Carl wanted to go back to the guest house, so I walked back to the junction with the main trail with him to keep him company. We chatted about how beautiful it was here and how all the other nudists were so nice. He finally asked the obvious question when we stopped at the trail junction.
"It's none of my business," he said, "but I'm wondering why you wear clothes. This is a naturist resort, after all."
"Yeah, I wondered when you'd ask me that." I bit my lip while I considered how best to answer. Well, he'd probably hear about my freak-out sooner or later. Might as well get it out there now. "My travel agent made a mistake and thought naturist meant birdwatching and observing wildlife. So when I got here, I wasn't prepared for all the nudists. I shrieked and passed out. I've gotten used to all the naked people, but I still don't feel comfortable going au naturel."
"This is a clothes-optional resort, so keeping your duds on is acceptable. Maybe one day you'll try it our way." He patted my arm. "Never know, kid, you might enjoy it."
Carl and I said goodbye, and I went back down the trail to the hot spring. Ollie wasn't here yet, so I kicked off my sandals and sat down on the rocky ledge that surrounded the pool, letting my feet dangle in the water. I swung my legs, splashing my feet in the blue water, loving the silky warmth of the hot spring. It felt so nice, but I wanted to experience it all around me like I had the first time, when Ollie brought me here. I'd dived into the spring with my clothes on, but today, I wanted to feel the steamy water on my skin.
I couldn't. I mean, I was the girl who went wacko when I saw naked people eating lunch in a cafeteria.
But things had changed since then. I had changed. Ollie had shown me how to relax and take pleasure in the simple things without worrying about whether other people thought I was an idiot. He'd helped me loosen up in record time, but I knew I still had a ways to go before I'd shed that part of me for good. Eventually, I'd have to go home---to my family and to the disapproval of those high-society idiots who turned their noses up at my sometimes ditsy behavior. Would this new version of me, the one I really liked, disappear when I left the resort?
God, I hoped not. But just in case, I wanted to revel in my newfound freedom as much as possible before I had to leave this magical place.
I got up, glancing around to make sure nobody was around, then I stripped off my clothes. A breeze tickled my skin, and my nipples went rigid from the cool kiss of the air. I walked to the very edge of the rock ledge that encompassed the spring, my toes curled over its rim, and gazed down at the beautiful blue water and the steam wafting up from it.
Then I dived in, cannonball style.
Water plumed up around me.
I sank beneath the surface, bobbing up out of it. Laughter bubbled out of me, and I dived under the surface again, springing up out of the water, laughing even more, squealing when a wavelet lapped against my face. I couldn't remember the last time I had this much fun. Well, fun that didn't involve Ollie naked on top of me.
And I had never felt this free, except with him.
Paddling around the pool, I flipped over to do the backstroke and then moved into the center of the spring to float on my back. The sun shined down through an opening in the trees, casting its glow on the water around me and on my face. I shut my eyes while I swirled my fingers in the water, letting the rest of the world drift away until nothing remained except the sound of the breeze rustling the trees and the birds twittering.
"Mara?"
Ollie's voice pulled me out of my meditation. He stood near the edge of the spring, looking down at me with a confused expression.
I swam to him, folding my arms on the ledge. "There you are. I thought you'd forgotten about me."
"That won't ever happen." He knelt to get closer to me. "You're swimming. Naked. In the outdoors."
"Mm-hm. It feels wonderful." I splashed my hand in the water, some of the spray landing on his face. "Have you ever made love in the hot spring?"
He swallowed hard enough I could see it, and his voice dropped to a husky register. "No, I've never done that. Everybody knows Eve and Val did that once. Probably more than once, but nobody's caught them since that first time. I wouldn't want to be a copycat."
"But I want you, Ollie. Want you so bad."
"I, uh..." He blinked several times and shook his head, like he was trying to clear his thoughts. "I want you too, Mara, but there's been a complication."
"What's wrong?"
"Your parents are here."
Everything inside me froze, mutating into solid ice. My parents? Here? At a nudist resort?Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
I scrambled out of the hot spring, pushing Ollie over in the process, and struggled to get my clothes on. Taking them off had been so easy, but now I couldn't seem to get them back on the right way. Words tumbled out of me while I fought with my clothes.
"They can't see me like this, they can't. Naked? In public? Oh God, they'll have me committed or arrested or---"
"Stop." Ollie grasped my shoulders, turning me toward him. "Take a deep breath and exhale out all that anxiety and panic. Come on, Mara, you can do it."
I drew in one shaky breath, letting it out slowly.
"Again," Ollie said, his voice so calm and soothing that I believed I could shake off the panic as long as he stayed with me.