SKINNY DIPPING ADVENTURES PART 1 (TAG: LELIA)

[zach]

Zach bounced up and down on the front of his feet still keeping them planted on the grass right outside of his dormitory house. He was so pumped, he could almost not keep his excitement contained. It wasn’t every day that he and some random new friend decided to take a dip in the university fountain naked. Definitely one of Zach’s ideas. And he couldn’t believe Lelia said yes. At first it was just a joke. He really didn’t expect anything to actually come from it. But it would be fun. He enjoyed the thrill of doing something that had major consequences if he was caught. Hell, that is why he did most of the stupid ass things he decided to do. It was just nice to actually have someone to do them with now. If she was willing to do this, no way she wouldn’t be willing to do something just as crazy.

He glanced out at the clock tower connected to the Main Hall as it chimed and played the stupid tune he’d been hearing all semester when an hour had approached. It was 1:00am. Show time. Now all he needed was his accomplice who was still nowhere to be seen. He really hoped she didn’t wimp out on him. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t. It was probably because she didn’t live on campus. It would probably take her a bit longer to get here if she wasn’t familiar with the campus. That was just one thing he learned about her when they had gone out for breakfast. He had completely skipped out on work to hang out with her which was totally fine. He would have been really really really late anyways if he had decided to go. She just seemed to be more fun than going to work. And he was right. She was a blast. It was crazy how much their personalities complimented each other. Zach wasn’t normally a big talker, but they ended up spending quite a while in the donut shop. It was nice to finally be making friends. Too bad it had taken him forever to do so.

Zach leaned back against the brick wall of his dormitory behind him. He wondered if he should invite Jayla. The last time he had heard from her was at the abandoned apartments when they found a man dead. She could probably use a night out. He chuckled to himself. He couldn’t believe he actually thought they were friends now. I mean yeah he was really nice to her. He even walked her home after they found the dead body, but that didn’t mean Jayla was willing to make anything more out of a nice gesture. He just hoped that maybe becoming friends with Jayla might mean that Jace would see that he was really trying to get back into that circle of friends he lost back in Miami. But even if he did invite her, and they did miraculously become friends, Jayla probably wouldn’t go for something as risky as this.

Zach could see the silhouette of someone walking across the grass towards the building. He was hoping it was Lelia. He pushed off the wall and shoved his hands into his zip up black hoodie pockets. He was wearing basketball pants too. He wanted to make sure he wore clothes that were very easy to take off and put back on. The last thing he wanted to do was have to run across campus naked as he is being chanced by campus security. If he did have to run across campus, he’d be able to throw them back on real easily.

[lelia]

Apparently he was dead serious about this fountain thing, which was no problem to her. Though honestly she had never run across someone who had a very low threshold for shame. Normally everyone freaked out at her crazy ideas, but Zach seemed to embrace them, run with them until they were more than an idea, but a reality. Out of all the people she could have run into on the streets that day, she ran into the one person who made her laugh, and actually made her conciously choose to stay clean.. at least on the days they were suppose to hang out.

Lelia broke into a run, only to stop a few seconds afterwards, deciding she was too lazy to even run the short distance to Zach. There was a loud laugh that echoed all the way to Zach as she realized she probably looked like an idiot for that. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was out of shape, even if she had a slightly enviable body. If they were going to be chased by campus security, it would probably only be the adrenaline rush that got her through the encounter. Pushing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, she wore only a tank top, and a pair of sweat pants.

"Looks like we had the same idea. Keep it easy to get back into." she said, laughing at his choice of a hoodie and shorts. Turning to stare at the fountain, she rocked on the balls of her feet for a moment before taking a deep breath. "You ready for this!? No turning back once the clothes fall!" she said, seeming to be pumping herself up for the event ahead of them. There was no way that this was going to go unnoticed, afterall this was a college campus, not an old folks home. People were bound to be out and about yet, even at one in the morning.

"I'm going to go, you ready? We're going! No chickening out, this is it, the moment of no return!" she said, unzipping her hoodie and dropping it to the ground. Without stopping to feel embarassed or ashamed, the rest of her clothing followed as she shouted "Go!" without even bothering with a count down. The had never agreed on a race, but she decided to turn it into one last minute, though with her poor display of running prior it was obvious would probably win this little race.

Part of her was picturing what her family would say if she called them from a cell, being picked up for public indecency. The first question would probably be something like "Are you on something right now?" which made her laugh. She was, if being high on life counted in that category.

