Natural Impulse

by Anna Durand

  Damian wore black jeans and a black, long-sleeve shirt with the top three buttons undone, revealing a swath of his tanned chest. The chicks dug that. He also wore big black boots with chunky bronze clasps, a braided hemp necklace, and a big silver ring. He'd kept his hair long like before but purposely made it messy, giving him that "I'm a wild gypsy" look.

  "That's Damian," I said to the new people. "He's our concierge, but he also does palm readings, tarot readings, and fortune telling."

  "Can he speak to the dead?" the wife asked.

  "Oh please," her husband said. "It's all a big show. A bunch of hooey to get more money out of the tourists."

  "I can't swear he has supernatural powers," I told them. "But Damian is a genuine gypsy, though they prefer to be called Rom. Damian is descended from a line known as the Ludar."

  "He's gorgeous," the wife said. "I'd love to have him read my palm."

  "Uh, let's move on to the guest house." I shepherded them in that direction, hoping to defuse the jealousy bomb ticking away inside the woman's husband. I'd gotten used to handling the side effects of having Damian here. Swinging the main doors open, I waved for the family to enter. "Here we are."

  The next day, my family showed up. Mara hadn't met my parents and my sister yet, but I knew they'd love her.

  My sister, Bailey, marched straight up to Mara and said, "Liver's totally gaga over you, so you better not be mean to him."

  "I would never do that," Mara said. "Ollie is my favorite person in the whole world. He's my best friend too."

  "Cool." Bailey offered Mara her hand. "I'm Bailey Mariel Jackson, but you can call me B."

  "Since when?" I asked. "Last I heard, you wanted to be called Bay, like you're a city or a port or something."

  Bailey rolled her eyes and sighed. "When I was twelve, I wanted to be called that. Now I'm B. Get over it, Liver."

  "Don't you want to be called BM, for Bailey Mariel? You know, BM like a bowel movement."

  "Gross! Grown-ups are so totally retarded." Bailey took Mara's hand. "Come on, let's go someplace private and talk. I need to warn you about all the gross things Ollie does. Like when he eats baked beans and---"

  I slapped a hand over Bailey's mouth. "Don't scare Mara away with your disgusting teenage humor."

  "Okay, fine." Bailey caught sight of Damian and shrieked. "D-Man! It's you!"

  My sister raced over to my best friend and high-fived him. They started talking and laughing, and I really hoped they weren't exchanging stories about baked beans and me.

  "Ignore my sister," I told Mara. "She's insane. Teenage boys are supposed to be gross, but Bailey decided she's being a trailblazer by becoming a teenage girl who has a disgusting sense of humor."

  "Well, you did start it by calling her BM."

  "Yeah, I did." I pulled Mara snug against my side. "My family fell in love with you at first sight. I think I did too."

  "I fell for you right away too, but it took me a while to admit it to myself." She latched her arms around my waist. "I'm not afraid anymore. The future isn't a scary, dark place these days. It's bright and full of potential."

  "Yeah, it is." I scooped her up in my arms. "Let's go for a nature walk."

  "Mm, I know what that means." She wriggled, smiling with excitement. "Naked fun time in the woods."

  "And I know the perfect spot."

  "I'm all yours, Ollie."

  Oh yeah, my life was absolutely perfect.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Mara

  Two months later

  I slid across the wooden bench to make room for Ollie, Bailey, and their parents. My mom and dad sat on the other side of me, leaving me sandwiched between the Severins and the Jacksons, with Ollie right next to me. There was nowhere else I'd rather be.

  Ollie slipped his hand into mine, threading our fingers.

  The ceremony would start in a few minutes. Eve Holt and Val Silva would tie the knot today, in this beautiful little church eighteen miles from Au Naturel Naturist Resort, with friends and family filling the pews. Lots of people loved Eve and Val. I'd come to love them too, the way I loved my family and Ollie's and all the guests, even Damian too.

  Eve and Val seemed like opposites, but they shared important things in common and brought out the best in each other. She was a no-nonsense businesswoman, but Val encouraged her to take time to enjoy life and let go of her inhibitions. He had been a playboy athlete and still had an exhibitionist streak, but Eve brought out the softer side of him, the Val who loved his family and wanted one of his own someday.

