Quiet Betty

"Four," Betty said.

"Right, and I knew you and Audra were tight, and I...I don't know if Nick has told you or Janice about his history with her?"

"Oh, Rob!" Rob could barely bring himself to look at Betty, expecting her to be furious. Instead, she looked sad and sympathetic. "Yes, Janice told me just the other night. And I've got to admit, even I didn't think Audra was capable of something that cruel."

"I wouldn't have guessed it before then either," Rob said. "Going all the way back to grade school, she was mostly the type who'd join in on the bullying when others were doing it, but she wouldn't be the ringleader. I still don't know if someone else put her up to it this time either. Didn't matter, though."

"I'm guessing her mother wouldn't tell you?"

"Her mother wouldn't hear a bad word about her in the first place. And since Nick wasn't seriously injured, there was nothing we could do."

"I'm surprised he wasn't."

"I don't think they wanted to injure him," Rob said. "They just wanted to humiliate him, and they sure did that. In any case, our mother called her mother, and all she had to say was, 'Oh, my Audra would never do a thing like that, and haven't you noticed how Nick always finds himself in trouble with the other kids?'" Rob flopped down on Betty's bed. "I'm sorry, Betty, but we had just started dating, I was falling hard for you, but I couldn't help wondering, a friend of Audra's..."

"I have to admit I'm a little hurt," Betty said. "I would never hurt you like that, Rob. Or anyone! But listen, I know what it's like to be humiliated like that, and I can see why you were on your guard about it."

"Do you?" Rob asked. "Oh, right, your weight. I'm sorry, I forgot about that, you've done such a great job of losing it."

"Well, that too." Betty's lips curled into a coy smile as she stood before him. The thought of lifting up her nightie to reveal her triangle was nearly irresistible. But she was too overcome with relief at once again feeling comfortable with her true love to push the envelope that far just now.

"That too?" he asked. "What else?"

Tell him? Show him? Neither? Betty opted for door number three. "I'll explain that later," she said, and she sat down beside him on the bed. "Listen, about Nude Day, is the invitation still open?"

"Absolutely!" Rob looked for all the world like he could barely get the words out as he looked Betty up and down, obviously anticipating what he'd be seeing then.

That, and the sweet sensation of his body close against hers, had Betty as wet as she could ever recall feeling and her nipples making themselves very much known through her nightie. Why not tonight?

Rob answered that before shy Betty could get the words out. "My parents'll be delighted," he said. "In the meantime, listen, I've been so lonely all week and thinking of our future..."

"Oh, me too, Rob!"

"Great, so this must be as big a relief for you as it is for me. Could I...I don't want to push you, Betty, but could I spend the night?"

"I'd love that!" Betty could feel his hands on her breasts already, and they ached for his touch in the most delightful way.

"Oh, me too," Rob said. "Since you're dressed like that, I take it you won't mind if I strip down to my boxers?"

Only down to his boxers?

Betty felt like screaming in frustration. But she reminded herself that an hour ago she wasn't even sure she'd ever see him again, and now she had said yes to Nude Day. So her secret would be out soon enough, and if he didn't like it, at least she could savor the joy of their reconciliation for tonight. If it meant neglecting the veritable rain-forest between her legs, at least it also meant there was no risk of the same scaring Rob off once and for all.

She smiled through her frustration. "Of...course, Rob. Why should you be the only one who has to eat your heart out?"

Rob laughed. "Thanks. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty more I'd love to do than just hold you, but, you know, I don't want to push."

Neither did Betty. Having admitted to herself how fearful she was that Rob would turn out to be like the bullies back at school, she swallowed her frustration and looked forward to at least sleeping in his arms for the first time.

* * *

During the movie, Janice and Nick's hands touched at least half a dozen times while reaching for the popcorn. When the tub was empty, Janice kept her hand there waiting for Nick to reach for more. When he did and found only her hand there, she grasped it tightly before he could get away, and to her delight, he squeezed back.

They had to let go for a bathroom stop after the credits rolled, and when Janice emerged from the ladies' room to find him waiting, there was but a moment of awkwardness before he spoke up. "There's a cappuccino place up the street, if you feel like it."

"I'll be awake all night!" Janice passed over in silence that there might be a positive side to that.

