University Adventures Ch. 06

'Jess stop! You can't leave me like this, come on please! Why are you doing this?'

'I lied, you don't need to do my laundry. This is your punishment instead. Surprise!'

'Jess I can't go out like this you idiot, I don't have anything to wear! Jay only has to do the bins but you do this to me, is that not a bit extreme?'

'Oh don't worry, I'm not that cruel. I've left you a towel, but you'll have to get it yourself. And then going to reception to beg for some clothes will be embarrassing but let's not pretend you won't secretly love it.'

'Jess listen seriously no-'

'See you later, looking forward to hearing how it goes!'

'Jess!' But her cries were in vain as Jessica turned on her heels and strode away from her, blowing a goodbye kiss as she went. Fuck fuck fuck thought Holly, this was bad, really bad. Had this been the plan all along, the only reason Jessica wanted to go swimming? Damn that girl was cunning, and surprisingly evil. At least she'd left her something to put on though, the only question was how to get to it... Holly couldn't see much from her stall so she held the curtain over her chest and cautiously stepped slowly out into the open, peering round to try and see if anyone was still about.

'No... no, no.' To her dismay there were still two students left, the nearest of which was a tall girl who was somehow still slowly packing her things into her bag, nodding her head in time to the music that was presumably playing through her headphones. The only redeeming factor was that she was on the opposite side of the room to the row of lockers which contained Holly's source of escape. The second girl was tying her shoelaces as she sat on one of the benches, frustratingly the one right next to where Holly needed to go. There would be no way of getting past both of them without being seen, so she would just have to wait until they were gone. Holly stepped back into the warmth of the shower, satisfied with her idea. Two seconds later it was ruined as the tannoy came back on, announcing that the center was now closed. No sooner was the message over than the door from the foyer opened and in came a cleaner, pushing her cart in front of her.

'You in the shower, time to leave please, I'll be back in a moment to lock up. You two as well, thank you.' Her voice carried a hint of irritation and Holly grimaced as she tiptoed to watch her walk back out.

'Come on come on, go.' Finally the shoe tying girl was finished and she stood up to leave, walking away from the showers towards the exit. Holly decided that this was her only chance. Tall girl was still lost in a world of her own, messaging someone on her phone as she continued to vibe out to her playlist. If Holly was quick she should be able to creep out, sneak behind her and get to the locker, hopefully getting her towel out before the cleaner came back. Once she was covered up then she could worry about getting home safely. She decided to commit to the plan before she could talk herself out of it, so as she watched shoe girl push open the door she turned off the shower and timidly pulled the curtain aside, absentmindedly holding one boob with her hand as she waited to pounce. The moment the door swung shut she stepped out into the open and slowly walked towards her locker, keeping her eyes on the back of tall girl, praying that she wouldn't suddenly turn around. Her target was in the far corner of the room and she had made it halfway across when suddenly the door to the lobby was shoved back open and shoe girl re-entered the room. Holly's eyes snaped to hers and the pair stared at each other, both momentarily frozen in time. Holly's mind ran through a million thoughts in that split second as the shock sent her body into overdrive, her flight or fight response sending adrenaline shooting through her limbs. Her instinct of course was to cover up and run, but where too? She needed that towel whatever happened, and showing her embarrassment would only be an admission that what she was doing was shameful. It was a locker room after all, it's designed for people to get undressed in, so technically she wasn't doing anything wrong?

So in the end Holly managed somehow to maintain a straight face and just glanced briefly at the intruder before continuing to walk past her with her arms by her sides, forcing herself to step slowly and naturally as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Of course you usually see the odd bit of flesh whilst people are getting changed at the gym, but no one would ever dream of walking round the room completely nude, and soaking wet to make things worse. The experience of being the only one naked in a room with two other fully dressed strangers was unbelievable, she felt incredibly vulnerable but was trying her best to appear confident and calm. Finally she reached the locker and she reached out anxiously to dial in the code.

