Walking in Body Paint

A few weeks ago over coffee at Starbucks my friend Jon had asked me if I would be interested in a social experiment. That got my attention.

"What kind of experiment?"

"Body paint," he replied.

At age 28 I have big curves at the waist and hips. My breasts are C cup and my waist is 24 inches. It's the typical hourglass shape. My chocolate brown hair reaches my breasts. I wear Flamingo Red lipstic and generally paint my nails red.

"That's naked," I said.

"So it is," said Jon.

What will people say? Would they encourage me? Would they try to shame me? Would some guy try to get me into bed? Would they compliement me on my body?

Dallas is crazy hot this time of the year so it's not uncommon to see girls in shorts with a halter or perhaps sports bra. Even a bikini would not surprise me but nudity is not an option.

"Jon the last thing I need is some horny guy trying to do me."

"No worries," said Jon. "He would have to kill me first."

"What's in it for me?"

"That cruise in the Carribbean you always wanted," he said.

Hearing my boyfriend consent to a cruise changed my mind.

"I'll go but I want you at my side the whole way. Will Denise come with us?"

Jon's sister is a very close friend. I had actually met Jon through her though a couple of years would pass before our first date. I had no doubt that she would take a walk with me though probably not naked.

I began to map out a route in my head. A walk through the Galleria came to mind. Perhaps we'd walk to there then go inside. I love shopping, browsing.

Later that morning Jon would begin painting. Denise would make herself comfortable on the sofa and watch her brother work.

"Ok girl get naked," said Jon.

I stripped leaving dark blue Capris jeans, black halter neck, panties and Maidenform on the end of the table. Standing in the middle of the floor I watched Jon loading his brush.

At 9 30 Jon began painting my body. He would reload his brush many times from the 3-inch diameter, two-inch tall cans on the table. Minute by minute I became more and more excited about my excursion to and through Galleria mall.

The job took much longer than I thought it would but the results were spectacular. My boyfriend of 8 months had created a fitted cropped short-sleeve blue shirt and Capris jeans.

The three of us got out of Denise's airconditioned red Toyota Camry a few minutes walking distance from the shopping center. We immediately felt the intense Texas heat.

I quipped softly that "it's way too hot for clothes."

Jon aimed his camera shooting perhaps a minute of full frontal video of me and Denise side by side. The two of us started for the stores leaving him behind us to shoot backside video.

Three blonds and a brunette coming towards us were just a few steps beyond the glass doors. I was to learn that they were caught on camera.

I stared getting their attenntion. Denise asked a question that she would repeat inside and outside the shopping center.

"Does anyone notice anything unusual?"

The girl in the middle spoke for the group.

"That's body paint you're wearing. It looks so real."

I grinned.

She added, "I like the look."

The brunette added a remark. "You go girl."

We continued on our way. Within a few steps our bodies felt the cool air inside the shopping mall. Small knots of shoppers headed in both directions passing store fronts.

By this time people's remarks made me feel good about walking painted. They proved to be good at recognizing body paint. Why bother with paint, I asked myself. Maybe one of these days I'll go out unpainted.

The three of us followed 4 strangers into an elevator. One, a forty-something man standing at the opposite wall, looked directly at me. After a second he said, "I should get my wife to wear that."

"Maybe next time," quipped a blond girl on his left.

She looked at me and quipped, "I wouldn't know what to wear."

Jon, Denise and I exited the elevator along with two of its other passengers. We enountered another small group a few steps away.

Maybe someone won't notice that I'm naked, I thought. It occurred to me that they would certainly notice that my boobs are jiggling. It wasn't necessary to say that "I'm not wearing a bra."

Two guys accompained two girls. "You look spectacular," said the brunette girl on the far left.

Her male friend asked, "is this an experiment or what."

Jon finally spoke. "It's a social experiment. We want to see people's reactions. The video is going on my channel."

I voiced a desire. "I hope it goes viral."

"I'm sure it will," said the brunette girl. She added, "I think you look good in paint."

People's non judgemental attitudes made me feel unashamed and made me think on a deep level that I could do this again. I knew that getting arrested for indecent exposure would suck but didn't worry about that.

Other shoppers and pedestrians passed us going in opposite directions or across my field of vision. Some looked but withheld comments.

My walk would eventually take me past many of the stores in Galleria.

Approaching Starbucks the three of us decided to get coffee and perhaps a snack. Denise took the seat on my right giving her brother the seat facing me.

I nibbled on a double chocolate brownie and sipped coffee as my eyes shifted taking in my surroundings.

My boyfriend shot more video, this time with questions.

"Do you feel like you're naked?"

I said, "I actually don't."

"So you're not embarrassed," said Jon.

I considered my answer. "Why should I be embarrassed?"

"Would you do it again?"

"Would you paint me again?"

"Yes," said Jon.

He ended the interview and started eating his cookie.

Denise remained silent which didn't surprise me.

On the way home in the car Denise made a very surprising remark.

"You make me want to walk au naturel, unpainted."

"Go for it," I said.

"I will," said Denise.

Denise has a body type very similar to my own: the big curves at the waist and hips, the generous boobs. She's a blond with wide thin lips and favors Honey Do or taupe on them. She has green eys. Mine are brown.

Her brother injected a question. "Do you want to be photographed?"

"Of course," she replied, "otherwise what's the point."

The last thing I could imagine was my bestie walking the streets au naturel, much less a record of it.

"Do it," I said, not believing that she would.

A couple of days passed. Home from my job, I was relaxing on my balcony at 6 o'clock observing people below. I was wearing something impossible to fake with paint, a Heather Gray ruched T-shirt dress.

A triple knock made me get up and go to the door. Denise was standing in the hall completely naked and without a drop of paint on her body.

"Stefani come for a walk with me."

I teased her. "If I was a lesbian I'd drag you inside and be all over your bones."

As it was we went for our walk and she spoke candidly. "I wish you were gay Stefani."

She had just outed herself but I stil regarded her as a friend.