"Eh, good point," Nick said. "It's just, while you were in there I checked my phone and Rob hasn't texted me or anything. No news is good news, but it does mean I've got nowhere else to go.

"You're welcome to come back to our place," Janice said. "I've got a bottle of wine we could open, and no, Audra won't be there."

Nick's eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. "Are you saying..."

"Yes, Nick. Let's not let any miscommunications get in the way like they did with Rob and Betty!" She kissed him, and took his hand for the walk back to the car.

When they got home, it was not immediately clear that their mission had succeeded. Betty's room door was shut and there wasn't a sound from behind it - or anywhere else in the apartment. Assuming Betty was asleep whether she was alone or not, Janice raised a finger to her lips.

When she did, she saw Nick was looking at the floor and grinning. He pointed at the spot next to the couch, and Janice was delighted to see Rob's shoes there. "Oh, good!" she whispered.

Nick nodded his agreement and followed Janice to her room, where she turned on the little lamp on the bureau, casting a dim, warm glow throughout the little room. "I'll get the wine," she whispered to Nick, and she left him to get to know her cluttered but neat abode.

Nick gave some thought to tearing his clothes off to surprise her, but decided to take things a bit slower than that. He was perched on the edge of her bed when Janice appeared in the doorway with an uncorked bottle and two glasses.

"Hope you don't mind the dim lamp," she said as she kicked the door shut behind her.

"No, it's more suitable than the bright light for the occasion," Nick said.

"We don't have to keep even that light on," she said, pouring the wine. "But I confess, I have been hoping to get a good look at you!"

"Same here," Nick said, though he was sure she already knew as much.

Janice handed him one of the glasses, and they clinked and took a long sip. Neither of them said anything for a long moment afterward, then Nick burst into nervous laughter, and to his relief, Janice followed suit. "No need to be shy," she said, and she set her glass down and took a pinch of his shirt in both hands just above his belt buckle. "May I?"

"If I may!" He took another swig of the wine and also set his glass down, and reached for the top button of her top. She nodded her consent and lost no more time in pulling his shirt out of his pants.

She had his shirt untucked and ready to pull off just as he'd unbuttoned far enough for the first teasing sight of her bra to come into view. He stopped there and raised his arms, and she pulled his shirt off. While he resumed unbuttoning her top, she rubbed his chest with both hands, eagerly awaiting the same touch on her breasts. She hoped he wouldn't waste any time doing away with her bra, which she was once again eager to be relieved of.

Nick didn't disappoint her. As soon as he had her top unbuttoned and she'd pulled it the rest of the way off, he took only the briefest of moments to admire the view before drawing her into a tight embrace, which she eagerly returned. "I wanted so badly to do this last week!" he whispered in her ear."

"I did hug you!" she reminded him.

"Exactly. I wanted it to last so much longer!"

"Me too," she confessed, and she was delighted to feel his fingers fumbling with the clasp of her bra, taking just long enough to be endearing before he had it undone. She drew back and welcomed his hungry eyes on her newly-bared breasts, and his even hungrier hands on them a moment later. "Oh, that feels wonderful!" she sighed.

"You don't know how many times I've imagined this!" Nick managed to look back up into her eyes just long enough to say it.

"Oh, I think maybe I do," Janice said. "It's been a while since anyone's played with them!" She leaned in and kissed him, finding her way to his belt buckle as she did. Their lips were still locked together as she got his pants open and pushed them down in one go along with his boxers. She longed for a look at his hard cock, but contented herself with a playful feel of it that had him moaning up a storm before the kiss even ended.

She finally did get a look as he came up for air, and happily regarded him returning the favor on her pants. He had no trouble unbuttoning and unzipping them, but then he surprised her by leaving them in place and reaching inside. "Oooh!" she squealed as he found her clit effortlessly. "Oh, Nick!"

"You're so wet!" he teased.

"Thanks to you!"

"We'd better get these off you, huh?" He still had his hand in her panties, exploring happily and drawing gasps and giggles from her left and right.

"Yes please!"

"Well, you know I'm shy around women."

"Could've fooled me!"

Nick laughed and withdrew his hand long enough to pull her pants and panties down, and she happily kicked them off. "Now, are you going to tell me you're shy?" she asked as he stood back up for his first full look at her body.