'Oh you bitch...' She screwed her eyes shut and cursed under her breath as she realised that Jessica hadn't just been wicked, she'd been downright twisted. Instead of finding her own blue padlock Holly discovered that it was actually Jessica's black one that was now in her way. 'How the hell am I meant to know this?' She started to desperately fiddle with the dials, trying likely combinations. One two three four? No. Four three two one? No... Randomly shake the lock to try and get lucky? Still no... Holly looked over her shoulder and saw shoe girl walking back towards her, having retrieved whatever item it was she'd left behind the first time. Holly hung her head and cowered slightly as she turned back and hunched towards the locker, wishing the ground would swallow her up as the woman passed behind her. Once again the door shut and Holly straightened again, now really beginning to panic. Nineteen ninety seven, the year Jess was born? Shit, no... What was her birthday, maybe it was the day and the month instead? She had no idea. Well that was it then, she was done for. She'd have to go and plead with the cleaner when she came back and hope she was kind. Or maybe she should just make a break for it instead, tear off one of the shower curtains and flee. Hold on.... one one one one? Surely not...

The lock immediately clicked open. Jess you moron, thought Holly, seething at this point, what cretin uses such an easy to crack code? Thank god she did though, and Holly was filled with relief as she opened the small door.

'You've got to be kidding me...' Inside there was no towel, but there was a scrap of paper. On it, scrawled in biro, was a simple message: check door twenty seven. There was a smiley face drawn at the bottom too, to add insult to injury. Holly screwed up the note in frustration and looked up and down the lockers, searching for the door with that number. All the ones on this side were too high, and so it was with a sinking feeling that Holly slowly turned around, hands clasped nervously on her chest, and saw that sure enough, twenty seven was on the other side. On the other side, and more specifically in front of the tall girl, who had her bag on now but was still finishing a message on her phone. Well, Holly concluded, I should have known everyone would see me in the end. Honestly though what were the chances, even Jessica couldn't have planned out this latest twist that perfectly. For the second time Holly made herself drop her arms and loosen her stance as she walked across the slippery floor of the changing room.

'Excuse me.' She stood to the side of the oblivious student, who clearly couldn't hear her. 'Hey.' She poked her gently on the arm and the girl jumped slightly, turning to see who was there as she pulled off her headphones.

'Sorry I didn't... woah.' Her mouth fell open as her eyes settled on the unexpected vision that stood before her, smiling faintly up at her as she continued to gently drip water onto the floor.

'Could I just get to that locker for a second?' Holly pointed helpfully at number twenty seven as she shook gently, ignoring her brain which was screaming at her to cover up.

'Sorry yeah, of course...' The bemused girl picked up her stuff and finally decided to head off home, and as she walked past Holly she glanced back at the naked rear of this shockingly uninhibited swimmer. Holly's cheeks were burning profusely by this point and she didn't move a muscle until she heard the door slam shut and she knew she was finally alone. Well, that had been completely humiliating but she thought she had managed to play it off pretty well, and now she could finally cover up. Opening the unguarded locker she half expected to see another note, but she was rewarded with the glorious site of a neatly folded fluffy white towel.

'Yes...' She picked it up and eagerly held it out to wrap around her, but her expression soon turned to horror as she realised what Jessica's last trick was. In the middle of the towel was a huge hole, meaning almost ninety percent of the material was missing. It was utterly useless, only the thin outer square border remained and how on earth was anyone meant to cover themselves with that? The colour drained from her face and she suddenly felt very cold as she realised this was it, she really had no way out. At least before she could justify her bare body because she was a woman getting changed in a locker room but now? Now she was just a naked girl walking around looking for some clothes. Holly put down the towel and placed it back in its locker, gently shutting the door as she shook her head in bewilderment. Muffled voices became audible from the corridor outside and Holly decided to accept her fate, so she turned to the side and placed her hands over her body, adopting a sheepish look as in walked the cleaner, this time with one of her colleagues by her side. They both stopped talking and gasped simultaneously at the sight that greeted them.

'Hi...,' Holly cocked her head apologetically. 'Sorry, but someone seems to have stolen my clothes?'

*****

Twenty minutes later and Jericho, Jessica and Holly were walking away from the sports center.

'Fucking dicks, the pair of you.' Holly wasn't really trying to be angry, she was more amazed by their boldness than anything else. 'Who's idea was that?'

'A bit of both,' giggled Jessica, hugging her friend's arm. 'Jerry suggested that you wouldn't be too averse to something like this as your punishment, and then I thought the clothes stealing could be fun.'

'Fun?' Holly rolled her eyes. 'Terrifying more like.'

'But terrifyingly fun right, like going on a roller-coaster or seeing a scary movie?'

It was actually a good comparison, thought Jericho. 'Yeah you must have loved the thrill, your cheeks are still pink.'

