Chapter 1 – Just Good Friends

It was late September and I woke up early, which was nothing out of the ordinary for me, and as I lay in bed scrolling on my phone, a message notification popped up.

Let me know when you’re awake.

It was Crystal, and I wondered why she wanted me this early in the morning. I texted her back.

I’m awake babe, what’s up?

A few moments later there was a quiet knock at the door. I presumed it was Crystal, so I told her to come in.

The door opened and Crystal emerged into my room. I immediately noticed she was in her underwear. On her bottom half, she was wearing high-cut briefs that were white with a purple flower pattern, and on top she was wearing a white bra with black lace trim and black polka dots.

She looked at me with a cheeky smile, then did a little tiptoe run over to the bed and jumped under the covers with me. She gave me a tickle and said, “Morning, sweetie.”

“Good morning,” I replied, a little nervous. “This is unexpected.”

Crystal giggled. “I thought I’d come and give you a little welcome cuddle.”

“I see. Well, that’s nice of you. I’m definitely not complaining.”

“Better not be,” she said, “I love morning cuddles, especially now my best friend lives with me.”

“Aww, that’s cute. I’m glad you still think of me that way.”

“Of course I do, silly. We've been best friends for years, and it’s been way too long since we’ve spent time together.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s really good to see you again, babe.”

As we spoke, Crystal started to run her hand softly up and down my arm, and her cute smile had not left her face from the moment she entered the room.

“How did you sleep?” she asked.

“Yeah, great. The bed is really comfy. I always sleep pretty well, though.”

“That’s good. Well, I hope you’re settling in well so far, and if there’s anything you need, just ask me or Mum. This is your place now too, and we want you to feel at home.”

As she said that, she wrapped her arm around me and hugged me closer to her body. It made me wonder if something more was going on here. Friends don’t normally jump into your bed in their undies and give you morning cuddles, I thought... Or do they?

Crystal left my room a little while later, and I didn’t make much of the whole cuddle thing. After breakfast, she gave me the grand tour of their amazing house. It had been late when I arrived the evening before, and I was tired, so I hadn’t really taken it all in. The place was huge, and every room was stunning in its own way.

When she showed me the main bathroom, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The large tiles had this washed turquoise effect, and there were four sinks set into a black marble counter. The taps were gold, as were the trims around the mirrors, and everything looked spotlessly clean. There was a large shower on one side with a glass wall surrounding it, but the best feature of all was definitely the bath.

I’d never seen a bath so big in my life. You could easily fit six people in there, and I could see it was equipped with spa jets. The tiles around it were white marble, and all the colours in the room complemented each other perfectly.

Crystal noticed me looking at it. “Nice bath, hey?” she said.

“It looks amazing,” I replied. “Never seen anything like it.”

“Yeah, it’s fucking great, I use it all the time. We’ll have to have one together sometime.”

“Okay, sounds good,” I said cheerfully.

As it was a spa bath, I assumed she meant we would wear our bathing suits.

---

The next morning, I was lying in bed awake again when I heard another quiet knock at the door. It was the same little knock as the previous day, so assuming it was Crystal, I told her to come in.

This time she was wearing a very cute matching set of underwear. They were pink with little green aliens on them, and a green trim around the edges. She looked incredibly sexy in them. They were just the type of thing I loved.

Crystal had long, dark-brown hair, big brown eyes and smooth olive skin. Her face was soft, with slightly chubby cheeks, full lips and a warm smile that always somehow seemed a bit cheeky. She had a naturally curvy figure, but there was nothing particularly glamorous about her. She was simply pretty in an effortless, girl-next-door kind of way. I had known her since childhood, and she now stood before me looking the sexiest I had ever seen her.

Wasting no time, Crystal jumped straight under the covers with me again, looked up into my eyes and said, “Morning.”

“Hello there,” I said. “This is another nice surprise.”

Crystal giggled. “Yeah, I’m probably going to make this a bit of a habit, so I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, of course not. It’s lovely.”

“Well, great, because I love giving you cuddles … and kisses too.”

With that, she gave me a little kiss on the cheek.

“Oh wow,” I said. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, silly.”

