Chapter 28: San Francisco

Ruthie and Mike settled into their routine as a couple over the next week. They spent two days setting up and repositioning furniture until the place was the way they wanted it. Anyone observing them might have found it amusing to see that they worked wearing nothing but shoes to protect their feet, but already Ruthie had declared the apartment a 'clothes-free zone'.

The student center coffee shop was closed for a couple of weeks, which meant that Ruthie was temporarily out of work. She would start up again during the summer semester. She was not planning on taking summer classes and would try to save as much as possible for the fall.

She would be modeling as well, because the art instructor she had worked for in the spring had taken a liking to her and promised to get her as much work in the art department as possible. She already had two assignments lined up for modeling: one with a community college special "art appreciation day" exhibition and the other posing for a photographer from the department.

Ruthie had a falling-out with her father when she told him that she was living with her boyfriend because she wanted to stay in California. Jake Burns was very displeased that his daughter had spurned his plans for her to study in Lincoln and help him take care of Jake Jr. When Ruthie asked him if he could just send her the money that he would have used to pay for community college classes in Lincoln, he snapped:

"That money's for you to get your ass here, not for you to shack-up with some liberal pot-head hippy on the 'Left Coast'. When you come to your senses, call me."

And with that, Jake hung up.

Ruthie's conversations with her mother were no better. Dona Lisette was not pleased at all to learn that she had moved in with Mike without first getting married. Ruthie tried to explain that she had no other alternative. The response was a lecture telling her that because she chose to forsake God, God had forsaken her and that was why she needed to live in sin. Ruthie replied:

"Well, you never gave up on God, and he sure didn't do much for you, did he?"

Ruthie waited for a response, but then realized her mother had hung up on her. She didn't try to call back.

At the end of their first week living away from the university, Mike had a suggestion for something he knew Ruthie very much would enjoy doing. He showed her a website that featured an annual foot race that crossed the entire city of San Francisco. It was a huge event in which thousands of runners participated, but it seemed that the majority of the people were not serious about racing. Instead the event was more like a mobile Mardi Gras celebration, with many of the runners wearing strange costumes, and some runners wearing no costumes at all.

Yes indeed, the race was clothing optional and each year a couple of hundred participants ran or walked the entire course completely naked. At first Ruthie thought Mike was joking, but he showed her several pictures of naked runners to convince her that he was not joking at all. A lot of the naked participants were from a nudist group and wore yellow caps, but being part of the official nude group was not necessary.

"So what do you think? Is this something you'd like to do?"

"I'd love it! You're serious? We're going?"

"We're going. Put aside any modesty you might have left, 'cause all of San Francisco is gonna get to see us."

Ruthie hugged him. She then checked her camera to make sure she had spare batteries and plenty of space on her picture card.

They left Davenport at 3:00 in the morning on the day of the race. Ruthie, as was usual for her whenever she drove with her boyfriend in the middle of the night, did not bother to get dressed and instead folded a dress and carried in her hand. Until it got light outside, she planned to ride naked in Mike's car and would slip the dress over her head at sunrise. In the darkness she skipped naked across the deserted parking lot. Mike was wearing nothing more than shorts and a loose t-shirt, items he could take off as soon as they were near the starting point of the race.

Mike knew that he had to plan ahead, because parking would be unavailable anywhere close to downtown San Francisco on a day in which 500,000 spectators and race participants would be crowding the streets along the eight-mile route. So, unfortunately, they had to park well outside the downtown area and take a bus into the city. When the sun came up and Ruthie put on her dress, her heart pounded at the thought that the next time she took it off it would be in downtown San Francisco in front of thousands of other people. She could hardly wait.

As they rode towards downtown, their bus filled up with other race participants, some of whom where dressed in typical running clothes and some of whom were dressed in costumes. Finally, after more stops than Ruthie wanted to count, the bus driver announced that he was at the stop closest to the starting point and that everyone going to the race should get off. Mike and Ruthie merged with thousands of other people working their way to the beginning of the route. They eagerly looked around, because they had agreed that the moment they saw another naked race participant they would immediately get undressed. Ruthie spotted a couple of middle-aged men that were naked and wearing yellow caps.

"Over there! Look!"

"OK, our first fellow nudists. Hand over your dress, naughty girl."

Ruthie pulled her dress over her head and passed it to her boyfriend. She heard a couple of whistles from guys who were watching. Mike momentarily took off his backpack so he could get undressed as well. He stuffed in his clothing, along with Ruthie's, closed the zipper, and slung the backpack over his shoulder.

Ruthie was totally excited. She loved the feel of the sunshine and breeze on her bare skin. She loved being watched by so many people. She loved being reminded of her exposure when other people in the crowd brushed up against her naked body with their rough clothing and backpacks. Several bystanders wanted to take pictures of themselves posing with her, to which she obliged. Being naked in a crowded city is an exhibitionist's dream and Ruthie was living that dream.

