Shy Girl - Chapters 16+17

Chapter 16

Dear Diary

Last night, Brian, Erica, Derek, and I all… Well, we all had sex.

I’m sure I don’t have to describe it, as I can’t believe I’d ever forget it, but in case I read this in my 90’s and have Alzheimer’s, I don’t mean in one big pile like an orgy. I mean we each paired up, then switched partners until we had been with everyone.

It was a very unique experience, and I’m glad we did it. I think I understand Brian’s parents’ perspective a bit better now, and even if it never happens again… I’ll still be able to look back and smile.

I must be the luckiest girl in the world to be so blessed. I love Brian deeply, and he feels the same about me.

I know people always say that kids our age don’t really know what love is, and that teen relationships never last, but… But my parents were only 14 when they first fell in love. They got married at 18, and had me almost exactly nine months later, and they’re still together so…

So maybe teen relationships can last. Especially with my parents and Brian’s parents as role models.

In the end, I guess what makes a couple start a relationship will determine whether or not it lasts. Derek and I got into a relationship for the wrong reasons, but we remain such close friends now because of it.

Now, it gets complicated. Derek loves Brian, and Erica loves Derek, and everyone deserves to be with the one they love, but Derek can’t because Brian loves me, and Erica can’t because Derek’s gay. So, that said, can there ever be a world in which Erica can be with Derek, and Derek can be with Brian, and yet Brian and I can still remain together?

If last night is any indication, then maybe there can be.

Then again, maybe Erica and Derek just have to accept that this is part of those teen relationships that never last. My heart goes out to them. I love them both so very much, and I wish for their happiness.

Oh, I have to stop writing now; everyone is giving me that look.

                        Good night,

                                Danica

*******

On the last day that they had to relax, since they would be leaving tomorrow, Danica, Brian, his parents and sister, her boyfriend and friends, and Derek and Erica all lounged on towels in the grass of their campsite.

“I’ve been wondering something,” Danica informed Brian’s mom. “How does one mesh two seemingly opposing ideas into a new one that works?”

“What do you mean?” Brian’s mom asked.

“Well, when I was younger, my parents took me and the twins to a bed and breakfast. It was wonderful, and not unlike your house. On a small farm with lots of privacy. My goal used to be to run a B&B just like it one day, but…”

“But what?” Brian’s mom prompted Danica.

“Well, now I’d like to run something more like this, but…” Danica wasn’t sure how to convey how she felt.

“Oh! I see. How can you mesh the two?” Brian’s mom gave this some thought. “Easily, I’d imagine. There are plenty of farmers who farm naked whenever they can. So, a B&B on a farm could also be a B&B for nudists. Plus, the guests wouldn’t have to do any farming,” she looked at her husband, who nodded.

She continued, “Actually, if you can figure out the details, we could give you a place and some funding, if you were interested.”

“But that’s so expensive! I couldn’t possibly… I…” Danica was too surprised to say anything else.

“Listen, long ago, we made a decision to invest everything in our children’s future so that they could live however they wanted. Our daughter chose college, and we are paying for it. Happily, I might add.

“Brian, on the other hand, thinks he wants to stay on the farm, eventually as an equal partner. So, anything that adds value and income to our land will help to ensure his future.

“If, and I do mean if, you can figure things out, and make plans we can all be confident in, we would be happy to invest in this,” Brian’s mom finally finished.

“But… but… I don’t know anything about starting a business! I’m just a kid!” Danica protested.

Brian’s sister laughed. “Growing older doesn’t make you smarter, or more clever, it just means you’ve had an opportunity to learn more. Maybe you won’t figure this out quickly, but if it’s something you really want, then you have time to learn how to do it.”

Her boyfriend snorted humorously, “Such is the logic of someone homeschooled from birth. Sometimes, it’s just not that easy.”

“Did I say it would be easy? No! I said it could be done in time,” she retorted.

Brian sat up, and took Danica’s hand. “Now might be a good time to say this: My mom’s right. I plan to spend my life on our farm. So, after this school year ends, I plan to be homeschooled once more. School’s okay, but it’s not challenging enough for me.

“Anyway, the point is that because of my homeschooling, I actually already know quite a bit that could really help you, and I must admit that it’s entirely selfish of me. I want you to have another reason to want to be on our farm with me. You seem to like it well enough, but it’s just not quite a perfect fit for you. So…

“I want you to make it a perfect fit for you,” Brian finished.

His sister’s boyfriend scrutinized the look on his face, and then the one on Danica’s. “I’ll be damned! It’s the real thing!”

Her friends nodded in agreement, each wearing matching looks of “I’m impressed!”

Danica began to cry. She flung her arms around Brian. “I’m so happy!”

“The way she’s acting, you’d think he’d just proposed!” Brian’s father joked.

His wife hit him playfully. “I think he just did.”

Danica gasped, and Brian looked stunned. “I guess I kind of did.”

Danica shook her head. “Later. We can figure all of that out later. Right now, I’m just so happy with what we’ve got, and I feel like I’m the luckiest girl in the world. I promise… I promise I’ll do my best to figure out my B&B”

“And I promise I’ll help you,” Brian vowed.

“Hey, I wanna help you too!” Erica insisted. “In as much as I can.”

“Me too,” Derek agreed. “And I know how I can. My father is a woodworker, and I know almost as much as him. I can build things for you.”

“Oh!” Erica gasped. “I like to cook almost as much as I like to make clothes. I could cook for you, or maybe for your B&B when it’s ready. Oh, and I can clean! I can be like a maid or something.”

“Ah! The passion of youth!” Brian’s mom sighed.

Her husband gave her a lecherous look. “I prefer the passion between you and I.”

