A Return to Eden

Here's my entry into the Valentine's Day Story Contest 2024.

"Valentines, Day, 2024," Jared said to his girlfriend, Nicole, "a Wednesday. Of all days of the week, Wednesday is the worst for a holiday to fall on."

"Valentine's Day isn't really a holiday," Nicole corrected him, taking a bite of the vegan burger she was eating for dinner.

"So, I don't have to get you anything?" he asked, taking a bite of the sandwich he was eating.

"It's not about getting me anything. I don't need gifts; I just want to have a quiet day with you."

"Well Wednesday still sucks. It's too far into the week to stretch a long weekend into, and if we start a long weekend on Wednesday, by the time Monday rolls around again, it just seems strange, because the reason for the long weekend will be five days behind us by Sunday."

"Jared, dear," Nicole interrupted, "you're not making any sense. I mean did you just listen to yourself?"

"What?" he responded, "I make perfect sense, Wednesdays and holidays aren't meant to go together."

"Why don't we just take the whole week off, take a drive, a getaway. Just the two of us. I can promise I can make it worth your while."

Jared just looked at pretty Nicole. She was twenty-three, four months from her next birthday. He gazed at her brown hair that fell past her shoulders, her blue eyes and pouty lips. Nicole sat across the small table from him in their apartment. Her bulky navy-blue sweatshirt with their college logo across the front concealed the rest of her upper body. Nicole had pushed up the sleeves so she could eat without getting food on them. She took another bite.

Both were recent college graduates. Jared and Nicole met in an economics class and partnered on a class presentation. They had worked several long nights and multiple weekends, but their efforts were rewarded with an "A" and the byproduct of their presentation was a budding romance.

Nicole found Jared handsome in a nerdy sort of way. He was not the athletic jock so many young women are attracted towards. He was lean, and fit, he loved to ride his bicycle around town, but he mostly simply blended into the crowd. At face value, there just wasn't that much that screamed "hey check me out" to passersby. A mop of brown hair that was probably just a little too long, and stylish eyeglasses sat on top of his almost six-foot frame.

Nicole was almost a head shorter than Jared with long brown hair. Nicole had been on the college diving team and had a fit body from years of diving competitions. Nicole's slender body was built for diving. Strong legs that could propel her into the air, as she performed her acrobatic twists and turns, supported a frame that weighed just over 120 pounds. She was attracted to Jared primarily because he was not a jock athlete. She had been on swimming and diving teams since before high school and knew the boys from the boys' teams. All seemed to have an arrogance about them and felt like they were God's gift to the girls' team. One or two of Nicoles female teammates had been molested by members of the boys' teams, and one girl even became pregnant. Nicole did not want that kind of life. Jared was always kind and considerate, a dweeb, but a lovable dweeb.

"Yeah, you're right. I can take the time off work. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of the mountains. This time of year, nobody hikes along that trail we like, and there's that overlook with the valley below. You know, we said we'd come back to explore it."

"OK, I'd guess the campground won't be busy, I mean they keep it open for winter campers, but with Valentine's Day on a Wednesday, I doubt it will be busy."

"Wednesdays aren't so bad after all?" she asked. She knew he'd have no comeback for that question.

"No, I guess you're right. Given the proper context, a holiday on a Wednesday doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"I'm sure all the calendar makers in the world just gave a sigh of relief. Jared Monson will let them keep Valentine's Day on a Wednesday with no further complaining," she smiled.

God, he thought to himself, she's so damn sexy when she's like this. "If I weren't so hungry," he said aloud to her, "I'd put you on this table and take you right here."

"Hold on, tiger," she replied, "there's plenty of time for that, later."

After dinner they finished their plans. Jared would work both the Saturday and Sunday shifts at the retail store, then they'd head out Monday morning for a week of camping, sex, hiking, sex, sitting by the fire, and enjoy some outdoor sex. She then lifted the sweatshirt over her head to reveal to him her braless B-cup breasts with large pink areolae surrounding erect pink nipples. He was kissing those breasts and pawing at her pants less than ten seconds later.

Monday eventually arrived and they packed their cooler and camping gear into Jared's car. He had filled the tank the night before and by 7:00AM, they were on the road heading for the mountains. Three hours and two stops later, they parked at their campsite.

