When her real estate agent showed her the property, she couldn't believe how low the price was.
"Seriously, is it built on a radioactive, haunted, pet cemetery or something?" Lisa asked incredulously.
Carol, her agent, laughed before replying. "No nothing like that, it's just that the location makes for a somewhat limited clientele."
"How so?"
"Let's go out on the deck and you might understand."
Lisa took in the beautiful view. The house was perched on the edge of a steep hill, overlooking a wide, white sandy beach. She was still puzzled. It looked like perfection to her.
When she looked at some of the people close by walking on the beach, she finally understood. The house had a deck overlooking a large, and apparently popular nude beach.
She kept a schooled expression on her face and turned to the agent. "I see. That is a bit of a surprise."
"I'm so sorry if that offends you. I do have a couple of other properties I can show you, although not in this price range."
"Let's look around at the rest of the house, and see if it's otherwise acceptable."
They finished the tour, noting the modern kitchen, updated utilities, wide deck and altogether gorgeous, if not extremely large house. There were two bedrooms, one on either side of the living room, and all of them had floor to ceiling windows, with sliding doors leading onto the generous deck. The open plan of the rest of the house was simply decorated, but very comfortable.
"Don't forget the walk-in shower, and the sauna. This house is a huge bargain."
Lisa agreed, but kept her thoughts to herself, choosing to spend the rest of the afternoon touring other properties.
When Carol dropped her off at her hotel for the evening, Lisa promised her a call in the morning with any decisions she might have.
She could afford any of the houses she'd seen, and much more, due to a fortuitous crypto-currency investment a couple of years prior. Her boyfriend convinced her to invest what was a huge portion of her savings at the time, and while the relationship ended up going nowhere, the investment skyrocketed. Tom was an asshole, but his advice had set her up very well.
When the relationship ended, she'd decided to move somewhere warmer, far away from Tom, and where she could take some time off from working and figure out what she wanted to do next with her life.
As she enjoyed a quiet dinner in the hotel restaurant, she went over the pluses and minuses of the various properties she'd seen. Several had swimming pools, and all the houses were nice. Her mind kept drifting back to that first house.
While she was quite well off now, that didn't change her mind about getting the best price she could. The house was well appointed, and was just about right, size-wise. Factor in that she wasn't at all bothered by the very exposed view, and it was a no-brainer.
Three weeks later, mortgage closed, and the keys in her hand, she drove her rental car up the driveway to her new beachfront house. The front yard had landscaping blocking the road, and a curved driveway, leading to a garage.
She stepped out of the car, and turned in a circle, taking in the small front yard before going to the front door. She unlocked it, and stepped inside, a feeling of happiness striking her quite suddenly. She had a place of her own, and it was beautiful.
The cool interior was empty, except for a bouquet of flowers and a card on the counter separating the kitchen from the living area.
She admired the flowers, and then opened the card, which said "Welcome to your new home! I hope you're happy here. There's something in the fridge for you too. Carol"
Still carrying the card, she opened the fridge, seeing a nice bottle of champagne inside, along with a small box of champagne glasses.
She took out her phone, and gave Carol a call.
"Hi Carol, it's Lisa. Thanks so much for the thoughtful gifts."
"My pleasure, I really do hope you enjoy your new home. It's a great place, and I'm very happy someone finally bought it."
"I hope so as well. You'll have to come over and help me enjoy the champagne!"
"Oh no, that's for you!"
"Don't be silly, I'd be happy to share it, especially since I don't know anyone else here right now. How about I give you an invitation to come see the place once I've moved in?"
"I would like that. Please let me know."
"I will. Thanks again."
She hung up, and continued her tour, taking it all in. She grinned as she opened the sliding door to the deck, walking quickly to the balcony. It was a warm, sunny morning, and still early enough that the beach two hundred yards away down the hill wasn't very crowded. She could see several people strolling along, naked as the day they were born, seemingly without any concern.
Looking to the left of the deck, she noticed a staircase leading down that connected with a narrow trail leading to the beach. She had a sudden thought, an urge to try something that for her, was completely new and daring.
She now recognized that she'd subconsciously yearned for this when she decided to buy the property. Her last relationship had been very straitlaced, and she knew that her ex would have been apoplectic at the idea of her being seen nude by anyone else. In fact, part of the reason they broke up was that he was simply too stifling and controlling.
She walked back inside and locked the front door. Before she could think too hard about it, she quickly began stripping out of her sun dress, bra and panties. The cool air raised goosebumps on her bare skin as she took a deep breath and walked naked into the warm morning air, nothing with her but her phone and her sandals.
This was the first time in her life that she'd been this exposed outside. She'd been to the beach of course, but usually it was wearing a relatively conservative one piece swimsuit. Her first time in a bikini was, prior to this moment, the most daring thing she'd ever done.
She closed the sliding door behind her and made her way down the stairs. She'd never felt this exposed before, and it felt fresh and exciting. Her nipples were rock hard and she felt butterflies in her stomach as she moved down the sandy path.
Shortly, she reached a small gate that opened up onto the beach. She suddenly felt shy, realizing that other people would now see her naked, and the vulnerability made her momentarily hesitate. Her pulse was racing, and she began catching her breath.
After a moment, the sensation diminished. She realized she was being silly, and kicked off her sandals on her side of the fence. Her heart pounding, she worked up the courage to open the gate, and step out on to the warm expanse of white sand.
The sound of the surf, mixed with bird calls was immediately calming, and before long she was walking along the edge of the ocean, the warm water washing over her bare feet. Every sense felt like it was on high alert, from the breeze brushing her skin, to the sounds around her, to the feel of wet sand.
Looking around, she noticed that the nobody was paying her any particular attention, but going about their day as well. She saw people of all shapes, colors and sizes, all of them simply enjoying the pleasures of spending the day in nature. She began to relax, and enjoy the simple sensations of the day.
After a while, she decided it was time to turn back. She followed the shoreline until she was below her beautiful new house, and stopped to take a selfie -- getting a full body shot with her house on the hill as the backdrop. She went to the gate, retrieved her sandals and headed back up to the house.
She reached for the latch on the sliding door, expecting it to open. It didn't budge.
"Oh shit." She though. She pulled a little harder, hoping it was just a little stuck. Why didn't she bring her keys?
She quickly tried the other two sliding doors, forlornly hoping they would be unlocked. Now her heart was really racing. She felt the adrenaline coursing through her, and felt her pulse pounding in her ears.
There was a narrow passage around to the front of the house. Maybe she could get in that way. All sense of calm she'd felt on the beach was eroding, as she began to realize her predicament. She went around to the front of the house, getting startled every time she heard a car go by. She tried all the windows and doors, as well as those of her car, all to no avail.
She was truly stuck -- locked out of her house with nothing on. She laughed a little hysterically, recognizing the absurdity of her situation. Here she was, a thousand miles from anyone she knew, trapped outside.
Naked.
She sighed, realizing there were a couple of options, none of them great. She could call a locksmith. Yeah, a random strange guy changing her locks while she stood there naked didn't appeal all that much.
She could call the cops. She would have another awkward conversation explaining her situation, possibly ending in arrest, or at least a fun brag by the officer.
She could call Carol.
That seemed the least humiliating option, especially since Carol knew the location, and the real estate office still had a key, as she was going to stop by there later to get it.
She shuddered, then called Carol.
"Hi Lisa, what can I do for you?"
"Hi... Carol... I have a really huge favor to ask of you. I've managed to do something really stupid, and you're the only person who I think can help me out."
"Okay... I'm intrigued. What's wrong?"
