by Anna Durand
Not so much, as it turned out.
Today I learned never to underestimate anyone because they're over seventy. Ruth and Sly---Sylvester asked me to call him by his nickname---beat me and Ollie, barely letting us score two points in the whole game. Miniten might be a more laid-back version of tennis, but the Norrises decided to turn it into an acrobatic performance. They leaped up to smack the ball with their thugs.
I wondered why Ruth had bothered with a bra when we were playing an easygoing sport, but she did more than leap to hit the ball. She also spun around, dodged right and left, and even dived for the ground to hit the ball when I got my angle wrong and sent it barreling straight for the grass. Sly did the same and more, leaping sideways with his feet off the ground to whack Ollie's shot before it flew out of bounds. The Norrises won and celebrated by cheering and giving each other high fives.
Ollie had chastised the young guys yesterday who had played rough. But then, one of them had slammed into me. Ruth and Sly didn't do anything like that, and they never went overboard in their enthusiasm to hit the ball and win the game.
After the game broke up, I needed a trip to the bathroom. When I returned to the lawn, I glanced around to search for Ollie.
He and Damian were relaxing on the grass, talking. Ollie lay on his side with his head propped up with one arm, his cheek resting on his palm. Damian lay on his back, hands linked over his belly. Both men wore sunglasses. The sight of Ollie naked still made me tingle, which was highly inappropriate when other people were around. I couldn't stop it, though. He was hot.
And so was Damian. But his sexy bod didn't affect me the way Ollie's did.
I caught sight of Heidi on the other side of the lawn, hanging out with her girlfriends. She kept glancing at Ollie. Staring at him, actually. How much history did they have? She sure seemed hung up on him. Ever since Heidi had arrived here, I'd wondered if Ollie still had feelings for her. I'd also wondered if I still had feelings for Nico.
No, I didn't. But the thought made me a little queasy.
Did that mean I had no feelings for him? I supposed I would always care about him in some way, in spite of all his wheedling comments that had made me feel small and useless. But we'd had good times too, and I'd known Nico a lot longer than I'd known Ollie.
Why, then, did I feel closer to Ollie than to anyone else? Why did being with him give me a sense of relaxation and freedom I'd never experienced before? He came from a normal family and worked at a nudist resort. I came from an uptight family of rich snobs who were horrified I was staying at a nudist resort. That wasn't quite accurate. Dad didn't seem to care, and though he'd always gone along with whatever Mom wanted, he had never been uptight. He didn't tell me to act like a proper lady.
And yesterday, he'd told me he was proud of me.
No, I did not want Nico back.
But I wasn't sure I belonged with Ollie either. Could people from two different planets make it work? I wasn't even sure how this thing between us could work. He lived here. I lived in Philly. He had a job here, one that he loved. I owned an apartment building, which I'd built into a profitable business. Would I give that up to be with Ollie?
He might get sick of me. I mean, I was an uptight city girl.
But he made me feel free.
I sat down next to Ollie, still wondering about all of those things.
"Hey, Mara," he said, smiling at me. He patted the grass. "Come closer, baby."
Damian lifted his sunglasses to peek at us. "Isn't that against the rules? Getting friendly with your girl while you're naked?"
Ollie kneed Damian in the side. "We aren't going to make out. Mara can sit right next to me without it getting inappropriate."
Yes, we needed to be appropriate, didn't we? I understood the need for rules at a nudist resort, but I hated that word. Appropriate. And its synonym, proper. Both words made me cringe inside.
But I scooted closer to Ollie.
We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out, first on the lawn, and later in the entertainment room in the guest house. Damian and Ollie taught me how to play poker, but when Damian offered to show me how to cheat at it, Ollie intervened.
"Oh no," he said, laying a hand on Damian's chest to push him away from me. "You are not corrupting my girl. She's perfect the way she is."