He only laughed again, and once again took her in his arms for another passionate kiss. She welcomed his fingers in her bush again, and spread her legs a bit to let him know she was wide open for him. He got the message and reached his middle finger inside her, drawing a gasp that reverberated through their still-lingering kiss.

"Oh...Ohmygod...don't stop!"

He didn't. Janice had to hang onto his shoulder for balance as he caressed her vagina gently, rhythmically, and bent over to kiss her breasts in turn. A fleeting recollection that they'd been trying to avoid waking Betty up came and went, but as usual Janice found she couldn't hope to remain quiet. Years ago when she'd been a virgin, Janice had been ever so sure the guttural vocal effects she'd heard in the movies were just as fictional as everything else. But from her very first time, she'd found herself utterly unable to keep from voicing her pleasure.

Tonight was no exception. Nick's gentle strokes in and all around her pussy had her yelping up a joyful storm, and any concerns for Betty were long forgotten as he rubbed her into an intense orgasm. "Thank you!" she gushed as he stood back up to get a look at her face at the big moment. She hugged him tightly, and then ordered, "On the bed, now!"

As usual, Janice had a momentary concern about her weight before climbing on top of Nick, and as usual the joyful look on her partner's face allayed that concern even before she'd taken him inside her. Take him she did, and they both let out a grunt of satisfaction at that first moment of being so wonderfully intertwined.

Her breasts hung heavy and inviting in his face, and he set about cradling them in his hands so they didn't flail about as she rocked hard into him. She didn't need to tell him a word about what to do with them; his rubbing and teasing were perfect. As things grew more intense, she leaned back and planted her hands on his ankles. "Gonna come!" she grunted.

"Please do!" He could barely get the words out.

If Janice hadn't been sure Betty and Rob could hear them across the hall before, she figured there was no doubt about it now as her joyful shrieks rang out. When it was over, she sat back up straight and leaned in for a kiss, gladly reciprocated, but she didn't slow down.

"Now you!" she grunted when their lips were parted again.

"Go faster and I will!"

Janice wasn't sure how much faster she could go. But she thrust her hips onto him again and again, as fast as she could, and was delighted to hear Nick respond as loudly as she had done a moment before. The tender intimacy of it all gave her just the spark she needed to join him as he came, and she collapsed with a joyful flop on top of him.

"Oh, Nick, I've never heard a guy come like that before," Janice said, stroking his shoulders playfully.

"Why should women have all the fun?"

Janice laughed. "I've certainly had more than my share of it tonight!"

"I hope Rob and Betty didn't hear us," Nick said.

"I hope they did! Let's face it, those two could use some help loosening up!"

"Thank heavens they did, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, that's why we're here now, isn't it?"

Janice laughed her agreement and got up to retrieve the wine glasses, and they talked and snuggled late into the night.

In the morning, Betty and Janice both expected their lovers to want to get lost before Audra got home. So Janice suggested breakfast out at the diner on the next block, and they were safely out of the apartment before there was any sign of their detested flatmate. There was also no chance for them to learn that Betty knew Nick's secret or that Rob still didn't know Betty's. But it did slip out that Betty had decided to join them for Nude Day, and the four shared an awkward laugh at all they were going to be sharing soon enough.

* * *

On the morning of the fourteenth, Betty was feeling equal parts apprehensive and victorious. Win or lose, she was determined to shed any lingering shame along with her clothes, and if Rob didn't like what he saw, good riddance.

She was also still feeling shy as usual. But when Anne gave her and Janice a final chance to turn back before leaving for the country that morning, they both declined.

"I'm looking forward to it," Betty said, and it was true, though perhaps not the whole truth.

"Me too," Janice added with a side glance at Betty to make sure her more modest friend was sure of this.

Anne shook her head. "I can't believe my boys ever expected anything less of you both!"

"Oh, Rob had good reason to in my case," Betty admitted. "But that's in the past." Or at least it was about to be.

For all that, she was more than a little bit nervous on the ride out to the countryside - not only about baring all, but about seeing Rob's family naked. Not to mention Janice, with whom she'd managed to avoid undressing all those years. An occasional look at Janice while they chatted with Rob and Nick in the back of the van confirmed that the feeling was mutual. But the talk was of everything but where they were going to spend the day. Betty preferred it that way, as she had already determined it was best not to think too hard about what she was about to do.

