The Garden Centre of Eden

"Don't be shy, you've nothing to be shy about. You are a real good looker."

"I don't believe that, but it's just that it's my first time and I haven't had time to get used to it."

"Let me give you some advice. Any time you are naked intentionally, be proud of your body. Any time you are accidentally naked, such as, oh I don't know, dropping your towel whilst changing on the beach, be calm and nonchalant about it and correct the situation with dignity. If any time you are unfortunate enough to be forced by a man to strip, act with reluctance because it is not your choice, but act as though it is no big deal -- men of that type get off on humiliation, so refuse to act humiliated. And certainly don't double up and frantically try to cover yourself with your hands -- by then anyone looking has already seen everything, you can't make them unsee it, so act casually.

"But I think you've got a closet exhibitionist inside. Use getting naked where you can for thrills and don't worry about it! Like on July 14th..."

"I'll try!" and I squeezed her hand.

"Now," she said, "let's see what we can do to improve things down there... Let me get some tools!" and off she went into the house, leaving me waiting in some trepidation. She was back quickly carrying a towel and scissors, a razor, and a bottle of baby oil and a hand mirror in a trash bin.

"Lie still! It will be easier if I do it first time. You realise this would cost you a bomb in a salon!"

I was definitely uncomfortable now. This was going to be a bit up close and personal.

"Right, first question -- do you want it all off or are we leaving a landing strip?"

"Oh, er, I, um..." I hadn't really yet considered shaving there at all, let alone in what style.

"It will be easier just to shave it all... You can easily let it grow back if you decide you want something to point the way!"

"Oh, er, I, er, OK..." I said decisively -- not.

"I'll start from the top and work down. Scissors first!" And before I could say anything she bent over, gat a lock of my short-and-curlies between two fingers, snipped it off and dripped it in the bin. I made an involuntary small squeak and Marijka smirked and grasped another lock. She steadily worked down, getting closer and closer to my most intimate area. I found myself getting a little aroused.

"OK, time to open the legs for me!" she said. I slowly parted my thighs, and it felt really quite erotic exposing myself like that. I was definitely getting moist. She continued working down along the edges of my labia. I could smell my arousal, and so surely could she. Finally she said, "Stage one over!" and brushed her fingers along my slit. I was sure that was intentional. It felt electric.

"Now the oil," she said, "it helps avoid razor burn." She poured a small amount into her left palm and dipped her right fingers in it, and rubbed it into the stubble. Now I was sure she was deliberately touching my slit and it was getting hotter and wetter. She wiped her hands and picked up the razor. A disposable just like the one I used for my armpits and legs. She bent over so close I could feel her breath on my pussy, and started with small strokes, working from the top down towards my slit again. She used her other hand to press and hold the skin, and as that hand got closer and closer to my privatest part I got to hoping she would touch me there. I realised I had let out something between a sigh and a moan, and she smiled knowingly. My thighs were now as wide as I could get them; they'd done that all on their own, I hadn't told them to. A few careful small strokes below the opening and then to the sides. Her fingers were so close to my slit, and I'm sure I was leaking arousal juices. Then she said,

"I think that will do, but let me check for any slight stubble left." With that she ran her fingers all over my mons and along the edge of the lips, and then finished blatantly running them along the slit and into it, up to the clitoris and around it. I couldn't help a gasp of a combination of shock and pleasure. She laughed and stood up. "Feel free to -- well, feel freely, if you need to!"

Well, although I would have been unable to resist if she had continued to fondle me, I wasn't quite ready to masturbate in front of someone else, so I tried to quell the surge of arousal. "I think I'll just shower and have a swim," I said.

"Before that, don't you want to take a look?" and she handed me the mirror. I positioned it and inspected the result. Now I'd looked at myself naked in a full length wall mirror a few times recently, but never inspected my crotch so directly. It looked like it belonged to somebody else, not me. It was glistening a little, and the inner lips were peeking out. I ran my fingers around the edge, feeling the strange smoothness that I wasn't used to. It also occurred to me that to be naked like this on Nude Day would be to expose myself absolutely fully. The thought gave me a little thrill and a shock of fear all at the same time.

"Wow," I said. "Wow indeed!" she replied. "Like it?"

