I like to think that I'm not completely self-absorbed. I care deeply about others, and appreciate them for who they are. It is also true, however, that I like the way I look, and get a special thrill about looking as sexy as possible. This is something I discovered -- and perfected -- one summer as a young adult.
In pretty much every respect I was a normal girl. I was studious, but athletic enough to avoid being pigeon-holed as a complete nerd.
Fortunately, my first university semester was crawling to an end for another year, and a long summer stretched ahead of me. I lived in a fairly small town, and had managed to get myself a good summer job at one of the local shops. My parents didn't get much time off over the summer, and I needed to save money so I wasn't going away anywhere exciting. Sadly, most of my friends were lucky enough to have holidays planned, so I was going to have to be my own company for a lot of the summer. That was okay with me though: I was keen to save money and have some time to myself.
After a couple of days of coming home to find me alone reading on the couch, my wonderful loving parents started to worry about me spending too much time alone. I reassured them that I was quite happy, and just wanted to unwind after work, but I knew they'd keep worrying unless I found a way to get out of the house regularly.
So I started going for long walks. I had a couple of hours free each morning or afternoon depending on my shifts, so I'd set off with a bottle of water and a book and find a nice spot to read. It was only my second day when I found a perfect spot to hide away from the world. Out of town the area was pretty much entirely tree-lined fields, with a few more heavily-wooded areas in between. Some of these were freely accessible to the public (boring!), but others were private. I was just setting out on my morning walk when I saw the locked gate, leading to a green, grassy and clearly unused field. Without a second's thought I jumped the gate and went to investigate. Five minutes later I'd found a quiet corner where the ground was flat and I could sit and read, effectively hidden from any passers-by by a series of trees and hedges. I lay down in the sun to read.
After five minutes I began to sweat, and made a mental note to myself to bring a big hat next time.
Back home that evening, as I stood under the shower rinsing away the sweat from my hectic shift and my morning in the sun, I took note of the slight change in color on my arms and thighs.
"This won't do" I said to myself.
My friends were sunning themselves on a beach somewhere while I was developing a trucker's tan reading in a field. I'm not very dark skinned, but my hair is dark and I do tan quite easily. I quickly resolved to take a bikini to my secret spot the next day.