Chapter 21: Is the Program Dead?

On Saturday afternoon, Tom answered the door at his home for the twins and Ayame; they had brought some soft drinks and a fruit bowl to share.

“C’mon in guys, hi, Cindy,” Tom greeted them and hugged Cynthia. “Let me introduce my folks.”

They went into the living room and the two adults who were seated there stood up to greet them.

“Cindy and Roger Denison, Ayame, oops...”

“Asano,” she prompted.

“ ... um, this is my mom, Barbara, and step-dad, Mitchell Kerrey.”

They all shook hands with each other.

Mitchell said, “Tom asked us to give you guys some privacy for your...”

Cynthia interrupted. “Sir, we three discussed that and decided that if you’d like to be here, we wouldn’t mind, if it’s okay with Tom, too.”

“Really?” Tom exclaimed. “Mom, Dad, is that okay with you?”

“Well, sure, if your guests are certain,” Barbara said after Mitchell nodded at her. “We’ll be unobtrusive then, maybe join you for the meal if it’s okay.”

“Sure, ma’am,” Roger said. “And we thought that talking to Mr Kerrey would be helpful for us too.”

“Please call me Mitchell, Roger, all of you, okay? If you’re trying out nudism, part of that is dropping some of the formalities.”

“The others haven’t gotten here yet but I got a text that they’ll be here in fifteen,” Tom said. “You wanna change or whatever?”

The three guests decided to get into their suits, so they changed and went out to the pool. A minute later, Tom appeared nude, and then Mitchell and Barbara walked out wearing light coverups.

“We decided to wait until you kids were comfortable before we adults stripped off,” Barbara explained. “I understand your being hesitant about the nudist lifestyle.”

Cynthia shrugged. “Well, it’s a real effort to overcome a lifetime of modest feelings and the three of us are trying to adjust to this new situation. I think I’ll get in the water now; let’s go, Ayame.”

They got into the pool and Cynthia removed her suit and put it on the pool’s edge. Then the doorbell rang and Tom went to answer it. Meanwhile Roger hopped into the pool and took off his suit too, and soon Tom came back out, followed by four nude kids. They walked over to Tom’s parents and they all hugged each other.

Tom called to the three in the water, “Guys, these are Robin Andrews who’s with Richard Wynn and Ellen Marks and Sam Tymers.” Then he named the trio in the water.

While Tom was introducing his friends, Cynthia examined them as she dealt with her conflicting emotions—a hint of terror flashed into her mind, a desire to hide herself overcame her thoughts and she felt a little dizzy as her entire body was enveloped in a flush. She realized that she was breathing hard and her heart was hammering in her chest. Pushing back firmly against her rising panic, she tried to divert her thoughts by gathering some visual impressions of the naked kids on the pool deck.

Robin was short, a little over five feet tall, with curly black hair, and had a sturdy but not fat figure, with cute, small round breasts, a neatly trimmed bush, and a really curvaceous ass. Her friend Richard was also short; he was stocky with a broad, smiling face, thick biceps, a well-developed chest and six-pack abs, and a bushy black pubic bush that all but concealed his penis and balls. Cynthia realized that with his build, he must lift weights—maybe a wrestler?

Then she turned her attention to Ellen, who was of middling height with platinum blond hair and was as thin as a rail; her chest was almost flat; her little breasts were cone-shaped but she had enormous erect nipples, a shaved mound, and a totally flat ass, while brown-haired Sam was wearing thick glasses and had an average build. He had also shaved his pubic hair; his cock was average in length but was extremely thick and had a very large, plum-like crown. Cynthia realized that she found the sight of their nude bodies captivating and kind of alluring in a way; the girls weren’t fashion-model pretty and the boys weren’t hunks, but their apparent comfort in their nudity projected such a deep inner beauty that she suddenly realized the meaning of Tom’s description of nudist beauty.

Cynthia realized that her breathing was slowing down and while her thoughts and sight remained fixed on the fascinating nude bodies of Tom’s teen friends, she gathered her resolve, screwed up her courage, and climbed out of the water. She went to the four kids and shook their hands.

“Wow, Cindy!” Tom exclaimed. “Way to go!”