  Ollie and I had similar effects on each other. I'd been a tangled mess of fears and pent-up desires, but Ollie showed me how to embrace my passions and stop worrying about what other people thought. He had been a loser in love who thought he couldn't keep a girlfriend, until I proved him wrong.

  Everyone finished filing into the church, and the first strains of the wedding march filled the air, played by a string quartet. A saxophone added a sexier vibe. The sax had been Val's idea, naturally.

  We all twisted around to see the doors, waiting for Eve to emerge.

  She moved into the doorway on her father's arm, revealing her dress that was a gorgeous combination of sleekly modern and lacy traditional, with a neckline that managed to be both sexy and modest. Her strawberry-blonde hair fell in loose curls around her face, and her makeup enhanced her natural beauty without overpowering it.

  Eve looked so beautiful, so happy, so ready to join her life with Val's.

  Her groom stood at the altar, waiting for his bride. He and Eve had decided not to have groomsmen or bridesmaids, since they had so many friends and relatives that it would've been impossible to choose who should stand up there with them. Besides, all they needed was each other.

  Larry Holt led his daughter to the altar, kissed her cheek, and winked at Val. Then he took his seat in the front row beside his wife.

  I clutched Ollie's hand tightly while we listened to the minister recite the opening lines. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

  But I stopped listening then. I watched the expressions on Eve and Val's faces, fascinated by the joy and love they evinced and the commitment they were making to each other. It was beautiful, magical, emotional. Some people might've said marriage was irrelevant these days, but the looks on this couple's faces told a different story. They loved each other with everything they had and pronounced their intentions to love and honor each other with so much conviction that it made my heart swell.

  Love was real. Marriage meant more than words spoken before an officiant. It touched something deep inside everyone in this church.

  Eve and Val exchanged rings, and then they kissed.

  Cheers erupted inside the church. A few people whooped or whistled.

  I started to cry.

  And I wasn't alone. While Eve and Val walked back up the aisle, heading for the doors, I noticed other people crying too---including Ollie. He hid it well, but I saw the way his eyes glistened and he swallowed visibly. I loved that he could get choked up by seeing two of his closest friends tie the knot. I loved him, period.

  Everyone walked across the street to the restaurant that would host the reception. I met Val's parents and his sisters, and I danced with so many men that I lost count. Ollie got the first dance with me, but Damian waited until much later, after I'd taken a whirl with everyone else, before he asked me for a dance.

  While we glided across the floor, Damian said, "I've been to weddings before, but this one has made me rethink whether I want to get married."

  "Have you been against it until today?"

  "Yeah. It seems like a silly tradition, but now..." He shrugged. "Maybe it's not so silly after all."

  Wow. Eve and Val had made a convert without even trying. Well, a potential convert.

  "I've known Ollie for a long time," Damian said, "and I've never seen him so happy. You did that. So thank you, Mara."

  "You do
n't need to thank me. Ollie did the same thing for me, and no words can describe how grateful I am to him."

  "Ollie has an idea for how to express his gratitude." Damian nodded toward something behind me and stepped back. "She's all yours, man."

  I turned to see Ollie standing there, holding out his hand to me.

  "Come on," he said, "let's go for a walk. There's a nice little park a couple blocks away."

  "Not sure my shoes are good for walking. They're strictly designed to look pretty."

  "That's okay. I've got your sneakers in the car. We'll grab them on the way out."

  I settled my hand in his, letting him lead me out of the restaurant. We both grabbed our sneakers from the car and strolled down the sidewalk past cute, touristy shops, until we reached the little park. Flowers overflowed concrete planters along the asphalt path that led through the park, beneath a canopy of trees.

  Ollie stopped in a secluded spot and dropped to one knee.

  My throat went thick. I knew what he planned to do, but still I couldn't breathe from the anticipation.

