And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind

When we finished lunch, we packed up, made sure we left no litter around, and headed out, refreshed. We came across a couple of rock climbing areas and finally got lucky and found an instructor camped out at one of them. He introduced himself as Vince. We chatted for a few minutes and found out he would be at this spot all week between 10 AM and 2 PM. We thanked him and went on our way after first getting release forms from him. We promised to be back on Wednesday when he said a beginner's group from Antioch University planned to take some lessons.

As we approached the Blue Hole again, I sprung my surprise. At this point, there was a narrow, steep path up to the lip of the gorge. I looked at Virginia, smiled, and said, "Follow me. I want to show you something."

I started up the path, and Virginia started following me, curious about where I was going. I knew there was a little clearing at the top where we could have some privacy. The path was steep enough to make you use your hands at one point to get up through. Finally, we reached the top, and the track petered out into the small clearing. We were both breathing hard at that point, so we sat down to rest for a minute. After catching her breath, Virginia looked at me and asked, "What did you want to show me?"

I shrugged off my backpack and pulled out the beach towel I had put in there. I stood up and spread it out flat before I said, "You'll see."

Virginia watched me intently as I was doing this. When I started toeing off my shoes and unbuttoning my polo top, I saw her eyes go wide, and a grin spread across her face. She went to get up, and I said, "No, just watch."

I pulled my polo up and off, revealing my breasts clad in the lacy demi bra I decided to wear this morning. I started undoing my shorts and then slid them down, bending over to get them off. When I stood back up, I locked eyes with Virginia and asked, "Like what you see so far?"

"God, yes!" Virginia said. The desire I heard in her voice made my breath hitch as I reached back to unfasten my bra. I eased my bra off, revealing my breasts and my stiff, aching nipples standing out proudly. I saw Virginia's eyes latch onto my breasts, and when she licked her lips, my breath hitched again. I hooked the waist of my bikini panties and eased them down over my hips, bending over to push them down to my ankles. I stood back up, stepped out of my panties, and pirouetted, naked except for my ankle socks, before asking, "How about now?"

Virginia's guttural, "Oh, God, Bonnie, yes!" made my heart nearly stop in response to the raw desire I heard in her voice. My juices started flowing as my pussy heated up, my need for this wonderful woman nearly overwhelming me.

As I stood there naked, the slight breeze caressing my overheated skin, I wanted Virginia to take me and ravage me more than ever. I locked eyes with her and asked, "What are you waiting for? Take me, now!"

"Here?" Virginia asked, her gaze darting around the empty clearing.

"I'm sure the grass won't mind," I answered as I leaned down and took Virginia's hand to help her up. When she was on her feet, I started working on her top as her hands flew to her shorts to get them off. In seconds, Virginia was as naked as I was, and we were in each other's arms, our lips locked and our tongues fighting for supremacy.

The hot sun beat down on my naked body, and I reveled in the feeling of being naked in nature, the woman I love in my arms, our bodies pressed tightly together. After an eternity, our lips parted, and we were both panting, trying to get air in our lungs. We locked eyes, and Virginia panted, "I love you."

Losing myself in those sapphire blue pools, I panted, "I love you more."

Again, Virginia hesitated, peering intently in my eyes, almost as if she was starting to believe me, before she finally returned, "Not possible."

Our lips met again, and I did my best to convince Virginia it was possible.

***

As we lay there in our post-coital drowsiness, I reveled in the feeling of the sun beating on my sweat-kissed skin. A sense of euphoria overtook me as I heard the insects buzzing and the birds chirping all around us. From time to time, the leaves would rustle as a breeze made its way through the trees. Occasionally, I could hear a shout from a hiker down on the trail below us. So far, we've been undisturbed. There had been no indication anyone was trying to come up the path from below.

I looked over at Virginia, and I could see the blissed look on her face as she laid there with her eyes closed. She looked so beautiful and peaceful I didn't want to disturb her. After a minute or two, I reached over and brushed a few strands of hair off of her face. As I did, I saw her lips curl up, and her eyes opened, and I fell into those deep pools, not caring if I drowned in them. After a time, I resurfaced and said, "We'd better get dressed, love, unless you want to get sunburned in places very uncomfortable."

