A Walk in the Woods

Alarms were the same all over the world. When they announced their presence at the wrong time, everybody hated them.

Like most people, when bedtime had been a little too late and the whisky before bed a little too large, Tim wanted to smash his iPhone.

The musical ringtone that acted as the modern day rooster had summoned him from slumber for so long now, that it took only a few notes for him to reach out a long, hairy arm and set the thing to silent.

He picked it up and in the darkened bedroom the numbers on the lock screen proudly shone out that it was 6.05 am. Tuesday.

Normally a Tuesday would be pretty darned far from setting the world on fire, but on this particular Tuesday he had a date with Lucy. He had been looking forward to it for weeks and without the usual early morning procrastination, he swung his long legs out of his enormous bed and headed for the bathroom.

Mornings were less of a challenge for Lucy. She'd forgotten how long it had been since she wasn't already awake at 5 in morning. In the hour or so that she'd been up, she had already eaten, done a 20 minute yoga session and showered. A large white towel was wrapped around her slender body, with a smaller one wrapped around her head, in a way that only girls knew how to.

She was staring at herself in a dressing table mirror with a mascara brush in her right hand. Blue eyes that shone like precious stones were looking back at her. She carefully applied the make up, flicking her sumptuously long eye lashes downwards with each stroke. Her skin was olive coloured and flawless in complexion.

She was 34 years old and turning into a woman but she could easily pass for 10 years younger.

Her full lips were reminiscent of a 1950s movie star. They needed little assistance, but on this occasion she drew a streak of crimson lipstick across them, pouted, and kissed a tissue to remove the excess. She winked at herself in the mirror. She knew she looked good as the daily complements received from guys served to give her an unassuming confidence.

She loosened he towel from her head and shuck her bobbed hair free. Lucy's hair was jet black. She regularly changed her hair colour when the mood took her, but her natural hair colour was dark brunette and the black rinse just added the final touch of sultriness. She quickly styled her hair in a haphazard manner. There was no arduous process involving tongues and brushes required. A little mousse was all that was needed and she was done.

Lucy stood from the seat and motioned towards her closet. She chose a loose pair of cotton trousers and a vest top and set them on her bed. Next she turned towards her chest of drawers. She pulled the top left which revealed a selection of panties. Sky blue French knickers were taken and from the drawer to the right, the matching bra.

She pulled the knot holding her towel round her slender frame and it fell to the floor. Her body was tight and lithe. A well trimmed bush of dark brown pubic hair sat above the V of her legs. Her pert breasts were smallish but pert and proud as hell.

She stepped into her panties, fastened her bra and finished getting dressed. Her mind already thinking of what else she mustn't forget. She'd be leaving in 45 minutes. Plenty of time for a coffee and a cigarette she thought and headed for the kitchen.

Tim on the other hand was in more of a headless chicken mode. Organisation was far from a strong point for him. Still half wet from his shower, a towel hastily wrapped round his waist, he fought to get dressed and take breakfast in twenty minutes or less.

Getting out of a hot shower he found difficult but this always had the effect of making him late. He was, however, exceptionally clean. He had paid much more attention than usual to make sure he was clean and smelling good. He rushed around his bedroom grabbing at items of clothing.

"Fuck's sake!" he cursed as the feeble knot in his towel broke away, leaving him stark-naked in the middle of the floor, his dick resting against freshly washed balls.

He sat on the end of his bed and pulled on boxers and socks awkwardly. Next he grabbed a white shirt and pulled it on, the cotton sticking to his shoulders and upper back due to a lack of diligence during drying.

He picked up his trousers that were folded on one of the bedroom chairs and stuffed his long legs into the holes. At 6' 4", flexibility and coordination were a struggle. Now he was in his early forties, the struggle seemed to be getting harder each year.

He ran his hand through his shortish brown hair and sprayed a couple of squirts of Hugo Boss aftershave onto his stubbled chin. He winced as the alcohol bit into his face but grabbed his wallet and phone and headed to the front door.

"I'll get a coffee on the way." he thought to himself.

He found his car keys in the pot next to the door and grabbed a light jacket and opened the front door. Slamming it behind him, he had a nagging feeling he was forgetting something.