The next several hours were some of the best of Ruthie's life. Because they were walking the course instead of running, the couple had to wait a long time before they could start moving. The waiting didn't bother Ruthie, because the longer the wait, the more time she and Mike would get to stay naked before arriving at the finish gate and having to get dressed.

When they were not posing for pictures, Mike talked to Ruthie about his other nude marathon experience, the Tri-Alpha 10-K run he had participated in two years before. He compared the two experiences and told Ruthie that the San Francisco run was better for him because it was more relaxed and he was not being forced into it. He squeezed her hand and added:

"The best part is that I'm doing this run with you. That's what really makes it better."

Ruthie and Mike had been nude for over an hour before they even stated moving. They walked along the streets at a casual pace: enjoying a once-in-a-year opportunity to stroll through an entire city in the nude. It was a pleasant day and the temperature was perfect for walking. They passed through various neighborhoods, past stores and shops, row-houses and apartments. Every time they came up on something that was even somewhat interesting, Ruthie asked Mike to get a picture, or asked a passerby to take a picture of them together.

Because she was one of the youngest and most attractive nude women participating in the race, she received plenty of attention from other photographers as well. She knew that pictures of her would be all over the Internet within a few days, but that suited her just fine. She wanted to be exposed, to have the whole world look at her.

Yes indeed, Ruthie was having her day. Mike was enjoying the walk, but not anywhere as much as Ruthie. She was totally thrilled. As he watch his girlfriend revel in being nude in public, Mike's feelings towards her behavior became more mixed. He was glad to see his girlfriend enjoying herself so much, but less thrilled to see her being the center of so much attention. There was not single request for a pose, no matter how shameless, that she refused to do.

About halfway through the race Ruthie posed for a bunch of pictures with a couple of lesbians that were dressed in leather. After several pictures, all three of the women got carried away. One of Ruthie's companions groped her and her partner gave the girl several hard smacks on the butt with a riding crop. Ruthie cheerfully held on to a light-post and bent over for the swats. She did absolutely nothing to discourage the woman who was groping her. Mike was not pleased by the fact his girlfriend did not object to her treatment by those two lesbians. He knew that she never would have allowed any guys to grope her, and yet was not bothered in the least when women were doing it. For the rest of the course Ruthie walked with several reddish marks on her bare bottom on full display to thousands of spectators while Mike wondered what the hell was going on.

More than three hours after starting, Mike and Ruthie approached the finish line in the midst of hundreds of other walkers. They had not exerted themselves, but they had walked over eight miles and were tired. Mike didn't even want to imagine what it would be like to go up and down all those hills running. The 10 kilometer-race on the flat campus in Chicago was as much as he would ever want to do.

Ruthie was tired, but still totally thrilled by her naked experience. She did not want it to end. Mike decided that there would be no harm in walking to a nearby nude beach and lying out for a while before getting on the bus and heading back to his car. They would try to remain naked as they went down to the shore, since the worst thing that could happen would be that a city cop might stop them and ask them to get dressed. It turned out that no cops were around to interfere with their walk to the beach. They descended to the water and looked up at the nearby Golden Gate Bridge. Ruthie relaxed in the sand, happy and grateful to the boyfriend who had allowed her to have such a great experience. At that moment she did feel that she loved him. She cuddled up against him, letting him set aside his concern over her strange encounter with that lesbian couple.

They spent only an hour at the beach, because they were hungry, had to go to the bathroom, and had to get back to Mike's car. They hopped on a bus, but Mike suggested they visit the Castro district before leaving San Francisco. Mike took his girlfriend through the sex shops, curious to see if there was anything she'd be interested in. They had lunch and walked around very scantily clad: Mike wearing only his shorts and the backpack, and Ruthie in her favorite skimpy dress.

Ruthie was not very interested in any of the leather or latex clothing, because she much preferred to be naked than to wear something as uncomfortable as hot leather. There was one big exception. She tried on a black leather mini-dress that had a large hole in the back, leaving the wearer's bottom completely exposed. Ruthie did like that dress but, because she really had no where to wear it, turned it down when Mike offered to buy it for her.

She was much more interested in the selection of punishment implements offered by several stores. She spent a very long time looking at leather paddles, crops, straps, and floggers. She also liked the leather cuffs and collars, but had no desire to be restrained or wear a collar around Mike. The only item they ended up buying that day was a small leather paddle. Mike warned her:

"If I buy this, you do know that I'll have to use it on you."

Ruthie blushed, but responded: "With as much shit as I give you, I'm sure I deserve it." She gave his bare chest a hard pinch to taunt him.

It was dark when they got back to Mike's car. Even though there were a few other people within sight, Ruthie pulled her dress over her head before getting into the car and tossed it in the back seat. She was very casual about it, acting as though she was tossing a jacket instead of the only piece of clothing she was wearing. Fortunately she was safely in her seat and had pulled her door shut before anyone in the parking lot noticed.