“No, you’re right. That did sound weird, didn’t it? I’m just not used to having a cute girl come into my room in the mornings and give me cuddles and kisses.”

“Well, get used to it,” she said with a smile.

That was pretty direct, I thought. She was clearly telling me that these morning moments of affection were going to be a regular thing. That did make me wonder again, though, if something more was going on here. Did Crystal have feelings for me? Did she want our relationship to become more than friends? I really didn’t know.

A couple of days passed without cuddles, possibly because I’d already been out of bed by the time Crystal woke up. Thursday morning I started work a little later, though, and was again just aimlessly scrolling on my phone when I heard the familiar knock on my bedroom door.

It was Crystal, of course, wearing her usual morning cuddle attire, and she jumped straight in under the covers with me again. We talked about how my new job was going and what she was studying at uni while she caressed my arms and shoulders.

Then, after a few more moments of chit-chat, she started giving me little kisses on the neck. Okay, she definitely wants to be more involved than just friends, I thought.

At that point, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it. I mean, she was gorgeous and I really liked her, and if I was being honest, I think I loved her. But we were best friends, and there had never been anything romantic between us. It just seemed kind of odd that we would suddenly become boyfriend and girlfriend, especially this quickly after not really having spent much time together for a few years.

I felt I needed to say something, but I really didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Either way, though, I knew it was for the best that I voiced how I felt.

“So, babe,” I said.

“Yes, babe?”

“I have to say I am absolutely loving these cuddles, and the kisses too, if I’m being honest. You’re very gentle and it feels amazing.”

“Okay,” said Crystal with a more serious look on her face. She could tell by my tone that there was a but coming.

“Yeah, but I don’t think we should take our relationship to the next level, not yet anyway. You know how much I like you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I think being boyfriend and girlfriend so quickly may not be the best idea.”

“Oh …” said Crystal.

I was worried I had hurt her feelings, but actually, I had completely misjudged the situation.

“Sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to give you that impression. I wasn’t wanting to take anything to the next level. I just … well, I may as well say it … I love you, but not in a romantic way. We’re best friends, and that’s absolutely how I want to keep it as well.”

“Okay,” I said, definitely confused now.

“I just like being affectionate with you. I mean, I know I didn’t do this kind of thing when we were younger, but I’ve grown up now and I’ve come to realise that you shouldn’t hold back on affection for someone if you like them. But that doesn’t mean you have to be in a romantic relationship. I know that would seem weird for some people, but not me. I feel like I should be able to kiss and cuddle my best friend if I want to, as long as he doesn’t mind, of course.”

Oh wow, I thought. I had never heard a proposition like this before.

Crystal was literally telling me she didn’t want to be any more than friends, but she thought we should be able to kiss and cuddle each other. I have to say, I immediately loved the idea.

“Also, if me being in my underwear is too much, I’ll tone it back a bit. I’m sorry, it’s just how I am. I know I get a little carried away sometimes. I guess I’m just super affectionate … or something like that.”

“No, that’s more than fine. I love that you come into my room and give me cuddles in your underwear. Especially the alien ones. They are so fucking cute!”

Crystal giggled. “I’m glad you like them.”

“I do, and no, of course I don’t have a problem with that. I just wanted to be clear on what was happening between us, that’s all.”

“More than okay, baby … so if we’re on the same page, the knickers, kisses and cuddles can stay?”

“Yes indeed, I would love that,” I chuckled.

Now that we’d established the relationship boundary, I was all for the slightly naughty affection.

---

I was definitely enjoying this new development in my life. The job was working out pretty well so far, and not only was it great living with Crystal and her mother, Rebecca, the house was absolutely amazing.

I’d grown up next door to Crystal and her family, and we spent most of our childhood and teenage years together. As there weren’t any other friends from school who lived close by, we found ourselves hanging out with each other all the time. It progressed from us playing together as kids to sleepovers as we got older, and we always just loved each other’s company. To us, it never seemed strange that we were so close, being male and female, and neither of us ever thought about being more than best friends.

She was always super cute, though, and there was definitely some physical attraction from time to time, like when I saw her in her bikini or when she got changed down to her knickers in front of me when we were sixteen. But still, I was just happy being friends. I loved that and didn’t want anything to change.