I got a glowy feeling in my chest when he called me perfect. But a pit soon formed in my gut when I considered the ramifications of that statement. Did he expect me to be actually perfect all the time? No, of course not. I was being ridiculous.
My parents invited me and Ollie to go into town with them for dinner at a steak house they'd heard about from Val and Eve. My parents wanted to get to know Ollie better, and in an environment where my mom would feel more at ease. That meant a clothing-required outing. Ollie accepted their invitation with more enthusiasm than I would've expected. I mean, my mom hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms. Ollie didn't hold a grudge, which made me like him even more.
And I'd already liked him a lot. Like, really a lot.
I put on my favorite dress, the only one I took with me everywhere I went because it suited any occasion and looked pretty damn good on me. The black halter dress hugged my curves, but flared out into a swishy skirt that stopped just above my knees. I wore my black heels too, though not the stilettos I'd had on when I first showed up at the resort.
Someone knocked on the door to my room right as I finished getting dressed. I already had my makeup on and my hair fixed. Ready to go.
I swung the door inward.
Ollie's eyes went wide, then slid half closed while he drank in the sight of me. "Damn, Mara, you look hot enough to melt steel."
"Thank you." I spun around so he could see my dress swishing around my legs. "You look sizzling hot too."
He wore a suit that showed off his sexy physique without seeming too tight. It fit him so well that I swore my mouth actually watered when I saw him. Oliver Jackson was one gorgeous man.
How could any woman have called him her gay best friend? How could Heidi Mackenzie have dumped him to go back to her ex?
All his exes had to be insane. No other explanation fit the facts.
Ollie offered me his arm, like a Victorian gentleman escorting a lady to a ball.
I slipped my arm under his.
He led me downstairs, where we met my parents, and all four of us got into a waiting taxi.
The restaurant was very nice, but my mom had to comment that it wasn't "five-star quality" like her favorite restaurant back home. She also curled her lip when she saw the menu.
"Red meat?" she said with a hint of horror in her voice. "I'm a vegan."
"Since when?" I asked. "You love escargot, which is snails. Little creatures that died so you could eat them."
My dad patted Mom's arm. "Sher, don't be difficult. I know steak and potatoes isn't your usual fare, but you can make do." He glanced at me. "Your mother is not a vegan."
So she was just trying to be a pain. Ugh. Would she ever get over the fact I wasn't married to her favorite guy, Nico? And that I liked staying at a nudist resort? I was positive what bothered her the most was that I'd broken all her rules of propriety.
Well, almost all of them. I hadn't become a nudist yet.
I doubted I ever would do that. I loved being naked with Ollie, but the thought of having other people look at me sans clothing made my skin itch. Everywhere. Really itch.
"Something wrong?" Ollie whispered to me. He'd leaned in so my parents wouldn't hear, though they sat across the table from us.
Realizing I had actually been scratching my arm, I forced myself to stop. "No, I'm fine."
"You sure? I know your mom can make you kind of crazy."
"I'm okay, really. You're so sweet to ask."
He kissed my cheek.
Mom finally ordered a steak, despite claiming she'd become a vegan after sitting down in this restaurant. She even enjoyed her steak. Dad and Oll
ie told jokes and talked about computers. My father had never been adept with electronic devices, so Ollie gave him pointers on how to make his phone work better and how to optimize his home computer.
Mom said nothing. She stared down at her plate while she ate, and when she'd finished, she stared down at her lap.
I wanted to ask if she was okay, but Ollie and Dad were still talking. It would've been rude to interrupt.
When Ollie excused himself to go to the restroom, I finally asked, "Mom, are you okay? You seem...not quite yourself."
She jerked her head up, blinking at me. "What?"
Dad hooked an arm around her shoulders. "Mara thinks you're unhappy, Sher. She's worried."
"Why? I'm fine," Mom said.
I chewed on my bottom lip.
Dad sighed. "Our daughter can see you're not happy. So can I. Why don't you tell us what's wrong?"