  "I love you, Mara," he said, pulling a small velvet box out of his pocket. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. After all the bad break-ups and 'you're like my gay best friend' bullshit, I finally found the one woman in the whole world who understands me and makes me feel like the best version of myself."

  He flipped the lid open on the little box, revealing a sparkling diamond ring.

  The tears flowed, trickling down my cheeks, and my lips trembled.

  "Mara, will you marry me?"

  I nodded, because I couldn't speak.

  "Should I take that as a yes?" he asked with a lopsided smile.

  "Yes," I managed to say, though the word came out choked and almost inaudible.

  He slipped the ring onto my finger.

  Then we just gazed at each other, with me crying, both of us too overwhelmed by the emotions of this moment to move or speak. I swiped at my eyes and sucked in a big breath.

  "Oh Ollie," I said, "I can't wait to marry you."

  "Good." He surged up to crush me in his arms. "Because I'm not letting go of you, not ever."

  I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Not letting go of you either."

  We kissed, and we didn't stop kissing until I was lightheaded from lack of oxygen. I loved kissing this man, and I could do it for the rest of my life.

  "Let's go," I said. "We need to celebrate our engagement the right way."

  "You mean while naked and screaming each other's names?"

  "Absolutely. Take me home, Oliver."

  He grinned. "You know how I get when you call me Oliver."

  "Well, stop dawdling."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  He swept me up in his arms and took me home.

  Epilogue

  Damian

  Three weeks later

  I loved my job. Working at Au Naturel Naturist Resort was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I had my best friend to thank for it. Ollie had convinced me to quit my old job, since I was bored out of my ever-loving mind there, and join him here. He'd been pestering me about it for almost a year, ever since he quit his tech job to move to Oregon. I kept saying no. I mean, a nudist resort? How could I ever concentrate with all those hot, naked girls prancing around? Then I came here for a visit and suddenly understood.

  Not that many hot girls on the premises. Well, except when the Kitten Brigade was here. I'd met those girls once so far, but they were coming back today. Most of our guests were families or senior citizens.

  So yeah, no hordes of nubile hotties to distract me.

  Too bad, but also good. I loved women, but this was my job now, not a sexy vacay at an adults-only nudist resort in the Caribbean.

  Had I been to one of those? Absolutely.

  I climbed out of my "gypsy wagon," as Ollie insisted on calling it. Since I liked playing up the Rom angle, I didn't care if everyone called me a gypsy. So what? It was just a word.

  Hopping off the last step onto the grass, I stretched and closed my eyes while I soaked up the sunshine.

  The rumbling of a vehicle's engine interrupted my moment of relaxation.

  I glanced toward the driveway, about a hundred feet away, and smiled.

  A big, pink RV was pulling up. The Kitten Brigade had arrived.

  Hot, naked girls on demand. Wasn't I the luckiest jerk on earth?

  I watched the Kittens disembark from their RV, all of them wearing pink T-shirt dresses. All but one. The blonde who exited last wore cargo pants and a baggy T-shirt, with a baseball cap covering her hair. I remembered that hair. Golden blonde, silky, glistening in the sun. She'd let it grow out, so now it tumbled over her shoulders in lustrous waves. I also remembered her breasts. Spectacular, they were. I'd seen all of her nude body, but I had never even flirted with her, much less kissed her. I didn't want to be the rebound guy.

  Heidi Mackenzie had been hung up on Ollie the first time I'd met her. Maybe she still was.

  One way to find out.

  The other Kittens shed their dresses, tossing them high in the air while whooping with joy.

  Heidi hunched near the front bumper of the RV. She didn't undress.

  Weird. She'd been one of the most fervent devotees of nudism.

  Eve, Val, Ollie, and Mara all emerged from the little house to greet the newly arrived guests. Mara approached Heidi, and the two women shared a brief conversation that ended with Mara hugging Heidi.

  Even weirder. Heidi had tried to seduce Ollie away from Mara a while back. Now they acted like old friends. There had to be a story behind the change, but I'd need to ask Ollie about that.

  While Eve and Val helped the Kittens carry their tents and bags to the camping area on the other side of the guest house, I snagged Ollie and Mara.

