Summer Camp Stories: Part 1

Summer camp is one of the best experiences I can recommend.  I never did it as a camper, but I did it for a few summers as a counselor, and man, those were some fun summers.  I’ve already talked about skinny dipping with my coworkers before, but I figured it might be worth talking about some of the other unique experiences I had while working at camp.  A few of them have influenced my writing, and it was a lovely couple of summers.  I have a couple of stories to tell, so I’ll spread them out so it’s not just one giant text dump.

First I’ll mention one thing about the whole skinny dipping adventure.  It very strongly influenced the skinny dipping scene in You’re My Cousin?!  I pretty much wrote that scene as what I fantasized our little swim might have turned into.  Sisi, the female lead in that story, is also based on the woman with whom I went skinny dipping, especially physically, right down to her freckled breasts.

First, I’ll recap what happened when we went skinny dipping.  We were located relatively closely to the ocean, and we had certain nights off from watching over the kids, so we were able to do what we wanted for a few hours.  The nearby pub was a popular destination, especially since it could be reached via public transportation.  My favorite spot, though, was the beach for some night swimming.  By the time we were free, it was too late for anyone else to be there, so we had the entire stretch of beach to ourselves.

It was really gorgeous.  The sand was really soft.  The waves weren’t too large.  The water was invigoratingly brisk.  And best of all, we were far enough away from everything else that not only was privacy almost guaranteed, but there was next to no light pollution, so the stars were all much more visible than at the camp.  It was just a perfect place to be.

Anyways, one night I went there with a few coworkers from the camp: Girls A & B, and Boy C.  Girl B didn’t want to go swimming with us, so she just stayed on the beach, watching our clothes, and talking to her boyfriend.  It was actually sort of convenient: we didn’t have to worry about our clothes or anything like that, so I didn’t especially mind.

Meanwhile, A, C, and I went into the water wearing our swimsuits.  C made like a dolphin and just dove into the waves.  Every time a big one came in, he’s go right through it.  The water was a bit chilly for A, though, so I mostly stuck with her in shallower water, where our feet were still touching the ground.  For a while, everything was normal.  We played in the waves and talked, just relaxing and enjoying our time away from the world.

At some point, though, a wave nearly knocked off one of our swimsuits, and a few jokes were made about what Girl B would think if we came back in without it.  Someone suggested we try going without our suits anyway.  Boy C was willing to try it, too, so he and I went first.  I walked back to Girl B and left my trunks with her as she closed her eyes, but Boy C stayed out in the water, just holding onto his trunks, and putting them back on from time to time for a little while.

Girl A, meanwhile, was too shy to try.  I was loving it, though.  The water felt great.  I encouraged her to try it, too.  She didn’t want to at first, but I think after seeing how much I was enjoying it, she decided to give it a try.  I admit, though, it felt a bit weird talking to her while completely naked.  Especially since the water was only at waist height on average, and every time a wave came, the water level would first drop, and I’d be totally exposed in front of her for a second or two.

The one line that stuck with me, (and ended up in a number of stories) is when I was trying to convince her to try skinny dipping.  This was only about a week and a half into the summer camp, and she said something like, “I’ve only known you for a week!” as an excuse to stay covered up.

“I’ve only known you for a week, and I don’t mind,” I retorted.

“I can see that,” she said.  “I can see everything…”

I’m just glad the water was cold…  I love that line…

Anyways, she eventually relented, and decided to try it out halfway by going topless.  Wow, what a view…  She was a great size, but what really drew my eye were a beautiful pattern of freckles across her chest.  She had them on her face, too, but I hadn’t expected them to be elsewhere.  They were stunning, and I had a hard time not staring, but I stayed on my most gentlemanly behavior and maintained eye contact.

She had been shy enough before, but once she tried it, she absolutely loved it.  I guess she just needed to feel comfortable enough before trying it.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a life-long skinny dipper out of that night.

The day after we went, news spread fast.  Four of us had gone, three of us had gotten naked, and of course it was the fourth person, who hadn’t even touched the water, who spent all breakfast telling everyone about what we did and how scandalous we all were and oh my goodness, they were totally starkers.  Pretty much my whole morning was a lot of innuendo and comments that made me slowly realize that had happened, things like, “Oh yeah, I heard about last night…”  Oodles of fun.  At least one coworker was super pumped about it.  She was like, “You guys went skinny dipping last night without me?!”  She was awesome, and she ended up getting to try it out that summer, too.

Anyways, it really bothered the girl who had gone skinny dipping, Girl A, and we ended up walking into town and getting some ice cream together.  She had a pretty rough summer overall, and I felt pretty bad that I had contributed to it, even if only indirectly.  She got over it, but the way she thought of it, which I agree with, is that it wasn’t her story to tell everyone about, since she was the only one who stayed out of it and just sat on her towel and did nothing.  Girl B had just stayed out of the whole thing, and then as soon as we got back, went and told all of our co-workers about it like it had been some salacious moonlit orgy, when it wasn’t anything like that at all.  We had gone swimming together, and it just so happened that we weren’t wearing suits.  It felt comfortable, it was amazing, but it wasn’t very sexual.  In fact, after going skinny dipping with her, I started to think about her less sexually than I had before.

One good thing came out of everyone knowing, though.  Another one of the counselors that summer did some art as a hobby, and we ended up talking, and she mentioned how she had drawn nude models before, and I mentioned how I had always wanted to be a nude model.  It was a fun experience.  I’d definitely want to try it again.  What can I say?  I love being the center of attention.