Karen's Vacation Gets even Wilder

Note to readers: Since I'm never sure which stories and characters I'll eventually return to, none of my stories have chapter numbers. I try to make them work as stand-alone stories, but if you'd like to see what preceded the events of this story or read them in the order they occur, please see "Karen loses control, and likes it!" This story picks up right where that one ends.

Thanks for reading!

Karen woke up very late, dragged into consciousness against her will by a variety of sounds; people fooling about at a nearby pool, brunch dishes being cleared away by a busboy at the restaurant's tables in the courtyard below her balcony, the drone of several vacuum cleaners and, finally, a loud knock at her room's door followed by a young woman yelling, "Housekeeping!"

"Why didn't I put out the damn do-not-disturb tag last night?" she mumbled to herself before shouting a reply to the maid; "Later, please!" Wide awake now, the memory of her wild balcony show the night before came back to her; it seemed more like a dream, but as she remembered what she'd done, forgetting to plan for a quiet morning and late wake up seemed understandable.

And what a memory! She had never done anything remotely as raunchy anywhere, let alone in public, and was sure she never would again. Still, she couldn't stop smiling as she thought about her one crazy night; nobody here knew her and she'd had an unexpected adventure. If she ever put together a bucket list she could leave doing a public striptease off; been there, done that! She showered and dressed to go out in search of some lunch.

Deciding to keep a low profile for a while in the resort after her behavior the previous night, Karen got some suggestions at the front desk for restaurants in the nearest town and took a cab a mile or so down the beach. She found a cafe from the list of recommended spots and enjoyed a leisurely lunch and a single glass of wine. She had resolved to not go overboard on alcohol intake today, thinking having had more than she was used to last night might have played a part in her unprecedented behavior. Having invested in a cab ride to get into town she decided to browse at a few shops as long as she was there. She bought a few souvenirs and a silver bracelet made by a local artisan which seemed to be a bargain.

She was about ready to head back to her resort when a small shop with some bright swimwear on display caught her eye. While some of the suits in the window were way more revealing than she could see herself wearing to the beach, some looked like the fairly conservative bikinis she used to wear when she was in her twenties; having seen what the women at the resort were all wearing, she thought the one-piece suits she'd packed were a little too boring and decided to go inside and see if anything in the store would actually work on her 44 year-old body.

Stepping into the store, Karen found she was the only customer in the shop at the moment. A young woman at the register looked up from her phone and greeted Karen; she asked if she could help her find anything. "Just browsing, I'll let you know if I have any questions," Karen replied. The clerk seemed relieved to be able to get back to whatever she was doing with her phone, so Karen began her search for a two-piece suit she could be comfortable wearing to the beach. There was quite a variety and the prices seemed very reasonable, but most of the suits were haphazardly mixed in several bins so it took her a while to find a matching top and bottom she was interested in that appeared to be the right sizes.

She took her potential purchase, a fairly conservative dark blue bikini, to one of the three fitting rooms, stripped down to her panties and tried it on. She was amazed that a fitting room in a shop specializing in swimwear didn't have a full-length mirror, but figured it was in keeping with the general bargain-basement vibe of the place. The bottoms fit pretty well, but the top was way too small, so she put her blouse back on, buttoned a couple of buttons and stepped back into the quiet store.

Karen dug through the bins near the fitting room, searching for a matching top in the right size. It took a few minutes, but eventually, she found a likely top and brought it to the fitting room to try it on. She peeled off her blouse again, wishing she'd worn something a bit looser; her blouse's sleeves were a little tight and turned inside out every time she took it off. The new top fit better, but was a little larger than she needed. The labeled sizes seemed to be almost totally random; "Maybe that explains the bargain prices?" Karen thought. Keeping the not-quite-right top on for the moment rather than deal with her blouse again, she left the fitting room and began searching for a just-right top. She expanded her search to some bins farther from the fitting room, eventually finding a cluster of matching tops in a variety of sizes.

