Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Strippers

   By Emi Tsuruta

   Note: this is one in a series of posts about my life.  If you'd like to
know more about my friends and me, drop by my home page at:
/~emitsuruta/

   I first met Minori and Nao at the Japanese Student Union in Oceanview U.
where I'm studying.  They were cute girls, new to the States, and the three
of us soon became fast friends.  One night, I brought them to volleyball.
David was there - the nice Chinese-American athlete guy - and a bunch of
Filipino guys.  After it was over, the boys invited the three of us to go
out for Korean barbecue.  One of the young Filipino guys apparently had a
thing for Minori.  Her English isn't all that great, but she is a bright
girl with a cute smile and a breezy open manner.  I didn't know the
Filipino guys that well, so when we got to the restaurant, Minori, Nao and
I sat at one end of the table, and the guys sat at the other.  Minori
didn't seem worried that the guys were there.  She leaned over, and
whispered to Nao and me,

   "Do you want to go to a strip club some time?" her eyes sparkling.  I
was a bit surprised - I didn't think she'd be interested in that kind of
thing, but on our way here, we had passed a strip club a few doors down, so
that must have set her off.

   "What?  You mean like one where the strippers are guys or girls?" I
whispered back, glancing over to make sure that the guys weren't listening.

   "I don't know.  Either.  Both," she giggled.  I'm not really sure what
Minori did in Japan.  She'd hinted that she'd worked as some kind of
barmaid or hostess to save up money to come here.  She was happy to be away
from her parents, and wanted to explore new things.  I looked at Nao, who
tends to be the more restrained of the two, and she seemed willing.  I
hadn't really thought of visiting a strip club before then, but it did
sound interesting.

   "Um, yeah, sure.  If you want..." I quietly agreed.

   I wondered where would be a good place.  The strip club we'd walked past
just had pictures of women in the window, so there were probably no guy
strippers there.  A guy friend, Takuya, had mentioned a couple of other
strip clubs.  I didn't remember all the details, but I think he said one of
them had guy strippers, so I tried to find out about that one.  After I got
home, I phoned up my ex(?)boyfriend Ryosuke, and he knew of it, but he was
all like,

   "What do you want to know about that for?"

   I bet you anything if I told him about it, he'd want to come with us. 
He and I were on a break at that time, but in any case, there was no way I
was going to introduce him to Minori and Nao.  They were attractive girls,
and I was still kind of hoping to get back together with him.  Anyway,
eventually, he told me about the club with the male strippers.

   So one night not long after, Minori, Nao and I got dressed up, and
headed to this club.  The front was kind of gaudy with these huge pictures
of women in bikinis plastered all over it.  The male strippers were
upstairs, so we went there first.  It was interesting, but different from
what I was expecting.  I'd never been to see male strippers before, but one
thing that surprised me was how clean-cut they all were.  Of course the
guys were handsome and beefy, and they really got into their dancing,
dressed up like shirtless cowboys or firemen up on the stage.  All the
women in the audience were whooping up a storm, laughing and clapping and
whistling at the guys.  Minori and I tried to get into the spirit, yelling
at the guys to 'take it all off.' It was fun I guess because for once we
didn't have to act all ladylike.

   Eventually though, the show ended, and things settled down, so we
decided to go downstairs, and check out the female strippers.  The maitre
d' guy thanked us, and told us to come again, but we just laughed.  The
strippers were nice enough to look at, but there was something strange
about the whole thing.  If I'm going to be with a guy, I prefer something
more personal.  You know what I mean.

   Anyway, the first floor, where the girl strippers were, was different.
For one thing, the guys all looked over at us as soon as we walked in the
door.  I guess they don't get many female customers.  It was quieter too,
but with more tension in the air.  I mean the guys really stare at the
strippers.  Also instead of there being one big show, there were lone
strippers here and there sitting at the customers' tables.  Minori looked
at me wondering what we were supposed to do, but I didn't know either. 
Eventually, a waitress showed us to our table, but disappeared again before
we could ask her what to do.  Minori asked me what the strip club I'd been
to was like.

