Chapter 68: 21
February 7, 0006
I woke up at eight in the morning. I showered and put on an orange summer dress. It was official; I was now twenty-one.
At nine, my mom took me to breakfast. They served both pancakes and French toast. Usually, I would be modest, but it was my birthday, so I figured I could be a bad girl for just this one time.
At ten, we went to Parrot Paradise. This was a place where you could meet and feed real live parrots. You could also let them perch on your hand. Of course, one of them tried to bite me. Another one tried to chase me on the floor. This was a smaller gray one, and it was almost laughable that it thought it could tear me to shreds.
At eleven, we went to Perfume Parlor. Here we got to make our own perfume. They even gave us lab coats to wear while making it. You make three and, usually, they only let you keep one, but they made an exception for me because it was my birthday.
I decided to wear it for that night. Of course, I was watching the clock. I hadn't forgotten what was to come, and I had butterflies all day. Four was when I had planned to start to get ready, and five was when I would meet him.
At twelve, my mom took me to lunch. It was outside by the pool, and they even brought me a cake with twenty-one candles on it. But the first big surprise of the day came then: Ronaldo and Mac were there!
"It looks like you really have an admirer," Mac said.
"Admirer?" I asked.
"Pete flew us down here for today," Ronaldo informed me. "He covered everything."
"Didn't you have class?" I asked.
"Pete took care of it," Ronaldo answered. "He talked to all my professors."
I couldn't believe it. Pete wanted me to share my birthday with my friends as well. He was so incredible.
It was almost too good to be true.
"So Aerith," Mac began, "I heard you have a date tonight."
"A first date," Ronaldo added. "With Pete."
"That's right," I replied with a smile. "At Northern Point."
"You're spending your first date with him topless?!" Mac exclaimed.
I giggled and nodded.
"Just watch your step up there," Mac warned. "I bumped into another girl there, and it was totally awkward!"
"I'll keep that in mind," I said.
I then noticed that Ronaldo had a big smirk on his face.
"Wipe it off!" Mac ordered. "They're just boobs!"
At one, my mom took the three of us zip lining.
At two, we were still zip lining. Those things have long lines.
At three, we arrived back at the hotel. It was now time to get ready.
I showered, dried off, and put my hair up.
I said goodbye to Ronaldo and Mac, who each had their own hotel rooms; Pete seemed to have booked those as well.
It would be hard to resist the temptation to kiss him when I saw him.
And then, four.
As the clock struck that hour, the elevator doors opened, and my mom and I stepped out.
I had my red bikini on; I had washed and dried it late last night. I was in full makeup as well; people in the lobby thought I was probably on my way to some kind of beauty contest. I toyed with the idea of wearing matching heels, but I knew there would be walking, and I didn't want to ruin the date with my feet hurting. So I went barefoot.
The walk up north wasn't long; it only took us ten minutes.
Shortly before we hit the boundary, my mom stopped us.
"Can we have a picture together?" she requested. "In front of the ocean?"
"Sure," I agreed.
We put our tee shirts on and had a beachgoer take the picture. I forgot to mention my mom was wearing a bikini as well; she planned to return to the beach and scout out the guys. I was hoping she would be successful; she deserved someone, too.
We still keep that picture in our kitchen, by the way. It's my official twenty-first birthday picture.
I then slowly slipped of my tee shirt and handed it to my mom, leaving me in my bikini. There was only one thing left to do, and the butterflies were to the max at this point.
We then continued on our way.
I could see foliage as we approached. We passed a sign that said "WELCOME TO NORTHERN POINT."
We walked past the sign and, soon, we were at the foliage, which turned out to be trees.
There was a second sign standing there.
That sign was pretty self-explanatory: BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU MAY ENCOUNTER TOPLESS BATHERS.
Beyond the sign was a sand path that disappeared into the trees. I could see the end of the path, and the beach and ocean beyond.
This was it.
The butterflies were still at a max, and my heart was racing. But I realized I had hit the point of no return when I texted Pete where I wanted to meet him.
"Are you okay?" my mom asked.
