Invitation to a Beach, Chapter 3

3. The next thing I remembered was hearing someone saying, “Hey Max! Wake up, dude.” I looked up from the beach and saw two faces above us looking down. I grabbed a towel and covered up, but Max seemed not to be ashamed. He sat up abruptly. “Richie!” Max said, “and Angel. What are you guys doing here?” “Thought we’d stop by,” said the guy with a friendly grin. “It’s our anniversary. We thought we’d come here for some peace and quiet.” The couple appeared to be in their mid-40’s. He had dark hair but was starting to get a little gray around the temples. I noticed a serious scar on his shoulder running down his back and wondered what the story was with that. The woman was petite, with a blonde pixie cut. She wore a long baggy t-shirt cover-up so I couldn’t see her body. Max and I got up and I shook hands with the couple. Max gave Angel a hug, and she seemed not to be bothered that he was nude. He introduced me as “a friend” and explained we were just out for the day. “Sorry to ruin your peace and quiet,” Max said. “Great place for it,” Richie agreed. “There’s nothing better than belonging to a club that has a lake and no members.” As they chatted, the couple began to disrobe, almost absentmindedly. Angel slipped her t-shirt off over her head and was instantly naked – she wore nothing underneath. She was indeed petite, with small but pert breasts and a slender waist. She had a perfect all-over tan. At the same time, Richie kicked out of his flip flops and slid off his shorts and t-shirt. He was equally well tanned, and had an attractive six pack above a penis that appeared to have some intentions of standing up. I couldn’t tell if he was getting an erection or if it just hung that way. Both of them were shaved clean. I performed the usual social graces upon a first time meeting. My answers were: “Ellen. Nice to meet you. ”No, just college friends.” “Never, this is my first time.” “Love it, really.” “Ok, not a problem.” “Max, where have you been, man?” Richie asked. “I was in Peru all last summer. I missed it here, though” As they talked, Richie put his arm over Angel’s shoulder affectionately. His fingers dangled dangerously over her left nipple. I was surprised when Angel responded by reaching over and casually taking his cock in her hand and gently squeezing it. They talked cordially, oblivious to the fact that we were all naked and she was basically giving him a hand-job in front of us. They talked blithely, as if we had just run into each other at Macy’s, catching up on each other’s news. We stood by chatting with the couple as they laid down a large cotton blanket and set up a beach umbrella and chairs. When they finished, Richie said, “Join us for a swim?” “Thanks. Maybe later. We just got out,” Max said. The couple waded through the shallows then swam out into the lake, talking and laughing. “Max,” I said incredulously, “Did you see her squeezing his cock? I thought nudists frowned on public displays of sexual activity.” “Well,” Max replied, “this isn’t the usual kind of nudist club. We’re not registered with AANR or any of the other nudist associations. Our members decided long ago that sexuality was as normal a part of being human as eating or sl**ping. We find it repressive and unhealthy to pretend we aren’t stimulated by the way our bodies feel naked, or by what we see and do without clothes on.” Max went on and I listened, fascinated. “Nudism is actually a lot about sex, however much the clubs deny it. The majority of nudist clubs are afraid they’ll be criticized and ostracized by the textile world so they make a big show of denying sexuality in nudism, but the truth is, it happens at every club. It’s just not overt.” “The members at this club agreed not to hide our sexual activities. Here, members can do pretty much anything they please as long as they do it with consent.” “With consent?” I asked. You mean they can have sex with anybody they want as long as they consent?” “Yep, pretty much.” “So this isn’t really a nudist club. It’s a swingers club where everybody goes naked. Right?” Max paused. “I guess it depends on your definition, on your point of view. I’ve been coming here since I was allowed in by the club at 18. I came with my parents and have always thought of it as a nudist club with a very relaxed attitude about sex. And when I told you before I’d never had sex here, I lied. I learned about sex here. My parents and their friends taught me everything, and I would practice with members and their k**s.” “By ‘practice” I assume you mean…” “Yes, having sex was as common an everyday activity as having a Coke. Nothing was off limits as long as everybody agreed and nobody got hurt. Some of the members were quite a bit older than even my parents.” “Yuck!” I said. “Did you see your parents having sex?” “Sure. Many times. It seemed really normal. Do you know how much fun it is to be able to laugh and play when you’re having sex? It’s not all about the right positions and always cumming at the right time and pleasing your partner and being in love. “What about love and sex?” I asked. “I’m entirely in favor of it,” Max said. ”It’s an even more wonderful thing. But the point is, you don’t have to be in love for sex to be fun and pleasurable and worth doing.” I was shocked at first, but felt strangely comfortable with the ideas Max had laid out about nudism and sex. I’ve always thought that Western people’s ideas about sex were kind of silly and restrictive. “Wow,” I said. “We have something in common.” Max raised an eyebrow. “I learned about sex from my step-dad, when I was about sixteen.” I said. It sounded like a confession but it wasn’t. Max frowned. “He r**ed you?” “No, no!” I said, trying to explain. “I wanted it. I loved it. It was great to have someone you trust teach you all about sex. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” We looked out over the lake and saw Richie and Angel’s heads bobbing in the water. They were close together and facing each other. I was pretty sure what was going on under the waves. We were quiet for a while as Max’s ideas rolled around in my head. We watched the swimmers play in the water. Eventually they swam back to the beach. “A little chilly,” Angel said stepping onto the sand. Her nipples were as hard as mine had been and she had goose bumps on her tan thighs. As they were toweling off, I heard what sounded like a car pulling in on the gravel parking lot. In a minute, a group of six people were striding down the hill toward the beach. All of them were carrying something – chairs, tents, coolers. And all of them were naked. (Next: More company.)