When Crystal was around seventeen, her father left home, and it was just her and Rebecca. Two years later, Rebecca came into a large amount of money from an inheritance. Her aunt and uncle were German and owned a huge engineering company. Rebecca and her sister were their only remaining family, and when both her aunt and uncle had passed away, they received a substantial sum of money.

Not long after, Crystal and Rebecca moved up north to the Gold Coast and bought a house on the riverfront. I still kept in touch with Crystal, of course, calling and messaging fairly often. They came down to visit a few times, but I didn’t see her in person a lot. Now we were both twenty-four, and our friendship was still as strong as ever.

After a job opportunity came up close to where they lived and I mentioned it to Crystal, she immediately said she wanted me to come and live with them. There were several spare rooms in their massive house, and she told me I wouldn’t have to pay anything. I loved the idea and agreed to come and live there, but I insisted on paying board.

---

A few days went by, and the three of us were having breakfast together. It was now Sunday, and Rebecca cooked bacon and eggs. Crystal made the coffee, nothing short of an exceptionally well made espresso. I was very impressed.

I was in my boxers and a shirt, Rebecca wore light blue cotton pyjamas and Crystal was in a lovely short black satin nightie.

“Thanks for breakfast, guys. It’s fantastic,” I said.

“No problem, Grant. Glad you like it,” replied Rebecca.

“So, how are you settling in, sweetie?” Rebecca continued.

“Yeah, really great, thanks. I love it here … how could you not? Your house is beautiful, and who wouldn’t want to live on the Gold Coast!”

“Yeah, we’re very lucky. We love it here, and we’re also very happy to share our place with you.”

“We love having you here,” added Crystal.

“That’s so nice, guys. Thank you.”

“I’ve been making sure he feels welcome, Mum,” said Crystal.

“That’s nice of you, dear.”

“Yeah, we’ve been having some nice morning cuddles, haven’t we, Grant?”

I thought it was odd that she was sharing this with Rebecca.

“Umm, yes … yeah, a couple of times,” I said nervously.

What else could I say?

“Well, that sounds nice, I’m glad you guys still get on so well after all these years. You two have always just clicked, haven’t you?” said Rebecca.

“Yeah, we’re best friends and always will be,” replied Crystal.

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” said Rebecca.

---

From then on, the cuddles continued every few mornings, and Crystal remained very affectionate with me. It felt lovely having her warm body against mine, her breasts pressed against my chest, and her giving me little kisses on the neck and cheek. She always wore some cute pair of bra and knickers, and each time she came in, I looked forward to seeing which ones she was wearing that day.

About two weeks later, I had a day off during the week. Rebecca had gone to work for the day, and Crystal was at home. Crystal went to uni a couple of times a week, but outside of that, she was mostly home studying.

After breakfast, we watched some TV together and chatted. When the show we were watching ended, Crystal asked, “So, do you wanna try out the bath with me?”

I had nothing to do for the day, so relaxing in that amazing looking spa bath sounded great to me.

“Sure,” I said. “Sounds lovely. I’ll just need a minute to find my bathers. They’re packed in a box I haven’t opened yet.”

“Oh okay, why?” asked Crystal.

“Why what?” I said.

“Why do you need bathers?”

I was confused. Surely she isn’t suggesting we take a bath together naked … Or maybe that is what she means?

“Oh, umm, I just assumed that I would,” I said.

Crystal giggled. “Well, not sure about you, babe, but I normally have my baths without any clothes on.”

My heart rate went up another few beats as it now seemed she was indeed suggesting taking a naked bath together. Had I somehow still missed something, though, or was she just toying with me?

I gave a nervous giggle and said, “Yes, I suppose that is quite normal.”

Crystal laughed. “Indeed, so you don’t need to worry about bathers, babe.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. I certainly wouldn’t say no to a nude bath with Crystal, I just couldn’t believe she was suggesting it. And now I was a little confused again. Did she actually want to be a bit more than friends after all? Maybe she wanted to have some kind of casual sex arrangement. Strange as it might sound, I didn’t really want that to happen. I was all for the cuddles and even a naked bath, but if we started having sex, I was worried about what that would do to our friendship.