Gathering up six possible tops, Karen was about to go back across the store to the fitting room when she noticed she was near the only full-length mirror she'd seen anywhere in the store. Thinking about having to go back and forth to the fitting room until she happened to find a top that fit, she looked around the store; "Still just me and the clerk here, and she's paying me no attention at all," she thought. Keeping one eye on the shop's entrance, Karen took a deep breath as she unhooked the ill-fitting top and slipped it off, dropping it into a nearby bin!

She was shaking a little as she stood half-naked in the middle of the store and fumbled a bit with her first new candidate, but managed to get the top on fairly quickly. The latest top fit pretty well but had an ugly stain on it she hadn't noticed until she checked herself out in the mirror. After another quick check of her surroundings she took off the top and picked up one of the others she had set aside, getting it on without incident, but realized immediately that despite being marked as being the same size as the top which fit well, it was way too small.

After a quick glance towards the clerk, Karen took the second top off. She was about to try on another one but paused as a new idea came to her; since the first top she'd tried on out on the sales floor had fit her well, she just needed to see if one of the four left matched it. She picked up the stained top and began comparing her remaining candidates to it. One by one she compared them, each one proving too small or too large. Having found one top that DID fit, and loving a bargain, she wasn't quite ready to give up, so she dug into the bin and began checking a few more in the cluster of matching tops.

She bent over the bin and compared a few more tops to the stained one; she was about to give up when her persistence paid off; she finally found a matching top in the correct size with no apparent defects. She was in the process of trying to separate it from a tangled wad of tops, savoring her triumph over the store's disorganization, when she heard two voices, one female and one male, coming from the direction of the entrance!

"C'mon, hon, I'll just have a quick look around and then we can go," said the woman.

"You always say that and then you end up looking at everything in the store," said the man.

"You exaggerate," she replied.

"Just a little, you have...hey, wow, look!" he said, pointing at Karen, who had frozen in place as she watched the couple come into view less than fifteen feet from where she stood. Still naked above her bikini bottom, she held the tangled clump of tops over her breasts with one hand and bolted off to the fitting room, flinging the curtain shut as she dashed in. A glance at the small face height mirror was enough to confirm what she already felt; she was blushing deeply. Despite having shown far more of her body to far more people the night before, something about being so near to the couple, it being the middle of the day, and the sudden nature of this latest exposure made her shiver uncontrollably for a full minute or two in the fitting room.

Once she had calmed down, Karen went back to untangling the clump of suit tops to free the top she wanted to buy. Hanging up her hard-earned prize and the matching bottoms, she got back into her bra, blouse and shorts and peeked out into the store. The couple who had seen her was still browsing, though only the woman seemed interested in the goods on sale; the man spent much of his time looking in the direction of her fitting room. Karen brought her two items to the register, hoping to pay for her purchase and slip away without crossing paths with her fellow customers. She was almost at the sales counter when she heard the woman say to the man, a bit more loudly than needed, "I'd like to try this one on, let's go over to the fitting room; it might take a little longer than changing out here but that's a little too slutty for me." Karen gritted her teeth and set her new suit on the counter.

The clerk smiled and said, "I think this will look good on you, but did you not see the signs? Everything in the store is on sale today, buy one, get one free. I can hold these here for you if you'd care to look for another suit you like." Karen had been thinking she just wanted to pay and leave, but the catty remark from the other woman shopping irked her; she thanked the clerk, but knowing how badly labeled the merchandise was, she kept her selections with her as she went back to the bins full of suits, practically bumping into the couple on her way. She couldn't help enjoying the appreciative look the man gave her, and even kind of liked the frosty look the woman gave her.