"I think so, I need to get used to it!"

She smiled. "Don't forget you'll need to shave regularly to keep it smooth, just like your legs."

I handed the mirror back and went for a shower and then into the pool. The shock of the coolness of the water after the heat of the sun -- and of my arousal! -- was sharp and refreshing. I climbed out again after a few minutes and resumed lying on the sun lounger.

Marijka appeared with a couple of drinks she'd gone to fetch. As she was putting them down, there was a noise in the house and a deep voice called "Hello?" I sat up with a start, alarmed and conscious of my nudity.

"Out here by the pool," Marijka called. As she got up, she turned to me and murmured, "It's Dan! Remember -- dignified, nonchalant, proud!" and she trotted over to the door into the house as a man came through the other way.

"Hi Dan, I thought you were working!" and she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.

"Hey, I'd have stopped by sooner if I knew you were skinny dipping! I'm on my way to a meeting at Mason Chandler's, but I don't need to be there until four, so as I was passing I thought I'd call in for a few minutes." He suddenly caught sight of me, desperately trying to act as if I was naked in front of men all the time. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't know you had company," and he averted his eyes politely.

"It's Eve, my friend from work. Come and meet her!" and she took him by the hand and led him over. I took a deep breath and stood up, held my hand out and shook his.

"Pleased to meet you, Dan."

"And you Eve, Marijka's told me a lot about you, so I hoped we'd meet. Didn't expect it to be like this though!" He turned and pulled over a chair from the poolside table and sat down. I moved back to the sun lounger.

I realised his resolve had cracked and he was now checking out my body. I quite enjoyed that, and realised I was checking him out too. A smart young man, neat hair, pleasant smile, wearing a business shirt and slacks, in which I couldn't quite detect if there was a bulge.

"I, er, Marijka wasn't expecting you..." I said lamely.

"Well, I am at work technically, I'm on my way to meet a client, but I had to pass this way and had about ten minutes to spare, so thought I'd drop in. I knew Marijka had planned to have a lazy day by the pool, but I never realised she had company, or that it would be so... decorative!"

I blushed. But I was amazing myself at how cool I was, naked with a man I didn't know. At that point Marijka returned with a drink for Dan, and we spent five minutes chatting inconsequentially about Dan's work, as though we were all fully clothed, before Dan made his excuses and left for his meeting.

After he'd gone, Marijka came and stood in front of me, hands on hips. "I now declare you definitely ready for National Nude Day!"

- 6 -

Before I knew it, National Nude Day little more than a fortnight away. Then things started to go wrong.

Firstly, my aging car gave up the ghost, and Jimmy at the workshop I used told me it would cost more to repair than it was worth. I needed a couple of thousand dollars for a new car which was money I didn't have. Fortunately, I was able to get a lift to and from work from either Francine, who it turned out lived a couple of blocks away, or Gill, another middle-aged lady who worked mainly on the tills, and by juggling these offers I could manage most days without being late arriving or leaving. Just once I had to walk, and as it was about a mile and a half I was glad not to do it too often -- it wasn't that it was a long way, I could manage that far easily enough, but by the end of the afternoon when I was walking home it was pretty warm for that, and not enough parts of the walk in shade.

At the time I was also helping to set up the Church Sale. I would spend evenings there helping to sort through the donated items in the Church storeroom ready for the sale on Saturday. I discovered that Abe was back from college, and no less leering and oversexed than before he went. Needless to say I got asked to go with him in his car to collect last minute donations on Thursday evening. As soon as we were alone in the car he resumed his campaign of trying to have sex with me.

"So, Eve, still a virgin?"

"None of your business!" I snapped. I'd obviously developed a bit more backbone since last time.

He smirked. "Got a boyfriend?"

"Yes thank you, so keep your distance!"

Unfortunately I wasn't good at lying. "I'll take that as a no, then! Let me introduce you to sex -- you'll enjoy it, and wish you'd let me sooner!"

"I'd rather have sex with a tramp off the streets than with you!"

"I'm sure I can persuade you sooner rather than later," and he gave a sneering laugh. I wondered what he meant.

