She'd winked at me when she said the part about Ollie.
Ugh. How could he possibly want me to stick around? I'd acted like such an idiot, and I'd kissed him---which he clearly hadn't appreciated.
So stupid, Mara.
This morning, I decided to hide out for a while in the little house where Ollie had generously let me stay. He had left a note on my door saying he went to the office in the guest house and I should help myself to the breakfast he'd left in the fridge for me. Sure, I'd gotten somewhat accustomed to hanging out with naked people, but I needed a break from my immersion therapy. A little alone time. To decompress.
Nothing helped me relax more than a nice warm bath.
Unfortunately, this house had a shower, not a bathtub.
Did the guest house have a tub? I really, really, seriously needed some relaxation time, preferably with bubbles.
I peered out the kitchen window and spotted Ruth Norris right when she looked in my direction. I waved until she noticed, smiling, then gestured for her to come here. She nodded and hustled to the door. When I opened it, she walked right in.
"What can I do for you, sweetie?" she asked.
"Um, well..." I hunched my shoulders, feeling weird about what I wanted to ask.
She put her arm around my shoulders and gave me a gentle squeeze. "Don't be shy, hon. Whatever it is, you can tell me."
"I was wondering if there's a bathtub in the guest house. I'd love a nice, relaxing soak."
"There is a soaking tub attached to the exercise room. It's a jacuzzi-type thing, so it's great for relaxing."
"Exercise room?" I bit the inside of my lip, imagining all the ways I could be humiliated by someone walking in while I was soaking. Even if I wore a swimsuit, I'd feel embarrassed. "That sounds kind of...public."
"No-no, sweetie, you can shut the door. Nobody will go in there without knocking first." She gave my bottom a little pat. "Go on. Enjoy yourself. I'll let the other guests know not to use the exercise room while you're enjoying jacuzzi therapy."
"Thank you, Ruth. You've been so nice to me, in spite of the way I acted yesterday."
"Never mind that. We all have bad days."
Ruth gave me directions for how to find the exercise room, then left to alert the other guests that the room was off limits for a while. She even suggested I put a scarf or something on the door handle so I could take it off when I left the exercise room. That way, everyone would be sure to steer clear until I was done.
God, I loved that woman. I wished she were my grandma.
My real grandmother was just like my mom. If the people here thought I was uptight, they should meet my family. I loved them, but Mom and Grandma had high standards I never quite met.
I grabbed my conservative black one-piece swimsuit---along with a towel, a bottle of bath oil, and a silver scarf---before I trotted to the guest house and found the exercise room on the first floor. Like Ruth had promised, the room was empty. I hooked my scarf around the knob and shut the door. Once I got into the jacuzzi room, I discovered the tub was already filled and hot, with the jets turned on, bubbling away.
After pouring a small amount of bath oil into the water, I climbed in.
Only then did I realize maybe I shouldn't have used bath oil. Would it mess up the jacuzzi? Since it was too late to worry about that, I put the worry out of my mind.
Oh God, the water felt incredible. It was just hot enough to soothe me, but not so hot I'd sweat like in a sauna. I hated those. Getting drowned in steam made me nauseous. But this jacuzzi... Wow, I could live in it. The bath oil released its soothing scents while I leaned back and let the bubbles tease my skin. A jet pounded into my back, easing the tension there, and I moaned because it felt so damn good. I'd been stressed for a long time, with no real means of alleviating it. Nothing I did was good enough for anyone, and heaven forbid if I tried something that wasn't on the approved list of activities for a socialite.
Last year, I'd wanted to go to Disneyland, and my parents had said it was "too gauche for a lady like you." Well, my mom had said that. Dad let her do all the talking when it was slap-Mara-on-the-wrist time. No actual slapping was involved, though. Purely the verbal kind. My mom never yelled at me or insulted me. She simply reminded me of the rules for people in our echelon of society.
Sometimes, I really, really wanted to do something crazy, something totally opposite of what everyone expected. Something naughty. Something that might actually feel good.
That jet felt damn good pulsing against my low back.
Maybe if I turned around and lifted my hips...
I grinned, feeling deliciously wicked just thinking about it. Maybe the nudist resort setting had affected me, but I had an urge I couldn't resist. So I spun around and knelt in front of the water jet, letting the bubbly power of it pulsate on my body, right at the juncture of my thighs. It didn't quite hit the right spot, the one that would send me straight to the land of happy endings. I wiggled around, trying to find the sweet spot, but none of the jets had the perfect angle.
Shit. I was getting hot, and not from the water temperature. The second I'd thought about using the water jet to get off, I'd gone so hot and slick I almost couldn't stand it. Feeling the jet pounding into my thighs and hips ratcheted up my arousal until my rigid nub throbbed.