions were relief. The hotel looked classy, with a big pool and a sandy beach that seemed to stretch forever. The rooms were good, too. Separate beds with a very impressive bathroom. With a balcony overlooking the beach. Wow. This was going to be great.

A quick spruce up was in order, followed by a drink at the pool bar.

Sophie and Jess both showered, changed quickly, and joined Tom and Ritchie just before they ordered their second cocktail. Jess went to the bar to order and came back with massive excitement. "Look at this, guys." She held out a leaflet for them all to see. "On Tuesday there's going to be a bodypainting competition and the prize is 500 euros. I reckon we should enter. After all painting is our forte. I can't see how we can lose."

The leaflet certainly looked good, with photos of previous winners. The four of them poured over it and the standard looked very high. There were people with clothes painted on them, circus performers, animals, swimwear, football strips, and lots more. The imaginations had run riot, and the painting was amazing in most cases.

Agreement was unanimous. They had to enter. And they had to win. This was going to be a fantastic holiday.

The four finished their drinks and decided on one more before bed. Sophie volunteered to go to the bar. While she waited her turn a lad wandered up and stood beside her. Sophie looked at him quickly with her trained artist's eye. About 6 foot 2 inches, well toned, set brown eyes and a cheeky smile. All in all, a pretty handsome chap. In his hand was a leaflet about the bodypainting.

Sophie started conversation: "You thinking of entering?" she asked while nodding towards the leaflet. "Sure am" he said. "There's four of us here on a short break from college. We're art students at Catford Art School. I think we've got a good chance of winning. By the way, my name is Pip."

"That's amazing. We're four art students too. Seems like we might have some competition on our hands. I'm Sophie. Good luck. I hope you come second." The drinks arrived and Sophie grinned at Pip as she picked them up to take them to her table.

Sophie briefed the others on her chance meeting. "Well" said Tom "I think we'd better start planning this now. I think there's four tasks: Project Manager, Paint Mixer, the Dogsbody who has to do the menial tasks, and 'The Canvass'. I think we should all draw lots now to see who's doing what, then we can have the whole of tomorrow to get ourselves sorted out."

"Let's let 'The Canvass' decides how they want to be painted. 'Cos that's going to be tough as it's just standing around for a few hours."

Everyone agreed, and Tom went about writing out the four tasks and the four names.

"So, first out is Paint Mixer. And that's... Me! I'm pretty happy with that. I've always been really proud of my shade blending."

Next, is Project Manager, and that will be: Jess." Jess sucked in a deep breathe. "Well, guys, you'd better knuckle down because I'm going to be a hard task-master" she said.

"Only two left, and this is going to be The Canvass. Drum roll please: it's Sophie!" The news hit Sophie like a mallet. She'd always assumed she'd be painting, not be the person who'd be painted. Still, the experience might help her, after all she'd always been happy to use other people as her models, now she'd get the experience from the other side.

"I suppose that means I'm Dogsboddy" said Ritchie. "I guess someone's got to do the shit jobs, but don't worry, I'll throw myself into it, all in the cause."

"Yes, and there'll be times when we need all hands on deck, so to speak, so at least you'll get some painting in" said Jess. "So, Sophie, what's it to be? What do you want us to paint you as?"

Sophie let her mind wander. She thought of her love of Africa, the animals she adored, and especially the big cats. It only took a few seconds before she decided. It had to be the most majestic of the animals, the one with the sleekest body, the ripples of power through the muscles, the most beautifully adorned.

"I want you to paint me as a tigress" she said. She knew it would set a really difficult challenge to get the colours the right shade, the integration of the colours, and the stripes to dominate the skin convincingly, but previous standards had been high, and only a challenge would be good enough to win.

The others nodded in admiration and agreement to her suggestion. Excitement tingled throughout the bodies of the four of them. They were going to sleep well tonight. Their dreams would be directed by the tasks to be performed.

Sophie was the first to wake. She'd decided to start the day just like any other. Jogging clothes adorned, she went out for her normal run. Although it was early, it was still pretty warm and by the time she'd returned, she'd really built up a sweat. She stripped off and decided to have a cooler shower than normal. The bathroom was perfect for her, with a glass screen around the shower area. Just as she lathered up, Sophie was surprised to hear the door open and Jess walked in. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to have a quick pee."

Sophie finished her ablutions and started to towel herself off in front of the full length mirror. As usual, she admired her body, feeling proud of her breasts, her slim waist, her muscles, and even her newly waxed and shaped pubes. Tomorrow she'd be a tigress and she tried to picture herself in this role. She tensed her arm muscles, her buttocks and her thighs, and couldn't stop herself from stroking her upper body, caressing her breasts and making her nipples erect. Yes, she'd make a fine tigress; she wouldn't let the others down.

Then in the corner of her eye, she noticed the bathroom door had been left open by Jess, and there she was sketching Sophie's body from different angles. "Don't mind me" said Jess for the second time, "I'm just looking to get a feel for how the colours will go on your body."

Sophie was a little shocked. Of course it was totally understandable that she needed to observe. Every lecturer at the college would always say: "Observe, Observe, Observe your models" so Jess was just following the right procedure. But she was a little stunned that Jess was observing Sophie wearing no clothes. Still, what the hell. They were both girls, after all.