   "Ryosuke dragged me there one night when we were in Tokyo," I told her.
"He didn't even tell me we were going.  There was a stage running down the
middle, and most of the girls wore masks to hide their faces.  They stood
in a circle facing outwards moving in time to the music.  Then suddenly
they'd squat down giving you like this extreme close-up of their yoo-hoo,"
I laughed.  Nao looked a bit shocked, but Minori just smiled, and nodded
for me to go on.

   "There were a couple of famous strippers there too, who did a big show
for us, dancing more elegantly to dramatic music.  That was my first time,
so I didn't really know what to make of it all." Nao wasn't buying my
coyness, but I do try to keep up my good girl image.

   Anyway, another waitress eventually came over.  Nao and Minori ordered
strawberry daiquiris, and I got an apple cider.  I asked the waitress how
the stripping worked, and she said she could call over a stripper of our
choice for a lap dance.

   "What's a lap dance?" I asked, honestly not knowing.

   "It means you slip a twenty into her g-string, and she'll dance for
you," the waitress told us.  Minori and Nao stared at her intently, not
understanding.  I was a bit suspicious too, but anyway, we were here now,
so I felt like we had to do something.  I looked over at the strippers who
seemed to be free, and pointed out one of the more beautiful blondes to the
waitress.

   "Could you ask her to come over?" I said, giving her the money for our
drinks.

   "What are you doing?" Nao asked me, all worried now.

   "I don't know.  Let's just see what happens."

   The waitress relayed my message to the stripper, and she came over to
our table.  She was quite striking with delicate European features, dressed
all in white - a see-through cover-up, lacy lingerie and thigh-high
stockings.  She shook my hand, and introduced herself.

   "My name is Monique," she said in a thick French accent.  "It's a
pleasure to meet you."

   "Um, I'm Emi, and this is Minori and Nao."

   Monique shook their hands too, before sitting down on the low table we
were seated at.  She seemed quite happy to just sit there, so I finally
went on.

   "This is our first time here, so we're not really sure what you're
supposed to do."

   Monique put her finger up in the air, pointing.

   "I have to wait for ze music," she purred.  It looked like she didn't
know what to make of us either, so I quickly clarified,

   "We're not lesbians."

   She just blinked at me.

   "We were upstairs, and we thought we'd come down to see what it was like
here."

   She finally laughed.

   "Minori and Nao are visiting from Japan, and they'd never been to a
place like this before," I babbled on, all nervous at talking to this
beautiful French woman.  Monique smiled warmly.

   "It's alright.  We get girls in here sometimes...," she assured me.  I
still felt a bit awkward, but at least it seemed like she was cool with
dancing for us.  Even after the music started, she stayed there waiting,
and then I suddenly realized we had to pay her.  I slid a twenty into her
g-string as the waitress had said, and Monique put it away before finally
getting up on the table to dance.

   The song was tech house I guess - psychedelic, hypnotic almost.  Monique
moved her hands gracefully in front of her, getting into the music.  She
slowly started rotating her hips in time to the beat.  She was a very sexy
woman.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I was actually surprised
that such a classy dancer would be performing here in small-town Oceanview.
I guess it's near the beach and L.A.  and everything, but still...

   The beat picked up, and she started taking off her clothes, first her
cover-up, and then she pushed the straps of her bra off her shoulders,
giving us the same smoldering gaze she probably used on guys.  She kept
teasing us with her bra, threatening to show us her breasts, but then
covering up again.  It was weird though because this hide and seek was
getting to me.  For some reason, I really wanted to see what she looked
like under her lingerie.  Minori was laughing and clapping like she did in
the guy's club, but Nao was just watching, not sure how to react.  I
started moving to the music myself, trying to imitate Monique's dance
moves.

   Finally, she let her bra fall open revealing two perfectly shaped
breasts.  Her nipples were high on her breasts, and pointed skyward, and
she had a deep all over tan.  Where'd she get that?