[zach]

the silhouette got closer and then it decided to sprint towards him. He could hear a laugh cut into the air. Yep, it was Lelia. He smiled as she came into view. He pushed off the brick wall and walked the rest of the way towards her. “I was beginning to think you were going to play chicken shit tonight. Guess I was wrong.” He looked at his own clothing and then over at hers when she mentioned something about their outfits being alike. He laughed. “Yeah, no kidding.” As she spoke she seemed pumped about this little display of craziness tonight which only made him even more excited to be taking part in it. It was always fun to not be the only one eager. It had been a while since he had a friend to do things like this with.

Before he could say anything, she was already striping and getting pumping herself up to run towards the fountain. Before he knew it, she had said go and was already gone. “What?!” Zach quickly unzipped his own zip up hoodie letting it fall to the ground. He began to run to the fountain as well trying to get his shorts off at the same time. “That isn’t fair!” Once they were down his legs and kicked off, he was after her. For a few seconds he wondered who would be watching them right now. And then he just sort of decided not to even care. This was way to thrilling to be thinking about the consequences. He was pretty sure they both looked like complete fools running towards a fountain naked. And he knew they were fools when he finally got to the fountain and jumped in without even hesitating. He wasn’t even sure if he had gotten there before she had. All he could think about now was how damn cold that water was.

What water in the fountain splashed everywhere. Much of it went over the sides of the circular fountain. He spun around in the water moving his arms around along with his legs just to get more circulation of his body going. It was too cold to just sit there. His body was shivering up a storm, but the only thing that was keeping him from dying from hypothermia was the warmth from his adrenaline surging through his veins. It was definitely a complete rush. “Dude, I can’t believe we freakin’ did this!”

[lelia]

It was one of those stupid moments, where you regret it after you've already done it, but by then it's not as bad as you thought. Leilia stood there in the fountain, shivering terribly, her teeth chattering as she wraped her arms about herself. This was completely mad, how could she have talked herself into this while sober!? Maybe she was a bit crazier than she wanted to admit now as she stared down a naked Zach. She wasn't complaining however, he was a good looking guy, but that wasn't why they were here! She tried her best to distract herself from that line of thinking, which was almost impossible.

"I learned a long time ago that the world doesn't play fair, so I stopped." she said, grinning playfully at him. There was a playful edge to it let him know she was joking, but it was only a partial jest. Life threw things at you non-stop, always more than you can handle, and expected you to overcome each hurdle as best as you can. For her, as best as you can was aparently naked in a fountain, the chance of being arrested for public indecency hanging in the air.

Laughing her head off, she smiled at him, the widest grin she could even muster. "I can believe it, we're both pretty insane when it comes to the way we approach our lives." she said. Splashing water at him playfully, she looked about the courtyard with a sort of self concious gaze. Only now was she feeling like there were a hundred eyes on her, though maybe that was because she had never managed the nerve for something like this before Zach came along. Joking between the two of them would become a dangerous subject, they were very likely to actually do it.

"In a way I think this is exactly what we needed. I've seemed pretty meeeeh lately, you've seemed to be.. pensive." she said, trying to figure out a word to throw in there. There was alot going on in the minds of these two, but neither of them ever seemed to pry into each others lives. The embarassment would pass, if she was going to be shy then the window for that had long passed anyway. "We never actually talk about the real issues, the good stuff!" she joked, smiling up at him. "Anything to report?" she asked casually, giving him the option of getting things off his chest, but making sure he understood it was just that, an option.

[zach]

As Zach moved around in the water to keep his blood bumping, things had become a bit silent between the two of them, and all he could hear was the chattering of her teeth. He glanced her way, and she was staring down at him. He smirked and chuckled to himself as he glanced out at the rest of the world who was probably looking in on them from their dorm room windows. It was funny because he hadn’t even thought about the fact that he had a completely gorgeous naked chick in a fountain with him until those seconds before when he caught her watching him, and he noticed that her arms were wrapped around herself which kind of made him a bit disappointed. For that split second, that one moment, his mind left the haze that it had been in since he had first seen Jace here in LA. It was a nice feeling to have someone else to think about for a change.

Lelia broke the silence by responding to his comment about life being fair. He glanced back and nodded. She was definitely right there. The only difference was he did want to stop playing. Or at least stop being played with. Part of him was happy Jace was back in the mix of things. He really wanted to reconnect with her. But part of him was screaming asking himself why, why he couldn’t just get away from all of that. Zach smiled when Lelia mentioned that their lifestyles were pretty similar in regards to craziness. What she didn’t realize was that doing those crazy wild things was what kept him sane through all of this. Before he could even respond to that, she splashed him with water. Oh she would be very sorry for doing that. He had no problem jumping at her and pulling her under with him. Although he kind of wished it was a pool now because this fountain was a bit shallow for them to do much of anything. A smile moved across his face. ”No way are you as insane as I am. Face it Ms. Lelia, there was no way you would have ever done this if I didn’t so boldly ask you to join me.” Part of him didn’t believe that. She seemed like the type that could come up with some pretty insane stuff to do which didn’t intimidate him at all. It actually excited him. Ladies and gentlemen, he actually found his first awesomely awesome friend on campus. If she agreed to this, he couldn’t wait to see what other irrational things she’d agree to.

