//------------------------------// // Rec Center Rumble // Story: Camp Naturally // by Enclave2277 //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Dining Hall, Camp Everfree Timber Spruce sighed as he poked his dinner with a fork. Tonight’s selection had been BBQ beef brisket with a side of cheesy mashed potatoes and sautéed bacon green beans. The full-time chef he and his sister had hired came from a long line of traditional BBQ pitmasters. Smokey Bones was a mountain of a man with weathered charcoal skin, short, sooty-grey hair (which he kept in a crewcut), and covered head to toe in copious amounts of body hair. Despite his terrifying appearance, Smokey was a consummate professional, cordial, knew how to make just about anything, and insisted on the highest degree of food sanitation. He was nude like everyone else, but typically wore an apron and sandals to protect himself. Timber had noticed a few unusual tattoos along the man’s arms and scars that, quite frankly, could only be the result of old bullet wounds. He suspected Smokey was a combat veteran but never found the courage to ask the man about his past directly. It was one of those things that people sometimes didn’t want to bring up. The food was excellent. Some of the best Timber had tasted in a long time. Unfortunately, his mind was elsewhere at the moment and he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy his dinner as much as he should have. Gloriosa’s little nature hike and her subsequent injury had put Timber on edge. Both out of concern for his big sister’s welfare, and the added burden of taking on her duties while she recovered. Gilda and Flash, bless their hearts, had done their best to chip in and lighten the load… but there was always so much to do. Then there was the incident earlier in the afternoon at the lake. Since Timber was a certified lifeguard, he took it upon himself to patrol the beach and make sure all of the guests were safe. He took his job seriously and did not tolerate idle distractions. Especially from guests. One of the things he’d noticed right away during their grand reopening was the unusually high influx of naturist youth. More specifically, young adults right around his age. Whether it was due to the pictures that were posted on the website or the way they’d advertised the camp as all-inclusive, Timber couldn’t really say. As much as he hated to admit it, some of the more attractive women were proving to be just such an idle distraction. Timber considered himself, more or less, accustomed to casual nudity by this point. But sometimes, he did find himself staring at cute girls for quite a while longer than was socially appropriate at a naturist camp. It was one of the reasons why he chose to wear sunglasses while he was out, other than for the obvious benefit of protecting his eyes. He chastised himself for doing it but Timber was still, at the end of the day, a red-blooded man with needs and desires. What happened earlier in the afternoon was awkward and uncomfortable to say the least. A young woman with ivory hued skin, long, seafoam green hair, and curves in all the right places approached him while he was on duty. Timber had to admit that she was a total knockout in all senses of the word. Shapely breasts, a firm butt, long legs, the whole nine yards! That is… until they started conversing with one another. It quickly became apparent to Timber how shallow she was. Two of her female friends stood a few steps away, their arms crossed underneath their breasts, watching the conversation with vested interest. When Pearl Diver (the woman’s name, he barely remembered it) started referring to the size of his penis in very blunt terms, Timber realized that she merely saw him as a piece of meat. He was just a means to settle a bet amongst friends to see who could score first. And to satisfy her own selfish desires. The whole conversation left a sour taste in his mouth. Instead of losing his temper, Timber politely asked Pearl to leave and returned to his duties. The woman was clearly not used to being rejected by the opposite sex (no doubt due to her voluptuous naked body) and stormed off in a huff, slinging back insults about how Timber had the mental capacity of a single-celled organism and that his lack of immediate interest in her automatically equated to erectile dysfunction. By all rights, he should have been angry. However, the entire exchange left him feeling emotionally drained and dejected. Timber nearly jumped in his seat when he heard someone sit down across from him. “Sup, Timber? Mind my askin’, but you’re lookin’ pretty down. Do ya wanna talk about it? ‘Cause I ain’t got nowhere else to be for the rest of the evening.” Timber took a bite of his mashed potatoes and looked over at Gilda. “You probably don’t want to hear about my issues. I just… need some time to decompress and process things.” “Lemme guess: girl trouble?” Gilda asked as she sipped on her mango smoothie. “Well, sort of. I had a bad experience with a couple of guests at the beach today. One of them was trying to ‘get into my pants’ ermm—not literally of course, since I’m obviously not wearing any right now. But… you get the idea.” Gilda cocked her head to the side. “How’s come? You seem like a dude who’d jump at the chance to get some pussy. Unless, I’m missing somethin’ totally obvious.” “You’re right, at least partially. It’s a bit complicated, Gilda. You probably wouldn’t understand…” “Oh? You’d be surprised by the things I know. Try me.” Timber frowned as he played with his green beans. “The girl that talked to me at the beach was really vain and shallow. I dunno, it felt like I was just a means to an end for her. Nothing more than a piece of meat! That’s not really what I want right now.” “Then, what do you want?” Timber blushed slightly. “You’re gonna think it sounds corny and stupid…” “I promise I won’t laugh at you… too much.” Timber rolled his eyes. “Fine! I suppose I don’t have anything to lose by telling you. Except my pride as a man, that is. I want a girl I can talk to and just hang out with, ya know? Someone who I can be myself with and not have to worry about complicated relationship crap. After my breakup with Twilight, I guess… I’m feeling a bit lost. Am I making sense here?” “Mhmm,” Gilda agreed, “And for the record, I don’t think it’s stupid at all.” “You… don’t?” Gilda shook her head. “Nah. Everyone’s always goin’ on about how opposites attract and all that bullshit, but I never believed it for a second. People, more often than not, tend ta gravitate towards others who they feel the most comfortable with. Plain an’ simple!” “And who, exactly, do you think that would be for me?” Gilda shrugged her shoulders. “Hell, if I know. You gotta put yourself out there and find out. That ain’t gonna happen if you act all mopey and poke your food all night long. Tell ya what: I’ve got an idea how we can have a little fun and blow off some steam.” “Is that so? What exactly did you have in mind, Gilda?” Gilda took a long, noisy slurp from her smoothie. “You could help me spar at the rec center.” “Excuse me?” Gilda blushed slightly. “Butter my ass and call me a biscuit! I must’ve forgotten ta put that on my application. My bad, Timber! I’m a martial artist. Semi-pro with a black belt to be exact. My specialty is Krav-Maga. Ever heard of it?” “Isn’t that the style commandos use to kill people in hand-to-hand combat?” Gilda scrunched her nose as though she’d bitten into a particularly sour lemon. “It’s entirely possible ta kill people with it, if that’s what you’re askin’. But that ain’t what Krav-Maga’s all about, see? I use it mainly to teach folks about self-defense an’ for competitions. Whadda ya say? Want me to teach you some moves tonight?” Timber wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about practicing Krav-Maga in nothing more than his birthday suit with an experienced, female opponent who obviously knew way more about it than he did. The ancient Pegalopolians used to wrestle in the nude during the Olympic games of yore, so it wasn’t exactly a new concept but they typically did not hold mixed gender competitions. The fact that Gilda was a woman and he was a man might make things… a bit awkward. Nonetheless, it was better than moping around his room for the remainder of the night. “Let me finish up my dinner and we can head over to the rec center.” Gilda gave him a thumbs up. “Sweet! I’m gonna go over there now to do some warm up exercises. See ya soon!” Timber took Gilda’s lead and decided to do some casual stretches back at the cabin before he headed out to the rec center. Nothing too strenuous. Just enough to limber up. He didn’t want to get all tired and sweaty before they actually started sparring. Timber wasn’t terribly surprised to see so few people using the rec center this late into the evening. Most folks probably just wanted to head back to their cabins and wind down before heading to bed or sit around a campfire. That was perfectly fine with Timber. The less people around to see him make an ass of himself. As he predicted, Gilda was in the weight room, busy doing some push ups. It was quite evident that she’d been at it for a while. Her entire body glistened with sweat under the ceiling lights and he could hear her huffing and puffing as she completed each rep. Timber announced his presence verbally and by tapping his foot against the mat. The white-haired tomboy immediately stopped what she was doing and hopped back up onto her feet in a single, fluid motion. She padded over to the corner where there was a towel lying nearby and wiped her face dry. “Hey, Timber. Glad you could make it. Hope you warmed up a bit. Don’t want ya pulling any muscles.” Timber nodded. “Yep. Probably not to the extent you did, but it was enough.” “Cool. Let’s start with something simple. How about we try grappling first?” Timber shrugged. “I guess so. You’re the expert, not me.” “Alright, there’s no need to be a smartass about it. Take a few steps back from me, spread your legs a bit, and bend your arms at the elbows. I know it seems kind of silly, but the key to most Krav-Maga maneuvers is creating stability and maintaining your