She fiddled with the napkin on her lap. "I don't understand why Mara wants to stay at that resort. Mr. Jackson seems nice enough, but he's not the right man for Mara."
"How do you know that?" I asked. "You've barely spoken to Ollie."
"I know, but---" She raised her head to look at me, her lips pinched. "He's a nudist."
She spoke those words in such a soft voice that I almost didn't hear her.
Groaning, I said, "And nudism isn't proper, right? Nothing I've ever done has been proper or acceptable, even though I was doing everything you wanted and making myself miserable in the process. I married Nico because you thought he was the right man for me. Well, guess what? He absolutely was not."
"I never told you what to do." Mom slapped her napkin down on the table. "I tried to show you how ladies need to act, so you wouldn't be embarrassed. The level of society in which we live is not forgiving of rash behavior."
"Rash? I never did anything without first considering how you would feel about it."
"You're dating a nudist."
"Ollie is the sweetest, kindest, most honorable man I've ever met. If you'd taken the time to get to know him, like Dad has, maybe you'd realize how amazing Ollie is." I grabbed my napkin and wrung it with both hands. "I've never been good enough for you, so why should I keep trying? Might as well strip naked right here in this restaurant. Maybe if I get arrested, you'll realize how much I've hated my life, until I came here."
Tears streamed down my cheeks. My eyes burned, and my gut twisted into knots. I had never spoken to my mother this way. Never. But the words had come pouring out, and I couldn't take them back. Did I want to?
Ollie returned from the bathroom.
He stopped at his chair, laying one hand on it while his gaze flicked back and forth between me and my mom.
"The ladies had a little argument," Dad said. "Why don't you take Mara out on the balcony for some fresh air?"
"Sure," Ollie said.
I got up, and he clasped my hand, leading me across the dance floor and out onto the empty balcony.
Then he pulled me into his arms.
With my head on his chest, pressed against his warm body, I felt all the anxiety sluice out of me.
"You don't have to tell me what happened," he said. "But I'm here to listen if you need it."
I sucked in a deep breath, exhaled it in a rush, and told him everything.
There was something about this man that made me feel free and whole and like the best version of myself.
But could we work out in the long run?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ollie
We hung out on the balcony for a while, with Mara cuddled up to me and the music from inside drifting out here to us. The balcony overlooked the river that wound through town, but we couldn't see it in the dark, except for the pale glow of the moon shimmering on its surface, like a ghost hovering below us.
Mara's argument with her mom had really upset her. I couldn't imagine arguing with either of my parents that way. I'd never needed to, because my parents trusted me to make my own decisions and my own mistakes. Mara's dad seemed like a cool guy, but it was obvious he'd let his wife run the show for a long time. Now Mara wanted to take control, and Sheryl couldn't deal with it.
I actually kind of liked Sheryl. Maybe that was weird, considering she wanted Mara to get back together with Nico, but Sheryl Kanda Severins seemed like a smart lady who loved her daughter---but who went overboard trying to protect her from the world.
Mara lifted her head off my shoulder. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Being so sweet and understanding. It's been a crazy week, and that's all my fault."
I cradled her cheek in one hand. "None of it's your fault. Your mom and your ex-husband threw you for a loop, and I think you're doing amazingly well under the circumstances."
"See? I was right. You are sweet and understanding."
"Just don't call me your gay best friend. Not sure I can handle that right now."
"I will never call you that." She kissed me, her lips lingering on mine as softly as a feather teasing my skin. "I've had sex with you. Lots. So trust me, I know exactly how straight you are."
"Glad to hear it." I linked my arms around her waist, tugging her closer to me. "Want to make out for a few minutes before we go back inside?"
She smiled, the expression brightening her from the inside out. "Yes, please."
For several minutes, we kissed. And kissed. And kissed. Her lips were soft and warm and tasted like steak sauce. Maybe that should've been gross, but the savory flavor of it just made me want her even more. Since we were in a restaurant, I couldn't do what I really wanted to do. I settled for making love to her mouth since I couldn't make love to her the right way.
