The Outsider
Copyright 2009 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/
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(warnings: language, adult themes, public nudity)

Chapter 10 – Ruthie’s obsession

When her shift ended at 11:00, Ruthie returned to her room for the first time in 24 
hours.  She could tell that Shannon was somewhat curious to know where she had 
been, but since the two students were not on speaking terms; Ruthie did not feel 
obligated to offer any explanation.  She loaded her backpack and immediately left 
to meet up with Mike for lunch. 

Among the items Ruthie decided to stuff in her backpack was the dress that he 
had bought for her the previous weekend.  As much as she wanted to wear it 
around campus, for some reason she felt very uneasy wearing it in and out of her 
own dorm.  It would be much easier for her to put it on in Mike’s dorm and avoid 
the judgmental comments of a bunch of women she hated.  She figured that she’d 
wear it over the weekend if the weather was warm enough, partly to let Mike 
know that she did appreciate the gift.

Ruthie had expected that Shannon would be glad to see considerably less of her.  
Shannon’s feelings were more mixed than Ruthie could have anticipated, because 
while she was satisfied to have the room to herself, it bothered her that Ruthie 
suddenly had become much less of a target for her and her friends.  On the surface 
she would have said that the less she saw of her nerdy roommate, the better.  
However, subconsciously she enjoyed having Ruthie to pick on.  She was a 
natural bully that had delighted in finding ways to hurt her roommate and making 
her feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.  

It was apparent, now that Ruthie had a boyfriend and was getting emotional 
support from that Parking Nazi; she no longer was so isolated.  The other women 
on Ruthie’s floor felt the same way.  No longer was she seen wandering around 
the hallways by herself with a depressed expression, so suddenly she was not so 
easy to ridicule.

----------

Mike had one of his political meetings that night, but he told his friend that 
afterwards he wanted to meet up with her at the library and make sure that she 
made it back safely to her room.  He asked her where she was going to be in the 
library and she responded that usually she studied at night in the basement.  That 
surprised him, because he knew that the basement was always deserted for at least 
an hour before closing time.

“I know.  That’s why I go there.  I like it ‘cause it’s quiet and when nobody’s 
around I can do what I want.”

The comment left Mike wondering: when nobody’s around, she can do what she 
wants?  What on earth would that be?  He gave the matter some thought, and 
suspected that she must be doing something that would not be considered 
acceptable if any one else was around.  He wished he knew what that was…

Mike sat through his meeting, which for once did hold out a promise that the 
Danubian Solidarity Committee might accomplish something worthwhile at the 
national level.  The organization was among several political groups that had filed 
a class-action lawsuit claiming that the Mega-Town “hate speech” law violated 
the First Amendment and thus was unconstitutional.  The 9th Circuit Court of 
Appeals had agreed to hear the case, to the outrage of Mega-Town Associates.  A 
major public relations battle lay ahead and Mega-Town planned to launch a three 
billion dollar ad campaign to turn public opinion against the court challenge.  
Three billion dollars…that was going to pay for a lot of ads.  Mega-Town never 
did anything on a small scale.

It was 10:45 before Mike went to the library.  Ruthie, as usual for her at that hour, 
already had taken off her dress and was studying naked.  When she heard the 
elevator, she quickly stood up and slipped the garment over her body.  She was 
still standing and smoothing the dress over her thighs when he saw her.  She was 
barefoot and her shoes were lying under the study table.  She was blushing and 
had a nervous expression.  Mike’s heart beat rapidly, because he suspected what 
had happened, that she hurriedly got dressed when she heard the elevator; and that 
just a couple of seconds before she had been naked.  It had to be that…why else 
would she be down in the basement alone?  Why else would she be smoothing her 
dress over her thighs…and why else would she be looking so nervous?

