Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. >Discovering Melanie by Cave Discovering Melanie Ch. 23 (Chapter 23) Melanie groaned. Her alarm was going off. Still half asleep, she grabbed the offending phone to turn off the noise. Slowly, she opened her protesting eyelids and looked at the time. Six-fifteen -" time for her morning run. She reached out to the other side, half expecting to find someone there, but only finding emptiness, and beyond, her wall. After rolling out of bed, she stepped into her slippers and went to pee, and then on to the kitchen to get a drink. Standing there as she drank the cold water, she was properly waking up and felt thankful that none of her roommates were early birds. She walked -" still naked -" back to her room, where she dressed for her run. Grabbing her phone and keys, she left her room and passed a sleepy Julia in the hallway. As she left the apartment, she giggled. If Julia had woken a little bit earlier, she -(TM)d have seen her naked in the kitchen, or walking through the hallway. Counting herself lucky, Melanie went outside in front of her building. Brian wasn -(TM)t there yet, but this was not surprising, as she was on the early side, so she spent some time doing stretches and warm-up exercises. -Hey, good morning. - Melanie looked around and saw Brian jogging up to where she was. -Hey. - -Uh, where shall we go? - Brian asked, looking around. -To the park? - Not only did she like it more than their other routes, she was thinking of interval training. Brian looked back at her with a quizzical look. -Sure. - -Interval, - she added. She thought of bringing up the subject of her exposure, and how it would be fine as long as they refrained from intimate touching, but it felt like the wrong moment. How does one bring up that subject in casual conversation? Besides, would Brian still be fine with it? Brian looked at her expectantly. -Let -(TM)s go then. - Just fifteen minutes into their interval training, Melanie heard Brian -(TM)s shoes slipping as they turned a corner, followed by swearing. She stopped and turned around to look for him. Brian was gripping his right shin just below the knee, leaning on a big stone that was part of a barrier. -Damnit, I slipped. - He indicated a muddy patch. -Are you okay? - Melanie asked, concerned, as she walked towards him. -Ugh, I hit this damn stone. - -Ow. Let me see? - He took his hand from his shin. It looked like it had been a pretty nasty collision, as the skin was broken and he was bleeding. -That looks bad. - Melanie said, reaching into her jacket to grab a small pack of tissues. She took one out and handed it to him. He put the tissue on the wound, lightly pressing on it. -We need to treat it. Quickly. - -It -(TM)s fine, I -(TM)ll go home and take care of it. - -Nonsense. I -(TM)m coming with you. Is your place close by? - -Yes, - Brian said, pausing to look around and then pointing. -It -(TM)s that way. - They walked to his place, though not very fast, as Brian was holding the tissue to his shin. She handed him another tissue. -How far is it? - she asked. -We -(TM)re almost there. - Brian lived this close to the park? Melanie wondered why he always came to her building to pick her up, when he lived so close to the park. It would be easier if she just came to his place or even just rendezvous at the park. A few minutes later, they arrived at Brian -(TM)s place. It was a regular house, likely a sublet with a small common kitchen downstairs, and two doors and a flight of stairs in the hallway. Melanie guessed that the house owner lived upstairs. Brian led Melanie to one of the doors, unlocking it. -Uh, could you wait here for a moment? - Brian asked as he stepped through the door. -What? Why? We need to hurry and get that gash cleaned. - Melanie pushed to follow, waving away Brian -(TM)s objections. The room she had entered was fairly large compared to Melanie -(TM)s. It looked to be a living area and bedroom in one. The room was a little messy, especially the bed, and Melanie guessed that was why Brian had wanted her to wait outside. Brian took off his jacket and tossed it on a hook beside the door. Melanie also took off her jacket and asked, -First aid kit -- do you have one? - -Bathroom, under the sink. - Brian sat down on a chair while Melanie went to look for it. Moments later, she returned to find that Brian had tidied up the bed. Melanie smiled at that, deciding not to mention it. She waited as he sat back down on the chair, kneeling in front of him. She opened the first aid kit and then took the tissue from him, putting it aside. Taking a good look at the wound, she