Using the suit she'd gone through so much to find as a guide, it only took Karen a couple of minutes to find another bikini top and bottom which seemed likely to fit her. She wouldn't normally have stopped looking as quickly as she did and settled for the thong in her hand, but her new plan required her to move fast; she took it into a fitting compartment and quickly undressed completely. She got into the new suit, a decidedly racier style in bright yellow, as fast as she could, finishing getting it on as she heard the curtain of the other woman's compartment slide open. She eavesdropped on the couple's conversation; as close as they all were to each other she couldn't really have avoided overhearing them, but she actually wanted to know what they were up to.

"What do you think, hon? Does it look good?" the woman asked.

"You look great in it, I like it!" he answered.

"Really? You're not just saying that to make me happy?

"Absolutely not! Sexy as hell!"

Karen heard the curtain close and opened her own curtain, stepping out just a few feet from the man, who smiled as he looked her over.

"You're the only guy in the place, can I bother you for an opinion?" Karen asked, pointing at her suit's two pieces.

"Ah, sure, I guess," he said, now looking a little nervous as he glanced at his companion's compartment, "It looks nice."

"Oh." she said as she spun slowly around, "Nice, inoffensive, or nice, sexy?"

"Ah, sexy, sure," he said quietly, looking more nervous.

"Okay, thanks a lot!" she said, smiling as she stepped back into her compartment and pulled its curtain closed. Mostly. Except for the last 6 inches of the opening, which she took care to leave unobstructed. With her back to the curtain, she untied the knot at the back of the top and lifted it over her head, hanging it on a hook. She trembled slightly and hesitated for a moment before sliding the suit's bottom down over her butt, but went ahead and dropped it to the floor. She bent at the waist to pick the bottom piece up, realizing only as she felt herself make contact with the edge of the curtain that as small as the compartment was, part of her ass had to be right at the gap next to the curtain. Now completely naked, she took her time hanging the second piece of her suit on the hook with the top, turning so her side was bound to be in view through the gap. Hearing the curtain at the neighboring compartment slide open, she quickly turned to face the gap she'd left, smiling at the slack-jawed man for just a second before pulling her compartment's curtain shut.

It took Karen a few minutes to stop shivering at the thought of her impulsive exposure. She had initially only intended to get a reaction from the man to the sight of her standing so close to him in a bikini. "What got into me once I was back in the compartment? I can't believe I stripped naked for some strange man just a few feet away!" she thought, "but I DID enjoy the look on his face." After her pulse came down to something like a normal rate she dressed and left the compartment. She noticed some cover-ups near the register and thought about the old one she had packed; it was pretty long and practically as thick as a bathrobe, and just didn't seem like a good match for either of her new suits or her recent state of mind, so she took advantage of the buy one, get one free deal one more time.

Returning to her resort a little past 3 PM, Karen laid out her new suits and cover-ups to decide which to wear out to the pool before dinner. She decided the more conservative combination would be best for relaxing at poolside; the pool area seemed a little too crowded to be comfortable wearing the thong and more revealing of the two cover-ups. She put on the dark blue bikini and the more opaque of the two cover-ups, which was fairly lightweight but had an abstract print pattern that concealed whatever was underneath pretty well. She had a leisurely swim, then spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool, reading a book and nursing a daiquiri.

Thoroughly relaxed after her lazy late afternoon by the pool, Karen headed back to her room to change for dinner but noticed a lot of people at the outdoor seating area of the resort's restaurant dining in their swimwear. Several of the women were dressed in only their swimsuits; given the relaxed dress code, she decided to skip getting changed for dinner. She enjoyed her meal but wondered if any of her fellow diners had caught her act on the balcony the night before, and if so, did they recognize her now? She limited herself to a single glass of wine, thinking that she'd be less likely to do anything crazy if she kept her alcohol intake down. Even without having much to drink, she was surprised to find herself thinking not that something along the lines of the previous night's performance would be out of the question, but just that it would be best saved for her final night at the resort!