Precisely because she was so uneasy at the moment, she hugged him very tightly 
when they greeted.  He could feel her soft body pressing against him as he ran his 
fingers over her bare back.  He resisted the temptation to lower his hands and feel 
her bottom to see if she was wearing any panties.  He already knew that she was 
not…that underneath that flimsy dress she was totally bare.  To touch her…to see 
her…and maybe to lift up her skirt…and she was so close to him…

----------

On their way back to the dorms Mike coaxed out of his friend what she had been 
doing in the library.  He talked to her about his meeting and then asked her to tell 
him about her study routine.  He slowly worked his way towards the answer, by 
asking her what was so special about being in the basement, what it was like to be 
there so late at night, did she always study with her shoes off… 

He could tell that she was blushing in the darkness and getting increasingly 
uneasy.  When he suspected he had figured out what it was that she was doing, his 
heart pounded.  Trying to maintain control of his voice, he commented:

“I’d guess I see your point.  It would be nice down there…if no one was around, 
and you can do whatever you want…I suppose you could even streak or study 
naked if you wanted to…I mean…no one would be around to say anything.”

Ruthie was quiet, but Mike could sense that she was very nervous.  He knew that 
the best thing he could have done would have been to back off at that moment, 
but the thought of her sitting naked in that basement had captured his imagination.  
He just had to know.

“So…what’s this daring thing that you like to do in the library, anyway?”

Ruthie remained quiet, trying to decide whether or not to tell him the truth.  For 
some reason she did want to let him know, to confide her secret with him.  But to 
tell Mike about her nude late-night adventures would force her to explain to him 
her fascination with being naked.  She would have to entrust a very important part 
of her inner being with another person, a part of herself that had remained secret 
from the rest of the world up until that moment.

For a minute they walked in silence, while he waited for an answer and she 
debated with herself whether or not to trust him.  Finally, in a very nervous tone 
of voice she responded:

“Mike…if I…uh…tell you something…can you…uh…like promise me 
that…uh…you’ll like…keep it a secret?”

“Of course I’d keep it a secret.  Who would I tell anyway?”

“And…like…uh…promise that you won’t be weirded-out?  I…’cause I know it’s 
gonna seem kinda strange…”

He gently squeezed her arm.  His heart was pounding, however, as he tried to 
control his voice.

“It would take a lot to weird me out, Ruthie.”

She swallowed.

“I have to trust you, Mike.  You have to promise me you won’t tell.”

“I won’t tell.”

“OK…then…like…when I’m alone…I mean like…you know…when everybody 
else is gone…I…I like to take off my clothes…you know…hang out down there 
in the nude…It’s kinda a thing with me…I like being nude…when I 
can…like…uh…whenever I have a chance…and I found out that’s a place I can 
do it…”

Mike’s heart continued to pound.  So he was right.  That was indeed what she had 
been doing in the library when he met up with her.

“I’m not weirded-out by that at all, Ruthie.  I think it’s awesome that you have the 
guts to do that.”

“You’re not weirded-out?  You’re actually OK with it?”

“As I said, I think it’s great that you have that kind of nerve.”

He glanced at her in the darkness.  He could see her large nervous eyes looking up 
at him, her pupils reflecting a nearby sidewalk light.  He added:

“I like people who go against the “norms” of our society.  More people need to do 
that.  And that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about you.  You don’t play by 
the rules…and I think it’s really great that you’re rebelling like that.”

“I don’t know how much of a rebellion it is, ‘cause nobody knows about it.  I’d 
really get busted if they caught me, so I try to be careful about it.”

“That risk you’re taking is why what you’re doing is sticking it to the system.  
You’re not taking the psychological shit they’ve been pushing on us for granted.”

“No, I ‘spose that’s true…I’ve had a lot of shit pushed on me, all the religious 
crap my mom was always hitting me with…and the whole thing about my body 
was a big part of it.  So…it’s kinda important for me…being naked as much as I 
can…I mean…if it wasn’t illegal, I’d never wear any clothes at all.”

