This story is the second in a series. While it is hoped that this story can enjoyably be read alone, reading the initial Brookhaven Inn story will provide context and background. This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to any real person or entity are entirely coincidental and unintended.
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The impromptu strip which Cassie and I performed at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon had a few positive consequences. The town newspaper (a weekly) ran a short article on the Inn. The university newspaper (a daily) ran a much longer story that was very positive. They printed a flattering picture of the outside of the Inn and a picture of Cassie, Caitlyn, and me together in the office. The picture didn't show anything, but it was pretty clear that all three of us were naked. The article included quotes from several of our staff to the general effect that the Inn was a great place to work. However, Megan, one of our restaurant servers, did complain that she was required to wear clothes at work.
The local media attention caused a small uptick in room reservations from people in the area. What was a bit surprising was that our restaurant and bar business increased substantially, for a while. I suppose that people came in with the expectation of seeing a "nudie" or two. While the restaurant and bar were technically clothing optional, it was very rare to see anyone use either facility in the nude.
The most interesting consequence of the articles developed over several months. About a week after the article ran in the university newspaper, we had a call from a woman who said that her name was Eve and that she had a group looking for an "offbeat" venue for an event. We scheduled a time for her to come out to the Inn.
Eve turned out to be a rather chubby and very young-looking brunette. Eve was the dinner chair for Kappa Nu Phi sorority at the university. The sorority wanted some place "different" for its formal dinner/dance in February. Several members had read about the Inn in the university newspaper and suggested having the formal here. Eve wanted to "check" us "out." She explained that KNP was a small "progressive" sorority and that around 50 people would probably attend the formal.
Ordinarily, a sorority formal dinner/dance is not an event which we would think about hosting. However, February is a very slow month for us and we had yet to receive any reservations for the dates Eve had in mind. If there was a way to make this work, we intended to find it.
We showed Eve the restaurant. She talked to our chef about menu options and pricing and seemed satisfied with what she heard. Brookhaven Inn had never, to our knowledge, hosted a dance. However, we did have a rarely-used meeting room in the back that might accommodate dancing. Eve thought that our meeting room was small, but might work.
The formal would be on a Saturday night. Eve thought that enough people would want to stay that they would be booking 25-30 rooms, about half of our capacity. We explained that booking room would give them free access to the pool and spa. We rented an inflatable tent to go over that area and heated it so that it was useable all year despite the weather.
Eve wanted exclusive use of the Inn for the night of the formal, so we quoted her a price for that. Eve was a little disappointed at that price. We quoted her an ala carte price for the meeting room, 30 overnight rooms, and the meal. Eve liked that price a little better. Then, Cassie made a suggestion.
"Eve, what if KNP held it's formal on Friday night?" Cassie asked. "Your members and, I assume their dates who want to could stay here two nights and have full use of the pool, sauna, and spa on Saturday. If we are selling 25 to 30 rooms for two nights, we might be able to give you a little better price per night. Your members would get your formal and a spa retreat all in one weekend."
Eve was attracted to Cassie's idea so Caitlyn and I got busy working up a price quote. While we were doing that, I was overhearing the rest of Eve's conversation with Cassie.
"I have a couple more questions," Eve said.
"Fire away," Cassie replied.
"Well, according to the paper, you let people go around here with no clothes on, right?"
"Most of the Inn is clothing optional," Cassie answered. "That means that it is up to the individual how much he or she wears. A guest can be fully dressed, partially dressed, or completely naked."
"And that applies everywhere?" Eve asked.
"We do require nudity in the pool, the spa, and the sauna," Cassie replied. "One of our reasons for that is that we want to discourage people who are coming here to keep their clothes on and just look the people who choose to go nude. Most people who come here prefer to use the pool, spa, and sauna in the nude and that is where we are most concerned about gawkers. Clothing may be worn anywhere else and most people are dressed in the restaurant and the bar."
"It doesn't matter what a person looks like? They can still take their clothes off?" Eve asked.
Cassie chuckled. "It doesn't matter what a person looks like. We think everyone looks wonderful when they're nude."
Caitlyn and I finished our price quote for two nights. We had cut the price below normal but left ourselves a nice margin. We figured that having guests was better than being empty and that we might get some repeat business and valuable word-of-mouth out of hosting the formal. We also wanted some room to negotiate if it came to that.
Eve took our three quotes and said that she would be back in touch. We didn't hear anything for about a month. We thought that the girls at KNP had decided that having their formal at a clothes-optional inn was more than they wanted to bare. However, Eve did call back to say that she wanted to look at the Inn again with a couple of her sorority sisters.
Eve was accompanied on her second visit by a taller girl, Allison, who was the chapter president; and a compact blonde named Drew. Drew was probably very attractive, but dressed to conceal that fact as much as possible.
We showed the three girls around. After the tour, we settled in the office to answer their questions.
Drew started off. "I'll tell you upfront that I do not want us to come here. What's to stop the boys from staying dressed and ogling any member who wants to take her clothes off? Or, this just turns into a huge orgy by the pool?"