The drive into town took about 35 minutes. It was relatively uneventful and gave Tim the chance to pick up the news headlines and listen to some music. Driving was second only to cooking, okay third after cumming and cooking, in his list of favourite things to do.

The open road and sitting in a sealed box on wheels acted as a welcome break from reality. His window was down as he sucked on a vape whilst listening to some 80s cock rock. He was due to pick Lucy up from the bus stop near her place at 8.30am and his satnav said he'd be there in 7 minutes.

'Bang on schedule.' he thought and said out loud simultaneously.

He pressed a few buttons on the Honda's central console and in a matter of moments his phone was connecting to Lucy's.

'Hi. Where you at?' she enquired immediately.

The beauty of modern technology was that nobody could really surprise call anymore.

"5 minutes away, I think." Tim replied.

"Okay, I'll head down." Lucy acknowledged in her posh home counties accent.

"Tootles!" concluded Tim and concentrated on getting though the morning traffic.

In a few minutes Tim was parked in the bus stop near Lucy's house and was keeping a hawkish eye out for her and any approaching buses. He was unlikely to get a fine as it was too early for street wardens but an angry mouthful from a bus driver was never pleasant to ensure.

Before long he spotted Lucy sauntering down the road. She was wearing headphones and big black sunglasses with a medium sized handbag draped over her right shoulder. Tim pressed the appropriate button to lower the passenger side window.

"Hurry up, the bloody bus is coming!" he commanded.

He needn't have bothered. Lucy's pace didn't change. She didn't care for rushing and didn't listen to instructions. She was a free spirit and nobody told her what the fuck to do. Ever. The bus had arrived and had honked its horn given Tim was blocking the lay by.

She pulled the door handle and swung into the passenger seat.

"Morning!" she said cheerily.

"You could have run!" Tim asked to her to consider.

"Whatevs!" came the cheeky reply."Let's go!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Okay. We're going." confimed Tim. "But I need coffee!" he demanded.

"No problems. We can get one from the service station down there." Lucy gestured towards the dual carriage way that was no more than 400 yards away.

With that Tim pulled out into traffic and accelerated towards the A54.

The traffic was fairly light but the early morning sunshine made Tim reach for his sunglasses and pull down the sun visor. They had not gone far when a large garage complex appeared with more importantly, a Costa Coffee sign. Tim indicated left and pulled into the parking area.

"So where we going then?" inquired Lucy as they walked towards the coffee shop.

"I thought we could go to the lake or the forest?" he offered, "then get some lunch?".

Tim had done his homework. His friend was for ever posting pictures of walks in nature and he figured this was something she enjoyed doing. He wasn't wrong on this occasion.

"Sounds great!" Lucy replied enthusiastically.

"The weather is good, why don't we try the lake?"

"Fine by me!" confirmed Tim.

He wasn't really the outdoorsy type, unless outdoorsy meant walking to the pub or sitting on a beach. He pushed open the door to the store and held it open so Lucy could pass through.

"I'll get them." she told him. "I need cigarettes."

Tim nodded and pretended to peruse the menu board whilst he waited.He didn't notice an overweight woman standing next to him rummaging through the cakes and biscuits.

'Maybe have a carrot instead?" he mused to himself.

"Oi, come on, I need to smoke!"

Lucy had returned with two large paper cups of coffee. They left the building and headed over to the tables outside. The number of vehicles and roadside noise didn't make it the most attractive vista. Yet the site backed onto a farmer's field of wheat, bordered by a small fence.

"Why don't we sit in there?" Tim suggested.

Lucy didn't disagree and they took the short walk and hopped over the barrier and took a seat on a small grassy knoll. They were close friends, with a lot of water under their bridge, so they snuggled into each other as it was too early to for the sun to have warmed the earth and air just yet.

Tim always felt better when she was around. He sipped his mochachino.

"So how you been?" he asked.

Lucy had put a cigarette to her mouth and was clicking her lighter. She sucked in gently as the flame caught and took a long drag and exhaled.

"Been better." came the honest reply.

She hadn't been sleeping and was exhausted. Each day felt like a chore at the moment. Tim noticed a single tear roll down her face. He wasn't the best at emotional decoding but he wasn't stupid.

He instinctively extended his arm around her shoulder. She felt small next to him but she gratefully received the offer and nuzzled into him even tighter.