   When she took off her panties, we all had to stare in wonder because she
honestly seemed to be a natural blonde.  There are lots of girls in
California who dye their hair blonde, but I haven't seen too many real
blondes.  She hadn't really trimmed her bush that much, but it looked good
that way - this furry mound of golden fleece.  When she finally turned our
way, you could see her pussy lips, wet and glistening, peeking out from
between her legs.  I wonder if she's turned on by all this - by dancing for
us even?  There was something kinky about stripping for other girls.

   When the song finished, Monique sat back down on the table, legs spread
open, not ashamed at all of her pussy.  Her body just screamed sex.  I had
so many questions, but anyway, for starters, I asked,

   "Where did you get that tan?  Are there tanning salons in Oceanview?"

   She looked at me a bit mischievously - again a look she must have
practiced on tons of guys - and finally answered,

   "No, I just lie out in the park," as if it were the most natural thing
in the world.

   "Which park?" I persisted, dying to know.  Nao flashed me a look.

   "Out on the islands or south on top of the cliffs down Coast Road."

   "That's near campus!" I squealed, a little shocked.  "Has anyone ever
seen you out there?"

   "Yeah, sure, I guess.  No one has complained so far though," Monique
winked.  I loved her brassiness.  She looked good, and she knew it.  I
found it a bit hard to believe that she could get away with lying out naked
in public like that though, especially with a body like that.  I'd always
wanted to try that, but I'd been worried about getting caught.

   Anyway, she told us a bit more about herself.  She was born in France,
and came to the States when she was 18.  She'd seen California in the
movies, and came here to see for herself.

   The music started up again, and I got Monique to teach me some of her
dance moves.  One move she had was while facing the other way, back arched
and legs wide apart, she'd tilt her fanny away from us, and then glide it
in towards us as if she were mounting a horse.  Then when she turned around
to face us, she'd keep her shoulders still, but tilt her hips way back and
then bring them forward as if she were humping.  It was very erotic.

   Unfortunately, before long, Monique got called away by another customer,
but she thanked us, and invited us to ask for her anytime.  I did want to
ask her some other things, but anyway, it looked like Nao was getting
sleepy, so we headed home.  It was kind of fun though - not something you
do every day.

   Minori seemed pretty happy with the whole experience too.  I must admit
I didn't understand exactly why she seemed so into it.  Did she used to
work as a stripper herself?  I hadn't really considered that possibility.
She had said she worked in 'hospitality,' but I'd assumed that meant as a
barmaid.  Maybe she'd worked as a waitress or a bartender in a strip club.
Anyway, whatever the reason, she seemed to enjoy that night.

   I invited Minori to come with me looking for these parks that Monique
sunbathes in.  At first, I couldn't figure out where Monique was talking
about.  I doubted she'd be able to sunbathe nude on campus, and from the
maps, there didn't seem to be any parks south of the university, at least
not official ones.  I did have another idea though.  There was this other
park in a valley near where Shinkoda-obasan lives, this older Japanese
American lady.  That whole area was pretty quiet, so maybe we could
sunbathe there.  Minori kind of hesitated when I asked her, a bit worried,
but she eventually agreed to come.

   For our first outing, I got dressed up in my safari jacket, cargo shorts
and hiking boots, and Minori for once was all bundled up in long pants and
a long sleeved sweatshirt.  I was a bit surprised by her sudden caution,
but she seemed cheerful enough.  She has a killer body, so she did tend to
attract a lot of attention when she dressed more lightly.

   It had been a long time since I'd been to this park.  It's kind of
interesting and quite picturesque.  From the bus stop, we had to walk along
this deserted stretch of highway to get to the park entrance, down these
wooden stairs into the valley, and then along the main path for at least a
quarter mile till you get past the bridge.  Once we were through though,
the whole valley opened out before us.  Up on the left, there were neatly
trimmed clearings surrounded by trees.  I hadn't really taken the time to
explore it all the last time I was here, but I thought we'd be fairly safe
from prying eyes given how long it takes to get here.

   We lay out a blanket on the grass, and unpacked our picnic basket,
eating first.  I kept scanning around for signs of life, but it seemed
pretty quiet that day.  I hadn't really told Minori that I planned to
sunbathe nude here, but she's a smart girl.  I'm sure she suspected.