From that point she talked about her own experiences in the nude and how 
everything had started with a simple suggestion from her mother that she sleep in 
her underwear.  

“It all started with that, and I couldn’t get enough of being naked when I was a 
teenager.  If my mom wasn’t home, I never wore my clothes.  Ever.” 

She talked about her naked hours in the early mornings after her mother left for 
work, and how for her it was a way to get revenge for having her life so restricted 
in the afternoons.  She liked nothing more than to be naked in the living room 
reading about evolution, both acts of defiance against the teachings of her 
mother’s church.  She talked about how, when she got older, she streaked around 
her apartment complex.

“That was really scary, ‘cause of a whole bunch of reasons.  People there knew 
my mom…and the place was kinda dangerous.  There was this one time I was 
out…and I heard gunshots…that scared the shit out of me…I pissed myself I was 
so scared…I mean…here I was out running around naked and someone’s 
shooting off a gun, and I was wondering if they’d seen me and were shooting at 
me…That night I nearly got caught, ‘cause people were coming out of their 
apartments and I could hear sirens…I ran back to my place…and had to hide for a 
few seconds because someone came running down the sidewalk…a couple of 
guys…they ran right past me.  I think it was a gang hit, and those guys were the 
murderers, and I saw them.  I feel kinda guilty, ‘cause I was the only person who 
saw them, and I couldn’t say anything ‘cause everyone would’ve wanted to know 
what I was doing outside at that hour…and…like…I was gonna tell them the 
truth?  So I got back inside and cleaned up, and a few minutes later the cops are 
knocking on my door.  They asked me if I saw anything, and I told ‘em no…I just 
heard the gunshots.  They left, and the murder never got solved.  I didn’t go out 
for a long time after that, but I did go out a few more times just before I 
graduated.

Mike was totally fascinated with what his friend was telling him.  He was curious 
if she had any nude adventures on campus apart from her evenings in the library.  
She fidgeted, blushed, and looked at the ground.  She was afraid to tell him, but 
having already confided in him to that point; she figured he might as well know 
the rest of the truth. 

“Yeah…there was another spot I used to go to.  You remember last week, when 
you were out ticketing…and I was kinda upset about you being there?”

“Yes, I remember you being…like…worried or something…”

“It wasn’t because I was bothered about the cars.  You know that cluster of trees 
off to the side, between the Econ building and the parking lot?”

“Yeah…”

“I was going there…you know…hanging out under the shade…I’d take a towel 
and lie there and study…I wasn’t worried about getting caught, ‘cause with the lot 
all full of students’ cars, no one ever went by there in the middle of the day ‘cause 
all the parking was taken.  It was sort of a private little spot for me…a place no 
one knew about where I could…you know…just relax…”

“…and me going after them messed that up for you.”

Ruthie nodded, but tried to reassure him:  “I mean…I don’t want you to feel 
guilty about it…I know you gotta do your job…but I was kinda upset about it at 
the time.”

Mike did feel guilty, but he also was somewhat resentful that his duty to his job 
conflicted with making Ruthie happy.  He tried to come up with a suggestion:

“Why don’t you just keep going to your spot?  If the police come around, I could 
warn you ‘cause I can hear them on my radio.”

Ruthie shook her head.

“No…it wouldn’t work…I’ve thought about it, but now there’s too many people 
going up and down that sidewalk…older people…alumni…vendors…and they’d 
be looking over at the trees and see me…and that’s not what I want.  I don’t want 
to upset anyone…anyhow…it’s probably just as well…’cause it’s gonna start 
getting too cold anyway…you know…for me to be there in the shade with my 
clothes off…”

Mike sighed.

“Fuck…now you’re making me feel really bad…I…I’m sorry I messed it up for 
you.  I’ll try to make it up to you.”

“Don’t worry about it.  I know it’s your job and you can’t help it.  And you’ve 
made it up to me plenty of times.  I mean…I’m not mad at you…really I’m not.  I 
don’t want you to feel bad.”