"I just feel like I need a break from everything." She said, her voice flickering with a tinge of sadness.

"I'm just so darned tired. I think I just need to get away from everything and everyone for a bit."

"So why don't you?" Tim offered sympathetically.

"Can't." she replied, "Job, family all that shit."

"How about a holiday then?"

"Can't afford it, or at least I can't just go away on my own."

She pondered the situation as she took more coffee and nicotine. She looked at the chaffs of wheat moving rhythmically with the breeze and seemed to be lost in their motion temporarily.

"Look, fuck this. Let's get out of here!" instructed Tim with little warning.

He jumped to his feet and offered a hand to his smaller friend. She took it and he pulled firmly, almost lifting her off the ground.

They gathered their trash and deposited it in a waste bin on the way back to the car.

The journey was relaxed. Tim and Lucy chatted like the old friends they were. The car radio was on but they weren't listening to the annoying DJ or selected tracks. It was just background noise. The sky was still blue and the sun was still out as they approached their destination.

The lake was just outside a small village according to the map that Tim had examined the night before.

"You have reached your destination!"

announced the non descript female voice from the satnav system.

"I can't see any lake!" said Lucy.

She was right. Tim looked at the surrounding scenery and all he could see was fields.

Ahead, they saw an elderly man walking towards them. He was wearing an outdoorsy get up, khaki shorts and a gilet. A straw hat was perched on his head.

"Let's ask him!" said Tim and started the engine.

"Morning!" said Tim to the man through a rolled down window.

"We're looking for the lake." he enquired.

"Oh you wont be able to get to the lake," said the man, "it's a fishing lake see and the fishermen don't like strangers."

"If you really want to go, you can sneak through the fence back there. That's what I do but I've been coming here for 40 years, so they tolerate me. The way over is very wet, mind. Boggy land see."

"Oh. Oh, okay. Thanks!" said Tim.

With that, the man continued on his way down the lane.

"What do you think?" Tim asked Lucy.

"Well, I don't want to get shot at by some fucking fishermen, thanks very much!" she replied. "Plus, we're not really dressed for water."

She looked downwards and Tim followed her gaze down her slender legs until he reached her feet. Open toe sandals. Not good. He looked at his own shoes. They were light canvas sneakers and he didn't want to get them wet either.

"Fuck this. Let's go to the woods. It's not far." suggested Tim decisively.

Neither of them had been to this part of the county before, so weren't really sure where they were.

Lucy didn't argue. Tim fiddled with the satnav and soon it declared that the new destination was only a few miles away. Arrival time in 12 minutes. He fired up the engine and they were on their way.

"You have reached your destination!" the satnav lady declared once more.

"Not again!?!?" Lucy exclaimed.

The single track road ended at a farm complex that carried a unambiguous hand painted sign.

PRIVATE PROPERTY. KEEP OUT. WE HAVE BIG DOGS. The final warning was something neither of them fancied validating.

"Jesus!" sighed Tim. "I've used Google maps. It's supposed to be right here."

He hadn't driven all this way to be thwarted. He reversed the car back to the main road. Scanning the road and surrounding fields they saw another man. He was standing, arms folded behind four cones he had presumably put out in front of what looked like an old garage or small barn.

"I'm not asking him!" said Lucy. "Looks like a right nutter. What are those fucking cones for?" she wondered out loud.

"I'll do it." said Tim surprisingly confidently.

"Hello sir." he enquired timidly and respectfully, "We're looking for Short Wood. The car says we're here but we're clearly not."

"It's over yonder!" came the reply in a regional accent that suggested this chap may have been partial to the odd cider.

"Near the water tower." The man pointed out to the west.

Tim and Lucy followed his point and saw on the horizon the top of a water tower. Bingo! Tim thought.

"Thank you, so much." said Tim, getting the car rolling forwards.

"Whjfjrbtvisj" came the mumbled reply from the man.

"Fucking nutter!" Lucy giggled when they were out of earshot.

Within a few minutes they were at the water tower. It was locked behind a metal gate that denied access but across the road there was a sign that announced they were finally somewhere Tim had intended.

'Short Wood. Maintained by the Woodland Trust.' read the sign.