center of gravity.” Timber did as he was told and took a few steps back. A part of him wished that he’d had enough forethought to wear a sports cup. With his legs spread apart as they were, it left his soft, squishy ball sack dangling out in the open. He hoped that Gilda would be mindful of his vulnerability, otherwise it was going to be a long, painful sparring session. He took in a few breaths to calm himself and focus on Gilda for further instruction. It was at that precise moment he’d come to notice and appreciate her athletic physique. Taught muscle rippled just underneath her bronze-colored skin; the fruits of a rigorous training regimen, healthy diet, and constant physical activity. An errant bead of sweat slowly trickled down her chiseled abdomen and dripped onto the mat below. Timber felt his throat go dry; his heart beat like a snare drum. He’d never been particularly fond of tomboys or even muscle bunnies (as the internet called them), but there was something special about Gilda that excited him and made his blood run hot. Timber was certain that his cheeks were already flushed and looked down at his waist to make sure that he hadn’t gotten an erection. Being nude definitely had its perks, but the lack of tactile feedback from clothing made it much more difficult to realize you were in the process of getting one. Timber sighed in relief when he saw that his penis was, in fact, still flaccid. The young man hoped that he would stay that way for the remainder of their sparring session. Otherwise, it would make things embarrassing and very uncomfortable. Gilda lurched forward and grabbed him by wrist while he was still trying to come to terms with his sudden attraction towards her. With a loud grunt, Timber was flipped over and he landed on his back with a meaty thud. It very nearly took the wind out of him, but it hadn’t hurt too bad. Gilda offered Timber her hand and she quickly pulled him back up onto his feet. “See? That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Rather than waste a ton of effort, go for the fulcrum points and use your opponent’s weight against ‘em. I’ll stand over there and you can try it out on me.” Timber tired his best to copy her move, and much to his surprise, he successfully flipped Gilda onto her back like she’d done to him just a few moments before. It felt… wrong doing these sorts of things to a girl, especially one he considered a friend. But the young man shook off the notion and focused on the next move. Gilda was a black belt and she’d gone through this sort of stuff plenty of times before. She knew the risks and how to avoid injuries. Gilda grinned. “Good job! Now, let’s move on to a few punches and kicks. And don’t worry about hurtin’ me. I’m a tough, gal. I can take it!” Timber wasn’t sure how long they’d been at it, but he could honestly say that it felt great to get the blood flowing and blow off some of the pent-up stress that had been building up inside him all day long. Seemingly out of nowhere, while they were taking a water break, Gilda nonchalantly suggested that they move on to the massage parlor. Once they stepped inside the room, she walked over to the cabinet, retrieved a bottle of massage oil, and began rubbing it on her hands. She then motioned towards the table, clearly expecting Timber to lay down on it. “Gilda, you can’t be serious. I had fun sparring with you but—” Gilda waggled her finger. “Nuh uh! I don’t wanna hear any more buts outta ya. Here’s how this is gonna work: you’re gonna shut up, lay down on that table, and I’m gonna give you a relaxing, full-body massage. Capiche?” “Yes, ma’am.” Once Timber got comfortable, Gilda began rubbing his shoulders. “There we go. See? Doesn’t that feel good? We might have blown off some steam, but I could tell you were wound up tighter than a sailor’s knot. What’s been stressin’ ya out so much?” “Well, I—nnnggghh—that felt great… didn’t realize I had a kink there. With all of the shit that’s been going on around the camp lately, I haven’t had much time to unwind.” Gilda smiled as she pressed her fingers along his thighs and slowly worked her way up to his butt cheeks, kneading them with the utmost care and tenderness. Timber’s eyes widened in surprise at the intimate contact, but he did nothing to stop her. Nor did he want her to. It felt way too good. He idly wondered if Gilda had previous experience with sports massages in the past too. “Got some nice muscles on ya there, Timber. Can tell you’ve been hiking and swimming a lot. Dudes don’t get a firm ass like that otherwise. Unless they pump iron or somethin’.” Timber was far too embarrassed by Gilda’s frank compliment to reply verbally, so he merely grunted in agreement. “Ok. It’s time to turn around now.” With some reluctance, Timber carefully rolled over and laid flat on his back. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm down. Sure, he’d seen Gilda naked plenty of times over the course of the past few days. She’d seen him naked too. As one might expect while staying at a naturist resort. But this was a completely different situation. So VERY different. Much more intimate. He could feel the warmth of her hands as she gently massaged different parts of his body. He could smell her sweat mixed with the brand of body wash she preferred and just a little whiff of shampoo. Timber chuckled to himself. Her hair smelled an awful lot like anti-dandruff shampoo. Not very girly, but highly practical and definitely something Gilda would use. Her pert, teardrop shaped breasts hovered just above his face while she worked on his shoulders and arms. Gilda was practically flat-chested, Timber noted, but he found that it made little difference. Larger breasts would have looked out place on an athletic girl like her. Gilda’s dark brown nipples reminded him of chocolates, and for the briefest moment, he wondered what they might taste like. While she worked on his thighs, Timber felt something brush up against his stomach. When he finally opened his eyes and looked downward, he was horrified to discover that he had indeed managed to get an erection after all. If Gilda was at all bothered by it, she didn’t show any outward reaction. However, she did stop her ministrations and smiled. “Would you look at that? Damn. I thought Flash had a decent sized dick but… that’s like comparing a rifle to a canon. You ever measure that meat monster?” Timber immediately sat up and pressed his knees to his chest. “I-I why would you—think I measured it?” “Don’t play dumb with me, Timber. I know guys measure their dicks. If it makes you feel any better, chicks compare their boob size all the time. Amongst other things, hehehe.” “Oh, alright. If you REALLY must know it’s… ten and a half.” Gilda let out an impressed whistle. “Holy shit. And it’s thicker than a tree root to boot! I mean, I could tell you were decently sized even while floppy, but talk about bein’ a grower! It’s a wonder all the gals around here aren’t lining up ta get some of that.” Timber blushed furiously and clamped his legs tighter. “Ah… well, that’s actually happened before. Just this afternoon, in fact. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of being singled out for it…” “Sorry, dude. I didn’t mean ta strike a nerve. I was just tryin’ ta give ya an honest compliment.” Timber relaxed his posture a bit and smiled. “I know. Look, about my erection…” “I ain’t mad about it, so you don’t have ta apologize. Makes me happy that a gal like me could get ya all riled up like that. Come ta think of it, Flash reacted much the same way. Huh. Guess I must be sexier than I thought.” Timber reached over and took hold of her hand. “Exactly! Ermm—that is to say, I really do think you’re an attractive woman. In your own unique, rough and tumble sort of way. So, don’t… beat yourself up over it, ok?” “An honest answer as any, I suppose. Hmm. I’ve been thinkin’, Timber. You’ve got needs; I’ve got needs. We’re a couple of naked, consenting adults and it pretty much goes without sayin’ that we’re attracted to one another. How about we have sex? Right here. Right now. Just as friends. No strings attached. Fuck buddies, if you will.” Timber’s heart nearly jumped into his throat. “WHAT?!” “C’mon, it ain’t that hard to believe is it? Figure we might as well not let that big ole’ boner of yours go to waste. I’ve got plenty of massage oil ta keep everything nice and lubed up. Besides, I’m super horny right now. Been awhile since I last got laid…” Timber didn’t even have a chance to respond when he felt Gilda wrap her hands behind his head and pull him into a passionate kiss. It was far from romantic. Born more of lust and carnal need, but it was still pretty awesome as far as Timber was concerned. Gilda knew exactly what she was doing, using her tongue to probe deeper into his mouth, wrestling his own for dominance. When they finally pulled away, a thin trail of saliva kept them connected until it dribbled onto Timber’s chin. Gilda licked her lips like a predatory cat and ran her fingers along Timber’s chest. “You. Me. Table. NOW!” Timber slowly cracked open his eyes when he heard the song of a bluebird just outside the window. Judging by the sunlight shining onto the floor, he estimated that it was sometime in the morning, but without a clock he couldn’t be sure of the hour. Gilda lay cuddled up to his side, her hand resting atop his crotch. She was already awake and decided to amuse herself by playing with Timber’s pubic hair. It was a bit odd, but the young man found that he didn’t mind. With a satisfied sigh, Timber relished the simple pleasure of snuggling a beautiful naked woman, and feeling the warmth of her bare skin pressed against his own. After a few moments, he suddenly realized that they’d spent the entire night together in the massage parlor. Gilda kissed his chest. “Man, that was great! I really needed a good fuck.” “We… really had sex last night, didn’t we?” Gilda yawned. “Yep. Say, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” “I don’t see why not. This is pretty much as personal as it gets…” Gilda laughed. “Point taken. Was last night your first time? Like, as in, were you a virgin?” “That’s not… I