"So how does it feel being naked for 24 hours?" Julia asked, as she and Lara headed back in the opposite direction.
"Free!" Lara answered happily.
"This is like your first full day of being totally nude isn't it?" Lara smiled. "Well not really. It's been a couple of weeks now."
"A couple of weeks?"
"Yeah."
"You mean you haven't wore a single piece of clothing for two whole weeks?"
"Yup!" Lara giggled.
"I think the longest I've ever been fully nude is soaking in the bathtub." Julia joked.
"The last time I wore any clothes was when you drove me in your car for the first time."
"Oh my God! When you jumped out of the car and threw your clothes away!"
"Yes!" Julia thought about it for a moment, then continued. "Wow, you're lucky to have such an understanding mom. My parents are so strict about everything."
"Well, I don't know. I mean she let's me do what I want, but at least your parents always spent time with you."
"What, my parents?" Julia asked. "My parents were always on my case about everything. I couldn't go to any dances, I couldn't have any boyfriends, I couldn't have anything. At least you could go out and do stuff."
"I guess so. But, it depends." Lara replied.
"Depends on what?"
"It's like I had all this freedom, and what I really wanted was my mom. And you, you had your parents, but what you really wanted was freedom. It's like when you have one thing, you end up wanting the other. I mean, I wonder what it would have been like if we had each other's parents?"
Julia laughed. "Ha ha! Oh my God Lara, you would have never become a nudist or a lesbian. You would have been even more miserable!" Lara chuckled.
"You still think I'm a lesbian?"
"Well, I mean you are, right? You were having sex with Teresa."
"But that wasn't sex..."
"That wasn't sex?" Julia questioned.
"No. That was just... a weird situation. That was... I mean, she was just playing out her fantasies. That's not what I would call sex."
"Well, uh, based on what you told me all those times, it sounds like pretty hardcore sex to me." Lara chuckled sarcastically.
"No, sex is when you're doing it for each other. We were just young. She was just using me for her own fantasies. I wouldn't say it was serious."
"Hmmm, not serious?"
"No. Not really."
"OK, do you want my opinion?" Julia asked.
"What." Lara answered.
"You always told me that your mother was never around, yet Teresa was always there for you. Teresa kinda filled in for your mother and gave you what you wanted. And you gave Teresa what she wanted, which was a friend who would accept her for what she was. Maybe you don't see yourself as a lesbian, but down inside you're attracted to a dominant woman who makes you feel protected and loved."
Lara chuckled and shook her head.
"No, I don't think so. What I want right now is to just be free of everything, and just do whatever I want, and go wherever I want."
"Yeah, OK. But think about it, your mother let you do whatever you wanted. You never had someone create boundaries for you, or give you any kind of structure. I mean, all you know about is freedom. I'm the opposite, I grew up with structure and boundaries, I don't see things the way you see them. So it's kinda like what you just said, when you have one thing, you end up wanting the other. Deep inside, you still need someone to give you those boundaries, and tell you what you can and cannot do."
Lara chuckled again.
"But that's not why I became friends with Teresa. I mean she and I grew up with single moms, and neither of us had friends, and we just clicked together, but in a special kind of way."
"That might be what brought you two together, but it took chemistry to make you two stay together. She gave you something that you needed, and you gave her something that she needed. Maybe it wasn't as apparent to you from your perspective, but all of us could definitely see Teresa protecting you and keeping you close to her. She was creating boundaries for you."
Lara laughed. "Oh my God, Teresa never created any boundaries for me!" She continued in a serious tone.
Julia paused.
"Well, it was just my opinion. I didn't mean to be critical."
"No, you're not being critical. I think it's good to express yourself. I just don't think that's what Teresa and I were about. We were just... girls, that's all."
"Well, you're definitely not like any other girl I've met!"
Lara laughed.
Julia thought it over a for few seconds, and then continued.
"But sometimes people need a second set of eyes, and from my perspective you've always been the most freest person I've ever known. But I think the reason why you and Teresa lasted that long is because she gave you that dominant figure to balance out your free spirit."
Lara thought about it.
"Hmm," she said. "Well, if you say so."
