Page 29 of Wicked Design
“Sure we do. Try having a baby and taking care of it and a house while working full-time. If you can stay awake for that, you can manage anything. My guess is nature planned it that way.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“I don’t have any kids. Never been married or engaged. I haven’t even gone steady. During high school, I was invisible to guys.”
“They were fools.” He played with her nipple.
Liking that, she sagged into him. “Was that what you wanted to ask?”
“No. Was it weird growing up in a nudist camp?”
She was surprised he hadn’t asked earlier, since most people would have. As always, she’d talked too much, not letting him get a word in. “I didn’t know anything else. Seemed natural to me. Took a while to get used to clothes, though. I’m more or less good with them now.”
“You don’t wear underwear.” He didn’t look disappointed. “Don’t you like it?”
“I didn’t have any clean. When I do, I put on my Victoria’s Secret push-up bras and thongs.”
“Black ones?”
“Red, too.”
He smiled then lost it. “What about the old people?”
“I haven’t seen any in the Victoria’s Secret where I shop. I think they go to Sears or Penney’s for their granny panties.”
“Not those people.” He squished his face. “The ones in the nudist camp.”
Clover couldn’t blame him for his unease. “It’s not what you think. People don’t strut their stuff like they’re in a skin flick. Everyone accepts one another for who they are. No BS. Granted, there are dicks there—personality wise. People are people, right? But for the most part, they’re no different from anyone else, just ultra-liberated. Even old folks need love. When I’m that age, I will. You, too. A naturist’s hope is that the other person can see beyond the outside package to the individual inside. That’s what counts.” She shrugged. “At least, that’s what I told myself in school when the guys treated me like a leper.”
“Were they nuts?”
“Judgmental.”
He cradled her face. “They knew about your living conditions?”
“I didn’t broadcast the fact, so no. They ignored me because I wasn’t a babe.”
“What?” He made a face. “Impossible. They must have been blind or too dumb to recognize real beauty.”
She laughed. “Where were you when I needed a hero?”
“Living my own fucked-up life. Thank God those days are over…for the most part.” He pushed the containers aside. “I need to rest for a sec. Join me?”
She melted into his arms, loving that he smelled like her now, she like him, their combined fragrances heaven-sent. He held her gently, tempering his strength. Clover gave in to her basest desires and clung to him.
To her surprise, her lids grew heavy. Warm and relaxed, she drifted, her mind going blank.