noticed that it wasn -(TM)t as bad as it had appeared. The skin was broken, but it wasn -(TM)t deep. She briefly cleaned the wound and put betadine on it, followed by a bandaid. -There you go. You -(TM)ll be fine, no skipping class for this, - she said as she looked up at him, seeing a smile on his face. -What? - Brian had been quiet. -Nothing, just appreciating your help. - -Ah, of course. - She grabbed the used tissues and waste, stood up and threw it all in the small bin she had noticed in the corner. -That sports bra looks familiar. - -Oh, yes, I guess it does. - She looked down. The mesh pattern on the front showed off most of her chest. Had Brian been looking while she treated his wound? She felt her face flush. The back had a very recognizable mesh pattern as well, captured by the picture that had been taken by the middle-aged man and posted on that website. It was how Brian had recognized that it was her in the picture. Melanie hesitated. She was curious, but would it be weird to ask about it? -Uhm. - -Yeah? - -Could you show me the website some time? - -Uh, I suppose. - -Maybe now? We still have a little time. - He looked at her and said, -Sure. - A fair amount of doubt or reluctance could be heard in his voice. Brian awkwardly walked over to his desk, keeping his hurt leg straight. He fired up his laptop, and she watched over his shoulder as he navigated to the website, logging in. Melanie blinked. -You need an account? - -No, but it allows you to post by name. - -You post stuff on here? Like what? - -Ah, no. I comment sometimes. - He blushed. -Oh. Can you click on that? - Melanie pointed at a picture of a woman on a nude beach. -What do you think of her? - -I --ah -- I don -(TM)t know, she looks good. - -Looks good? She -(TM)s hot. - He raised his eyebrows at Melanie. -What about my picture? - -What about it? - -Is it still on here? - -Uh, yes, pictures don -(TM)t just disappear. - -Oh. I guess not. - She wondered what people were saying about her. -Can you show me? - He used the search field, typing in two words and hitting enter. -Yoga girl? - -That -(TM)s what the post was called. - There she was on screen. Her bare butt in the middle of the picture, drawing attention. After a moment -" longer than she had thought he would look -" Brian scrolled down to the comments. -What did people say? - -Uh, let -(TM)s see. - Brian scrolled through the page. Melanie picked up comments such as, -~nice -(TM), -~hot -(TM), and a lot of much cruder remarks that she tried to unread. -How do you think they -(TM)d react if they knew I was reading these? - Brian looked at her intently. -I -(TM)m pretty sure they -(TM)d go nuts. And they -(TM)d ask for more pictures. See, they -(TM)re already begging for more pictures. - -Can you put in a comment? - -I guess. Like what? - -Maybe something like -" hi everyone, yoga girl is here next to me. Anyone want to ask her something? - Brian typed it in. -Are you sure you want me to submit this? - She bit her lip, and then reached over and pressed -~enter -(TM). The message was submitted. Standing back up, she started feeling nervous. -Uh, how do you think they -(TM)ll react? - -I think they -(TM)ll ask all sorts of personal questions. And like I said, they -(TM)re asking for more pictures. - -More pictures -- - Melanie thought about it. Yes, this website was all about pictures of half naked or even naked women. It made sense that they -(TM)d want to see more. If they continued asking for pictures, would she respond? Would they ask for something specific? She had just wanted to hear their thoughts, to find out what they thought of her. Brian looked at her. He seemed apologetic. -Just because they ask, doesn -(TM)t mean you have to respond. - -Ah, no. Of course not. - However, she was already thinking about what sort of picture she might safely share with these people. If she did share another picture, what would Brian think? Her thoughts also went to Josy, wondering whether Josy would suggest something. Would Josy mind if she let Brian take and post a picture, or would Josy even push her towards a more risqu(C) type of picture?. She looked down at Brian, and asked, -So, how -(TM)s your leg? - Brian stood up and took a few steps. -It -(TM)s fine. I feel it pulling a little. It -(TM)ll be a bruise, but it doesn -(TM)t feel too bad. - -I -(TM)m glad. - Melanie smiled. -I should go soon, have a quick shower at home and get ready for class. Will you be okay with, uhm, showering? - -Why? Are you volunteering to give me a hand? - -Har, har. - She rolled her eyes at him. -Just kidding. I -(TM)ll be fine. Water resistant band-aid. - Brian looked