The mistake she and Janice both made didn't help with either of their nerves. At least they didn't follow Rob and Nick too far along the path to the men's changing rooms before realizing their mistake. "I don't know why they have separate rooms either," Rob said, anticipating their inevitable question as he pointed them in the direction his mother was taking to the other side of the building. "But they do."

"Oh, of course!" Betty didn't try to hide the nervous twitch in her laugh as she turned to follow Anne to the women's room.

"Sorry, I should've told you that," Anne said. "I think it's just a holdover from back when this was a country club. But we're a lot more fun than that crowd was!"

Betty and Janice had little doubt of that even before they entered the building, for there were a few already-naked women chatting just outside the door, looking utterly comfortable. "Good morning," one of them said as casually as if she were fully clothed.

"Hi!" Betty had told herself again and again to look people in the eye, and she only just passed that test.

"First time?" the woman asked. "Don't worry, relax!"

"Does it show?" Betty asked as soon as they were inside, where there were plenty of women in various stages of undress.

"You probably tried a little too hard not to look at her body," Anne said. "Forget everything you've read about what's taboo in a place like this. It's easier to be natural about it if you don't sweat it. Everyone knows we're going to be looking at each other's bodies." Having spotted a vacant locker, she lost no time in pulling her t-shirt off. "You'll be amazed at how quickly it all becomes comfortable," she continued, reaching back to unfasten her bra. "Rob and Nick will tell you the same, and their sister."

"Oh, right, I forgot about her," Betty confessed, as she somewhat reluctantly followed Anne's lead and pulled her shirt off. "Is she joining us today?"

"She's already here," came a voice Betty didn't recognize, and she turned to see a slightly older woman with a passing resemblance to Rob. "Hi, Mom."

Anne, who was down to her panties by then, turned and smiled. "Meagan! You beat us here, huh?" After hugging her daughter, Anne introduced them. "Rob's fiancee, Betty," she said.

"I've heard so much about you!" Meagan said.

"Same here!" As she shook hands with Meagan, Betty took notice of one thing Rob had not told her. No reason why he would when he didn't yet know Betty's darkest secret, of course, and she wasn't sure whether it was a good sign or not. In any event, Betty felt more confident now that she knew his sister was similarly bushy.

"And their friend, Janice," Anne continued.

While Meagan and Janice were greeting one another, Betty finished undressing before there was any chance of losing her nerve again. She couldn't resist a glance at Anne once her panties were off, and was surprised to see Meagan did not take after her mother in at least one regard. Perhaps her father was hairy? Betty remembered with a naughty jolt that she was about to see for herself.

Regardless of all that, Betty found herself feeling far more sure of herself than she'd ever have guessed as she pulled her panties off, wondering if Meagan would take notice of it.

She did. Though nothing was said, Betty could read the knowing look on Meagan's smiling face as their eyes met.

If Janice was surprised at how her old friend looked naked, she betrayed no sign of it as she undressed. Betty returned the favor, though she couldn't resist a look at Janice's body, which looked much as she'd have guessed, right down to her much smaller bush.

Betty wasn't aware that Janice had taken notice of her inspecting her body until she looked up to see her old friend laughing lightly. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Betty exclaimed, covering her eyes and realizing even as she did so what an absurd gesture that was at the moment.

"Oh, Bets, it's okay! Come here!" Janice opened her arms and she and Betty enjoyed a naked hug. To Anne she explained, "Yes, we were roommates all through college, but we had separate rooms in our suite."

"I understand," Anne said, and to Betty's surprise, she found she believed that.

The grounds were opulent enough to have echoes of the country club they once were. Betty had spent all week reminding herself not to gawk at anyone, but she couldn't resist a glance around the grounds to see if she knew anyone besides Rob's family. She didn't, but Rob's brother and father were a site for sore eyes by the pool. Betty felt her face melting into a grin as she took in the sight of their well-maintained bodies, knowing of course that they were doing the same to her. To her indescribable relief, Rob appeared to love what he saw. Naturally, the feeling was mutual, and all at once she found herself feeling silly for ever imagining he wouldn't.