Virginia reached over and cupped my cheek and said, "I'd burn to a crisp if it meant I was with you."

I leaned in to kiss her, tears burning in my eyes from her declaration. Virginia noted my tears and put everything she had in her kiss, trying to stem the tears. It worked this time, and when we broke, we got up and started getting dressed, first performing a very thorough tick-check on each other as we dressed. Once we were presentable and I had the towel stowed away in my pack, we started back down the trail into the gorge. Going down the steep route was a little more challenging than coming up, so some hand-holding was needed on the way down. Finally, we were back on the main trail and headed east past the Blue Hole and back up the Narrows.

We spotted several more places where rock climbing was allowed, but no one was there. Finally, we came to the place where the leap across the gorge took place. There was a placard on this side too, and again, we marveled at how desperate someone would have to be to chance making that leap. Virginia took me in her arms, put her forehead against mine, locked eyes with me, and said, "I'd do it if it saved your life."

"I know," I said and kissed her to let Virginia know how much I appreciated her love for me. Before it got too hot, I pulled back, smiled, and said, "I hope it never comes down to that, though."

We continued on up the trail, and soon we came out onto Wilberforce-Clifton Road. We crossed over the Little Miami River and walked down Water Street and Jackson Street to get back to our car. Once we put our packs in the trunk, we drove over to the Historic Clifton Mill to eat dinner in the restaurant. First, though, we walked around the property, taking in the view of the old water wheel and the covered bridge next to the old mill. Finally, we went inside, past the souvenir shop, and got a table by the window.

When our waitress came to our table, she introduced herself to us. Penny asked for our drink orders. We both ordered Dos Equis. While Penny went off to get our beers, we poured over the menu. We saw they had a good selection of salads, so I decided on a Cobb salad while Virginia chose the Steakhouse salad. Once Penny took our orders, we took turns using the bathroom to clean up from our hike. As I looked around the restaurant, it was evident most of the other customers had been out hiking too, so we didn't stand out from the crowd.

Once Penny brought our food to us, we dug in, being hungry from our hike. Virginia commented on how her salad was okay but not as good as the ones they had at Jack's Salad Bar and Grill when we were back in California. When Virginia said that, a stab of loss went through me as I realized I would never again enjoy a salad from there. Virginia noticed my sudden mood change and asked, "Are you okay, sweetie?" as she reached across the table and took my hand.

I smiled to cover up my feelings and lied to Virginia when I said, "Yes, I'm fine, my love." I squeezed her hand and said, "I just realized I miss Jack's. That's all."

"Well, we'll make sure to go there first thing when we get back to California," Virginia said, thinking she was reassuring me.

Of course, it had the opposite effect, and tears burned my eyes as I struggled to smile through them. To allay Virginia's concern, I said, "I'm looking forward to it."

We sat there in silence for a bit, each of us deep in our own thoughts. Finally, I got my feelings under control and started eating my salad again. Virginia joined me, and we were back to chatting about our hike. While we finished up our meal, we talked about some of the things we had seen today.

When we were done, we headed back to our cabin. Once we got there, Virginia did her best to cheer me up. I ended up screaming her name several times before I fell into a deep slumber, spooned up against Virginia, happy in the knowledge she loved me.

... I found myself walking down a hallway, doors to the many rooms half-opened. As I passed each door, I peered in and saw well-dressed people clustered around, speaking softly. As I came to the end of the hall, I was drawn to a door hanging open. Inside, I saw Virginia, Mom, the boys, Alice, and some of my classmates from school. They were all looking sad and gathered around Virginia, taking turns hugging her and consoling her.

I looked around, and I saw the coffin on display against the far wall. It was then I realized this must be a funeral home, and someone had died. As I walked past the knot of people toward the coffin, I noticed nobody reacted to my presence, as though I wasn't there or was invisible. I saw the pain and loss in Virginia's eyes, and at that moment, I knew who was in the coffin. Almost against my will, I walked over and looked into the coffin.

I lay there, dressed in my favorite yellow sundress, wearing my treasured turquoise necklace. As I looked closely, I could see how emaciated my body was, and the wig on my head was hiding the fact I had lost all of my hair. I recoiled, looking around frantically as if I was expecting to find someone was pulling a prank on me. Instead, I saw everyone but Virginia heading for the door.