Cassie replied in a patient and measured tone. "As I told Eve last time, we require that everyone be nude in the pool, the spa, the sauna, and the surrounding area. If any of our staff see anyone in any of those places with clothes on, that person, male or female, will be asked to strip off immediately. If they do not, they will be asked to leave immediately and no refund will be issued. As for the restaurant, the dance, and the hallways serving your block of rooms, we're ok with KNP setting whatever dress code it desires. You can say everyone stays dressed, everyone goes nude, or follow our rule that clothing is optional. To your second concern, we have a hard rule that sexual conduct is forbidden anywhere outside of guest rooms. We have to do that to stay open. If we catch anyone breaking that rule, they are gone. No ifs, ands, or buts. If there are any issues of lack of consent or underage, we're calling the Sheriff to sort that out."
Allison asked, "What about alcohol?"
I fielded that one. "Are most of your members and their dates are under 21?"
Allison nodded affirmatively.
"We cannot sell alcohol to anyone under 21. Period. Unless you will have more than a couple of people here who are 21 or over, we'll simply close the bar. If the bar is open, everyone gets carded every time they buy a drink. We also have to seize any alcohol we see being consumed by someone who we think is under 21. As a practical matter, that means no alcohol in the hallways, the pool, or the spa unless the person drinking can prove that they're 21. On the other hand, I know that college students drink. We will not search your rooms, although the cops might if they get called. The bottom line is that you keep the alcohol out of our sight and make sure no one does anything to get the cops called."
Eve asked the last question. "We really like the idea of having the dance on Friday and staying over Saturday. I've got 25 girls who will commit to taking a room for two nights. But, the price is still pretty high for us. Can you give us a bit more of a break?"
We had planned for that. Caitlyn made our counter-proposal. "What if we cut the room price by $30 per night and we'll give you a free continental breakfast on Saturday? You know, juice, yoghurt, cereal, coffee, pastry."
Allison, Eve, and Drew glanced at each other. Allison said, "The chapter is having a business meeting tomorrow night. We'll vote on this them. Eve or I will call you day after tomorrow." That was Wednesday afternoon.
On Friday afternoon, the phone in our office rang. Cassie answered, listened for a few moments, and then said "That's great. We're looking forward to having you here. I think that you'll like it." Hanging up the phone, Cassie looked at me, smiled, and gave a thumbs-up sign. "We've got the Kappa Nu Phi formal," she said. "They're taking the two night deal." We got the sorority's deposit check the next Monday.
We were satisfied to have the KNP formal, but put it out of our minds for several months through the holidays. In late January, Eve came out with, surprisingly, Drew to work over various details. It was still looking like KNP would have the Inn to themselves. People just don't book vacations in Ohio in February.
On that Friday, girls started checking in during the afternoon. The most common sight was a college girl in jeans and a heavy coat carrying an evening dress over her shoulder in a dry cleaner's bag. I noticed that a number of the girls were accompanied by guys.
I missed the dinner entirely. We had agreed to set up a non-alcoholic bar in the meeting room while the dance was going on. Ordinarily, we would have had Kay, our bartender, work it. However, we had decided to leave the bar open, with strict carding. The usual second option would be to hire a bartender for the few hours we needed an extra, but our margin was already tight. We finally decided that Caitlyn and I would tend the dance bar. Cassie would do the manager duties that night.
The next question was what do Cassie and I wear? The state's rules required only an apron around the waist. We expected that the girls and their dates would stay clothed for the dance. On the other hand, we were so used to going nude that the idea of working clothed for several hours in what would probably be a hot room was not appealing. We settled on a compromise of only wearing full aprons. Caitlyn and I would be covered in front, but bare in back. We thought that would give the college kids something to talk about.
The dinner ended around 9:30 p.m. A few minutes later, a stream of girls in evening dresses and guys in tuxes flowed into our meeting room. The band started up, way too loud for the size of the room. That was adjusted fairly quickly.
I was busy, but not slammed. The initial wave had been served and I was just standing behind the bar when a gorgeous young lady walked up. She had blonde hair piled atop her head above a lovely face with just the right amount of make-up. Her low cut dark blue dress accented her alluring figure.
"Hi," the beauty said. "I know that I said that I didn't want to come here, but, so far, it has been very nice. Thank you."
I had no recollection of ever talking to this luscious girl before. My confusion must have shown in my face.
"I'm Drew. Remember?" the beauty said. I'll be damned!
"Oh, of course," I tried to cover. "May I get you something?"
"Do you have mineral water?"
"Of course, I said. I turned and took a couple of steps to reach the beverage cooler behind us. I heard a small shriek and "oh my!"
Walking back to the bar, I loosened the cap on the water bottle and handed it to Drew. Her face was a bit red. "You're, um . . ."
"Not wearing anything under the apron. You're right. Neither is my colleague Caitlyn. It is a clothing optional inn. Remember?"
"Aren't you embarrassed that I saw your bare butt?" Drew asked.
"No. I had never been naked in public before I started working here. The first time I did it, I was scared to death. But, I did it. People saw my bare butt and my bare genitals and I didn't melt. It certainly feels better than wearing clothes and you quickly figure out that being seen nude is really great fun."
Drew was still our only customer so I called Caitlyn over. To Drew, I said, "Caitlyn works in the nude everyday all day. Talk to her if you want a woman's thoughts on it."