When we finally went back inside, Mara's lips no longer had any lipstick on them. Luckily, I'd brought a handkerchief, so I wiped her lipstick off my mouth before we headed back to the table where her parents waited for us.
Sheryl seemed surprised when I pulled Mara's chair out for her and waited for her to sit down before I took my seat.
Yeah, I seriously doubted Nico ever held a chair for a woman or held a door for a woman or any other polite things nice guys did. Were all the guys in the Severins family's "level of society" as dickish as Nico? Nah, they couldn't all be like him. I'd met nice rich people. Maybe the Severins family liked hanging out with asshats. It was more likely Sheryl insisted they hang out with those people so they could be a part of that kind of society.
Whatever kind it was, I didn't want to go there.
I glanced at Mara. Could I stay with her and not join her world? She said she hated her life, but it was all she knew. I couldn't ask her to give that up for me. We'd known each other for such a short time. I already knew I wanted to be with her for the long haul, but maybe she didn't want that.
Sheryl cleared her throat. "Mara, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten short with you, and it's none of my business how you live your life."
Mara's eyes widened. "Mom---"
Her mother raised a hand. "Let me finish, please. I have a lot to say."
"Okay."
I laid my hand over Mara's on her lap, giving it a quick squeeze.
She flashed me a grateful look.
"Your father and I had a long talk," Sheryl said, "while you and Ollie were out on the balcony. I don't mean to make you feel unworthy. It's time I told you why I've been so hard on you and pushed you to be a proper lady, or what I thought was a proper lady."
Sheryl had her hands clasped tightly on the table.
Peter closed his hand over hers, giving her an encouraging smile.
"When I started dating your father," Sheryl said, "my mother disapproved. Peter wasn't an appropriate match for me, since his family was middle class." She looked at me when she said, "The Kandas have owned a string of high-end furniture stores for decades. When my great grandparents started the business, it catered to everyone, not just the wealthy. Over the years, as my family became more affluent, the business changed too. We los
t sight of where we came from and stopped trying to appeal to anyone who wasn't in the right strata of society."
Why was she telling me this? Since she didn't want Mara dating me, she had no reason to explain herself to me.
But she kept looking at me when she spoke again. "I refused to stop seeing Peter. My mother put her foot down and threatened to disinherit me. I told her to go ahead and do it, because I would not break off the relationship."
Mara's mouth fell open. "Mom, you never told me any of this."
"I know. I'm sorry, Mara, I should have told you everything a long time ago." Sheryl bowed her head for a couple seconds, then met her daughter's gaze. "I stood up to my family, but it nearly cost us everything. Your father and I moved in together and got jobs. I worked as a cleaning woman, and he found work as a carpenter."
"What?" Mara said, gaping at her mother. "I thought---You always talk about the big check Grandma and Grandpa gave you as a wedding gift. Half a million dollars, that's what you said."
"And they did give us that gift." Sheryl glanced at her husband and smiled with genuine, deep affection. "Six months after we struck out on our own, my mother gave up. She agreed to accept Peter as long as we got married and both worked for the family business. The Kanda family business. You know your Severins grandparents aren't wealthy. My parents welcomed Peter and his parents into the family. It took a long time for the 'right' people to accept my new family, but eventually they did."
I still couldn't figure out what Sheryl was getting at with her story. Sure, I got that she was admitting she and Mara had more in common than Mara had thought. They both decided to be with men their mothers disapproved of, but I sensed Sheryl was trying to make some other point too. Damned if I knew what.
Mara's mom fixed her attention on me again. "I apologize, Ollie, for the way I've treated you. Peter has been telling me for days that I should look to my past for answers about the present. My husband likes to say cryptic things and then wait for me to figure it out. It's how he shows me what I've been doing wrong."