Sophie left the bathroom and sat on the bed to look at the sketches. Although they were only outline drawings, she easily recognised herself, and they were good! Again, Sophie felt proud of her body, this time, however, she realised she was going to make a great canvass for her friends to colour.

After breakfast the four of them made their way to the beach. It was only coming up to 10 o'clock, but already it was pretty occupied. Ritchie and Tom stripped off to their boxers and started to rub cream into each other's backs. Sophie had always thought they might be gay, and they had seemed pretty smug about sharing a bedroom, but now she felt her beliefs were being vindicated.

She shed her t-shirt and shorts, revealing her new black bikini. She, too, started to cream-up. Jess was last to undress, but shed her clothes quickly, including her bra top, leaving just her tiny bikini pants. All three seemed to find their eyes drawn to Jess's breasts, not least because they were beautiful. Firm orbs with splendid red-pink nipples that seemed happy to be exposed to the world. And Jess was obviously very proud of them!

Then Sophie seemed to feel the three friends' eyes gazing at her bikini top covering her breasts. She didn't normally sunbathe topless but she looked around the beach, and it certainly seemed to be the norm. So, what did it matter? Jess had been scrutinising her naked body already today and Tom and Ritchie were gay, so why not? She pulled the string of her bikini top and felt the freedom of her breasts being exposed to the sun.

The day passed quickly but each of them clearly devoted a lot of time thinking about the next day's task and their duties.

Tom and Ritchie had wandered off to the open space where the bodypainting was to happen and they were impressed by the effort that had been put in by the hotel staff. A number of 'open pods' had been constructed, each comprising a high stool, a full length mirror and a table with an array of paint brushes and a comprehensive paint pallet with mixer bowls. No sprays were about, but Tom thought this was reasonable bearing in mind the budget nature of the competition. Ritchie made notes of what was on offer, but also jotted down other things her would need to bring along.

Meanwhile, at the beach, Jess was finishing off her sketches, marking up the areas of the Canvas's body that would be darker orangey-brown, those that would be mid orangey-yellow and those that would be white. On top of the basic template she had sketched the stripes that would be brown.

Sophie thought hard about the role she would play. Essentially she would be a tigress, not just in terms of how she looked, but also how she would engulf herself into the character of the tigress. She wanted to be believable and therefore needed to live the part. She remembered how the tigress would have presence in the wilds, how it had respect, how it stood, walked, fed, and slept. Her mind wandered to the safaris she had taken and how physically close she'd got to one particular tiger that the gamekeepers named Saffron. The task ahead of her was simple: Sophie wanted to act the role as Saffron.

Evening came and went. Early nights were ordered by Jess as everyone had to be on top form tomorrow. So despite the pre-holiday plans of drunken revelry, the four companions turned in early.

The big day arrived and as usual Sophie rose early to go for her run. In the shower she soaped her body and mellowed in the caress of her soapy hands as the moved from her shoulders down to her breasts, her stomach, thighs and calves. And then it struck her. She was going to be a canvass and her three mates would be painting her body. What would this feel like? Would the brushes be soft or firm? What sensations would she experience? Suddenly her mind went into overdrive - this was going to be a very intimate experience.

Drying herself, Sophie had one long look at the mirror. Jess, Tom and Ritchie would be up close and very personal. Would they admire what they saw? Would they appreciate the attention her body deserved? She tensed her muscles one last time and sighed in appreciation. Yes, she admitted to herself, this was a fine body and she'd make a fine canvass.

Sophie put her black bikini on. Okay, it wasn't perfect in terms of the colour, but with a bit of creative paint blending she was sure it would work. Then she put a loose t-shirt on and a pair of shorts that would come off when they were ready to paint.

At 9am the four friends were assembled at their pod. Jess was also wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts, although Sophie could see she wasn't wearing a bra. Both the boys were wearing boardies with no shirts.

All seemed excited and very prepared. Ritchie, in his dogsboddy role had brought a big rucksack with stuff they might need. There was mutual appreciation that this bag carried drinks and snacks, but clearly there was other stuff in there, too. Tom started work immediately mixing paints under the supervision of Jess. But, interestingly, in each of his mixing bowls, Ritchie added a tiny amount of sun tanning oil. He explained that this was because Jess had decided that using paintbrushes for some of the wider expanses of the body might take too long so to apply the base paint they would use a combination of their hands with the brushes. The oil would give a more even finish and would leave a sheen to enhance the finished look.

While the other three were concentrating on preparation, Sophie looked around, curious to get a feel for the competition. And she took a gasp. On the next pod, just 5 or 6 meters away was Pip, the lad she'd met on the first night. And just like her, Pip was the one to be painted. As she noticed he was wearing just a small pair of black Speedo 'budgie-smugglers' trunks, she looked up to see him wink and mouth "Hello".

"Good luck" Sophie replied and smiled at him.

At 10am, a bell was sounded and the painting could begin. Work had to be frenzied as there was only three hours to complete the task. Sophie stripped off her shirt and shorts and sat on the stool in trepidation.

Jess started on her hair, introducing flecks of brown, orange and white to mingle with her naturally ginger hair. Tom started work on her face. At first this felt really weird. Bit Jess's work on her hair was really starting to relax her, and Tom's brushwork on her face was better that any facial massage she'd ever had. Her body started to tingle and she began to think was going to be an experience she might never forget. Tom then moved on to her neck and shoulders but he'd replaced the brushes with his hands. Jess concentrated on her arms.