at his laptop. -Oh, someone already responded. - She perked up. -What did they say? - Brian pointed at the message. It said -~prove it. -(TM) -What does that mean? - -You know what it means. - -A picture. - She stared at the message. It would be dangerous to give them another picture, and risk being identified. It would have to be carefully chosen. Turning to Brian, she saw he was looking at her with an expression she couldn -(TM)t read. -What is it? - -I -- - he frowned and turned away. -What? Tell me, - she pressed. -I could help you. With the picture -- - She smiled. Of course, he -(TM)d be happy to help. However, she heard his hesitation at the end of his sentence. -But? - -Never mind. - Was he not going to tell her the reason for his hesitation? She looked back at the screen. Someone else had responded as well. Just one word, -~picture. -(TM) These people were of one mind. Maybe it had been the wrong approach. It might have been better if Brian had just asked what they thought of her. Melanie pointed at the screen. -Your account -" can they trace it to you? - -I don -(TM)t think so. I don -(TM)t have any personal information on there. - She took her phone out of her jacket. If she did post a picture, should she let Brian take the picture with her own phone? All the pictures Josy had taken were there, in the secure folder. She couldn -(TM)t let him see those. -Can you take the picture? - -Uh, sure. - She put her phone back in her jacket and saw the look of confusion on Brian -(TM)s face. -You can use your phone. Just delete it after. - -Okay. - She turned away from him, looking back over her shoulder as he worked with his phone. Brian scrolled back up the page on his laptop and said, -Let -(TM)s try to get a similar pose, so they can see the resemblance. - Melanie lowered herself onto her haunches to get into the pose she remembered, and Brian directed her to mimic it accurately. She turned her head so her face would not be visible and heard the click of the picture being taken. -It looks similar, - Brian said. -But I don -(TM)t think they -(TM)ll be happy. - -Who cares? They ask for a picture and they get what they get. - -I mean, if you want them to believe it -(TM)s you, we should go for accuracy. - Accuracy? It took her only a second to understand. He meant naked except for the sports bra, just like the original picture. She stared at him. He -(TM)d already seen the picture. In fact, she had shown him her bare butt multiple times since, and she didn -(TM)t need to show him much more than that for this. The idea of posing for a more accurate picture, and reading people -(TM)s reactions excited her. If they could just make sure the picture could not be traced back to her, this would be a lot of fun. And then there was Brian. No doubt he wanted her to do this, wanted to see her in just her sports bra and take the picture. She looked him in the eyes and said, -No touching, okay? - Brian smiled. -No touching. - She knelt down again, this time to take off her shoes. Once off, she stood up facing away and pushed her black tights down, taking her panties -" also black -" along with them. Melanie thought she had managed without showing Brian too much in the process, but she heard him gasp. Melanie looked back at him and saw him staring at her butt. He looked up with an expression of -~can you blame me? -(TM) Ignoring him, she worked her tights down her legs until they were off. She stood there a moment holding her clothes, before dropping them on the floor. -Can hardly believe you -(TM)re almost naked standing there. You -(TM)re really going to do this? - Firmly pressing her legs together, she angled her head toward him. -It was your idea. Are you now saying I shouldn -(TM)t? - He kept silent; his face impassive. Perhaps wishing he hadn -(TM)t spoken up. Still facing away from Brian, Melanie took a step closer to the laptop and looked at the screen. Ugh, those idiots. Why should she indulge them? -You -(TM)re right. It was a dumb idea. - She stepped back to her clothes, carefully crouching down to put her feet in her panties and pulled them up her legs. -It -(TM)s not dumb. It -(TM)ll be fun to see their reactions. - She guessed that Brian would -(TM)ve enjoyed taking that picture but decided not to say anything. With her panties on, she turned back to Brian and his laptop. Looking back at the message, she wished they hadn -(TM)t put it there. -Can you delete that? - -The picture I took? - -No, our message. - Still facing Brian, she picked up her tights and started putting them on. -Uh, I think so. - Brian had it removed in just a few clicks. -There. - -Thanks. Now