He pulled the car to the side of the road. They both got out and crossed the road to a small swing gate. Tim noticed it was a kissing gate that only allowed one person through at a time. He did think about activating the old tradition but he had no idea how Lucy would react. He thought better of it.

A well maintained pathway, clear of any undergrowth stretched out before them. It looked like the kind of place that would be used by dog walkers and other weirdos, thought Tim. But one thing was clear, it was deserted. The only sound was the occasional bird song from somewhere up in the canopy above them.

They chatted as they walked.

"I love forests!" said Lucy happily. "They're cool and calming."

She was right about the temperature. It wasn't cold but the exclusion of sunlight by the leaves above their heads knocked a few degrees off the air around them.

Before long they came to a fork in the path. To the left the path looked more curvy. Otherwise it continued straight on.

"Probably goes round in a loop?" guessed Tim. "Let's go left."

Lucy didn't care. She was enjoying being at one with nature and nodded in agreement.

They headed off in the chosen direction. As they walked and talked the foliage over head was getting noticeably thicker as they moved deeper into the trees. They had become slightly lost in each other's company as old friends do.

After 20 minutes walking, Lucy announced she wanted a rest. Meaning she wanted a cigarette.

They had obviously been skirting the edge of the wood as they could see a cornfield behind a low fence.

"Why don't we sit in the field like before, but this time, with no smog or traffic noise?" suggested Tim.

Lucy quickly agreed and they started to tread gingerly through the undergrowth being careful not to bump into overhanging branches.

As they neared the field they noticed a problem. There was a huge ditch in front of the fence and looking up and down its length, passing it was impossible.

"Back to the path then I guess?" said Lucy.

Tim looked down at her small feet in opened toed shoes and took the gentlemanly route.

"Come here!" he instructed.

Slightly unsure, Lucy approached him. With a sweep of his arms Tim scooped her up and started to carry her. She was only 5' 4" and slender. She barely weighed thing Tim observed. He strode confidently over the bracken and broken twigs back towards the path.

He felt her arm round the back of his neck and could smell her distinctive perfume.

As he carried her, Lucy was looking at him. Wondering.

"Here we go!" said Tim, setting her gently down on the path.

Lucy's arms did not disengage as quickly as he thought they might. He was sure that in lingering, she motioned to kiss him. But he wasn't sure and broke the moment by stepping back slightly.

He wanted to kiss her. There was no doubting that. She was beautiful and charming. She was his friend and there had been too many times that he had lain in bed thinking about what it would be like to make love to her.

They started to walk down the path a little way. In silence. The electricity between them was tangible to both of them. Tim felt his senses heighten. Lucy could feel the soft hair at the back of her neck prickle. Lucy blinked first.

"I still need that rest!" she ordered.

"Roger that." Tim replied, scanning the path for somewhere to sit.

There was a couple of old tree stumps and large logs just ahead to the left hand side of the path.

"How about there?" suggested Tim.

Lucy nodded in agreement. Tim took a seat on a large log and Lucy sat down next to him on a sawn tree stump.

They looked at each other. The aura between them now was on fire. Tim took the gamble.

"Come here!" he demanded, leaning into her and putting a hand to her cheek.

Lucy reciprocated and their lips locked. Her lips were full and soft. Tim let her explore his with a woman's softness. As they descended into the kiss, their tongues started to meet and explore each other. Before long it was a full, passionate snog.

"Sit here!" requested Tim, "its hurting my back." He tapped his lap with his hands.

To be fair there was about a 12 inch height difference between them. He lifted her up from her seat and popped her legs over his thighs and sat her down on his lap, side saddle.

Their hands were now able to explore a little more and Tim made no delay in gently kissing her proud neck. Lucy moaned slightly in appreciation. Her neck was definitely one of her erogenous zones and it was certainly lighting a fire down below.

It was the same for Tim. Nothing turned him on like a good kiss. He could feel his cock starting to unfurl and grow in his pants. He did nothing to try and hide or impede what was happening.

Tim cupped Lucy's left breast with his hand and squeezed gently. He was experienced enough that you didn't need to play with boobs like they were a child's toy like young guys did.

"Oh fuck!" Lucy exclaimed.

They paused their kiss and looked at each other. They both knew that if they stopped now, they could walk away but there was no way this fire could be extinguished now.