don’t… ok, yeah, I am. Or was, I suppose.” Gilda patted his shoulder. “Hey, don’t feel bad. Everybody’s gotta have their first time at some point. But I kind of figured you were. You—uh—sucked at taking the lead. No offense.” “It’s ok. I just never thought that I’d, you know, lose my virginity to someone like you. Or like this. It’s all so… underwhelming? I dunno how exactly to say it. NOT… that you weren’t amazing last night. Because you totally were! Thank you for that.” Gilda stood up and stretched out her body like a cat. “I get what you’re sayin’. My first time wasn’t exactly storybook either, but that’s life. We had fun and that’s what counts.” “Yeah. That we did,” Timber admitted while rubbing his hands together, “So… where do we go from here?” “Wherever we want, Timber. Not like we have ta follow a rule book or anything.” Timber got up and placed his hand on the windowsill. “Gilda, I really do like hanging out with you. And I think you’ve been a great friend to me so far. I just want to make sure that what we did last night won’t… make things weird between us.” Gilda padded over to Timber and wrapped him in a gentle hug. “Of course, it won’t. Sex is sex, Timber. Just a fun, physical activity shared between two people of like-minded interests. It’s only weird if you make it that way. Do you understand me?” “Mhmm. I do. You know, there’s a marshmallow roast coming up. There’ll be ghost stories and I imagine that my sister will make her famous, mulled campfire cider. Would you… like to come with me?” Gilda bellowed with laughter. “Oh, gods! You’re a real piece of work!” “What? Was it something I said? Do you… not want to go?” “No, I’d love to go! It’s just that you’ve—snrk—got your priorities all screwed up. Since when do you fuck a girl first, then ask her out on a date? Bwahahaha!” Timber blushed and looked down at his feet. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be romantic. I just figured it’d be something fun to do. C’mon, Gilda. Cut me a little slack. I’m still new at this.” “I know, I know. It’s really sweet of you to offer. And don’t worry, I promise I’ll be there.” A goofy grin spread across Timber’s face. “Cool. I’ll see ya there then.” Gilda glanced around and took a few sniffs. “Damn. The whole room stinks like musky, sweaty sex. We should probably get this place cleaned up before anyone notices.” “Uhh… well, the massage parlor doesn’t get used very often, but I agree.” After a good scrubbing, the pair left the rec center and headed over to the showers. Gilda was the only one to have any toiletries on hand since she had an assigned locker and Timber did not. His cabin was one of the few with a built-in shower. It was strange sharing shampoo and bodywash with a girl at first, but Timber had to admit that it was pretty satisfying to help a friend wash their body (especially when it was a girl). There had been a few sensuous touches here and there, but the pair stuck to actually cleaning themselves up for the most part. As he’d suspected, Gilda not only used the dandruff shampoo that came in the white and blue bottle but men’s body wash as well. Considering how much of a tomboy she was, this information did not surprise Timber whatsoever. However, as he recalled the events of last night, he could say without a shred of doubt that Gilda was one hundred percent straight. Despite what others in the camp might assume, based on her appearance and gruff demeanor. She was also a woman who knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. The more he thought about it, the more Timber appreciated her blunt, no-nonsense way of speaking. In his limited experience, women were complex creatures who were, oftentimes, difficult to figure out and understand. With Gilda, he never felt that way. It was almost like he was hanging out with one of the guys, but with some truly awesome benefits on the side. Talk about lucky! After about fifteen minutes, the two of them parted ways. Gilda headed off to the dining hall to grab a bite to eat for breakfast; Timber made his way over to Gloriosa’s cabin. At the very least, he wanted to check up on her to see how she was doing. Unsurprisingly, he found her busy tending to the vegetable garden out back. What did surprise him was how vibrant all the plants looked and the fact that she was no longer wearing a bandage around her injured ankle. In fact, her ankle appeared as though it had never been injured at all. How was that even possible? The human body, even at her age, simply did not heal that quickly. Gloriosa turned around and waved to her brother. “Good morning, Tim. I hope you had a pleasant evening. Care to explain where you were all that time?” “Hey, Glory. Your—ah—ankle’s looking a lot better.” “It is. Completely healed, as a matter of fact. Don’t change the subject! Where were you last night? I saw you head off to the dining hall yesterday evening and then you suddenly disappeared for a few hours. What’s going on?” Timber crossed his arms over his chest. “C’mon, sis! I’m a grown man. Am I not allowed to do things on my own from time to time?” “Look, Tim. I’m