“Kind of hard to miss,” Nick said, allowing himself a brief but shameless – and longing – look at Janice’s generous breasts. She laughed to show him she didn’t mind. “I just want to say, please don’t think I’m a pervert or anything.”
“I won’t. Go ahead.”
“Right. July fourteenth is what they call Nude Day.”
“Nude Day!”
“Yes, and my family always goes to a community out in the country to participate. Rob and I’ve been going all our lives, and our sister Meagan, too.”
“You spend the day naked with your family?”
“I know how weird it sounds. But if you were raised to feel it’s normal and beautiful…”
“No, Nick, that does sound beautiful! I wish I could be that comfortable with my family! And you wanted Betty to join you this year?”
“Only if she wanted to,” Nick said. “Mom and Dad would totally understand if she said no, but they think – and I think they’re right – she has a right to know just what she’s marrying into. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, I do,” Janice said. “Definitely. I could talk to her, you know.”
“I just wish Rob had.”
“Me too. But you know, Nick…” They had come to a corner, and she stopped and took his hand. “I think it sounds like a kick, if you’re allowed to bring a date!”
Nick’s eyes grew so big Janice couldn’t help but laughing. “I’m sorry, Nick, you just look so cute like that!” she exclaimed.
“Please!” Nick almost sounded angry – but not quite. “Please, Janice…okay, look, my family was just harassing me on the way over here about how shy I am, and I guess they’re right. But I…that day at the park, I felt so comfortable with you, and I’ve been hoping to get to know you better, and…”
“And going to a nudist camp might be getting to know me too well too fast?” Janice offered.
“That too, but if you really do want to come…” Nick giggled like a schoolgirl. “I thought you were teasing me, is all.”
“Nick!” Janice threw her arms around him, thrilling to the delight he was undoubtedly feeling. “I would never do that! Remember I’m Betty’s best friend, and she’s really shy, too. I’ve seen how hard she’s worked to overcome that, and I would never tease her over that. Or you either, okay!”
“Thank you,” Nick said. But he couldn’t quite get an invitation out of his mouth.
“Do I even want to know?” Betty asked.
“I think you should know,” Janice said, helping herself to a seat on the far end of the couch. “It is your fiance’s family, after all.”
“I’m not sure if he’s still my fiance right now.”
“Betty! Come on, you love Rob and he loves you! I agree he didn’t handle things very well today, but he was doing what he thought was right for you.”
“It’s not just that! I was thinking of what Audra said yesterday -”
“Oh, stop right there!” Janice said. “Audra’s a manipulative, sexist jerk, you know that! And she’s jealous, because you and Rob are so obviously right for each other.”
“But she does know Rob, from way back.” Betty’s voice was shaking. “And – not that I’m going to go get a bikini waxing just because she says so – but what if she’s right about Rob’s reaction to my body? And what if I don’t like something about his? Why does he have to be so old fashioned?”
“Because he thinks that’s what you want,” Janice said.
“You’re talking to Nick about his brother’s and my sex life, now?!”
“What sex life?”
Betty gave Janice a look that could have curdled milk. Then she burst into tears.
“Betty, it’s not like that! Nick was just telling me about their big secret for July Fourteenth, and it came up. That’s all.”
“Why? Why on earth did that of all things come up?”
“Because that’s why Rob thought you wouldn’t want to join them on that day,” Janice said. “I didn’t know this, but I guess July Fourteenth is Nude Day.”
“What?!”
“Yes, and they go to a nudist colony.”
“As a family?!” Betty stopped crying and leapt to her feet. “Good God, could you imagine seeing your father naked? Or him seeing you?”
“Never,” Janice admitted. “But Nick says it’s different when you’ve been raised with it, and I believe it.”
“You mean you agree with them on this?!”
“Well…kind of, Betty. I mean, you know Rob’s parents and they’re not perverts, are they?”
“The farthest thing from it,” Betty admitted. “But you’re not saying you’d go, would you?”
“Actually, Nick invited me, or at least he almost did, and…I think it sounds like a kick!”
“You wouldn’t! Geez, my best friend seeing my fiance’s penis before I do?”
“That’s another thing, Betty. Rob isn’t saving himself for marriage, he thinks you are.”
“What?!”
“I remember what you told me yesterday,” Janice said. “Maybe it was just a misunderstanding of some sort?”
“How do you misunderstand that in this day and age?”
“Sex isn’t easy to talk about. Besides, I always thought you were saving yourself too. All these years I’ve known you, you always gave that impression.”
“When have I ever said anything like that?” Betty asked.
“Well, never,” Janice said. “It’s just that you’ve always been so demure, so modest. You never even changed your clothes with Audra or me in the room in college. And you’ve never mentioned being involved with anyone that way.”
Betty looked like she wanted to cry again. She sat back down and took a deep breath. “Well,” she said, “You saw yesterday why I’m modest, with Audra.”
“What, because you don’t look like a porn star? So what?!”
“I got teased horribly about it back in high school, that’s what,” Betty said. “That and my weight, which was at least partially because of the teasing in the first place. My weight I could fix, but…that? Nothing could fix that. And I used to love the way it looked! And the way it felt. So naughtily beautiful, you know?”
“Yes, I do know,” Janice said. “I’ve always thought the same, you know, and plenty of guys do, too.”
“The one guy I’ve been with didn’t.”
“You mean you’re not…”
Betty shook her head. “Lost it sophomore year in high school, but I haven’t had sex since and there’s a reason for that.”
“That bad?” Janice asked.
“The guy was a creep and I knew it. But…I was a very lonely girl, let’s just leave it at that. And even lonelier when word got out. I don’t think you’d understand.”
“Wouldn’t understand? I was a fat kid too!” Janice reminded her.
“Eh, good point,” Betty admitted. “But imagine having that not even be the only thing the girls in the locker room teased you over! And having your reputation trashed on top of that. Then came college and who had time for romance? And I wasn’t even sure I wanted to bother with it anyway. I had two good hands, you know?” She laughed, and seeing it was okay, Janice joined in. “Then I finally meet Rob and I feel that same wonderful love I could barely remember ever feeling before, and he respects me and he’s gorgeous…but he doesn’t seem to even want to make love to me, and now this?!”
“Betty, maybe ‘this’ is just what you need,” Janice said. “You and Rob love each other to bits, anyone can see that, but you obviously have a problem communicating about intimacy. And if you don’t mind my saying so, it sounds like you also have a problem with your self-image. Any man who’d reject you just because you have a hairy pussy isn’t worth caring about at all, never mind marrying him. And you don’t really think Rob would do that, do you?”