They were pleased that besides themselves, only two other cars were in the campground, quite a distance from where Jared and Nicole parked. It was cool, but not cold. Nicole wore shorts that emphasized her strong legs and that same sweatshirt, once again sans bra, but had sweatpants and a jacket for after sundown. Jared dressed similarly, ready for any type of weather. The forecast promised unseasonably mild weather for the week, so the young couple looked forward for the week to unfold. That morning, the nude couple woke to start their day. They ate breakfast, dressed, then started towards the trail.

Roughly ninety minutes later, they stood at their favorite overlook, where the mountain gave way to an extensive valley. They had been here once before but had never paid attention to the valley below. That earlier visit, they wanted to hike along the trail. They acknowledged they'd return some day and consider the valley view for a future adventure. Today was that future day.

Looking down at the valley below from the overlook was one of the most spectacular views either Jared or Nicole had ever seen. Two rivers flowed through the lush vegetation providing more than enough water for all the plants and crops that grew within the valley's wide boundaries. Fields of crops, from this distance they couldn't identify specifics, vineyards, and even an orchard all lay before them. Strangely, there were not any visible roads or towns, but for sure signs of human habitation were merely obscured by the dense green canopy of large trees. Off to the right on a less densely covered hill a solitary tree stood apart from the others, like a sentinel keeping watch.

"It's beautiful," Nicole said as she stood beside her boyfriend.

"Yeah," Jared responded, "just look at the greenery, the fields, and those rivers, it looks like a paradise."

"Where are the people?" Nicole asked, straining her neck to see signs of human activity.

"Probably concealed below all those trees," Jared answered, though he, too, was a bit surprised that nothing was visible.

"Well, I'm getting hungry again, and I need to find a bathroom, let's go down and see what we can find."

Nicole's suggestion made sense to Jared, as he was also hungry.

Their campsite was about two miles west of their present location, and they had been on the trail since daybreak. So far their only meal had been some granola and energy bars, but now they both felt the pangs of hunger. A small path led down from the overlook towards the valley. The path clearly was not part of the park, it hadn't been maintained nor had it been traveled much, but it was wide enough to indicate that it obviously led somewhere.

Down towards the valley the young couple hiked. Nicole led the way, stepping cautiously amongst the stones buried along the path. Jared admired her shapely backside as she deftly maneuvered the trail. The path went mostly straight down but occasionally veered right or left to avoid either a tree or a large boulder. Then the path leveled off somewhat before descending at an even steeper grade than the upper portion had been. Jared felt his feet slip once or twice and he could hear Nicole breathing harder, but in time they reached the valley floor.

Both looked at each other, perspiration forming along their hairlines. They smiled at their accomplishment then looked back up as a reminder of what they'd need to climb to return to their campsite. There was a small stream they could not have noticed from their earlier vantage point. It flowed a meandering route and appeared almost like a boundary between the steep slope of the hillside and the fertile valley before them.

Scanning across the stream, Jared took in the sight before him. The stream would be easy to cross, basically one large step was all it would take. "Well, we've come this far, shall we take a look?" he asked as Nicole came to his side.

"I don't know, do you think it might be private property?" Nicole asked, as she too scanned across the stream.

"I see no fence, but you're right, we don't need some pissed off farmer shoot at us for trespassing," Jared said, still looking for signs of human life. "But I see no reason not to just take a little peak. Notice how that tree line is so clearly defined."

"I don't see a path leading into those woods," Nicole cautioned.

"Not that what we just climbed down was much of a path, either, but at least it led us here. Come on, let's just hop over this stream. Hey, wait, look at that." Jared saw a small sign on their side of the stream just out of view. "Let's check out that sign."

"OK, just be careful," Nicole said timidly.

It was funny how things looked so serene from up above, yet once they came to eye level things looked a bit eerie. It wasn't scary, just odd. Birds flew above easily crossing the "boundary" into the wooded expanse. Squirrels chatted from trees and various insects, dragonflies, bumble bees, and such flew in the air around them. They approached the sign. One handwritten word, "AVAILABLE," was all it said.

"Available?" Nicole asked.

"There's probably another sign with more information somewhere along a more well-traveled part," Jared guessed.