Zach turned his body now to face hers as he crouched in the water swaying his arms slowly back and forth just for the sake of moving. When Lelia mentioned that it seemed like this little adventure was exactly what both of them needed, he could agree on his part of things. He did need this. And when she said that he seemed pensive, he didn’t really say anything to that. Obviously he wasn’t doing a good job of keeping his emotional issues to himself. She could definitely tell that there were some issues going on in his life. Zach was never one to open up to anyone. Opening up just made you vulnerable, and he hated feeling like that. Although he did think it was nice of her to seem concerned or to try and bring this relationship onto a new level, he was very much content with the fun that they seemed to have together. He chuckled uncomfortably. ”Good stuff? Hmm, I wouldn’t exactly consider real issues good stuff.” He gave her a smile. ”The only thing I have to report is how sorry you are going to be for splashing me.” With a quick movement, he lunged towards her wrapping his arms around her arms that were already wrapped around herself. Once he had a good grip on her damp body, he spun her around splashing her into the water with him. It was a settle way of changing the subject. I mean at least he didn’t come right out and say ‘hey that is something I really don’t want to talk about’. And he probably wouldn’t ever tell her that. Because who knew? Maybe one day he’d actually want to share some of the crap that was going on in his life with someone, and if he did, he could see Lelia being someone who would be willing to listen and possibly understand.

[lelia]

It was funny how she wasn't too embarassed, until she realized he noticed her looking. Turning a slight shade of pink, she didn't bother to look away or else it would have made it obvious that she was blushing. Raising her arms, she gave him a shrug, followed up by a "What else could you do?" sort of smirk. It took everything she had not to burst out into laughter because of this, things were awkward for sure in this situation, but they both seemed able to push on without showing it. Or maybe things weren't that awkward and she was just imagining something that wasn't actually there. She was probably just over thinking things as usual, pulling it back some, she decided to just focus on the present.

Suddenly though, it was back again, that look he seemed to get when he was thinking about something. It wasn't a very obvious tell, but Lelia made it a habit of trying to read people since her life usually depended on it. The look suddenly gave away however to a devious one, one that told her that she was going to pay for that splash. He was so confusing sometimes, it drove her nuts, but not in a bad way. Even though they were fast becoming really good friends, the way he was able to push on through whatever seemed to bring about that look made her admire him. She only wished there was something she could do for him to take his mind off of whatever it was, without having to pry or ask about it.

"Whoa, whoa. I don't think you know who I am, son." she said, splashing him once more. "I would have done this alone, and broadcast it!" she said, trying to one up his challenge. That way I would for sure be found out and have to run for it. Giving a short scream as she was pulled down into the water, she laughed at the fact that they were playing in shallow water. Shaking a bit from the sudden exposure to cold, she laughed at his antics. "Maybe next time we should just crash my Uncles pool instead huh? Not as exciting, but we might not kill ourselves in the shallow end." she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

As much as she wanted to know what was up, she also knew that if he was anything like her, he would just push it off. That was how she dealt with things as well, by pretending she wasn't bothered by anything. Staring at him for a moment, she moved closer to him, pulling him into a hug. "You've made me cold." she said, giving it other meaning rather than the you don't have to tell me anything, I get it that she was really trying to convey to him. "Yeah I guess you were right, I splash you, you give me Hypothermia. I think it seems like vengeance was carried out here." she said, smirking at him. She was shivering pretty badly, that hug was the closest feeling she had found to being able to warm herself at this point.

"So, I quit my job. Or rather, they fired me. Apparently it's not good bartending to smash an entire bottle over a creeps head. It wasn't my fault no meant touch me to him aha." she said, keeping the conversation moving.

[zach]

When Zach came up from the water, he was laughing at the comment she had made about the fact that she would have done this little display alone, and she would have broadcasted it too. He shook his head letting the water that was dripping off of his face fly everywhere including hitting Lelia who had already surfaced and was holding herself again because of the cold. He listened as she laughed. That was one thing he really enjoyed about spending time with her, her laugh. It was quite adorable and made him smile every time he heard it including at this moment right now. Zach nodded when she suggested using her Uncle’s pool next time. His smile widened. ”Hmm, I think we could make it just as exciting in a pool if not more.” He chuckled when he said this. It sounded completely dirty, and hell, maybe he meant for it to come out that way. Lelia was a pretty awesome chick, and other than Jayla, she was the only friend he seemed to have right now aside from Shannelle who was a lot of the time MIA.