I watched as Virginia reluctantly walked toward me and the coffin I was standing next to. I saw the tears in Virginia's eyes, and I desperately wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her, but I found I couldn't move. The grief I saw in her eyes ripped my heart apart as Virginia stopped next to me and looked down into the coffin at me, reaching out with her left hand to touch my cheek. It was then I saw Virginia's tears start streaming down her cheeks, and her chest started heaving as she sobbed out of control.

I heard Virginia whisper between sobs, "I know I promised, but how am I going to find someone to take your place?" I watched as she took her ring off, the gold ring with the other half of the heart, matching the one I wore that we had shared while I was alive. Virginia slipped it onto my ring finger, and the two rings came together and formed a whole heart.

At that moment, I realized what I was doing. I was taking half of Virginia's heart with me to the grave ...

I started awake, momentarily confused about where I was, the anguish from the dream I had woken from still twisting my heart in knots. I felt Virginia spooned up against me, her arm protectively over my ribs. I was silently shaking with my sobs, tears burning their way down my face. I gently eased myself away from Virginia and got out of bed, not wanting to wake her up. I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet, trying to get my emotions back under control.

This dream was new. I had never had it before, and it shook me to my core. It seemed so real, and in my heart, I knew it was real. I was going to die, and I was going to leave a vast hole in Virginia's heart. That thought made me hurt so badly I just wanted to die right there. I spent a few minutes getting myself back under control. Finally, I was ready to go back to bed. I took the opportunity to pee and splash some water on my face. I went back out into the bedroom and slipped into bed behind Virginia, spooning up against her.

As I fell back to sleep, I vowed I would do everything I could to make Virginia as happy as possible with the time I had left. I knew there was nothing I could do to prevent the hurt I'd be inflicting on her later, but I'd try to make it up to her until then.

When the morning sun streaming through the window woke me, I was still spooned up against Virginia, my arm over her ribs, her breast cradled in my hand. I could tell Virginia was already awake, so I gently massaged her breast, feeling her nipple harden and poke the palm of my hand. Virginia murmured, "Good morning, love," before turning around and wrapping her arms around me. My eyes closed when our lips met, and I was lost in the incredible love I had for this woman.

Finally, our kiss ended, and I opened my eyes. I could see the love Virginia had for me on her face, and I smiled widely before saying, "Good morning, my love. I hope you slept well?"

"Yes, I did," Virginia said.

"Good," I said. "Today, we're going to Caesar Creek to do some swimming and tanning before going into Waynesville to browse the antique shops." I leaned in and kissed Virginia again, loving the feel of her lips on mine. Our mouths opened simultaneously, and our tongues made love to each other as we both enjoyed our passion for each other. Eventually, Virginia ended up on top of me and spent some time letting me know how much she loved me by making me scream her name. Of course, I returned the favor before we made it into the shower, Virginia screaming my name as I made doubly sure she knew how much I loved her.

After a lovely breakfast where we fed each other bites of food between kisses, we packed our swimsuits and sunscreen. According to the weather report on the radio, it would be a hot and humid sunny day, typical in Ohio in July.

We drove down to Caesar Creek State Park with the top down. I let Virginia drive so I could just enjoy the ride. Of course, Virginia loved driving, so I let her have her fun. We took US68 south into Xenia. Then we took US42 south to Waynesville before taking SR73 east to the entrance to the park. We drove down to the parking lot by the swimming beach. There was a building there with restrooms and lockers you could use to change into your swimsuit. We both changed into our bikinis and took our towels and sunscreen with us down to the beach. We found a nice spot on the sand, not too far from the water but away from the other swimmers and sunbathers.

We took our time making sure we didn't miss any spots as we rubbed the sunscreen lotion on each other, making ourselves so hot we hurried into the water to cool off. We went in until the water was up to our necks. We bobbed there for a while, holding each other in our arms and kissing from time to time. Nobody else was close enough to worry about either offending them with our actions or being recognized by someone. We were both wearing sunglasses, so it would be hard to see our faces anyway.

