An Excerpt from "Passion in Plain Sight", by Amanda Plaumy

It was unlike anything Leah had done before. She'd just met this man the previous night for crying out loud! However, Damian was charming, handsome, and his free spirit was just what she needed right now. At least that's what she told herself.

"You'd be surprised," Damian said, as they approached the building. "Once we're in there, you'll forget in no time, I assure you."

Each side of the path was adorned with carefully maintained tropical flora. The rust and sand colored bricks formed a beautiful pattern leading up to the entrance. Leah thought she could feel the heat from the path burn her feet even through her sandals. 'Nonsense', she thought, 'I'm just nervous.'

Damian opened the wooden door and gestured for Leah to enter. As she passed him, she could smell him, see him. Up close. It was as intimate as they'd been so far, and she was about to be completely naked on a beach, as was he.

An attractive young woman at the counter greeted Damian like an old friend, and as they went through the formalities, she shot Leah a quick glance, smirked, and proceeded to hand Damian the keys to their lockers. Every fiber of Leah's being was on edge. Anxiety and assumptions surged through her body. Was she just "another one"? Was she less attractive than the girls Damian usually brings? Did the receptionist have a thing for Damian? Was it all just a spiteful prank they pull on girls vacationing here alone?

"Time to get changed," Damian said, putting a hand on Leah's shoulder. She snapped back into reality and looked up at him. "And don't mind Elena, she always thinks I'm a fool for bringing people here."

The receptionist, named Elena, laughed. "This kind of nude beach wouldn't be my choice for a first date." She turned to look at Leah now, with a warmer expression, "Honey, I'm sure you'll have a good time, but be wary of this one," she said, gesturing toward Damian. "There's free spirits, and then there's Damian."

------------------------------------------------------

Leah felt calmer as they continued toward the locker rooms. Damian assured her he'd be waiting by the exits to the beach, and that she could take all the time she wanted. Then they parted ways.

'Kinda pointless', she thought, as she stood key in hand in front of a tropically themed locker sharing her key number, 'we're gonna be naked out there anyway, so why separate the changing rooms?'

She was alone, which helped. At least she thought so. She'd worn a swimsuit under a loose shirt and shorts, but all of it had to go. In her solitude, it wasn't too embarrassing to strip naked, but as she put her sandals in the locker and turned the key, she was reminded that while her naked body was currently private, it would soon become public. Not only that, but Damian would see it. And she would see his.

"it's a public space, we're just naked. It's a public space, we're just naked," she muttered, clasping the key to her wrist while taking her time moving toward the doors leading to the beach. She could feel blood rushing to all the wrong places as she got closer, and whatever she had pictured Damian to look like undearneath his clothes came to mind. She'd soon see it.

She slapped her cheeks a few times, trying to find her composure. 'Thank god I'm not a man,' she thought, 'this would be much more difficult to hide.'

Then she thought about the man she was meeting on the other side of that door. And the thing he had that she was recently glad she did not, but still desperately craved. Any pretense that she wanted nothing more than Damian deeply and passionately inside of her faded, which made what she was about to do even more terrifying.

Leah took a few deep breaths. 'Pull yourself together, girl,' she thought, 'you'll go out there, it'll be weird at first, and then you'll forget all about it, just like Damian said.'

She pushed the door open triumphantly and walked through. Only to be met with a small area enclosed with bamboo fencing, and a door with a sign that said "Beach".

Suddenly, Leah realized Damian was right, in his own way. She'd built up opening this door in her mind, and on the other side was something unexpected, yet boring. She took a few steps unto the enclosed area. The warm air on her skin and the movement of her undressed body was barely fazing her as she chuckled to herself about her expectations.

'You've come this far,' she told herself, and pushed the second door open.

------------------------------------------

A panorama of naked bodies washed over her eyes. Young, old, fit, out of shape, you name it. Any number of torsos, genitals and breasts you could think of was out there on the beach, without a care in the world. Suddenly, Leah remembered she was one of them, and became uncomfortably aware of her own naked body. It didn't matter that everyone else was naked, this was her body, and she was naked too: A state few had ever seen her in, and only when she was sharing it with them. Was there a hair on her breasts she'd forgotten to pluck? Had she shaven properly? What about the hair? Should she have worn make-up? How much would be too much? Being nude in a dimly lit room with a person always too close to you to get a good look is one thing, but out in the open like this? She might as well be on a pedestal for people to judge!

She froze.

"Leah!

Once again she snapped back into reality. She turned, and saw Damian's face. He wasn't too close, clearly aware what this must be like for her. No hand on the shoulder or gentle stroke of the arm like when he wanted her attention last night, or earlier when they were clothed. He stood a few feet away, and simply waved.

"Damian!", Leah blurted out, resisting the impulse to cover herself up. He kept his distance still, but it also left room for Leah's wandering eyes to survey the full scope of the man.

His long dark hair was perfect. His piercing blue eyes met hers in the moments between her shooting quick glances downard, incrementaly getting a look at his body. His olive skin colored his muscular chest and subtle but noticable abs. His arms, coated in a delicious layer of sweat from the heat glistened in the sun, leading down to his hands resting comfortably on his hips. The muscular lines of his abdomen pointed only one way, and Leah's heart skipped a beat as her eyes reached the final stop.

"Damn boy, that's a nice hog!", she said

---NOTE: Obviously, rewrite that line. DO NOT FORGET. Also, do a read through to see if it's straight enough. Remember to do that! Editor wants this chapter as SOON as we get back from our Backpacking holiday, so don't forget that either. Penis penis penis penis penis, NOT vagina.