She could tell that he remained doubtful and that he still was trying to think of 
something to tell her.  She wanted to reassure him.  For the first time she touched 
his hand.

“Look.  I’m not worried about Econ-A.  Me being with you is a lot more 
important.  You’re the only person who’s treated me decently since I’ve gotten 
here.”

He hugged her.  She put her arms around him and squeezed hard.  He was elated 
at Ruthie’s attitude towards being naked, because it was not too different from his 
own.  He sought to reassure her:

:Anyhow…if you want to be with a guy who’s OK with you being nude, you’ve 
found him, ‘cause I’ve done it plenty myself.  You know Bonnie Doon Beach?  
Just down the road?”

Ruthie nodded.

“You ever been there?”

She nodded again.

“I used to go there all the time when I was in high school.”

“Really?  To the nude part?”

“Yeah…especially during my senior year…to the nude part.  And there’s another 
beach…further north of here…San Gregorio.  I’ve been there too.”

“San Gregorio?  I’ve always wanted to go there!”

Mike’s heart pounded even more…

“Well, if you want…I’ll take you up there sometime.”

Ruthie nodded.  Mike thought about offering to take her that upcoming Saturday, 
which would give him a chance to see her naked for several hours and possibly 
present him a chance to coax her into having sex.  However, he remembered that 
it was supposed to rain over the weekend and he did not want to raise either her 
hopes or his own only to have the weather ruin their plans.  Instead he asked her if 
anyone had ever seen her naked in a public spot.

“Just at the beach…that’s about it.  You’re the first person I really know who I’ve 
said anything to about it.  No one else has ever seen me, except for the people 
from the beach, and they don’t know who I am in real life.”

Mike had his own confession to make; one that he was sure would surprise and 
impress her:

“Then I’ve got you beat.  Last year I ran a 10-K marathon in the nude at my 
university in Chicago, in broad daylight in front of about 50,000 spectators.”

“Really?  In the nude?  Tell me about it!”

----------

Mike’s university in Chicago had a unique event the last Saturday each 
September: the Tri-Alpha fraternity’s annual nude 10-K marathon run.  The 
average number of people racing each year was about 150, which included all Tri-
Alpha pledges plus anyone else from the students or faculty who wanted to 
participate.  The run was not an experience for anyone with any modesty, because 
not only did the participants have to complete a 10 kilometer route around the 
university wearing nothing but shoes and socks, but they also had to remain naked 
in the stadium to attend the event’s opening and closing ceremonies.  Even though 
public access to campus was restricted during the race, the stadium was full to 
capacity and thousands more spectators lined the entire route.  There were at least 
50,000 spectators all together, and it seemed that each one had a high quality 
camera with a fancy lens.

Mike’s participation in the run was an outcome of the rivalry that his ex-girlfriend 
had with their floor RA, a sophomore by the name of Cecilia Sanchez.  Cecilia 
and Lisa had agreed to settle their rivalry with a game of strip Poker and 
originally had planned to just play against each other. However, Cecilia came up 
with the idea that the loser should have to run the nude 10-K race.  She also came 
up with the idea of forcing the women’s two boyfriends to play as well, along 
with a third guy from their group.  Out of five players, there would be four losers, 
each of whom had to take a registration form for the race.

Cecilia’s plan worked out perfectly for her.  The three guys and Lisa lost the 
Poker game and were committed to running 10 kilometers in the nude.  On the 
day of the race itself, Cecilia assembled her four residents in her room and forced 
them to strip.  Then she took them to the front steps of the dorm, where they were 
greeted by hundreds of cheering residents.  Completely naked except for running 
shoes, Mike and the others were forced to walk to the stadium with the entire 
dorm’s population marching and cheering behind them.  In the stadium there was 
a ceremony and photo session prior to the race, so by the time the competition 
actually started Mike, Lisa, and the other guys already had been naked outdoors 
for two hours and subjected to hundreds of photos.  The race involved another 
hour of grueling physical challenge in the nude, running along the sidewalks 
around the campus.  For Mike the race actually was the easiest part, because the 
physical difficulty of running 10 kilometers blocked out the fear and 
embarrassment he had felt earlier in the day.  He did OK in the race, finishing in 
the middle of all the runners.  He didn’t win, but he didn’t stand out as a wimp 
either.

