Stepping Out

Melanie stared blankly at the grim message on her phone. Clearly this problem wasn't about to just go away and sitting on her bed feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to help. She had to at least see if she could do anything to raise her declining score. She picked up the slip the postman had left her. It was with Lucinda, an older woman who lived just across from her in the same block of flats. She could get to her door in seconds without having to even go outside and she needed that parcel.

Scarcely able to believe she was considering this, Melanie prepared to make a very brief and completely naked visit to her neighbours place. Lucinda seemed like a nice lady from the few short conversations they had and Melanie hoped she wouldn't be too shocked and offended. She was allowed by the apps T&Cs to take one carrier item, such as a purse, bag or rucksack, with her for her belongings while she was out, though it wasn't allowed to be used in a way that obscured any of her intimate areas (the T&Cs also clearly stipulated that her "breasts (including nipples), buttocks and vagina must be free from covering at all times". After grooming herself in the bathroom Melanie threw her phone, keys (she definitely didn't want to get locked out!) and a few other items into a small, brown leather bag and slung it over her shoulder. She checked her reflection in the mirror and thought she looked ridiculous, but she knew she had to do this.

Melanie looked though the peephole in her front door to make sure the coast was clear, took a deep breath the opened it and stepped out. After slamming the door behind her she scurried anxiously across the hallway and rang Lucille's doorbell. The next few moments seemed to last a lifetime as Melanie could hear the sound of someone shuffling about in reaction to the doorbell before footsteps started shuffling agonisingly slowly towards her. Melanie briefly considered whether it may be polite to throw her hands over the parts of her most likely to cause offence but figured it was better to just act as if everything was normal. Worryingly, she could also hear footsteps in the stairwell, though they were still some way off.

"Come on, hurry up!" Melanie whispered to herself as Lucinda fiddled with the lock. Eventually the door swung open.

"Oh my goodness!" Lucinda gasped in shock as she took in the surprising sight of a naked Melanie who was already fearing a scene was about to be caused.

"It is normal and acceptable for me to be naked!" Melanie blurted out in desperation. To her amazement, that seemed to work exactly as promised and the older woman immediately relaxed and took on a much more friendly demeanour.

"Yes, I suppose it is" Lucinda smiled warmly "How can I help you Miss Jones?"

At this point the footsteps in the stairwell were getting noticeably louder. Melanie couldn't afford to stand about waiting for her ageing neighbour to retrieve her parcel. She probably didn't even have time to make it back to her own place now. It hadn't been the plan but there was really only one thing she could do at this point.

"Is it okay if I come in for a moment?" Melanie asked.

"Of course, you can stay for tea and biscuits!" Lucinda replied warmly. Melanie smiled and nodded as she gratefully stepped into the relative safety of her neighbours apartment. This actually might not be so bad, and maybe having naked tea and biscuits with a relative stranger might boost her score on that fucked up app.

"Let me lead you through to the dining room Miss Jones, you can leave your bag here"

"Thank you, and please call me Mel" Melanie answered with genuine appreciation as she placed her bag at the entrance and followed Lucinda into the main room. When she got there her heart almost stopped.

"Roger, Micheal, Anna this is Mel. She'll be joining us for tea and biscuits!"

The conversation Melanie had thought was coming from the television stopped mid sentence as the three strangers looked up in disbelief.