"Right." I smiled sheepishly as I tugged my shoes off and held one in each hand. "I'm not used to the outdoors since I live in Philadelphia, but that's why I came here. To commune with nature or whatever."
"You can definitely do that here."
We were aiming for the two-story building, so I hurried ahead of him to open the door.
"Sorry, that's supposed to be my job," he said, lugging the suitcases across the threshold.
"My fault. I overpacked. Always do."
The door swung shut behind us.
Dragging in a deep breath, I let my eyelids ease half closed. The aroma of succulent foods wafted past me. Was that hamburgers? God, I'd kill for red meat. And did I smell fries? Maybe even sweet potato fries?Please, yes, let it be.
I blew out the breath I'd held. "Mm, I smell food. Haven't eaten since I left Philly early this morning."
"The other guests are having lunch," Oliver said. "Why don't you join them while I take your things upstairs? They're nice people, and they love meeting new guests."
"You don't mind? I mean, I'm leaving you to carry my bags. I know they're heavy."
"It's my job." He nodded toward the door a dozen feet down the hall. "Dining hall's in there. Go on, have fun."
A real smile stretched my lips. "Thank you, Oliver."
I trotted toward the doorway to food heaven, inhaling more delicious aromas, my eyes drifting partway closed again. My tummy grumbled. Oh lord, I was starving. At the doorway, I paused and opened my eyes all the way to survey the dining hall.
Men and women sat at tables, chatting, smiling, and stuffing fries in their mouths.
Naked men. Naked women. Not a scrap of anything resembling clothing on any of them.
A wave of ice cold flooded through me. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't budge even one-thousandth of a step.
Totally naked people.
Suddenly, the gaze of every single person in the dining hall veered to me.
And I screamed.
God, had I turned into the dumb chick in a B horror movie? Screaming? For heaven's sake, I was a grown woman. But I couldn't shake the ice-cold shock. What kind of birdwatchers ate lunch in the nude?
Pretty sure my jaw dropped. My eyes bulged too.
Something thumped behind me.
Everyone stared at me. They looked confused.
I stammered but couldn't piece together whole words, much less sentences.
Oliver appeared beside me, touching my arm. "What's wrong? Are you having an epileptic seizure or something? I can take you to the hospital if---"
"No, I'm not having a seizure." Why did my voice sound breathy? I squeezed my eyes shut and turned toward him, praying I could get a grip soon. "Why is everyone naked?"
"Oh. Yeah, that. I know at some naturist resorts the guests dress for meals, but here we have a less formal way of doing things. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Fine. Yes." The syllables were clipped. I pried my lids apart to look at Oliver. "Why would birdwatchers eat in the nude?"
"Birdwatchers? Some of our guests enjoy doing that, but what's clothing got to do with it?"
"Everyone is naked." Why did he not see how horribly wrong this all was?