Cecilia’s boyfriend won the men’s portion of the race, and Lisa, with her long 
legs and toned body, won the women’s competition.  The fact that Mike’s friends 
were race winners prolonged his nude day, because Cecilia had his clothes locked 
up in her room and he could not get dressed until she took everyone back to the 
dorm.  By the end of the day Mike had been naked for so long that he quit 
noticing it.  He and his companions were among the last of the race participants to 
get dressed, because Cecilia insisted that they had to cross the university in the 
nude to return to their dorm and retrieve their clothes from her room.

When Mike finished describing his adventure, Ruthie was awestruck.  The idea of 
spending six hours in the nude in front of 50,000 people totally fascinated her.  
The fact that Mike had done it, in spite of his serious appearance and behavior, 
fascinated her even more.  And she had thought she was daring…just because she 
went streaking alone or sat naked in the library!

----------

The two friends discussed their experiences with being nude a little more.  Mike 
mentioned that his father’s house had a pool and that he and his sister had grown 
up used to not having to wear swimsuits when they used it.  That was another 
offer Mike could hold out for his friend, going over to his house one weekend and 
using his pool.  Ruthie readily agreed.

The conversation turned to the topic of their respective roommates and their 
attitudes on nudity.  Mike asked about Shannon, to which Ruthie responded:

“If super-bitch is in the room, I’ll wear a long t-shirt ‘cause I don’t want her 
giving me shit … about being naked around her, I mean.  But if she’s not there, I 
always take it off.  I mean, that’s one of the reasons I really wish I could have my 
own room.  I’m sick of having to deal with someone else’s morality.”

Mike commented about his own experience with Todd before he died.

“It was sort of weird how things were between me and Todd.  I’d sleep naked, and 
I seriously don’t think he ever noticed.  He never said anything, so I ‘spose he 
didn’t care one way or the other…he was too wrapped up with his monsters.  I 
didn’t flaunt it, though.  I’d get my clothes off or take off my towel and pull the 
sheet over me and that was it.”

“And now you’ve got the room to yourself.  You are so fucking lucky.”

Mike thought about the fact he now was the sole occupant of the room and that 
Ruthie was so unhappy in her situation with Shannon.  He decided to make her an 
offer:

“Ruthie, if you’d like a private place to study in the afternoons, you know, to 
replace the trees over at Econ-A, I could let you borrow my room while I’m out 
ticketing.  Obviously if you’re in there you can wear or not wear whatever you 
want.  It’d be more of a chance for you to get away from Shannon.”

Ruthie nodded and hugged him.  She trusted him considerably more after having 
spent an uneventful night with him in his room, so she accepted.  Now she had a 
safe private place to study in the afternoons.  She badly wanted to reward him for 
his kindness.  She still was not ready to have sex, but she was ready to take the 
relationship with him a bit further than just friendship.  She was well-aware that 
was what he badly wanted.  She suggested going over to the Econ building, which 
she knew would be totally deserted.  

When they got to the sidewalk leading to the lot, she stopped.  She was extremely 
nervous, but put out her hand.  He took it and they embraced.  She continued:

“I…uh…you know…like…I mean…do you wanna kiss me?”

“You’re OK with it?”

She nodded.  She tilted her head up and Mike kissed her.  He was elated, but he 
could tell that the passion with which Lisa had kissed him was lacking with 
Ruthie.  He figured that she must not have much experience kissing, perhaps none 
at all.