I decided not to overthink it and went along with whatever Crystal had in mind for now.

“I’ll go get the water running,” she said. “It takes a while to fill up. Meet you in there in about ten?”

“Sounds good,” I replied.

I went back to my room for a moment, extremely excited about what was about to take place. There was a thought in the back of my head that maybe I had misunderstood something, but by now I’d pretty much realised that was unlikely.

I approached the bathroom and saw Crystal was in there. She had already stripped down to her underwear. I entered as she smiled at me.

“It’s nearly ready,” she said.

“Okay, great,” I said, feeling nervous and not really knowing what to do with myself.

I stood there for a few moments while Crystal messed around testing the temperature, then she turned off the taps and looked over at me.

“You gonna get undressed?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course. I was just waiting for you.”

“Well, I’m halfway there,” she giggled.

Couldn’t argue with that. I was still in trackpants and a shirt.

I took my shirt off and hung it over one of the towel rails, then looked to Crystal as I nervously grabbed the sides of my trackpants, mainly because I just wanted to be one hundred percent sure this was really happening.

At the same time, I noticed Crystal reach around to unbuckle her bra strap and remove her bra. For the first time in years, I saw her wonderful breasts. They looked so soft and were a perfect pear shape. Her nipples were small, light pink and pointy, and her skin was pale.

I was now very excited and more than happy to take my pants off. I stood for a moment in my undies as I watched her slide hers down her legs. Crystal was now fully naked, and for the first time I saw her gorgeous smooth-shaven pussy.

I was already getting aroused, and when I took off my undies, my cock sprang out and bounced a little. Crystal was watching at that moment, and a big smile came to her face.

“See, who needs bathers?” she said with a giggle.

I smiled back at her, then watched as she slowly lifted her legs up over the bath and got in. It was a graceful and sexy action, and her bare ass looked amazing. I promptly walked over and got in myself, feeling a little embarrassed about being naked in front of my friend, who seemed so confident in comparison.

Once I was in, Crystal turned on the jets and sank down into one of the seat positions. I did the same and felt the lovely warm water swirling around me as the jets massaged my back.

This is incredible, I thought. This feels so nice, and on top of that, I’ve got a naked girl in here with me.

Crystal and I began to chat, our bodies both covered by the water. Looking at her now, she seemed extra beautiful. Maybe I was just taken by the moment, but her lovely brown eyes, the few little freckles that came over her nose and that cute cheeky smile all made me realise just how pretty she was.

We continued to talk, and I relaxed as the minutes passed. After a little while, Crystal shifted positions and sat up on a higher platform. As she did, her lovely wet tits came up above the waterline, and she continued chatting to me casually.

I tried to focus on the conversation, but she was definitely making me very horny. My cock was now fully stiff under the water. As we talked, I looked into her eyes and reflected on just how wonderful this new living arrangement was.

I was still a little confused, though. Had Crystal arranged this nude bath as a way of suggesting casual sex? Or was she just comfortable being naked in front of me and there was no more to it than that?

I just had to know. I wasn’t one to let things linger.

“So, babe?” I said.

“Yes, darling?”

“Do you take nude baths with all of your house guests?”

Crystal giggled. “No, of course not. And you're not a guest, you live here.”

“Fair enough, it’s just,” I paused for a moment.

“What is it, sweetie? I could tell you've had something on your mind.”

She knew me well.

“Well, don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely loving this, like really loving this, but I just wanted to know if, by being naked in front of me, you wanted something more from our relationship.”

“Like what?” she asked innocently.

“Like, umm, well, having sex or something.”

“What? No, of course not, baby. No, that’s not what I want at all, and I am so sorry if I’ve given you that impression.”

“No, I’m not saying that you have, but I just thought...”

“You thought because I offered to have a bath with you in the nude that maybe I wanted to have casual sex.”

She understood clearly.

Crystal continued, “I can see how you would think that, babe, and again, I’m really sorry if I gave you some kind of mixed signal, but that’s not what I intended at all.”