As Ellen shook Cynthia’s hand, she said, “Oh Cindy, you’re so pretty. It’s nice to meet you and I’m so happy that Tom invited us today.”

The others also exchanged pleasantries; Roger had also joined them; Cynthia noticed that her twin was also exhibiting signs of extreme anxiety. He hadn’t moved to leave the pool until she had climbed up the pool stairs. Ayame came to the pool edge and reached her hand up to shake the hands of the newcomers as they entered the pool and was complimented by the girls too.

Tom called to his parents, “Mom, Dad? C’mon in too!”

They stood, removed their coverups, and walked down the pool steps into the water. Cynthia immediately noticed a number of large surgical and burn scars on the right side of Mitchell’s body, upper leg, and arm.

Everyone in the pool floated and swam around talking and getting to know each other for the next half hour; Roger spent most of the time with Ayame as she told the others about her coming to the U.S. for college. No one mentioned anything at all about her being the only clothed person in the pool. Soon some of the kids decided to get out and rest in the sun; Ellen and Cynthia lay down in a couple of chaises, then Tom’s parents got out and returned to their chairs. Tom went into the house and brought out some trays of snacks and drinks.

Ayame whispered to Roger, “Ah, I will do it now. Feel strange as only one with suit.”

She pulled off her swimsuit, grabbed Roger’s hand, and then resolutely waded to the steps and climbed out with him. The others glanced at the couple leaving the pool but immediately returned to their conversations. Ayame drew Roger over to sit next to Tom’s parents.

“Hi, Ayame, Roger.” Mitchell greeted them.

“You’re really very pretty, Ayame,” Barbara said. “Tom told us you were adopted as a little girl and you had been in a fire and were shy about some scars.”

“はい [Hai]. Um, yes, Barbara. I was always shy about body because I was teased about burns. But my burns now have almost no showing...” she blushed as she glanced at Mitchell, “and I try to get over modesty, so my thanks for this chance with other people.”

Mitchell gently rested his hand on Ayame’s hand. “Ayame, I really know how you must have felt. I was seriously hurt in an IED attack; I got shrapnel wounds and burns so severe that I had to leave the Army. When I met Barbara and her wonderful kids and fell in love with all of them, I found out that they had this weird lifestyle, one that I couldn’t understand; they liked to be nude outdoors with other people. First, I was really a modest guy even before my injuries. After, I was certain that I looked horrible; hell, I looked horrible to myself.

“Then they all insisted that they wanted me to go to these nudist places with them. It was so damned difficult! I did it slow, just like you’re doing here, but it took me weeks and weeks to get up the nerve to be naked with more than several people at once. So you’re doing way better than I ever did. If you got this far, dear, you’ve already conquered your modesty, you know. Look, see how no one’s paying any attention to how people aren’t wearing suits?”

Ayame and Roger looked around and everyone was either sitting or standing in various groups, talking to each other quietly.

“Yes, Mitchell, I see,” Ayame said. “no one is staring. It is good.”

“It took a long time for me to figure that out, Ayame,” he continued. “I was embarrassed at how I looked. I thought people would be repelled by my appearance or treat me with pity and I couldn’t bear the thought of exposing myself to that—I actually was ashamed of my body! It was awful feeling that way and Barbara and the kids helped me see that nudists aren’t judgmental at all about anyone’s physical appearance. It was a liberating feeling to learn that.”

“Ayame, most people treat Mitchell’s wounds as a badge of honor, actually,” Barbara said. “There are plenty of people at our favorite resort who aren’t good-looking in the Hollywood sense but are beautiful inside. And that’s where beauty really counts, after all. Not that exterior beauty isn’t nice too,” she grinned and nodded at her. “Why don’t you go talk to Tom’s friends? I’m sure that they’d like to tell you about their favorite nudist experiences.”

“Ah, thank you, Barbara and Mitchell,” Ayame said. “You are very nice.”

“Yeah, thanks, too,” Roger said. “I really appreciate your talking to Ayame so frankly. This really helped her a lot, and me too.”

“No problem, kids,” Mitchell grinned, “just go and have fun. Serious talk time is finished.”

The kids got up and walked over to where Tom and Cynthia were talking to Robin and Richard. Ayame hung back a little, trying to use Roger’s body as a shield, but Cynthia moved to her to pull her closer to the group.