'Because I was humiliated you moron! Two students saw me with my bits out, then I had to stand there for ages like an idiot in front of two cleaners!'

Jess laughed. 'So what exactly happened?'

'Well they didn't really understand why or how someone would break into my locker and take everything, and somehow steal my towel without me noticing, but they couldn't exactly accuse me of making it up could they? So one went to see if there were any clothes in the lost property box, which took her forever. Meanwhile I'm just there completely naked as the other one makes small talk with me, I'd never been so embarrassed. Then when they realised there weren't any clothes for me they let me use a phone, they turned their backs as I uncovered to find you on messenger and ask you to bring me something to wear. Then as we waited one of them finally offered me their apron to put on, so as they cleaned I just sat on a bench with my bare arse hanging out, watching them work.'

'We came as first as we could.'

'Oh I'm sure. And thanks for only bringing me a dress Jess, nice touch. Now my hair is still wet and I'm freezing.'

Jess was unapologetic. 'Wow, so ungrateful. Next time I'll ignore your message and you can try and get home barefoot, wearing an apron.'

'Oh don't worry, the next time it won't be me who's getting tricked...' Holly playfully nudged Jessica who narrowed her eyes warily.

'Oh really? Well, we shall see.'

'Jessica trust me, when it comes to revenge, I am the queen. I am unbeatable. Did Jay tell you about my friend Charlie? Well, one time she thought she could outsmart me too...'

*****

It had been a couple of weeks since the trip to the beach, were Holly had avenged herself by making Charlie run along a public beach in her birthday suit. The friends had unofficially formed a truce since then and life was mostly back to normal. Work was still boring for Holly and very stressful for Charlie, not much else was going on and summer was nearing an end. To make the most of the last sunny day Holly had gone over to Charlie's to quote unquote work together in the garden, but in reality they soon gave up and decided to catch some rays.

'I'm going to miss this weather.' Holly shut her laptop and leant back on the lounge chair that she'd set up in the garden. 'I hate winter.'

'Same, same.' Charlie went indoors and returned with a pitcher and two glasses. 'Frozen margheritas?'

'Oh wow,' Holly watched her pour one out and reached up for it gratefully. 'Thanks, you absolute legend. Well, we're definitely not doing any more work after this!'

'Eh, it's five already, I think that's late enough to clock off.' Charlie lay down on her lounger and the pair chatted as they relaxed, basking in the warm sunlight.

Holly had her eyes shut but looked over as she heard Charlie sit up. 'What you doing?'

'Getting comfortable.' Both girls had kicked off their shoes and socks hours ago but now Charlie stood and slid off her shorts, revealing a thong.

'Can't your neighbours see in here?'

'Yeah but it's just like wearing a bikini, and I've done that out here a lot.' Next off was her shirt and she smiled down at Holly. 'Feel free to join me.'

Holly raised an eyebrow. 'What if one of your housemates comes home?'

Charlie settled down in her underwear and waved her hand dismissively. 'I told you earlier none of them will be back until late tonight, we've got the place to ourselves today.'

'Hmm, if you're sure.' Holly looked up at the windows of the houses that overlooked their tanning spot but she couldn't see anyone, so she undressed too and was soon relaxing again. Charlie was right, there was something inhibiting about sunbathing fully clothed, and soon Holly was so chilled she was on the verge of drifting off. Her daydreaming was interrupted by the sound of something landing on the grass to her side and she shielded her eyes as she looked across at her friend.

'Really?'

'What?' Charlie had removed her bra and dropped it to the side, allowing an impressive amount of side boob to spill out from under as she lay on her front. 'Otherwise it's uncomfortable when you're not on your back.'

Holly just scoffed and went back to napping. When she could feel her front beginning to burn she copied Charlie and turned over, annoyingly soon having to admit that the sensation of her bra pressing into her chest was irritating. 'Sure no one is coming back?'

'Oh my god.'

'Fine, fine.' Holly unhooked herself and lay back down, careful not to show too much to the world in case there was a neighbour peering through their blinds. The sun felt even better on her bare back now and she pulled her panties down as far as she dared, enjoying the feeling of the air on her butt. At some point in the next hour Charlie asked if Holly wanted to stay for dinner, and accordingly went inside to put a lasagne in the oven and refill their drinks. On the way in she casually slung an arm over her breasts but on the way back any semblance of modesty was lost as she had to use both hands to carry the glasses. Holly didn't really notice though and just indistinctly grunted her thanks. She was lost in her thoughts, dreaming of the guy across the road, the day at the beach, and how deep down she wished it had been her who had been running across the sand...