Ruthie did have some experience, but she was extremely uneasy about what she 
was doing.  Mike would be only the third guy she had ever kissed.  There had 
been a friend of Gerardo that she kissed just before her mother changed her work 
schedule…and that was when she was 13.  The second time was at her Junior 
Prom…which was one of the most disastrous nights of her life.  She had not 
kissed anyone since then.  The Prom was a year and a half ago.

The more important reason Ruthie was extremely nervous was her motive for 
allowing Mike to kiss her.  She did not really want it for herself, but felt that she 
owed it to him as a reward him for treating her so kindly.  She knew at that 
moment she was committing herself to being Mike’s girlfriend.  She could only 
hope that the passion would come later, because she was not feeling it at the 
moment.  She was kissing him out of her feelings for love for him, but that love 
was gratitude, not sexual desire.

----------

Precisely because she was so nervous, Ruthie was not thinking straight and a very 
strange idea entered her head, the urge to streak.  She looked around to make sure 
that no one was in sight:

“You’ve gone running naked on campus and I haven’t.  Want me to even that up 
for you?”

“What?”

She said nothing more, but pulled her dress over her head and handed it to him.  
He stood with wide eyes and a gaping expression as she danced in circles on the 
sidewalk, wearing nothing but her shoes.

“Stay here.  Warn me if anyone comes around.”

She rushed off, as he watched her naked backside jiggle while she moved away.  
His heart was pounding.  He was totally shocked, and wasn’t sure that he wasn’t 
having a weird erotic dream.  The girl’s attractive figure disappeared in the 
darkness.  He dumbly looked at the dress he was holding to assure himself that he 
wasn’t imagining things.

Ruthie jogged around the side of the Econ Building.  Running around the front 
would be much more dangerous because the area overlooked a main street and 
was well lit.  There was no one in sight, so she decided to risk it.  With her heart 
pounding she ran down the sidewalk, totally terrified at what she was doing.  It 
seemed that the more she ran, the more the far corner of the building receded into 
the distance.  By the time she passed the main entrance she was totally panicked.  
She heard a whistle…and realized that someone was watching her.  The terror 
mounted until…finally she made it to the end of the building and turned the 
corner.  She ran across the grass towards the sidewalk, towards the back side of 
the building, towards Mike, and towards safety.

Mike heard her footsteps and panicked breathing as she came tearing down the 
sidewalk towards him.  She became visible under the lights.  She was sweaty and 
had a terrified expression on her face.  A couple of seconds later she was back in 
his arms…gasping heavily and trembling.

Mike passionately kissed her.  Ruthie was so emotionally worked up from her 
brief run that she was passionate about kissing him as well, much more so than 
that first nervous kiss just a few minutes before.

Ruthie put her dress on.  Suddenly she was mortified at what she had just done.  
She had no clue why that urge had hit her with such force.  She blushed furiously 
in the darkness as she hugged Mike again.

“OK…now I know that you’re not bullshitting me when you tell me you like to 
run around in the nude.”

She nodded.  Mike sensed that she was terrified by what she had just done and 
wondering what his reaction would be.  He thought of suggesting something to set 
her at ease.  It was also something that he had wanted to do, but he would have 
felt strange if he had to go by himself.  Now he had someone to go with.

“The day after tomorrow’s Halloween.  Most years…it’s kinda a 
tradition…there’s always a group of students that streak the fountain at the 
Student Center at midnight.  Wanna go?”

Ruthie nodded.

A few minutes later they were outside her dorm.  To Mike’s huge disappointment 
the lights in Ruthie’s room were off.  Shannon was either gone or asleep, which 
meant that Ruthie could sleep in peace in her own room.  She kissed him 
goodnight and vanished through the front door.

Mike wandered off to his own dorm, trying to absorb the night’s strange events.  
Tomorrow he would see her in the coffee shop and later they would have lunch 
and sit together in class.  Then hopefully…she’d be safely in his 
room…studying…in the nude…