"If it's available, it must be for sale," Nicole added. "I feel safer knowing some redneck farmer won't try to run us off his land. We can say we're only looking to see if we might want to buy it."

"Buy it?" Jared smirked, "Us? With what?"

"Don't be so literal. I was just talking. I mean it looks beautiful. Come on, let's take a look. Just for a few minutes. If it's too creepy we leave. Besides, that'll be a tough path to get back up."

"OK, we'll go in. Lead the way."

"Me lead? What kind of knight in shining armor are you? You're supposed to lead and protect me."

"Protect you from what? You just said . . ."

"I don't know, just protect me. Maybe there's a bear, or a wolf."

"Nicole, you read too much. Alright, we'll cross together."

With that they held hands and jumped over the stream, landing in the lush grass just before the tree line. Nicole let out a blood curdling scream.

"Oh, my God, my God, what happened?" she said as she panicked.

Jared, whose eyes had been focused on the trees, suddenly gasped as he looked at Nicole. For some reason, she was now stark naked. He stared at her lithe form, her strong diver's legs supple waist, round butt, all was on full display. Nicole automatically covered her bare breasts with her arms, folding them across her chest and grabbing her shoulders. Jared then noticed that he, too, was fully nude.

"What the FUCK?" Jared yelled aloud. Normally his naked girlfriend would be candy for his eyes, but suddenly he felt almost uncontrollably afraid. "Let's get out of here," he said, turning back to the stream.

They both jumped back across to the side they came from.

"Oh my God!" Nicole said again. She looked down at herself. She was once again fully clothed as she had been.

"What is going on?" Jared asked. He, too, was in the same clothes he had on. "What just happened?"

"Let's just go back!" Nicole pleaded.

"Just a second. Let me jump again, you stay here," Jared said as he stepped away from Nicole.

"Be careful," Nicole advised as Jared jumped. As he crossed over the stream she screamed yet again, for he had disappeared.

Jared landed on the other side and turned to see why Nicole had screamed again. He saw her standing on the other side hands over her mouth, like she was about to cry.

"What?" he asked quizzically, "I'm right here." He couldn't understand what had gotten into her, he was in plain sight, just on the other side of the stream.

"Jaed, JARED! Where are you?" Nicole was now hysterical.

Jared stared at her, waved his hands and said, "hello, Nicole! I'm right here."

"Nicole!" he repeated, louder than he thought necessary. "I'm right here!" He looked down. He was naked again. He jumped back across yet again.

"Oh, Jared," Nicole said, "what's happening? Where did you go?"

"What?" he asked. "I was right there on the other side."

"No, you were gone!" Nicole said trying to recompose herself.

"Oh, come on, I could see you as clear as now. I wasn't gone."

"Yes, you were. Now let's go back, I'm afraid!"

"Wait, let's try something," Jared said, his logical brain working furiously to figure out an explanation.

"No, I want to leave."

"Just one minute, then we'll head back. I promise," Jared said, pleading with Nicole to stick around just a bit longer. "Just trust me," he added for effect.

"OK, one more minute, then we leave," Nicole was adamant.

"Alright. Now you stand right here. I'm going to jump over the stream again, OK?"

"OK," she replied as Jared jumped. He was gone again.

"See, Nicole?" Jared said assuredly as he turned his naked body to face her. But Nicole was again looking like she couldn't see him. "Hey, right here, remember this dick? It brought you off twice last night." She turned in a circle. It was obvious that she could not see him. He jumped back.

"What is happening?" Nicole asked as she ran to hug her boyfriend.

"I tell you, I was right over there, not ten feet from here," he said. "I was naked, I even waved my dick at you."

"I couldn't see you, honest I couldn't," she said. "Now can we go?"

"Just one more minute. You jump over, I'll be right here."

"I'm not jumping over there."

"Oh, come on. I'll be right here. Just try it, then you can jump right back."

His insistence perturbed her, but she relented. With a deep breath, she jumped and disappeared from his sight.

Nicole turned around and saw Jared standing right where he had been when she jumped. She looked down and she was naked again. Jared stared right at her, but she was convinced he could not see her. She decided it might not be so bad after all and decided to have a little fun.