I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation as she sat there naked in the bath with me. I watched as little droplets of water trickled down over her nipples. I couldn't help glancing at her tits as she spoke, and she seemed more than happy to continue this discussion having them out right in front of me.

“Okay then, that’s all good. I just had to ask.” I was feeling a bit awkward now.

“Is it all good? I don’t want things to be weird between us. I mean, if that’s something that was on your mind, you know you can tell me and we’ll talk about it, but it certainly wasn’t what I intended at all.”

“No, no, it wasn’t, and in fact I don’t want that. I love our friendship the way it is.”

“Well, me too. As I said, I guess I’ve just become really affectionate. I like to kiss and cuddle you, and having a naked bath together is no big deal to me. But that is seriously all I want. I’m not looking for any more of a relationship than that, and I don’t really want us to cross the line and have sex because then things would be different forever. Having said that, if you ever feel that way, please tell me and we’ll talk about it.”

“Okay, thank you. Well, we’re absolutely on the same page then. I love your affection, and I love that we can take a bath together and it doesn’t have to be more than that. I’m sorry if I made this awkward. I just had to make things clear.”

“Yeah, that’s alright. Don’t be sorry, baby. It was a perfectly understandable question.”

“Okay, thanks.”

After I said that, Crystal gave me a big smile and slowly pushed through the water until she was in front of me. To my complete surprise, she then gave me a kiss on the lips. It was only short, but it was the first time she’d ever done that.

“We all good then?” she said with a cute, cheeky smile.

I loved the kiss, and now knowing that Crystal had somehow developed this incredibly physical level of affection that she thought was healthy among best friends, I was more than comfortable with it.

“Absolutely,” I said.

Chapter 2 – Redefining The Rule Book

Sitting at the table having breakfast with Rebecca, I could hear the magpies warbling outside. I looked across at the amazing view through the huge glass panels, noticing a small fishing boat on the river not far from the house.

A few moments later, Crystal walked into the room wearing a pink satin robe. The kitchen was characteristically large, and over to one side was a table and chairs, almost like a mini living room attached to the kitchen area. Crystal sat down at the table near Rebecca and me and said good morning. She definitely got my attention as I could clearly see that she had no bra on. The robe was open enough at the top that a slight movement in a certain direction could easily make a nipple pop out.

The three of us started chatting together. Rebecca was telling us a story from work about one of her clients. After a little while, Crystal yawned and stretched her arms up. When they came back down, sure enough, the robe opened up and her left boobie was now in clear view.

I loved this sight, of course, and wondered if Crystal knew. Rebecca was directly opposite her, and I was waiting for her to say something. To my surprise, though, she just kept on chatting.

As I was nearly finished with my breakfast, Crystal got up to make hers. As she did, the strap around her robe was now untied and it fully opened up, exposing both of her breasts. She made no attempt to cover herself up, and while I took a good look at her tits, I also noticed the cute panties she had on. These ones were light blue with little white kittens on them.

As I watched, Crystal started moving around the kitchen, leaving the satin robe untied. Rebecca also looked in her direction a few times and, to my further surprise, didn’t say a word or even raise an eyebrow.

Once her toast and coffee were ready, Crystal sat back down at the table, her lovely breasts now in clear view of Rebecca and me.

 “You were up a bit later than usual this morning, sweetie,” said Rebecca.

“Yeah, I know. I slept in, and I missed my Grant cuddles too.”

“Oh, is this a regular morning routine now?”

“Umm, most mornings I guess, not all the time. He loves it when I do come in and give him cuddles in my underwear, though,” Crystal giggled.

I wondered why she would volunteer that information to her mother.

“Oh okay, yes, that sounds nice,” Rebecca said, smiling at me.

“Yeah, he particularly likes those pink panties with the little green aliens on them. You know the ones, Mum?”

Rebecca giggled. “Yes, I do. They are very cute. I like those ones.”

Crystal took a sip of her coffee.

“I give him kisses too, don’t I, babe?”

I really couldn’t believe she had just said that. What was Rebecca going to think?

“Umm, yes, you do,” I said reluctantly.

“That’s very cute,” said Rebecca. “Well, I’m really glad you two still get along so well after all this time.”