The sun was just setting as Karen finished her meal, so instead of going back to her room, she took a walk on the beach. There were still a fair number of people strolling along the water's edge as well as several having a twilight swim; realizing she hadn't had any time in the ocean today, she took off her cover-up and left it and her book behind on the sand to have a short swim. Her swim was actually more of a relaxing float, letting the waves gradually carry her back to shore. With the sun fully set the beach was getting to be nearly deserted, so she picked up her things and walked back towards the pool. Reaching the pool area she noticed several people lounging in a large hot tub; she thought since she was still wearing her swimsuit, joining them would be a good way to wrap up her day.

She almost changed her mind as she got close to the hot tub; when she was near enough to see the group already soaking, she saw what appeared to be three couples, all somewhere around college age, maybe just a couple of years older. She overcame her self consciousness, thinking that she could always just leave if things seemed too awkward, finding a spot far enough from the group to avoid intruding but near enough to join in the conversation if the opportunity arose.

She was relieved when the whole group welcomed her; one of the women led a round of introductions and urged Karen to move closer and join them. Karen immediately forgot most of their names but did catch the makeup of the group. The woman who welcomed her and one of the men were on their honeymoon, the other two women, one a skinny blonde and the other a curvy redhead, were married to each other, one of the men was here with his wife, who had turned in early, and the remaining man was here on his own; other than the newlyweds, none of them had met until they all happened to land in the hot tub together, so Karen was not crashing a private party.

Karen and her new companions traded some basic information about where they were from, what they did for a living, why they picked this spot for their vacation. When the talk turned towards family, everyone else mentioned siblings and parents, while Karen mentioned having a terrible ex-husband and a wonderful daughter. One of the female couple asked, "so your daughter is staying with your ex while you're on vacation?"

"Um, no, she lives with her husband."

As the surprised group tried to work out a range of possible ages for Karen, the small talk turned towards everyone sharing their age. Everyone except Karen turned out to be about as old as she had guessed, all between 19 and 23. When she hesitated to admit her age, the rest of the group kidded her and turned it into a guessing game. She enjoyed the fact that they all guessed too low, some by as much as a dozen years, then gave them a vague answer; "I'm actually older than any two of you combined, and my daughter is a few years older than any of you!"

The new bride reached into a bag at the edge of the tub and fished out a lighter and a couple of joints, offering them to be shared, "Anyone care to join me?" Everyone but Karen immediately said yes.

"How about you?" asked the bride.

"Wow, I don't know, I haven't done that since...I guess not since I was in my teens. Oh, why not, pass it on over!" Karen said, sliding closer to be able to pass the joint on and be ready for one to work its way around the circle.

A few minutes later the group was even more relaxed, each having taken several long tokes as the pair of joints traveled between them. At a lull in the conversation, the redhead said, "I hope none of you are offended, but I've been wearing this top all freaking day and the straps are digging into me; it needs to come off!" It was more of an announcement than a check to see if anyone minded, as she had it nearly off before she finished her sentence.

"No complaints here," said the single guy, "As a matter of fact I think if any of you other ladies are uncomfortable you should follow her lead!"

"How kind of you to be thinking of our comfort!" said the new bride with a smirk. "It would be more comfortable, but I'm not single anymore, I think I'd have to see if my husband objects." Her husband just shrugged and smiled, which was encouragement enough for her to pull her top off and toss it on the edge of the tub.

"My t-shirt hasn't exactly hidden anything since it got wet, so I might as well join the club," laughed the blonde as she pulled the shirt over her head, "besides, I think my wife is into seeing me undressed in public, and her getting excited is always in my best interest."

"Oh, man...I was just kidding, I didn't think any of you would actually take my suggestion!" the single guy said.

Even in the dimly lit hot tub, Karen could see him blushing. She had forgotten his name, but remembered his age; at 19 he was the youngest member of the group. She imagined he probably hadn't been in this sort of situation before. Something about his awkwardness made her want to mess with him; she untied the straps behind her neck and held them out in front of her, just high enough to keep her nipples covered and asked him, "You mean you didn't really want to see us all topless?"

"No, I mean, yes, for sure, but I didn't expect.."

"So should I take off my top or not?"