Then on Friday after the garden centre closed, Luke had those working on Sunday for the Nude Day event in for what he called a "Dressed Rehearsal". We went through our places and tasks for the day, and rehearsed what to do about customers who got overwhelmed by the event, either morally or sexually. I was to be on the door, greeting visitors, explaining the day and the offers, and showing them where to disrobe if they wanted to, with Adam also helping, so we had cover for the mens' and ladies' changing rooms. These were areas just inside the door normally used for displaying sales goods, conveniently placed near the café with its rest rooms. They had been converted with the aid of screens and equipped with seats and plastic crates to store the clothes, and there'd be a staff member in each to look after things there.

So I'd be the first naked woman they would see on arrival! The thought send a frisson of fear and excitement through me. I later found out that Marijka had suggested this to Luke -- the crafty fox! Marijka herself was to be in the car parking lot, directing people and warning them of nudity inside.

"So you won't be naked then?" I asked in surprise. "Wait and see!" was all she would say.

After the Dressed Rehearsal was done, Luke came up and took me by the arm and steered me into a quiet corner.

"Eve, er.." he said, uncharacteristically tongue-tied. I thought he was going to ask me to do something for Nude Day which he thought I wouldn't like doing.

"Luke, it's ok, whatever it is you are about to ask me!"

He seemed to pluck up his courage. "Ok, then, I was going to say I've really enjoyed us working together on this project, and wondered if... er... perhaps we could go out to dinner to say thanks? Maybe on Wednesday? I'd really, um, like to get to know you better."

I smiled and took his hand. "Thank you Luke, I've really enjoyed it too, and I'd love to have dinner."

Luke beamed and said, "Great! I'll firm up the details nearer the time!" and then before I knew what was happening, he leaned forward and gave me a brief kiss, and before I could react, spun around and rushed off.

I felt my lips tingling and my heart beating. Could Luke really be interested in me like that? I'd been enjoying his company more and more, but I was trying not to fall for him as I was sure that would result in disappointment.

The next few days passed in a kind of dream. Luke and I had little contact at work, both of us busy with our separate tasks, but whenever we did meet, we both had big smiles on our faces. I felt more excited about dinner with him and what it might lead to than about Nude Day. I told Marijka of course, and she was triumphant. "See, I told you he was keen on you!"

Saturday came round, and unusually I wasn't working at Mow & Grow, having taken the day off to help out at the Church Sale. It went pretty well, and even better, I found four second hand gardening books and a casserole dish I thought I'd get myself. When I did the cashing up, I found we'd raised some $4,000, which was very good. I put the coins in a bag, and the notes in a bank envelope with a slip totalling the amount, and left it on Pastor Brown's desk with a yellow post-it note addressed to the Pastor and a comment to the effect of a good amount for the cause. I noticed Abe had watched me do this, and when I came out and went to pick up the rather heavy cardboard box with my purchases in, he came over and said, "Are you still on foot? That's too heavy for you to carry home."

I was a bit surprised at his apparent helpfulness. "I'm sure I can manage, but thanks."

"No you can't, that's quite a weight. Give me fifteen minutes and I'll run you home."

I felt I couldn't refuse, it was a big help after all. Whilst I was waiting, I saw Pastor Brown as he was passing and told him how much we'd raised and what I'd done with the money; he was of course very pleased and thanked me for my efforts and contribution.

After a little while, Abe came out with one of his mates in tow, an equally oily and unpleasant young man called Gerry. They got in the front and I got in the back, with my box in the trunk.

We arrived at my house, and Gerry got the box and they both walked me to my door. I got my keys and opened it, and Gerry said, "Where do you want me to put these?" I led him to my lounge and said to put them by the bookcase there. Abe had followed us in. "What a day! I don't know about you Gerry, but I could do with a drink!" and they both looked at me. I felt trapped, and offered a beer, which they both accepted with alacrity. I went to the fridge in the kitchen, there were just two beers left, so I brought them through to the lounge. They were both lolled in armchairs, and took the beers, leaned towards each other and clinked the bottles, and took a swig.

"Nice place you have here!" said Abe. He got up and wandered around the room as if inspecting it. He paused by a side table against the wall with my purse on it where I'd dropped it when we came in. "What's this?" he said. I saw there was the corner of an envelope sticking out the top. Abe grasped the corner and pulled the envelope out. I saw with horror it was the bank envelope containing the cash which I'd left on Pastor Brown's desk.