“C’mere, darling,” Cynthia whispered, “you don’t have to hide your gorgeous body. Show it off. Doesn’t the air feel good on your skin?”

“Ah, is strange. Confused feelings, like I should hide, but see everyone looks, um, normal?” she replied.

Tom smiled at Ayame. “I think you’re doing just fine, Ayame. Relax and listen to Robin’s story about her first time; she just started it.”

“Yeah, hi, Ayame...” she began.

Then Ellen and Sam joined them; they made a circle of chairs and they all sat.

“I was telling my first-time story, guys.” Robin started again. “So I met Richard in high school when I was a freshman. We went to different middle schools but when we met, we hit it off right away. Anyway, he never told me that his family were nudists. He would be away on lots of weekends but I could never get a straight answer where he went, just that they were family outings. We dated during freshman year and in the summer he was away almost the whole time.

“When we got back to school he was evasive about where he went for the summer. So I guess I threatened him, saying if he wanted to keep secrets like that, maybe we shouldn’t see each other anymore. That’s when he told me he was a nudist and went to camps with his family. I couldn’t believe it. I asked him if he was naked with other people and he said he was and that it was the greatest feeling. Then he asked me if I would go with him one time to try it out; his family was going that weekend. I told him that he was crazy, to look at my body, how fat I was, that I was ugly and people would make fun of me. He took my hands and told me that he himself was no Adonis and no one cares how anyone looks, and besides, he thought I was pretty no matter what I thought about myself.

“He spent the whole week trying to convince me and then told me that if I went, I could keep some clothes on if I wanted. So I reluctantly agreed to go. When we got there, his family had a cabin with three rooms, two bedrooms and a main room that had foldout beds. His parents took a bedroom and Richard, his sisters, and I decided to wait till later to work out where we’d sleep. Then everyone stripped while I went to the bathroom to get into my swimsuit. Wow, when I came out—seeing all that naked skin; it made me blush so hard I got dizzy!

“Anyway, we went to the pool and found a bunch of chairs all together. But I didn’t know where to look! I knew I shouldn’t stare, but wherever I looked there were nude people! All ages, all body types. Many people much fatter than me. And I felt so self-conscious, so exposed, because I was the only one there with clothing—so weird, right? Exposed wearing clothes. I lay down on a chair next to Richard and we just chatted a while and soon I started to get really hot in the sun. His sisters and parents had already gone into the water, so I sat up and looked at the pool and that’s when I noticed the sign that said no suits in the pool. I asked Richard and he told me that was the rule. Oh my God. I wanted to cool off. So I looked around; nobody was looking in my direction. Was I going to do it?

“I took a deep breath, said a prayer, and closed my eyes. Then I reached behind me and unhooked the clip on the top of my one-piece and wiggled the top down off my chest. I felt my cheeks and chest start to burn like they were on fire. I was panting in a panic and could feel my heart pounding under my boobs. My lips and mouth got dry and my teeth began tingling. I was so sure that everyone in the pool area could see how embarrassed I was. I pulled my towel over my chest to hide my boobs; I so desperately wanted to pull my suit back up again, but I gritted my teeth, trying to steady myself to go through with what I had begun, but I was shaking with embarrassment.

“Richard noticed me sitting there trembling. He reached over and took my hand and told me to open my eyes and look around, and ... no one was even looking at me, nobody really cared what I was doing. So I clenched my jaw, stood up slowly, and then pulled my suit down to my hips and slid it off as a wave of dizziness spread over me. I looked around again; no one was staring at my body, not even Richard. He was looking me in the eyes as though nothing was out of the ordinary. It suddenly dawned on me that for him—and for everyone in the area—nothing was anything but ordinary. He whispered to me that I was doing just fine; that I looked great, the worst was over, and I should enjoy how my body felt.

“And then I became aware of a difference around me, because it no longer seemed like I was standing out. I was no longer the only one wearing a suit; I had blended in with the people in the pool area and that actually made me kind of invisible in a way. That thought made me finally able to relax a little. It was like a big weight had just lifted and all my anxieties suddenly seemed so unnecessary. I gave a huge sigh of relief. Richard took my hand and we got into the pool. Even though I still had a few more modesty hurdles to get past, I never looked back after that.”