“Sure do, Mum.”

---

The next morning came, and Crystal made sure she wasn’t missing out on cuddles again. She’d woken up quite early this time and already had a shower. As she climbed under the covers I noticed she smelled lovely and fresh, her skin was extra soft and her hair was slightly damp.

“So, I think you might need a longer strap on your robe. It doesn’t seem to hold together very well,” I giggled.

“Oh yes, you may be right. Did you not like the view?” she said with an innocent little pout.

“Of course I did, I loved the view. You can get your titties out in front of me any time!”

This warranted a tickle from Crystal. Then she smiled at me, paused for a moment and gave me a kiss on the lips, the first one since the spa. I decided this was all part of our new agreement and didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. Just a short one, but I wanted to show her that I truly approved of the lip kissing.

But what happened next really surprised me.

Crystal now leaned in and gave me a proper kiss. This one was slow and sensual, and I felt a few moments where her tongue brushed against my upper lip. It lasted about twenty seconds, and then she stopped. At that point, she smiled, gave me another tickle and said, “I gotta get going, got uni today.”

With that, she skipped out the door and I was left stunned. What just happened was definitely not what friends do together. Having said that, neither was anything else that was going on between us. I couldn’t deny it felt amazing, and for now I was just gonna roll with it. It seemed like Crystal had just added a new level of affection to the best friend rule book.

---

The sensual kiss that Crystal gave me was definitely not a one-off thing, nor did I think it was going to be. Most mornings, I had my beautiful friend come into my room in her underwear, cuddle up to me nice and close, and think nothing of giving me a nice slow kiss on the lips before leaving to get ready and have breakfast.

The baths also continued when Rebecca wasn’t home, and every time it was incredible seeing Crystal naked. There was an unspoken distance there, though. I occasionally got a short kiss on the lips from her, but we didn’t get any closer than that without our clothes on.

One morning at the kitchen table, somehow the subject of our morning cuddles was again being discussed with Rebecca.

“Yeah, I heard the doorbell ring when I was cuddling Grant this morning and wondered who on earth it was at that time. We were right in the middle of having a kiss,” said Crystal.

What the fuck? I thought. Why would she tell her mother that? Surely by now Rebecca was going to question what was going on with us.

“Oh, so you guys … actually kiss?”

Even though Crystal had previously mentioned little kisses, it was clear now that she was talking about something more than that.

“Sure do. I give him nice big proper kisses on the lips, don’t I, babe?”

Fuck. What was I supposed to say to that? She was clearly teasing me, and I was a little embarrassed, to say the least.

“Umm, yes, you do,” I said.

“Oh,” said Rebecca.

I could tell she was surprised.

“So, are you two together now?”

“No, it’s nothing like that, Mum. We’re still just best friends. We just like kissing, that’s all,” said Crystal with a giggle.

I wondered what Rebecca would make of this, but to my surprise, she seemed to accept it pretty well.

“Oh okay then, well fair enough, I suppose. I was just wondering, that’s all.”

“Yep, no, nothing more going on, Mum. We’ve had a few baths together as well, but that’s it.”

“Oh okay, like with no clothes on?” Rebecca asked.

“Oh God,” Crystal laughed. “You’re as bad as him. Yes, of course with no clothes on. Since when do people have baths with their clothes on? What is wrong with you two!”

Rebecca giggled. “I was just confirming. So, you guys have naked baths and kiss on the lips, but you’re not together?”

I couldn’t believe Crystal was openly discussing all this with her mother.

“That’s right. We’re just having some fun with each other as friends, that’s all.”

“Fair enough then. I think that’s cute.”

Crystal smiled, and that was that. Rebecca was now well and truly aware of our arrangement, but I suspected she thought we were kidding ourselves and that something more might be developing.

---

This whole affectionate thing with Crystal was the best thing that had ever happened in my life. I mean, she was definitely sexy, a lot of fun to be around, and now with all these physical benefits, I was loving every bit of it.

I’d flown back down to Sydney for a few days to see the family, and when I got back, Crystal had gone out for dinner with some friends. Cuddles had always been a morning thing before then, but that night, when I was in bed around 10:00 pm, I got a message from her that woke me up.