She laughed. “I guess it has been, what…? An hour.” She grabbed his hand, and raced him to their travel trailer.

“God! Your parents have a one track mind!” the college boy grumbled. “I swear they have more sex than we do!”

The two college friends giggled and nodded in agreement.

Brian gave Danica a suggestive look. She grinned.

“Uh Derek, Erica, let’s go play cards or something in our tent,” Danica suggested.

“Yes please!” Erica caught on instantly and leapt to her feet. The four of them quickly disappeared.

Brian’s sister quietly chuckled at her boyfriend’s expression.

“Oh my god! Is everybody gonna have sex but us?” he asked.

“It looks that way,” she grinned.

But it was not to be.

“Brian! The four of you had better come out of that tent, or we’re coming in!” A group of resort teens pounded on their tent. “You’re leaving tomorrow, so there’s no way you’re getting out of playing volleyball today!”

The foursome let out a collective groan of disappointment, but knew they had no choice.

“Okay,” Brian agreed. “But I think I we’re all going to need a cold shower first.”

One of the resort girls just now caught on to the situation. “Ohhh!” She turned red. “Oh my!”

One of the boys heckled. “I think I’d rather join them in the tent.”

“This would be embarrassing if it weren’t so funny!” Erica emerged from the tent. She was followed by Danica. The girls tossed the guys their towels, and a few seconds later, the guys emerged with the towels wrapped around their waist.

The entire group made their way to the volleyball courts; the sand-filled ones rather than the one in the pool.

Chapter 17

Danica spent every moment she could planning out her B&B. Surprisingly, Brian really could help a lot. He measured the land that his parents said they could use, and used the measurements to guide him as he drafted blueprints on the computer. He used a program his parents had bought when they were starting to plan out this house.

Had that really only been about a year ago? He asked himself in amazement. So much had happened since then.

Danica read books on several related subjects that were owned by Brian’s parents. One helped her formulate a business plan, the others taught her a lot about “green” building.

“Is it really possible to do this?” Danica pointed to a picture as she asked Brian’s mom.

“Oh yes, let me show you.” She took Danica by the hand, and led her on a tour of the farm.

“See, our house is made out of straw bales and mud, and do you see the roof? Those shingles are solar panels. Now, look over there. You see that incredibly huge windmill? That actually could power this whole town, but just in case there’s no wind or sunlight, we have a backup generator. Though, we currently have enough electricity in that storage shed to power this whole farm for about six months. We built it big on purpose to ensure we had enough for any future projects we might conceive.”

“Oh wow, that’s amazing! You really are self-sufficient here,” Danica remarked.

“Yeah, mostly anyway. The point is that you don’t have to worry about any of this. We got it covered.”

“Hey mom, Danica, I just submitted my blueprints for approval. They were having a slow day, so they’ve already been approved, and we’ve been issued a permit to build!” Brian announced excitedly.

“So, now we have to procure building materials,” his mom smiled.

“Wait! Already?” Danica felt a moment of panic.

“Sure, why not?” Brian and his mom asked.

“We’re still in school! I don’t have time to run a B&B now. I thought we were planning for after graduation,” Danica babbled.

“Oh no dear. As Brian said, he’s going to return to homeschooling, so it makes no sense for him to wait. Besides, you can run it part time until you graduate, but if it’s built by summer, you can learn how to run it by practicing on our family and friends. That way, when the time comes, you’ll know what you’re doing,” Brian’s mom explained.

“That makes sense,” Danica agreed.

“Good.”

*******

As summer approached, the inn really came together. Derek recruited the entire boys sports team, and part of the girls sports team, to help construct the B&B. This was supervised closely by Danica’s dad, the construction worker, and Brian’s parents, since no one else had ever even heard of straw bale construction before. It went surprisingly quickly.

Meanwhile, Danica sent out invitations to about 100 people out of Brian’s mom’s personal address book. They were all nudist family, friends, and resort contacts. At Brian’s advice, she also created a brochure to send to AANR, along with a request to be affiliated, or at least listed on their website.

Danica prayed that if all 100 of them agreed to come, she would be able to schedule them all to fit in one eight bedroom Bed and Breakfast inside one summer.

Oh god, oh god, oh god! This was really happening!

Once construction was concluded, Derek called a meeting to see how much of the furnishings they wanted him and his dad to make. For budget reasons, they limited it to items that would need to be custom fit. Everything else would be purchased in flea markets, swap meets, auctions, and estate sales. Maybe even some good things could be found on freecycle.

To that end, Danica’s mom took her and Erica to every likely place and thrift store within a hundred miles. Erica really helped out here by coordinating random finds into beautiful bedroom sets, and a full dinning room ensemble.

Danica’s mom paid for as much as her family could afford, and Brian’s mom covered the rest.

The only new things Danica bought for the B&B were all the kitchen appliances, and an air conditioner for each room.

They actually had everything ready to go two weeks before the end of the school year. Actually, right about Danica’s 16^th birthday in May.

Brian’s mom had spent a considerable amount of time training Erica in traditional food preparation. Everything had to be slow cooked or fermented, and planned out well in advance. Luckily, she had a large cellar full of things like sauerkraut, aged cheese, and cultured veggies ready to be eaten.

Erica was amazed at first to learn that people could actually eat well without going to the grocery store. Except for things like organic oranges, and other not-able-to-be-grown-locally items.

For the last two weeks, those who were invited called, or sent RSVPs listing several days they were able to come so that Danica could schedule them the best she could.

Finally, it was the last day of tenth grade, and Danica was happy to be free of that huge demand on her time. She even considered homeschooling with Brian, but her parents were adamant that she would finish school the “normal” way.

They gave themselves the first weekend off to mentally prepare for their first guests’ arrival.

Go To Chapters 18+19