Just as Zach thought Lelia would surely not break away from her modest tendencies right now, she stepped forward wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Boy was he not expected that at all. When she pressed up against his body, he could tell she was cold, and it made him smirk. Why, why, why was he so immature about things? Zach wrapped his arms around her as well embracing her in her hug. ”Yeah, I can feel that.” She’d probably either roll her eyes or hit him for that one, but oh well. He knew that that hug had multiple meanings, but Zach was being Zach, and that was the best thing about hanging around Lelia. She made him feel alright with that. He felt a bit bad though when she said that he had given her Hypothermia even though she was joking. It was really cold outside, and the fact that they were in ice cold water that wasn’t meant to be played in was not helping the issue either. When she pulled away, Zach rubbed her arms to create friction to make her a bit warmer. ”Well, I give you an A for pulling this stunt with me, and we didn’t get in trouble for it either, so cudos to us! But we should probably get out anyways. I think we can both say that it’s pretty fuckin’ cold.” Zach moved towards the edge of the fountain stepping out of it. He honestly didn’t care at this point what part of him Lelia saw. She had just hugged him completely naked. Things didn’t get more awkward than that.

Of course Zach was a dummy and didn’t bring a towel with him, but he was only a four minute walk from his dorm, so it wouldn’t be a problem. Zach bent down pulling on his black and white basketball shorts and grabbing his black zip up hoodie as he stood back up straight all the while listening to Lelia talk about losing her job. ”Are you kidding me?” Zach looked over at her. ”So, you mean to tell me that you got fired because you were defending yourself because some ass hole decided to cop a feel?” Zach was going to put on his zip up hoodie but decided to just hold it just in case Lelia needed it. ”Sounds like a shit job anyways to me.” He smirked at her. ”I mean from what I saw tonight, you could always dance instead of bartend?” He shrugged his shoulders not being able to hold in the small laugh that he was attempting to contain. ”Just a suggestion.” Zach nudged her. ”Nah, I’m just messin’. You wanna come up to my dorm for a bit, so we can finish this conversation. We could always talk about the way better jobs you could work at. Plus I have one year old hot chocolate which I’m sure still tastes really good.”

[lelia]

As much as she was watching him tonight, he seemed to be slightly more aware of her as well. Pausing for a moment, though not because it was awkward, she thought about what he said. There were of course the million thoughts that her mind erupted into all fighting for dominance, but the one thing she couldn't help but think was how she would respond to something like that. A bit ago if you asked, she would have just said he was a friend, but for some reason there was a weird line of thought in her head tonight. Did it only have to be that? Could they be just a little more than that, without crossing any dating lines, since she figured neither of them were really ready for it, or were they? That was the confusing part, so many signals.

"Whoa, check you out, Mr. Confidence. Eh, you're about a nine and a half.. you have a very good shot." she joked, giving him a playful wink. At that point it was all she could do to hold back the nervous laugh, the blush, somehow she had managed to embarass herself which she never really had much shame before. "Besides, without the risk of being caught and thrown in jail for indecency, we have to add some other sort of risk right? Right." she said, powering through it like a champ, keeping herself talking.

Playfully punching him in the arm, Lelia looked up at him with a huff. "That was a hug, not a free sample." she joked, she just couldn't stop herself from laughing tonight. Everything about this was funny in some way, "Probably a good idea. I couldn't feel my toes like five minutes ago and I'm pretty sure I could cut glass right now sooooo.." she said, wading over to the side of the fountain, climbing out behind him. Slipping into her shorts, pulling her hoodie over head, and slipping into her sandals she couldn't help but wonder what was coming next. It wasn't long however before she would find out, he was inviting her back to his dorm.

"Dance for money? Never thought about that, I'm a cow anyways." she said, laughing at herself for saying it. She wasn't going to agree with his subtle assessement, even if she never truly felt unpretty either. "Maybe I'll consider it! They make more money than I did, so long as they're pretty enough." she said, grabbing a hold of his arm, smirking at him. "It's late sir, walk me to the saftey of your room." she said in a mock superior tone. When he lead, she would follow, expressing her hesitation on her face about that hot chocolate.

"Year old..? Should we add gastro intestinal problems to the list of what's wrong with us tonight? ..I'd love some." she finished.