Mom moaned and dropped her head onto Dad's shoulder. "Our daughter is a nudist."
"No, Mom, I'm not." Though I had jumped into the hot spring naked. She didn't need to hear about that. "I don't know if I'll ever want to be a nudist like Ollie and the others here, but I like these people. They're nice. Everyone here has accepted me as-is, and that's a new experience for me."
Though I'd kept my clothes on the whole time, staying here had turned into the most liberating experience of my life.
Dad murmured things to my mom that I couldn't hear, but it seemed to relax her a bit. She raised her head to look at me.
"All right," she said. "We'll stay here. Could someone please get my bags? I need Xanax."
I couldn't blame her for that. Maybe I needed some too. This conversation with my parents had been more stressful than when I'd gotten my first glimpse of nudists. The whole thing had left me on edge, and I needed to decompress soon, maybe by doing yoga---or doing Ollie.
Glancing at him, I couldn't help wetting my lips.
He caught me watching him and smiled in a sexy, yet oddly supportive, way.
I exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
Ollie set his hands on his chair's arms, about to get up. "I'll grab your bags."
"No," I said, "let me. I know which one Mom keeps her Xanax in, so I can bring it to her faster. We can get the rest of their stuff later, once they're settled in somewhere."
"I'll stay in the guest house. Your parents can have the room here."
"Are you sure your bosses won't mind? It's their room, after all."
"Yeah, but Eve and Val are cool. They won't care." Ollie flicked his gaze to my mom and back to me. "Besides, I think your mother will be happier here than in the guest house."
With all the naked people. Yeah, he had a point.
"Thank you, Ollie," my dad said. "I appreciate that."
"No problem."
I marched into the kitchen, straight to the door to the outside, and swung it open.
An enormous naked man with wild hair and the most enormous penis I'd ever seen filled the doorway.
Every ounce of blood in my body seemed to evaporate. My heart pounded so hard and fast I couldn't catch my breath.
And I screamed.
Chapter Sixteen
Ollie
Mara's scream echoed through the house. She didn't just scream once, though. She did over and over, with only a little gap between each outburst, probably to pull in more air so she could shriek again. What the heck was going on out there?
The shock of her screams kept me frozen for a moment, but then I leaped up and bolted into the kitchen.
Mara stood at the door that led outside, one hand on the open door, her body stiff.
Val Silva hunkered at the threshold, completely naked, his lips moving. He seemed to be trying to calm Mara down, though her screaming drowned out his words. He moved his hands like he wanted to grasp her shoulders but seemed to nix that idea. Instead, he held his hands up like he was in a bank during a holdup and Mara was the robber pointing a gun at him.
I raced up to them, inserting myself between her and Val. "Mara, it's okay."
Her last scream wound down into silence, the only noise her ragged breaths. Her chest heaved, and her lips quivered.
"Take it easy," I said, bracketing her face with my hands. "It's okay. This is Val Silva. I told you about him, remember? He and Eve own the resort. This is their house."
Over Mara's shoulder, I spotted her parents in the living room doorway. Sheryl had her hand over her mouth while she stared wide-eyed at Val. Peter watched everything with a slightly bemused expression. When Val shifted a little to the side, Sheryl got her first good look at his dick, and her eyes went even wider. Her husband, now smirking, slapped his hand over his wife's eyes.
"I'm sorry," Val said. "I didn't mean to scare her. Eve and I just came from the airport, and I couldn't wait to get rid of my clothes. I had no idea you were hosting guests in our house."
Val didn't mean "our house" as chastisement. He was stating a fact, that's all. And I hadn't called Eve or Val since I decided to let Mara stay here with me. So this was my fault.
I could explain that to Val later.
"Take a slow, deep breath," I told Mara, rubbing her arms. "Val usually has a strong effect on women, but you're the first one who's screamed at him."
She took my advice, hauling in slow, deep breaths until she calmed down enough to speak. "I'm okay. I promise."
Val snaked a hand around me to offer it to Mara. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mara. I'm Val Silva, and I don't make a habit of terrifying women. I hope you can forgive me."
She shook his hand. "It's okay. At least I didn't faint this time."
"I'll get some clothes from the truck and get dressed."
Val left.
Mara's shoulders sagged, and she leaned her forehead on my chest. "That was so embarrassing."
"Nah, that was nothing. You should've been there when Val got attacked by no-see-ums."
She lifted her head to look at me, her lips kinking into an almost-smile. "I'd love to hear that story."
"Tell you later. When your parents aren't watching."
Mara glanced over her shoulder and smiled sheepishly at her parents. "I'm okay. He surprised me, that's all."
Sheryl still had her hand over her mouth, but her husband lowered his hand from her eyes. Mara's dad looked tickled pink by the commotion. Well, at least he was having a good time.
Peter took his wife's hand. "Why don't we go outside and let Ollie and Mara have a moment alone."
Sheryl's eyes flared so big this time that the whites seemed to glow in the sunlight that came in through the window.
