She smiled, her lips sealed, then retreated into the house.
I went back to doing my job, but several times I glanced out the office window to see Mara outside the little house, cautiously watching the guests who were hanging out on the lawn. And yeah, I got out the binoculars so I could get a closer look---at her facial expression, not her body. Okay, maybe I enjoyed taking a peek at that too. She seemed less anxious about the whole naturist thing, since she didn't squeeze her eyes shut anymore, though she still didn't go out onto the lawn to socialize. Baby steps, I guessed.
At lunchtime, I got a great idea. Well, it sounded like a great one to me. Mara shouldn't hide in the little house all day. Fresh air and exercise, plus a few fun activities that didn't involve nudity, would make her feel better. I was sure of it. So I made us lunch in the big kitchen in the guest house and trotted over to the little house, setting my picnic basket and guitar case on the ground beside me. I knocked on the door to avoid scaring Mara again.
When she opened the door, she smiled. "Hi, Ollie."
This girl had the most beautiful smile in the history of smiling. I had no idea how long ago people first started making that expression, but it didn't matter. To me, her smile was the best.
"Hey, Mara," I said. "Made us a picnic lunch. Want to come out to the lake with me? All the other guests are in the big house, in the exercise room or the entertainment room, so we'll have the lake to ourselves."
"I've never walked in the woods before."
"You came here to commune with nature, right? And do some birdwatching?" When she nodded, I said, "I want to show you my favorite spot for seeing birds and other wildlife. It's also a nice place for a picnic."
She peered out the door at the lawn, where only a few guests still hung out. They were chilling on chaises and talking, not doing anything crazy.
I held my hand out to Mara. "Come on, it'll be good to get some fresh air. Trust me."
She bit her lip, but then slipped her hand into mine.
My gaze dropped to her feet and those sexy little pink toenails.
Veering my attention to her face, I cleared my throat. "You might want tennies instead of sandals. Better for a nature walk."
Mara hurried off to change her shoes and came back wearing pink tennies. She stepped outside and shut the door, saying, "Let's go."
I picked up the picnic basket and my guitar case. "Follow me."
We headed toward the nature trail, skimming the edge of the lawn maybe thirty feet from the naturists who were hanging out there. Mara glanced sideways at them but didn't even flinch. Maybe her immersion therapy was working. I hoped so, because I didn't want her to leave. I kind of liked her, neuroses and all.
"Want me to carry something for you?" she asked. "You've got your hands full."
"I'm cool. Don't worry about it."
But yeah, I had a feeling I did have my hands full with this girl.
Maybe that's what I needed in my life---something unpredictable.
Chapter Five
Mara
Ollie guided me down the wide dirt path, pointing out the trees and wildflowers while explaining what each one was. I'd never gone out in the woods before. City parks had been the extent of my nature communing. I hadn't needed to leave the city, except to fly somewhere for a vacation at a fancy resort, so I never had.
The trees were so big and beautiful here, and their branches formed a canopy above our heads. The sunlight filtered through them, creating a gentle glow. I heard birds tweeting and squirrels chattering. Ollie had to explain to me what that chattering noise was, since I'd never heard such a thing before. There must've been squirrels in Philadelphia, but I swore I'd never noticed them making noises.
Today I'd learned something. I loved the outdoors.
Once we got to the lake, Ollie set up our picnic by laying out a blanket for us to sit on and setting food items on it. We sat facing each other, so we could talk while enjoying our meal. Ollie had made sandwiches---the best I'd ever eaten. He also brought cupcakes like the ones I'd eaten earlier.
I munched on a potato chip before asking him the question I'd been wondering about all morning. "How did you wind up working at a nudist resort? And how long have you worked here?"
He seemed so normal, not like the kind of guy who would want to spend his days with naked people.
Ollie winced, though I couldn't understand why. He looked down at the picnic blanket for a couple seconds before aiming his gorgeous amber eyes at me. "How long? I, uh, started working here last fall. It just sort of...happened. They needed an assistant manager, and I'd gotten laid off from my job as a computer systems engineer, so it all worked out. To be honest, I was sick of my old job, anyway. Staring at a computer screen all day got really old really fast."
"That's quite a leap, from computers to a nudist resort."
"Maybe, but it made sense to me." He screwed up his mouth, looking away again. "But I'm boring. Tell me more about you. What do you do for a living?"
Oh, I hated that question. Whenever I told a man about my work, they wound up finding excuses to run away. Escape from the spoiled rich girl, that was all they wanted to do. Nobody understood that I took my job seriously. Maybe Ollie would understand, but I didn't want to chase him off before we really got to know each other.
So I played it safe. By sort of lying.
"Me?" I said as a lame delaying tactic while I considered my answer. "Well, I'm basically in real estate."
"Cool. Do you sell a lot?"
"No. I'm more
