Not only that, he works it to his advantage in putting her at ease with nudity

Lester all but dropped the frying pan in his haste to cut her off and prevent her from leaving. Some grease splashed out but thankfully the pan stayed on the table and the contents remained inside.

In spite of being over forty he was still able to move fast, and as the long-legged beauty struggled to free herself from the short booth he stepped in front of her exit and grabbed the towel.

Kjirstin's eyes went wide at having her escape cut off and he could see her tremble in fear and uncertainty as he lifted the towel.

"Here, let me cover you up," he said with a re-assuring smile, earning a confused look from her.

"Lift your arms a little," he said, somehow managing to sound casual and soothing when he wanted to do what Joe was doing on the other end of the cameras - cheering and yelling rude things.

Kjerstin tentatively lifted her arms like a child to its parents, and Lester leaned forward to slowly pull the short towel around her. He could feel the trembling of her body as his arms encircled her, and heard the quick breaths of alarm. Mostly he smelled her fresh scent mixed with that of her fragrant soap and shampoo.

Quickly and without impropriety he covered her up and stepped back, a movement that was perhaps the most difficult of his entire life. Every instinct told him to hurl himself at her but he'd made a living mastering his impulses in difficult situations, and as hard as it was he managed to pretend it wasn't the most arousing experience of his life.

"There you go. I'm really sorry about that. If I hadn't given you such a short towel," he said, sounding disgusted with himself as he picked up the frying pan, dishing an omelet onto her plate and then his own. He turned back to the counter as her mouth popped open in astonishment.

He was apologizing to her? Taking the blame? Kjerstin's mind whirled in confusion. From embarrassment to fear to feeling like she should apologize and re-assure him...

"I know I have embarrassed you," he said, sounding contrite. "I know that Europeans are casual about nudity, but we Americans aren't. So I hope that you'll take this as a sign of how sorry I am."

Kjerstin stared at him without comprehension. She understood his words but not his meaning. Yes, back home people were more relaxed about nudity, but what did that...

Her eyes widened as she saw him pull his shirt over his head, his hairy muscular chest coming into full view.

Her jaw dropped as he hooked his thumbs into his pants and pushed down, bending over as he removed both jeans and boxers in one push. The sight of a full-grown man old enough to be her father stripping in front of her, combined with her own incident, was enough to short-circuit any natural response she might have had.

Lester stood naked in front of her, though his hands folded over his crotch, hiding his penis and testicles from view.

Gulping, mostly to hide his excitement and smother any grin, Lester dipped his head and said, "I hope you accept my embarrassment as a sign of my regret for your earlier discomfort."

Seeing the big, muscular man, older than her by more than twenty years, reduced to nudity in an effort to put the two of them back on equal footing snapped Kjerstin out of her shock