   After lunch, I started stripping out of my clothes, while Minori looked
on, a bit doubtful.  She started peering around at the woods, I guess
worried that someone might come, and find us.  I was worried too, but it
really did look like no one was around.

   Once I was naked, I got out my sun block, and rubbed it all over.  It
was kind of fun, both touching myself, and teasing Minori.  She's no
shrinking violet, but she doesn't know quite what to make of my naturism.
She still seemed worried, but by and by, she started taking off her clothes
too.  She kept her undies on for quite some time, but eventually, shed
those as well.

   Not much happened that day, but it was a good in that Minori realized
that you could do this kind of thing in the States, and get away with it.
She thought it was a bit weird, but she didn't object the next time I
suggested it.

   One place I wanted to try was the park where I used to play tennis. 
That park was closer to downtown, so a lot more people come through, but
I'd actually seen an American woman sunbathing topless there years ago, so
I knew it was possible.  I chose a weekday morning hoping that there
wouldn't be so many people there at that time of day.  I just wore jeans,
sandals, a t-shirt and a hoodie trying to blend in as much as possible. 
Minori was dressed conservatively too.

   Unfortunately, when we got to the park, there did seem to be quite a few
people around - young couples sitting at the picnic tables, men playing
tennis on the courts, people walking through on their way to somewhere
else.

   I made for the spot where Ryosuke and I had seen that topless sunbather.
It's a bit of a ways from the main entrance.  There are wooden stairs
leading up to this apartment building which overlooks the park.  One good
thing was that the washrooms block the view from the tennis courts, and
trees shield you from the playground at the top of the hill.  I didn't feel
particularly safe though.  It was a lot more out in the open than I
remembered.

   Anyway, we laid out our blanket, and sat down, wondering what to do. 
I'd been so focused on sunbathing nude I hadn't brought a swimsuit.  We sat
there bundled up in our thick clothes for a long time, debating whether to
strip or not.

   "Are you sure about this?  That apartment is right there," Minori said
pointing up at it.  I mulled the situation over.  I am pretty sure that
public nudity is illegal in San Diego County, but that of course doesn't
explain the nude beaches nor the topless woman we'd seen here nor Monique
for that matter.  What had Monique said?  'No one complained.' What I think
has happened in Oceanview is since we have these nude beaches nearby,
people are kind of used to the idea, and don't get as upset as they might
otherwise.  I wasn't sure how people would react though.  Would anyone
complain?  It was hard to know for sure.

   "Listen.  If you don't want to do this, that's fine.  I thought it would
be okay.  I haven't really done this kind of thing in such a public place
before," I told her.

   Minori laughed, no doubt remembering my other little stunts.  We hadn't
really run into any problems so far.

   We lay there for quite some time in our clothes.  I felt uncomfortable,
burdened by the heavy fabric, but not really confident enough to strip.  I
should have brought my bathing suit.

   Every once in a while, someone would wander by.  Minori and I would
turn, and watch them, trying to gauge their reaction.  Most people just
hurried on by.  I guess there wasn't anything strange about two girls lying
out in the park on such a sunny day.

   "What do you think?" I asked, still not sure myself.  Minori made this
funny face.  It was hard to imagine us getting in trouble for such a simple
thing as sunbathing.  I think my San Fran friend Crystal had said something
like that.  'Nowadays people don't think sunbathing (i.e.  naked) is such a
big deal.' I hope she's right.

   "Let's just do it, and see what happens," I finally said.  Minori didn't
seem quite so sure, but she eventually nodded.  I sat up, and looked around
the park making sure there was no one nearby.  I peered up a bit more
nervously at the apartment building.  It was far enough away that it would
be hard for the people living there to tell what we were wearing.

   Quickly, before I lost my nerve, I pulled my hoodie and t-shirt off over
my head, and undid the button on my jeans.  There didn't seem to be anyone
near us.  I kicked off my sandals, and then stripped out of my jeans, and
removed my bra and panties.  Naked at last!

