She listened and repeated her words, “You’re sold out and have no other rooms. I understand. Goodbye.” She hung up.
“No luck, huh?”
“No. She offered me a cot, but I don’t see where we could put it. Maybe I can bunk with my mother, and you can have the room.”
She called her mother using the hotel phone. Someone else answered.
“Hi, Aunt Cara…Yes, I made it. I thought this was my mother’s room?… Oh, I see. Tell her I will be there on time to get my hair and makeup done. Bye.”
She hung up, looked at Marcus, and said, “The Inn is full, and my mother is sharing a room with her sister.”
“We could do as Clark Gable and Claudette Cobert did in the movie “It Happened One Night”.”
“What is that?”
“To provide privacy, they put up a sheet to divide the room.”
Scarlett appeared to be thinking. Marcus imagined that she was visualizing the sheet and wondering how it would help.
“Of course, that worked because in the 1930s their room had two twin beds,” Marcus said,
“We can share the bed,” Scarlett said. “I do not think it is necessary to hang a sheet over the middle of the bed.”
“No sheet. Got it.”
Scarlett said, “I am going to use the bathroom and then lie down. I will meet my mother at three o’clock to get dressed, and I will meet you in the lobby at 4:30.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Are you okay with casual nudity?”
“What?” Marcus responded. His eyebrows shot up; he sounded surprised.
She said, “Maybe I should have mentioned this earlier. I am a nudist. A nudist by necessity.”
Marcus gave her a questioning look. It didn’t register with her, but his silence demonstrated he was waiting for more information.
“I get anxious and stressed out. Especially, in social situations. This wedding…the crowd, having to interact with people for an extended period of time, and trying to follow the conversations…It is my worst nightmare.”
He nodded.
“I have found that being naked helps me deal with anxiety and stress. Nudity takes me to my zen place. I relax and become calm and peaceful.”
“That sounds like a form of meditation, if it works for you, that’s great.”
“I will need to go to my zen place to prepare myself for the events of the day. Hence my question, ‘Are you okay with casual nudity?]”
“Oh. You want to meditate now. Do I need to leave?”
“No.”
“I’m okay with you being nude.”
She pulled the bedspread down and undressed.
Marcus tried unsuccessfully not to stare.
Scarlett was an attractive young woman. She had nice breasts
with large, dark red nipples. He was not a fan of dime-size nipples.
Her stomach was flat. Her tapered waist led to flared hips. She had a mass of black pubic hair, slim legs, and small, pretty feet.
Marcus took it all in.
Scarlett lay on the sheets and closed her eyes.
“She’s a pretty woman with a rocking body,” Marcus told himself. “She lying there seeking peace. I feel like a pervert for ogling her.”
“Scarlett, I’m going for a walk,” he said. “Enjoy you downtime.”
He left the room, wandered the grounds, and returned a little before three. He saw Scarlett get up. She stretched and said, “I will go to my mother’s room to do my hair and makeup. She needs to be sure that I am presentable.”
“Do you need any help carrying your dress?” Marcus asked.
“My mother has it. I will see you in the lobby.”
She dressed and left the room.
^^^
Marcus watched television, shaved, showered, and got dressed in his suit. He was in the lobby by 4:15. Scarlett, her mother, and Aunt walked in at half past the hour.
Marcus was blown away. Scarlett was stunning in a cobalt blue wrap dress. The color played up her blue eyes, and the dress hugged her sleek figure. Marcus couldn’t help but notice that she was braless. Her breasts jiggled with every step, and her hard nipples dented the fabric.
He went up to her and said, “Wow! You look gorgeous!” he caught himself and gestured to the three of them as if his compliment was meant for the fifty-year-olds as well as the hot twenty-one-year-old.
“Scarlett, you didn’t tell me you came from a family of movie stars!”
She didn’t answer because his words confused her.
Her mother and Aunt blushed and beamed. They loved his comment.
“Scarlett, introduce me to this handsome, smooth-talking young man,” her mother said. She batted her fake eyelashes at Marcus.
“Mother, this is Marcus. My plus one. Marcus, this is my mother and Aunt Cara.”
They got into the car and drove to the church.
Marcus was introduced to many relatives and friends of the bride and groom. Scarlett looked uneasy. Marcus noticed. He suspected she was overwhelmed by the number of people, and took over. He shielded her from the strangers and did most of the talking.
The wedding ceremony was lovely. The groom looked happy, the bride wore white and was beautiful, and the preacher wasn’t overly preachy.
After the ceremony, the wedding party stayed for pictures. Scarlett was in the first batch that included all relatives. When she was done, Marcus grabbed her hand and led her to a quiet wooded area.
“Mother is upset with me because I would not wear the bra she bought me. She knows I have tactile issues and that tight and scratchy clothes hurt me. I physically feel pain. No way was I going to wear that bra. I have to wash mine five or six times before I can bear to wear them.
“Is it that obvious that I am braless?”
“Yes, but it is not inappropriate. You are young and beautiful, and many women go braless, especially at fancy events like this. She’s your mother, so she worries.”
He found a bench and said, “Sit. Rest. Relax.”
She said, “Sensory overload is something I must watch out for. My meltdowns are not pretty. Do you think I could get naked? It would help me decompress.”
“Yes. This is a secluded area, and I can be on the look out for people approaching us.”
“Great.”
She smiled, turned her back to him, and said, “Could you help with the zipper?”
Marcus undid the zipper, stood behind her, and watched her step out of her dress. She placed it carefully on the bench and shimmied out of her skimpy underwear.
Marcus stared at her cute bottom and said to himself, “I love boobs. I say I’m a breast man, but when I see an ass as fabulous as that, I know in my soul that I’m an ass man.”
Scarlett sat on the bench with her knees slightly apart.
She crossed her arms under her breasts, closed her eyes, and focused on the sounds of the woods. She listened to the birds and the wind.
Dappled sunlight illuminated her pale body.
Marcus gave her space. He stood on the path in between the church and the bench. He listened for people approaching them and kept his eyes on the beautiful naked woman sitting serenely on the bench.
She had twenty minutes of uninterrupted peace and quiet. Her eyes popped open, and she said, “I feel better. I needed that.”
She dressed. They returned to the church and found her mother and Aunt. They got into the car and returned to the hotel. They had time to freshen up in their rooms before going to dinner.
Dinner was uneventful. Marcus proved to be a good dining companion. He interacted and entertained those around them, so Scarlett could be less involved.
They moved on to the reception party.