Hey babe did you arrive back safe and sound?

Yep, sure did, back home now sweetie.

Ok cool I’m just coming home now, and I could really use some cuddles.

Oh ok, of course, is everything ok?

Yep I’m all good, just missed you that’s all :)

Ok no problem, I’ll be here waiting for you … and I missed you too :)

See you soon baby

A little while later, I heard Crystal enter the house. As everything was quiet, I heard the shower running, so I waited for her to finish. A little while later came her quiet knock at the door.

“Come in,” I said.

Crystal emerged into the room looking cute in her pink bathrobe.

“Hello,” I said as she came closer.

“Hey baby, welcome home, is it okay if we turn the lights out?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

Crystal flicked the switch, then there was a short pause before she climbed into bed with me. As I went to cuddle her, I expected to feel the fluffy robe, but instead I came into contact with bare skin. I ran my hand over her back and immediately noticed there was no bra strap to be found. My heart rate immediately increased, knowing she was topless. Of course, I immediately wondered if she was wearing panties and just had to know, so I slid my hand further down her back until I reached her ass.

She definitely had no panties on either.

This was a surprising development, but one I did not have a problem with. Crystal smelled amazing, and having her warm naked body in my bed was incredible. I wondered if this was the moment that she’d decided it was worth crossing the line. Part of me really wanted to, but the rational part of me didn’t.

I noticed she wasn’t her usual giggly self. She was in a good mood, but she was more softly spoken and her touch was very sensual. Were these signs that she wanted to take things further tonight?

I thought about it for a moment and realised that she was the one who'd first drawn a clear boundary. I just agreed with it. She had also told me that if I ever felt like crossing the line, she trusted me enough to tell her.

That agreement went both ways though. If her feelings had changed and she wanted to take things to the next level, then she owed it to me to make it clear. I wasn’t going to keep guessing or feel guilty that I'd missed some kind of sign.

So with that in mind, I just went with it. I trusted that Crystal wasn’t secretly expecting anything more, and if she was, she would just tell me straight. That allowed me to relax into the moment for what it was.

Two close friends sharing a very intimate bond together.

As we cuddled, she rolled over on top of me and began giving me a wonderful slow, soft kiss. I could tell she hadn’t seen me for days, and she was showing me physically just how much she’d missed me. I ran my hands and fingers up and down her bare skin, caressing her back and her ass as we kissed, and I could feel her lovely soft breasts pressing against my chest through my shirt.

We loved each other, and we were obviously physically attracted. We'd just managed to find an unusual relationship that worked for us both. Kissing and cuddling was allowed, naked holding was allowed, naked baths were allowed. The physical boundary was basically having oral sex or intercourse with each other, or I guess deliberately touching each other’s sexual parts. Outside of that, there was no boundary on how intense things could become, as Crystal was quite clearly demonstrating tonight.

Crystal had also explained that if at any time she wanted to start seeing someone, she wanted the freedom to do so. She would tell me first of course, and at that point the affection would probably not be the same for a while. This was all part of the agreement we’d spoken about, and if I wasn’t comfortable with it, she asked me to tell her, either then or at any other time that I changed my mind. I told her I was all good with the idea and that for now I was just happy to live in the moment. If she became attracted to someone else, then I would let it happen and not be jealous. I just wanted to protect our beautiful friendship more than anything in the world, and we both believed this was the best way to go about it.

---

After that night, when Crystal came into my room for cuddles, sometimes she had underwear on, and sometimes she had a long T-shirt on with no panties. Other times she wore her robe, pulling it off just before jumping into bed with nothing on at all.

She appeared to be getting more confident around the house too, and thought nothing of occasionally making an appearance in her underwear. Sometimes she wore something sexy and lacy, but more often she went for the cute approach, often sporting her pink undies with the aliens on them, knowing these were my favourites.

Other times she would just wear a super loose tank top, so loose her tits would basically fall out the side of it when she moved around. She changed that up by wearing something so tight you could clearly see her nipples poking through the material. Whatever the case, she always kept it interesting, and a couple of times she'd worn just panties with no top on, freely walking around in front of her mother and me with her beautiful tits out.

