Over the past 3 years, Mark and Andrea had become the best of friends. They spent so much time together that a lot of their friends even began speculating as to whether or not the two had some sort of romantic situation going on. It took a lot of convincing to assure everyone that the two were, indeed, just very good friends. Of course, that didn't stop Mark's friends from trying to figure out why exactly the two besties had never moved past the friend-zone.
Is Mark Gay? Is it because Mark's white and Andrea's black? I can't believe you haven't tried with her, man!
Mark would just shrug off the questions and, with a forced smile, explain once again to his friends that, while he had initially planned on asking Andrea on a proper date, they were much better as just good friends. The truth was, however, that Mark knew he was friend-zoned.
Mark didn't mind being friend-zoned, though. Seriously! He knew that, while he found Andrea incredibly sexy, she was just a bit too "free-spirited" for him. From the moment they met during their freshman year at UCLA, it was clear they had different ideas of fun. He preferred watching Netflix, ordering in food,
maybe
going to a bar if it's not too crowded. Andrea, on the other hand, was always looking for something new to do, hoping to end every night with a new experience. Mark was looking for someone predictable; stable; someone to come home to every night. Andrea was just looking for a good time. Mark understood and respected that. It wasn't much of a surprise, then, when out of the blue during their junior year, Andrea texted Mark, asking if he wanted to go to the Los Angeles Naked Bike Ride with her and a few friends.
Mark decided to do some research first, as he had never heard of the Naked Bike Ride. It turns out that, indeed, there are Naked Bike Rides in cities all across the U.S., where people get together to ride through the streets for one reason or another. Most people do get naked, to some degree. Some then cover themselves with silly hats and other props, some cover themselves in bodypaint, and some - being bolder than most - go completely nude.
Mark was a bit apprehensive at first; being naked in public was one of his biggest fears. Being naked in front of Andrea was something he had occasionally wondered about but of course had never done. But, having Andrea naked in front of him? That was the stuff of fantasy.
His heart began to flutter just thinking about it. Andrea, completely naked in front of him and hundreds of others. No covering, no hiding. Just Andrea being naked for him to enjoy and stare at all day. Something about a college girl being naked in public just seemed so hot to him, but the fact that it was Andrea, the girl that he had spent the last three years secretly lusting over, made this seem like a dream come true. Of course he said yes!
There was about 10 days between the day Andrea invited Mark to the ride and the day of the actual ride itself. During these few days, Mark grew more and more excited about the bike ride. To be clear, Mark couldn't care less about the bike ride itself, or whatever charity it was for. For all he cared, they could have been biking to end cancer research. On a couple of occasions, Mark, somewhat jokingly, texted Andrea to see if she was really going to go fully nude. And, every time she responded, she would text with something on the lines of; "
I mean there's a possibility that I could go nude, but I'm not sure... It all depends I guess."
She also explained to Mark that the bike ride was a charity event to raise awareness about the melting polar ice caps and, although there would be naked people all around, there's absolutely nothing sexual about it. Eventually, Andrea became concerned with how interested Mark seemed to be with whether or not he'd get to see her naked, so he backed off, saying he was just joking.
Nevertheless, they day of the Naked Bike Ride eventually came. The plan was for Mark, Andrea, Andrea's friend Emma, and Andrea's half-brother, Malcolm, to all meet early at the pre-ride area. Mark, Andrea, and Emma would all go together, while Malcolm would meet them there, as he'd be coming from his apartment on the other side of town. Mark had never met Emma, but he'd met Malcolm about a dozen times and really liked his laid-back attitude.
Andrea and Malcolm had the same mother, but grew up in different homes for most of their childhood, except for about 3 years while they both went to the same high school. They don't get to see each other very often, and this was the weekend that they both had off of work. Mark thought it was incredibly weird that Andrea would spend the little time she had with her half-brother at a naked bike ride, but he knew Andrea probably didn't see it as anything sexual at all. Still Mark always worried about Andrea's lack of social awareness when it comes to awkward situations.
---
Mark, Andrea, and Emma arrived on their Bikes at around 8:30 am on a perfectly sunny July Sunday morning. Besides the organizers of the ride, they were probably within the first 15 or 20 riders to show up. Most people were in little groups, waiting for the ride to start at approximately 11:30 am. To avoid the sun during their wait time, Andrea suggested that they stake their territory near a shady tree, a little ways out from everyone else. The three friends made small talk under the shade while they waited for Malcolm to arrive on his bike. It was at this point when Andrea, with a surprisingly serious tone, turned to Mark to say that she would "
indeed be going fully nude, so that I can write a message about global warming on my body with body-paint. It's seriously not sexual in any way so please don't get all creepy
."
She could tell by Mark's shocked expression that she had maybe been a little too harsh with him, so she gave him a flirty smile and added,
"but yes, I will be naked, and I think you should try it too."
She also added that Emma would only be stripping down to her bra and panties, because she was worried about creeps with iPhones trying to take pictures of her.
Finally, at around 9:15am, Malcolm showed up on his bike. Andrea has so happy to see her brother that she hugged him and wouldn't let go for about a minute and a half. He then spent the next 15 or so minutes catching up with Andrea a lot and even a bit with Mark, while also getting introduced to Emma. Mark always found it fascinating that Andrea and Malcolm came from the same mother, as she was about 5'5", with a beautiful, subtle hourglass figure and lighter, almost-peanut-buttery skin, while he was about a foot taller than her, skinny as a pole, with much darker skin.
"Well, since this was all my idea," Andrea said with a bit of a shy smirk, "I guess I'll go first." She set her bag to the side and walked about 6 steps away from the shady tree, like she was about to put on a show for her friends.
I mean, I guess stripping naked about 10 feet in front of your brother and two friends is a little less weird than doing it right next to them, right?
She had worn flip-flops, the smallest pair of daisy-duke shorts she could find, and a gray tank-top with sides that she had cut open to show off her lacy bra; all of which Mark was about to see her take off. Andrea had the cutest, most awkward expression on her face as she kicked off her flip-flops and pulled her tank top over her head, remaining in just a lacy white bra and shorts. Mark was so turned on that he could barely breath, feeling every drop of blood rush from his head to his lower body. Malcolm seemed a bit curious as well, but continued to try and make small talk with his sister, as if she wasn't stripping nude in front of him.
Before continuing, she turned to Mark and, with another flirty grin, said, "