I reached back and untied my top, taking it off and tucking it under the waistband of my bottom. I took Virginia's hands and put them on my breasts. Virginia gasped and smiled as her hands started massaging my breasts. The familiar and welcomed ache overtook my nipples as they hardened under her ministrations. Meanwhile, my hands were busy untying Virginia's top. Once I got it off and tucked it into her waistband, my hands went to her breasts and started kneading them, enjoying the feel of her hard nipples poking the palms of my hands.

Virginia leaned in, and between gasps of pleasure, said, "God, Bonnie, this is never going to get old."

At that moment, the irony of her statement hit me. No, it won't get old because there won't be enough time left for things to get old between us. My breath hitched, and I briefly paused my ministrations as my emotions overwhelmed me and tears started leaking out of my eyes. Before Virginia could notice anything, I forced a smile on my face and answered, "No, my love, it won't ever get old."

However, my tears eventually ran down my cheeks from behind the sunglasses, and Virginia noticed them. She stopped massaging my breasts and asked, "Why the tears, my love?"

"I love you so much," I answered, desperately trying to allay any suspicion Virginia might have for my tears. "Sometimes, it frustrates me how I can't express how much I love you in words." I smiled through my tears and reached up and cupped Virginia's face. "However, I can express it in action. Unfortunately, I can't right here, right now, again, frustrating me. But I will, later tonight. I promise."

"Oh, God, Bonnie," Virginia averred, her suspicions deflected, "I don't deserve you." With that, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in tight against her. The warmth of her body overtook the coolness of the water. We remained that way for a bit until we heard a loud splash, signifying someone had jumped in the water nearby. We hastily broke and backed away from each other. We grabbed our tops and put them back on before looking over to see that a family had staked out a spot on the shore near where our gear was spread out.

We bobbed apart and made our separate ways out of the water, one at a time, and met back up at our spot where our towels were. Fortunately, no one in the family had noticed what we had been doing, so we didn't hear anything negative from them. In fact, they were paying no attention to us at all.

I looked over at Virginia, and I could see the angry set of her jaw. I knew she was internally railing against the fact we had to hide our love for each other while in public. I needed to try to calm her down, so I said, "It's okay, Virginia. I understand we can't display our love for each other in public. Please, my love, don't let it spoil our day."

I saw Virginia's emotions play over her face. After a few seconds, I saw her jaw relax, and she looked up and smiled at me before saying, "Of course, my love. I'm glad you understand me so well."

I smiled at her and said, "Let's go get dressed and head over to Waynesville. We'll get some lunch and go antiquing for a while." I reached over and cupped her cheek and said, "I will always love you, Virginia, even if I could never touch you again."

Virginia nuzzled my hand, smiled at me, and said, "I hope it doesn't come to that. I really love how you touch me." She then stood up, took my hand and pulled me up, and said, "Let's go. I'm getting hungry."

We went into the restroom and changed into our regular clothing, and headed out. We took SR73 west into Waynesville and headed for the Village Family Restaurant. I had been told they had a great selection of salads, and I wasn't disappointed. We both ordered a salad, me, the Spinach salad with the Hot Bacon dressing, and Virginia, the Cobb salad with diced breaded chicken strips with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. They were delicious salads, and we sampled each other's salads, commenting on how good they tasted. We washed them down with Sam Adams Summer Ale.

We really enjoyed the ambiance, and the two women who owned the restaurant came out and chatted with us while we ate. It was apparent to us they were a couple by how they interacted with each other, so we relaxed and really felt welcomed while we were there. We indulged and split a piece of pecan pie for dessert. As we left, after leaving a nice tip, Virginia said, "I really enjoyed eating here. I hope we get a chance to come back again."

I smiled at that and said, "Yes, I'd like to do that someday soon."

Perhaps I emphasized 'soon' too much because Virginia paused and looked me in the eye for a second before she smiled and said, "Then, we will."

With that, we started strolling up South Main Street to visit the many antique shops Waynesville is famous for. Well, that, and the Sauerkraut Festival is held there every year in October. If you love sauerkraut (I don't), you'll love being able to get just about any food group made from sauerkraut. This included pizza, bread, pie, and even sauerkraut-flavored ice cream.