Abe was smirking openly. "This must be just the right amount of money to get you that used car you need," he said triumphantly. "I reckon my Pa will want to call the police about this. What do you think, Gerry?"

"For sure, Abe," he said with a grin. I realised why Gerry was with us and that this was a set-up. I could guess what would happen next.

"Of course, we could just quietly return this and keep quiet," Abe said musingly, "if we had a reason to... You know what I want, if you give it to me I'll be very discreet!" I remained silent, partly out of shock that this was happening, and partly because I couldn't think how to get out of this. I could deny it all and point the finger at Abe, but Pastor Brown was hardly likely to believe me over his doted son. I tried to play for time.

"I'll have to think this through, give me a couple of days and I'll give you an answer on Monday," I said.

"Oh no, I don't give you time to weasel out of this. I need an answer now. Before Pa misses the money."

"OK," I said, "you leave me no choice. It will have to be Thursday, that's my day off this coming week, and not here. You sort out where." I couldn't believe I was saying this, and hoped it bought me enough time to figure out how to get out of this without being branded a thief.

"See, that wasn't so hard! I'll give this back to my Pa and tell him you left it with me to give him."

"I think I'd like you both to leave now."

"OK, we were just going, weren't we Gerry?"

They got up slowly and walked to the door. "I'll call you and tell you where and when. Make sure you are hot and ready!"

As I was shutting the door behind them, I heard Abe say as they were opening the car doors,

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one."

I shut the door and burst into tears. What was I to do? I sobbed as I tried to think. I knew I'd been set up but there was no way to prove it. I couldn't see a way ahead without bedding Abe, which would be nothing short of rape. At least with violent rape you don't have a few days to anticipate it.

When I had almost stopped sobbing I called Marijka. Perhaps she would have an idea.

She answered almost immediately. "Hey Eve, how are you doing? Church sale go well?"

"The sale went fine, but afterwards..." and starting to recount the events I broke down again. Marijka told me to stay put and she'd be round in five minutes. She was as good as her word.

I opened the door to her and flung my arms round her neck and started crying again. Marijka bundled me to the sofa, sat me down and slowly got the story out of me. "Let me get you some tea, and I'll think what to do," she said. I went with her into the kitchen and sat on a stool, and pointed out where to find the mugs and teabags.

"Right," she said when she had finished making the tea, "I've got a couple of ideas, let me work on them and see if they might work. Don't worry, I won't let this happen. We'll talk again very soon."

We talked some more and then Marijka got up to go. I hugged her again on the doorstep and thanked her profusely for her help.

"Hey, what are friends for? Now you get some sleep and remember, this will work out, I'm sure."

I was feeling a lot better, but still in the absence of a plan, I couldn't sleep for the worry.

Next day, I went into work a physical wreck. I had bags under my eyes, and they were still a bit red from the crying I'd done from time to time during the night. When I got there, Luke asked me to help him count some of the low stock items in the garden supplies shop. When we got there, he said with a big grin,

"I've booked us a table at Fred's, can I pick you up at seven?"

With what had happened, I'd forgotten about dinner with Luke. How could I go out on what I hoped would be a date, and then have sex with someone else the next day?

"I'm sorry, Luke, I can't go out with you, I..." and bursting into tears, I rushed off and hid in the Ladies' rest room. My world was falling apart. I was branded a thief, blackmailed into having sex with an odious oick, and my hoped-for relationship with Luke was over before it started. I couldn't stay. I put on some dark glasses from my purse, came out and bumped into Marijka.

"Marijka, can you do me a favour? I'm not feeling well, I'm going home, can you tell Luke?" I turned and hurried off, hearing her calling behind me but not stopping.

It was a long walk home but it helped me stop crying. When I got home, I just curled up on the settee, put a golden oldies radio station on loud enough to block out the noises inside my own head, and eventually fell asleep despite the radio, no doubt since I'd slept so little the previous night.

Some time in the early afternoon, I woke up and realised that as well as the radio blaring, the phone was ringing. It was Marijka.