   Minori was more cautious, taking off her sweater, and then just sitting
there watching to see if anyone came along.  I started rubbing sun block
all over my body, but this just got me excited.  I didn't want to let on to
Minori, but I was getting seriously aroused.  Trying to be a good girl, I
finished up with the sun block, and then lay face down hiding my pussy and
breasts, but leaving my bare bottom exposed.

   Soon enough, Minori was naked too, grinning mischievously as she peered
down at her own breasts, rubbing sun block on herself.  One 'problem' with
Minori is that she doesn't really try to hide her feelings at all.  She was
getting turned on, rubbing the sun block into her pussy.  You could tell
she was getting off on this.  Before I knew it, I was picturing myself
kissing her.  She has such cute little lips, a cute nose, long eyelashes.
As you know, I'm not a lesbian, but I found the look of joy on her face
appealing.  She was positively glowing.  I'd finally found someone just
like me, a girl after my own heart.

   Eventually, she lay down on her front as well, but I knew already that
there was no way we could pull this off.  In order to pass for harmless
sunbathers, we would have to hide our arousal, but Minori was giggling up a
storm.  Worse still, her giddiness was contagious.  I was beginning to
space out, overcome with the desire to have sex.

   "Um, I don't think this is going to work," I told her, struggling to
control my lust.

   "What do you mean?" she beamed.  Even her eyes were smiling.

   "I feel strange," I told her truthfully, hugging my shoulders,
desperately trying to calm down.  I'm usually pretty good at keeping my
feelings in check, but this whole situation was more than I could handle.
All kinds of weird images kept popping into my head.  In my mind, I'd
wrapped my arms around Minori, and was kissing her all over.  I don't even
know how lesbians have sex - there seems to be something missing if you
know what I mean - but for some reason, I was seized by this urge to try.
I'm pretty sure it was just the situation or whatever, but it was so weird.

   Anyway, closing my eyes, and trying to focus on other things, I soon got
up, and fished out my panties, getting ready to get back dressed.

   "Emi?  What's wrong?" she purred sympathetically.

   "Here.  Hurry up, and get dressed.  I just think...  we'd better
stop..."

   Minori looked disappointed, but anyway, she sat up, and started digging
through her bag for her clothes.

   It was actually kind of lucky in a way that we reacted when we did.  Off
in the distance by the washrooms, I caught sight of a young guy hanging by
the entrance to the tennis courts.  He didn't see us at first, but soon, he
glanced over this way.  You should have seen the look on his face when he
realized we were naked!  He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

   Luckily, he kept his distance for the moment, looking around trying to
figure out why Minori and I were kneeling here nude in the middle of the
park.  I guess I'd seen this kind of reaction before.  Some people seem to
think that there's some kind of trap or trick or something.

   Terribly nervous now, I pulled on my t-shirt and hoodie trying to get
covered up as quickly as possible.  Minori hadn't spotted the guy, so she
was taking her time.  I nudged her elbow, pointing him out, and then she
started hurrying too.

   I wanted to pull on my panties, but I had gotten so wet down there, I
couldn't without getting the panties wet.  I pulled out a wet nap, and
started wiping my pussy with it, but that was just getting me more excited.
Oh god.  I wish that guy would stop staring.

   "Emi?  What's wrong?" Minori asked, wondering why I'd stopped getting
dressed.

   "I can't calm down," I explained.  The butterflies in my tummy wouldn't
stop.  I couldn't even look at Minori.

   "Here.  Put your panties on at least," she said, coming over to help me.
Luckily, she was dressed now, so that was good, but we were both still
worried about that guy.  It looked like he had some friends on the tennis
court, and he seemed to be telling them about us.

   Finally, with Minori's help, I managed to get my panties and jeans back
on.  I pulled on my hoodie too to hide my face, and then we ran off in the
opposite direction from the guy just to get away from him.  Eventually, we
circled back around to the bus stop.

   "That was a close call," Minori admitted once we were on the bus.

   "Yeah, sorry.  I don't know what got into me," I apologized.

   "No problem.  That was fun!" she smiled.  She really is something -
brave girl!  I was glad to have found her.

   Emi Tsuruta
/~emitsuruta/