My first towel drop story was from my much younger days. When caught with just a towel around one's waist, by controlled breathing, it is easy to allow the towel to drop to the ground at the time of one's choosing, leaving oneself "accidentally" naked. To reinforce the accidental nature of the drop, one is expected to quickly apologise, appear embarrassed, and replace the towel promptly. On occasions, when the target reaction warrants it, one can take one's time to return to modesty.

Such an occasion happened recently, when the front doorbell rang, and I noticed, through my upstairs window, a lady, well-dressed and middle-aged, waiting for the door to open. Not to miss an opportunity, I quickly took off my clothes, wrapped a towel around my waist, hurried down the stairs and opened the door, explaining that I was about to jump into the shower.

"Sorry for the interruption, but I am from a survey company, and we are trying to establish the public's position on power prices, clean energy and global warming. Would you mind taking a few minutes to complete this questionnaire for us?" She handed me a board on which a printed paper was attached containing twenty or so questions. I took this in one hand, while she handed me a biro to take in the other. She added, "I promise it will only take a minute or two. Do you mind?"

"Of course," I replied, holding the board up against the wall next to the door with one hand, and positioning the pen against the first set of boxes to tick with the other. With both hands now occupied, this was the perfect time for the "accidental" towel drop. I was sideways to the lady at the time of the drop, able to see the smile on her face, as she let out, "Ooops!"

"Aren't you going to pick the towel back up?" she asked. 

"I don't have a spare hand. I'm sure you've seen this sort of thing before, but if it bothers you, I'll give you back your form and pen while I recover the towel. However it doesn't bother me, so I would just as soon keep going," I offered, now facing her. 

Her smile had clearly broadened, her eyes darting up and down my naked body. "Please do," she agreed.

"I must say, I have never experienced this before. You are quite brazen." She looked back behind her and could see that the street was empty. "Don't you worry that your neighbours might see you?"

"Not really." Having now finished ticking boxes, I handed the form back to her. She quickly scanned it, but then asked if I would mind signing it.

"You just want to keep me out here longer," I joked, winking, as I took the form back and signed it. She laughed, took back the form and pen, winked back, and replied, "You've got me."

I turned to go back inside, she turned to go back to the street, and it was over. Before closing the door, I turned, as I saw that she too had turned, and we waved our goodbyes.

The very best way to extend the period of nudity, is to also wear a top of some sort, as well as the towel. It is commonplace for people coming from the surf, or having finished a long jog, to wrap themselves in a towel, remove the wet costumes or sweaty shorts, and replace them with something fresher, all under the modesty of the towel. Of course one can drop the towel mid-way. What is better is to try taking the top off over one's head, while naked under the towel, and let it drop then. Both hands are occupied, one is struggling to get the top off, and "anxiety" can make this a bit difficult.

I will recount two such experiences.

In the first, I have emerged from the surf onto the beach, wearing my wetsuit. I find my towel, wrap it around my waist, and modestly, with some difficulty, take down the bottoms of my wetsuit. Obviously I am not wearing anything under the wetsuit. Now comes the top. I am standing, pulling the top of the wetsuit over my head. Anyone with experience knows that this is not easy. The suit clings to the body, not wanting to comply. And worst of all, I have "forgotton" to unzip the top. The towel drops, my arms are still covered by the suit, which will not fit over my head. It is impossible to unzip in this position, and also difficult to pull the top back down to unzip from the outside. I am naked, floundering with a heavy, wet monstrosity over my head. Those nearby are either laughing or cheering.

Finally, someone comes to help, not to replace my towel, but to undo my zip. Having been so kind, he then picks up my towel, and I am aware that he has thrown it away, so that now that I am finally free of the wetsuit, I must retrieve the towel, naked, and still entertaining the appreciative crowd.

I love wetsuits!

The other experience was a few years back, on a cruise ship on the Mediterranean. 

I am on the deck, alongside the swimming pool, lying on a lounge, enjoying the sun. I have noticed that quite a few people, once they have swum, prefer to return to their chaises, and under cover of a towel, remove the wet costumes, and replace them. My wife, sister and her husband have returned to our cabins, to get ready for drinks. I devise my plan.

I get up from the lounge, wrap my towel around me, and walk over to the railing of the deck. Holding the railing for support, I reach under the towel and slowly take down my swimming costumes, leaving them beside me on the deck floor. Now I place my hands under my shirt and begin lifting it over my head. I realise that the top buttons are still done up, so at this stage I allow the towel to drop to the floor. With time and a little difficulty, I can undo the buttons from the inside, but while doing so, I lose balance and must reach for the railing. Still unable to see, I stumble on the towel, which causes it to fall to the deck below, taking my costumes with it.

Before finally freeing myself of the shirt, I am aware of quite a few "clicks", probably cameras. Will I also lose the shirt? No, a little too obvious. All eyes are on me, someone starts to clap, and others join in. I walk twenty or so metres to the kiosk to obtain another towel. On the way I deposit the shirt on my lounge. I wrap myself in the fresh towel, turn to the audience, and take an elegant bow. There is a lot of noise, all in languages I do not understand.

I take the steps down to the lower deck, and am lucky enough to see my costumes. I reach down to pick them up, and as I stand, the fresh towel also dislodges. I entertain a smaller audience as I hurriedly try to put them on. I miss the leg opening once or twice, but when finally properly covered, I join my wife back in the cabin, to amuse her with the story of my misfortune.

"You're plain evil" she laughs.