Rebecca didn’t blink an eyelid when she saw Crystal wearing any of these things or going topless. I realised it was nothing she hadn’t seen before, but Crystal was definitely doing these things because she liked to tease me.

---

Crystal and I would often hang out together on the weekends. Sometimes we’d go into Southport and do some shopping and have lunch somewhere. Some Sunday mornings, we’d go out for breakfast, and occasionally Rebecca would come. A couple of times, Crystal and I played mini golf, and then that kind of became our thing. The places that offered it were becoming quite elaborate, and we made it our goal to get around to all the different ones.

We always had a lot of fun together, and Crystal was just a beautiful person to be around. We never argued, and we always found the same kinds of silly things funny. Sometimes Crystal would give me kisses in public, and we held each other’s hands. It definitely felt like an ordinary boyfriend-and-girlfriend relationship in a lot of ways, but we stuck to our rules, and there was always the possibility that one of us might actually choose to have a more serious relationship with someone else.

---

It was a lovely afternoon in April. Summer had definitely come to an end, but we were still getting some nice sunny days. The trees along the street were beginning to turn a beautiful burnt orange as autumn set in.

I pulled into the driveway after the trip home from work, parked my car and then entered the house through the garage. I noticed Rebecca’s car was gone, but Crystal was home. As I walked in through the kitchen, I could hear the TV and guessed she was in the main lounge area. I put my keys in the drawer, grabbed a packet of chips from the cupboard and went to say hello to Crystal.

I walked into the lounge room and nearly choked as I was eating the chips. Crystal was sitting back on the lounge, watching TV completely naked. Of course, I had seen her with nothing on when we had our baths, but I had never seen her this way in such a candid setting before.

“Oh hey, babe,” she said when she saw me.

“Hello there,” I said with a big smile. “I see you’re having a nice relaxing afternoon.”

“Sure am. Decided I’d have a break from study today.”

We continued this small talk for a little while as I took in the wonderful sight before me. Crystal had a gorgeous body. She’d been working out over summer and looked as stunning as ever. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was wearing short white socks with strawberries on them. Her legs were slightly parted, giving me a nice view of her shaven pussy, and she looked very casual.

“So, are you going to sit down?” asked Crystal with a smile.

At the same time, she motioned for me to sit next to her.

“Oh yeah, of course. Sorry, I was just temporarily mesmerised,” I said with a giggle.

Crystal just rolled her eyes and said, “Silly.”

I sat down next to her on the plush leather lounge and put my chips on the coffee table as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

“Want a cuddle?” she asked casually.

It didn’t take me long to answer that, especially given she was naked.

“Always,” I said with a smile.

With that, she put down her tea and swung her leg over my lap to sit on my legs, looking right into my eyes.

“Welcome home, baby,” she said.

I giggled. “This is a very nice welcome indeed.”

Crystal looked at me for a few moments in silence, then leaned in for a lovely kiss.

As she kissed me, her naked breasts pushed against my chest, and I ran my hands down her back, giving her soft little scratches which I knew she loved. After a little while, the kiss was over and she leaned back, smiling.

I then instinctively caressed the sides of her chest and, for the first time, without even thinking about it, my hands made their way to her lovely bare breasts. I cupped them from the bottom for a short moment, then moved my hands up and flicked my thumbs over her nipples. As soon as I did, I took my hands away, realising I’d gotten caught in the moment and possibly gone too far.

There was a moment where neither of us said anything, then Crystal spoke.

“It’s okay, baby. You can touch them,” she said in a soft voice.

I couldn’t believe she’d just said that.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “It isn’t crossing the line?”

“No. I’m happy to allow this to enter the rule book,” she said.

Her voice had a more serious tone to it. I actually really loved the way she spoke. Something about the way she said this, not smiling or giggling, assured me that not only was it okay, but it acknowledged a deeper level of intimacy that we hadn’t experimented with before.

I didn’t immediately go wild with this permission, of course, but I did caress her boobs softly for a few moments after that, showing her that I had sincere respect for her and what she allowed me to do with her body.