"Oh Jared," she cooed, "look at your sexy Nicole. She's all naked. Come on over here a screw my brains out. Jared, look, my bald pussy is waiting. Come and lick it." Nicole turned and walked a ways away from the stream. "Jared, come fuck me."

"Don't mind if I do," Jared said as he came up behind her, naked as she was.

"Jared!" she screamed in disbelief. Her teasing was over.

"Don't ask me what's going on, because I have no idea. But near as I can tell, there's some kind of invisible barrier at this stream. From this side you can see across to where we were, but from the other side you can't see in."

"But the birds, those dragonflies. We could see them from the other side."

"I have no idea about that. All I do know is we couldn't see each other once we came to this side, but from here we could see out."

"Jared?" Nicole asked. "I'm not afraid any longer. Let's stay a while and look around." Wherever they were, Nicole felt a sense of peace and calm. She felt safe, even though she was totally naked.

"You don't mind being naked?"

Nicole did not answer. Instead, she knelt before him and took is growing cock into her hands, guiding it to her mouth. She worked on him until he was fully erect, then stood up and wrapped her arms around him. She stood up on tip toes to kiss his lips. He leaned forward to kiss her back.

"Jared, I love you. Make love to me here, I'm all yours."

He guided her onto the soft carpet of grass and wildflowers. She opened her legs and he looked at her shaved mound wet with desire, her pussy lips aroused and waiting for him. He felt himself sliding into her velvety tunnel, warm moisture welcomed his erection.

After a few minutes of missionary sex, she turned so he could take her doggy style. He marveled at her pink anal rose bud as he grasped her hips and thrust in and out. She moaned loudly as his penetration filled her. She propped herself on her arms, her breasts swaying with each thrust, her nipples pointing toward the ground.

"Oh, Nicole, I can't last much longer, I'm going to come."

"Fill me with your seed, Jared, I want you!" Nicole was almost pleading for him to come.

"OOHHH, OOHHH!" Jared grunted. "God, I'm coming! Do you want me to pull out?"

"No, fill me, fill me with your cum." Jared exploded into her sex.

"Oh, God, that was good," Nicole sighed as Jared's semen seeped out of her vagina.

"Yes it was," came a deep male voice from above. Nicole screamed and tried to cover herself. Jared looked around, ready to defend Nicole from whoever this intruder was.

"Who said that?" Jared demanded. He looked around but saw no one, only trees.

"You humans always say the same thing," the voice said. Jared looked, but he couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. The trees? The sky? Where?

"Say what?" Nicole said as she too, looked around. She kept her arms folded across her breasts.

"My name, or at least what you believe to be my name," replied the voice.

"Your name," Nicole said, matter-of-factly.

"Yes, my name."

"I didn't say a name," Jared added. "I called her name, but she's Nicole, and she's right here. Who are you, and where are you hiding?"

"What is this place?" Nicole asked. "Do you have a bunch of cameras to spy on people? Do you have a paying audience watching us? Do you charge them money, a bunch of perverts?"

"Nicole," the voice said, "so many questions. I hate it when people question me."

"Oh, you hate it?" Nicole was livid. "You watch people . . . you know, make love, then you bitch because I as a couple of fucking questions?"

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Jared demanded, stepping close to Nicole.

"STOP!" the voice said. And with those words, Jared and Nicole were frozen in place. "Enough of that kind of language. I don't ask much, but you're on my turf, and I'll say my piece."

Jared and Nicole were petrified, literally. They could see and hear, but they could not move or speak.

The elderly man spoke again. "Now, I will talk, and you will listen. Who am I? I am what I am. I said you called my name, both of you did while you were, well, you know. Oh, hell, I'll just say it. While you were screwing all over my carpet. You two are like all other humans. You get in the throes of ecstasy and for some reason you all insist on crying out to me. Who am I? I'm God, goddammit. Now, if you two can calm down and be rational, I'll release you. Agreed? OK, I know, you can't speak, and you can't move, so I'll just assume you agree to my terms. But any further outbursts and you'll be right back into your present condition. I will answer some of your questions. Why? Because despite your rudeness, I like you, both of you. I brought you here because I wanted you to be here. Think of it as my Valentine's gift to both of you."

Jared and Nicole were released. They both stretched arms and flexed legs, then Nicole returned her arms across her breasts.