'I think the food will be ready in a second, I'll go check.'

'Mmm, sure...' Holly watched her friend stroll off, then buried her face in her crossed arms and sighed contentedly.

'Umm, Holly right?'

Who the hell was that? Holly's heart stopped as she tried to work out who's voice had just spoken. It was a vaguely familiar, but the only thing that mattered was that it wasn't Charlie. She looked up, blinking at the bright sky, to see a man looking down at her puzzledly. 'Umm, yes?'

The man turned and nodded back to the house. 'Charlie asked me to tell you that dinner is ready?'

Oh damn, thought Holly, it's Michael, one of Charlie's flatmates. They'd met a few times in passing and he seemed pleasant, but this wasn't really how she wanted to greet him. Also hadn't Charlie said he wouldn't be back for hours yet...

'Oh right, thanks.' Holly looked to the right for her bra and stiffened again. It wasn't there, and neither was Charlie's. 'Uhhh...' Michael could obviously see that she was topless and now they could both see that she had no clothes to put on.

'Holly, we're waiting!' Charlie appeared at the door, holding the pasta bake with a pair of oven gloves. 'Come on in!' Holly was shellshocked, partly due to the presence of Michael, but now mainly due to her horror that her friend was standing there completely dressed again. She watched as Charlie gave her a wink and disappeared back into the kitchen, and Michael gave Holly one last glance before following. Holly double checked under the chair to make sure she wasn't going crazy but no, it was true, Charlie had well and truly stitched her up. If she wasn't so panicked she might have been impressed by the imagination and clean execution of the plan, but right now she was just lost for words. She painstakingly got up onto all fours then sat back on her heels, looking around one last time in desperation for anything to wear. There was nothing though, and reluctantly she got to her feet and pulled up her underwear, making sure it covered as much as possible. She then crossed her arms over her nipples in a pose that she hoped looked sort of casual, and walked back to the house.

'There you are! You guys both know Holly right?'

Jesus, thought Holly, it's not just Michael. Sitting next to him at the dining table was Ruben, the other male house mate. The pair grinned at her as she entered the room and she quickly stepped behind the kitchen island so at least the bottom half of her was hidden.

'Hi Holly.'

'Hey Ruben.'

'Get some good sun?'

'Aha yeah...'

Charlie smiled at her friend's awkwardness and began spooning out lasagne onto the four plates. 'I'm not one for tanning but Holly is really into it, aren't you Holls. How are those tan lines doing, got rid of them yet?'

Holly ignored the taunt and politely excused herself. 'I'm just going to get dressed quickly and I'll be straight down. Feel free to start without me.'

'Ah we'll wait don't worry.' Charlie returned the pan to the side and then carried a bottle of wine to the table, pouring out a glass and a half before it ran out. 'Oh this one's empty, I'll get another. Can you chuck this in the recycling please Holls?' Without any hesitation she gently lobbed the glass bottle towards her friend. Holly was only standing a couple of meters away and so had no time to think, but her reactions kicked in and she instinctively reached out to catch it and prevent it shattering on the tiled floor. As her hands wrapped around the glass her brain caught up with her body and realised its mistake, and far too late Holly clamped her arms across her chest again, awkwardly holding the bottle under her chin. One look at the others showed that they'd seen everything, and Holly could feel herself turning bright red. 'Thanks!' Charlie smiled knowingly and returned to the fridge for more wine, as Michael and Ruben watched on whilst practically drooling. Holly glowered as she turned her back on the trio, stuffing the bottle in the recycling bin and storming upstairs, giving the boys a great view of her panty clad butt as if flashing her tits wasn't already enough. Back in Charlie's room she found her clothes on the bed and got dressed again, before composing herself and returning downstairs with what she hoped was an air of dignity. She still felt incredibly shy as they all ate, but once the drinks got flowing she managed to calm down a bit and enjoy the evening, after all she did like the two guys even if they had seen far too much of her by now. Soon it was quite late and she had to rush out to make sure she caught the last bus going her way. As she hugged Charlie goodbye she whispered into her ear.