"I'll be fine," I assured her.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped across the boundary; I was now officially in Northern Point.
The bikini top I was wearing had just become optional, and I was free to take it off at any time now.
I turned to my mom, and gave her somewhat of a nervous smile.
"Well," I began as I looked down at my bikini top, "I think I need to get something off my chest."
We both broke out laughing. That made me feel a little better.
I took another deep breath.
I turned my back to my mom again.
I reached back, undid my bikini top, and slid it off.
I then put it in my right hand, and reached back.
I felt my mom take it.
"Have fun tonight," my mom said.
"I will," I promised.
I would have turned and smiled, but, for obvious reasons, I wanted to keep my back turned to her.
I then started walking forward along the sand path, through the trees and toward the beach beyond.
I took extra care to keep my back turned to my mom and to keep my breasts hidden from her. But, looking back, the path did curve slightly, and of course boobs move when you walk, so I've since realized she probably saw something at some point.
In any event, I came to the other end of the path, and could now see the beach and the boardwalk. There were several hundred people there. Needless to say, every woman I saw was topless. There were pretty girls my age, and there were women in their forties and above. I realized I certainly wasn't alone.
I then felt a gentle breeze on my bare breasts, reminding me of my own situation.
But, there was one last task for me to do; I needed to find Pete. So I started scanning the beach.
"Aerith?!" a familiar voice called.
I turned around to see Chrissy walking toward me.
My first instinct was to cover my boobs, but I quickly realized she had already seen them.
And, of course, Chrissy was topless as well.
She was also alone.
"You took the topless plunge!" she exclaimed.
I was blunt.
"I decided to go topless for my first date with Pete," I said.
"You tracked him down?!" Chrissy giggled. "Stalker!"
"Where's Ben?" I asked.
Not that I'd want to meet him with the twin peaks out.
"He's back at the hotel room," Chrissy sadly replied. "I don't think he wants to go out at all."
"Why?" I asked her.
"What I told you yesterday," she answered. "I think he's afraid the Shinra are going to capture him. He thinks he's a training candidate. And so do I."
I was silent.
The one time I saw Ben was in the lobby. He was a tall and tough guy, so it would be no surprise that Shinra would want to recruit him, by force if necessary.
"Well," Chrissy continued, "I don't want to keep you from your date."
"Listen," I began, "you know you can come to my room if you need someone to talk to."
"Thanks, Aerith," she said. "I just might do that."
With that, Chrissy turned and walked off.
It was then that I resumed the search for my date.
I soon spotted Pete on the beach.
He was staring into the ocean, as he had promised.
He was wearing a nice shirt and khakis, as he had promised.
The butterflies were back as I slowly walked toward him. This man did everything I asked for. He did everything I didn't ask for; I still couldn't believe he had brought my friends down for my birthday.
One step, then another.
Pete was now only a few feet in front of me.
My heart was racing again. He was about to see more of me that he usually would at this point in our relationship. I was nervous and excited at the same time.
I was wondering if he would look at my face or my girls.
I was also wondering who on the beach saw me sneaking up behind him; I'm sure it was a sight.
And then, as I stood behind him, I realized I just wanted to see him. I didn't care that I was topless. I wanted the date.
I tapped him on the shoulder.
Pete slowly turned around to face me.
"Hi!" I greeted with a smile.
"Hey, Aerith!" he greeted. "Happy birthday!"
He was making eye-contact with me. He knew the situation regarding my upper half as soon as he saw my bare shoulders, but he continued the eye-contact just the same.
And then, I found myself stepping back.
I wanted him to see my boobs.
As soon as I knew he could, the sparks immediately began to fly, more so than they ever had with any guy before.
I then thought about all he had done for me, and how he honored every request I made.
My eyes became wet.
"Come here!" I said before going up to him and wrapping my arms around him. "Thanks for being so wonderful!"
"Happy to do it," Pete replied as he stroked my bare back. "Anything for the most incredible girl in the world."
I hugged him more tightly after he said that.
After the hug, I placed both of my hands on his shoulders, and smiled at him.
"Okay," I said. "Let's go on our date."