not trying to stifle your independence. I was simply… worried about you last night. It’s not like you to just disappear without saying a word. But if you’re uncomfortable discussing your whereabouts, then we don’t have to talk about it.” Timber rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “No, that’s ok. I didn’t mean to get all defensive. If you really must know, Gilda and I spent some time at the rec center. She was showing me some of the moves she’d learned from Krav-Maga. We might have… lost track of time. Sorry.” Gloriosa suspected that wasn’t the only ‘moves’ they’d been doing, but chose not to press her brother about it. As siblings, they’d always respected each other’s privacy. She would listen if and when Timber felt most comfortable talking about it. In the meantime, she merely nodded and continued to water the zucchinis. Gloriosa looked over to her side when she felt something warm and fuzzy nuzzle against her leg. When she realized it was just Rufus saying hello, she scooped up the little Honey Badger in the crook of her arm and began petting his coat. “Hey there, Rufus! How’re you doing?” Rufus barked happily and nuzzled his snout against her breast a few times. Normally, Gloriosa would have been embarrassed by such a thing but Rufus was just a badger. He didn’t know that human females considered it an erogenous zone. Gloriosa bent down and retrieved a tiny purple carrot from her wicker basket. She figured that it would make a nice snack for Rufus just in case he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. While he nibbled on the crunchy vegetable, Timber looked over at his sister as though she’d grown a second head. “Hold on a second! Since when did you become Snow White? And don’t think I haven’t noticed how the garden looks like it’s been fed a truck full of miracle grow. What about your ankle? I swear, it was all swollen and red just a day & a half ago and now it looks like you never sprained it in the first place. What’s going on, Glory?!” Gloriosa shot her brother a confused look. “I honestly don’t know, Tim. The most logical explanation I can think of is that I’ve somehow retained some of the powers Gaia Everfree gave me when we fused together. Even after the Rainbooms supposedly ‘got rid of’ her influence. That’s why I healed so quickly and can connect with nature in various ways.” “Really? I suppose that does make the most sense, but what’re you gonna do about it?” Gloriosa let out an exasperated huff. “I don’t see that I have much choice but to live with them from now on. I mean, who exactly would I go to learn about how my powers work? The Rainbooms? Sure, they have magic but it comes from those geode necklaces they wear. If they don’t want to use them, they just take ‘em off. I don’t have that luxury, Tim! I’m stuck with these damned powers whether I want them or not!” Timber knelt down, embraced his older sister, and gently rubbed her back. “Shhhh. It’s ok, Glory. We’ll figure this out together. I promise.” “I just… don’t want to become that monster again.” Timber kissed Gloriosa on the forehead and smiled. “Listen to me: you are not a monster. You might have become a little bit more eccentric since the transformation, but you’re still the big sister I’ve always known and loved. Besides, if you really were a monster, we’d all be forest fertilizer by now, don’t ya think?” Gloriosa laughed despite her brother’s dark sense of humor. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. Thanks, Tim. That made me feel a whole lot better.” “Hey, what’re brothers for?” Gloriosa stood up and brushed the dirt off of her legs. “Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, can we discuss this week’s itinerary?” “Sure. What were you thinking?” Gloriosa walked over to the outdoor shower and washed off any remaining dirt and grime that still covered her body. In the old days, the only thing that ever came out of the nozzle was ice cold rainwater. Since she gardened regularly, Gloriosa had decided to splurge on an electric heater that kept it comfortably warm at all times. Rufus shivered in her arms as the jet of hot water sprayed his coat. Gloriosa gigged when she heard him purr like a contented cat. While she was drying off with a towel, she turned around and handed her brother a colorful flier. “I was thinking we could host a good, old fashioned volleyball tournament and BBQ cook off. Smokey Bones is, of course, excluded from participating. In the cook off part anyway. I’m not really sure how good he is at nude beach volleyball…” Timber stroked his chin in thought. “Yeah, I know what you mean. That guy hardly ever talks about himself. He… kind of scares me sometimes, to be honest. Anyway, that sounds like a solid plan. I’m up for it if you are, Glory.” “Excellent! I’ll swing by Gilda and Flash’s cabins later today and let them know.” Timber waved to his sister as he grabbed a fresh towel and a pair of sunglasses from the storage cabinet. “Ok. I’m gonna head down to the lake to oversee this morning’s ten o’clock water aerobics class. Let me know if you need anything else.”