  "Hey, lovebirds," I said. "What's the deal? I thought Mara and Heidi would have an epic throwdown when they saw each other again. I was hoping for a down-and-dirty girl fight, with mud wrestling and everything. Preferably in the nude."

  Ollie rolled his eyes at me. "The girls made up a long time ago. They've been trading emails."

  Mara nodded. "We've talked on the phone a couple times too."

  I really didn't get it. If I had a girlfriend and some dick tried to steal her away from me, I wouldn't forgive the guy and become his BFF. But Mara and Heidi had become friends. Seriously? Had I stumbled through an invisible portal into The Twilight Zone?

  Ollie clapped a hand down on my shoulder. "Mara and Heidi are being adult about it. Besides, Heidi's been bummed out and needs all the friends she can get."

  Well, if sexy little Heidi needed a friend...I volunteered for the job.

  "Leave her alone," Ollie said, giving me his stern face that always looked silly to me. He wasn't the tough-guy type.

  "What?" I said, pretending to be clueless. "All I want to do is help her through this transitional period."

  Transitioning into my bed. That would cheer her up, for sure.

  "You're my best friend," Ollie said, "so I'm asking you bro to bro. Give Heidi some space."

  "What if she jumps my bones? It would be rude to reject her. It might damage her self-confidence."

  "Are you really going to wait for her to make the first move? If she does."

  "Fine, yes, I'll wait until she's ready. I'm not a total dick, you know."

  "Yeah, I know." Ollie put his arm around Mara. "We should go help the Kittens get set up."

  I glanced toward the guest house and saw Heidi going inside. "Isn't the home-wrecker staying in a tent with her girlfriends?"

  Mara rolled her eyes at me this time. "Heidi is not a homewrecker. She's actually very sweet. And no, she's not staying with the other Kittens. She'll be in the guest house."

  Ollie kissed Mara's cheek. "We'd better get going if we want to have time for today's Japanese lesson too."

  "Can't miss that," Mara said with enthusiasm.


  Yeah, Ollie and Mara were learning Japanese online, through one of those language websites. It didn't sound like fun to me, but they seemed to like it.

  The lovebirds ambled off to assist the Kitten Brigade.

  I wandered into the guest house to find Heidi. Not that I planned to hit on her. Not yet, anyway. But I was curious why she'd dressed like a female version of a college guy. I'd never dressed that way, but cargo pants had been the uniform of choice for a lot of the guys I'd met in college. Some of the girls too.

  But not girls like Heidi. She had a beautiful face and a killer body, and last time I'd seen her, she wasn't shy about showing it off. She clearly loved stripping naked. So why hide all those curves now? And that creamy skin, with those cute little freckles sprinkled around just enough to make me want to count them all with my tongue.

  I found Heidi loitering at the bottom of the stairs, her head tipped back, seeming to admire the carpentry or something.

  "Hey," I said. "Remember me?"

  She startled, her wide blue eyes swerving toward me. "Oh, it's you. Damian, right? You're Ollie's friend."

  "Yeah, but I don't think we were ever properly introduced." I held out my hand. "Damian Petrescu, proud Rom and descendant of the Ludar line."

  She shook my hand, though she looked skeptical of me. "Right. I remember now. You're the guy who loves to put on gypsy airs. I'm Heidi Mackenzie."

  Airs? Hey, I might've enjoyed playing up the gypsy stuff, but it was no act. Not entirely.

  Heidi raked her gaze over my entire body, and her tongue sneaked out to moisten her bottom lip. "Why are you dressed like Dracula's low-rent cousin?"

  "Women love the way I dress." I smirked. "You do, that's for sure. I can tell by the way your pupils dilated when you saw me and the way you licked your lips."

  "My lips are dry, and it's kind of dark in here. It makes everybody's pupils get bigger."

  "Have dinner with me."

  She blinked slowly, her brows hiking up. "Excuse me?"

  "You heard what I said. Have dinner with me. I give awesome dating."

  One side of her mouth tried to smile while the other side wanted to frown. "Yeah, I'm sure you think you're awesome at everything to do with women. But I'm not interested."