Mara stared at me like I'd gone totally insane. But when I winked and smiled, she seemed to get the idea I'd been kidding. Nobody went insane moderately. They went all the way or not at all. Or at least that's what I thought. I didn't have any experience with lunatics.
She almost smiled at my dumb joke, but the expression crumbled quickly.
"You're not a screw-up," I said. "Everybody makes mistakes. Even the uptight jerks who claim they never mess up."
"You don't get it." She made that noise again and flopped back onto the bed. "I can't even speak Japanese."
Okay, that was one thing I'd never heard on somebody's list of ways they'd screwed up.
I braced one hand on the bed beside her and leaned into it, gazing down at her face. "If that's the yardstick for being a screw-up, I'm just as bad as you are. I can't speak Japanese either."
"But nobody expects you to." She moaned pitifully, rolling her head side to side. "My mom is super proud of our Japanese heritage. So is my grandmother. My dad is half Dutch, half Welsh, but he doesn't expect me to speak Dutch or Welsh. My mom is so humiliated that I couldn't learn Japanese, even after years of lessons. I suck at it."
"It's a really hard language, huh?"
She moaned again, even more pitifully. "My mom learned it when she was a little girl. She's never been to Japan, doesn't know anybody in Japan, and the Kanda family has been American since my great-great-whatever grandparents moved here in eighteen eighty-three. But learning the language is like a badge of honor in our family." She pounded her fists on the bed. "And I can't speak Japanese."
"I won't hold that against you. I mean, I flunked out of high school Spanish and had to repeat it in summer school. Even then, I had to pay a girl in my class to tutor me so I could squeak by with a C minus."
"Are your parents Spanish? Do they think not speaking the language is shameful?"
"No, I can't say they do. And my family's part Scottish, part Italian, part French. That means we love plaid, we curse and spit at everybody, and we make awesome bread."
Her lips twitched like she might smile any second. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up. I'm sorry I went off on a rant about my family."
"Don't worry about it. Seemed like you really needed to get all that off your chest." I looked down at her chest, at those sexy tits barely hidden inside her tank top. "And I'd be happy to help you out by getting that shirt off your chest too."
She laughed, the sound completely feminine and melodic, like tiny bells tinkling.
First, I talked to my dick. Now, I was thinking about tinkling bells. Time to get off that track before my balls derailed for good and I turned into a girl.
It was also way past time I told her the truth about me.
"So," I began, in a not-at-all lame way, "are you really cool with the nudity? You can handle seeing more people in the buff?"
"Yes, I can handle it. You don't have to worry about me shrieking and fainting in your arms again." She crossed her heart with one finger. "Promise."
"Hey, I didn't mind the fainting in my arms part. But if you're really sure, there's something I need to tell you. Or maybe I should just show you."
"I'd love to see whatever it is you want to show me. I trust you, Ollie."
"You've known me for barely more than a day."
"Doesn't matter. I trust you."
"Well, uh..." I straightened, scratching the back of my head. "I kind of---Well, I didn't quite lie to you, but I wasn't completely upfront about something."
Mara sat up too, hitting me with a sweet smile. "Considering how much I freaked out when I first got here, I don't blame you for holding back anything."
"You really are the nicest girl I've ever met." I let my gaze travel down her body and back up again. "And the hottest girl I've ever met."
She waved her hands in a come-on gesture. "Tell me whatever it is. Or show me. Whichever."
"Okay." I got up and took off my shirt, trying not to smirk when her eyes widened and she bit her lip. When I ditched my pants and stood naked in front of her, I spread my arms wide. "I'm a naturist, Mara."
Her tongue slipped out to moisten her lips, and her gaze seemed to have stalled slightly south of my hips. "Oh. I see. No underwear? Whew, Ireallysee."
"And you're okay with it?"