the other messages look out of place. Wait, they -(TM)ll think you lied. - -Meh, I don -(TM)t care. - Her tights back in place, she frowned at him. -Really, I don -(TM)t care. Don -(TM)t worry about it. - -Okay. Uh, how -(TM)s your leg? - Brian stood up and walked around a little. -It -(TM)ll be fine. - -Alright. - Melanie grabbed her jacket to put it on. -I -(TM)ll go home and shower. Let me know if you need anything? - -Melanie, it -(TM)s just a scratch, I -(TM)m fine, - he said, and then his expression softened. -But thanks for the help. - It was more than a scratch, but Melanie let that pass. -See you in class. - She opened the door to leave. -I -(TM)ll find my way out. - -Wait, what about the picture? - Melanie was confused. -What about it? - Her picture on the site? -Do you want me to post it? Should I delete it? - -Oh. That one. - It was a pretty safe picture, fully clothed, and only meant something to people on that site. -No, don -(TM)t post it. You don -(TM)t have to delete it. Just don -(TM)t let anyone see it, especially Sarah or Cohen. - -Sure. See you in class. - -Oh, and Brian? - -Yes? - She hooked her thumbs into her tights and in a smooth motion pushed them -" along with her panties -" down her butt, and then mooned him for a good couple of seconds. He may not have a new picture -" and in hindsight it -(TM)s good that he didn -(TM)t -" but she did enjoy exposing her butt to him. She looked back and saw him smile as he stared. She then pulled her clothes back in place. It seemed that Brian was content with the new situation. Melanie hoped that they could remain friends, but it would be up to him as well. She knew him well enough to know that he mostly kept his thoughts to himself, so she would either have to flat out ask him about it -" a rather unappealing idea -" or she needed to simply wait and see. Melanie left his apartment and ran home at a decent pace. It took her about ten minutes. How did Brian manage this every time they went for a run? Going with her to her apartment building, then going home, showering, and still showing up to class on time. As it was, Melanie had to hurry when she got home. The shower was occupied, so she had breakfast first -" still in her tights -" though she -(TM)d put a shirt on over the sports bra. Thankfully, shortly after she finished breakfast, the shower was available. But even so, Elle was still busy in the bathroom. Melanie entered the bathroom and put her change of clothes on the chair. -Is it okay if I shower now? - Elle looked at her in the mirror. -Of course, I already said it -(TM)s fine. - -Ah, - Melanie mumbled softly. Elle would be able to watch her as she undressed, but she didn -(TM)t have time to wait until Elle was done. With her back to Elle, Melanie grabbed the sports bra through the shirt and started taking them off together. It was more difficult, but she didn -(TM)t want Elle to see the back of the sports bra. She should -(TM)ve taken it off in her room, she realized, as she pulled both items over her head. Carefully keeping her legs together, she started taking off her tights, pulling her panties back up as she did so. -For someone who was nearly naked at dinner, you seem quite shy, - Elle remarked. Melanie felt the heat in her face, as she pulled the tights off her feet. Next, she quickly pulled her panties down, letting them drop to the floor, and hurried into the shower. During her shower, she thought back to the website, posing for Brian, nearly letting him take a mostly naked picture of her -" to post online even! What had she been thinking? She had to skip washing her hair, as she didn -(TM)t have the time for it to dry. It would have to wait till this evening or tomorrow. Elle had already left when Melanie turned off the shower and grabbed the towel from, reaching past the curtain. She dried herself and stepped out. After hanging her towel up to dry, she dressed hurriedly. Her outfit for today was a nice pair of panties with matching bra, warm blouse, and jeans. It was getting cold; she had noticed during her run. Going back to her room, she put her running clothes in her laundry basket and grabbed her phone, checking her messages. There were four from Josy. -~Morning, how was your run? -(TM) -" -~Almost ready to go? -(TM) -" -~Mel? -(TM) -" -~Where are you?!? -(TM) What -(TM)s with Josy, Melanie wondered? Granted, she was a few minutes late. Perhaps she should -(TM)ve checked her phone before showering. -~Was in the shower. I -(TM)m about ready to go. -(TM) Putting on her jacket and grabbing her things, she left the apartment, pulling the door closed and immediately bumping into Josy.