Bastille Day Annie

"My only question is will you object to tasting yourself?"

"I never have objected yet. What do you have in mind?"

"I'd like to return the favor, if I could."

"Look, Ryan, we're nude, we don't have a blanket and it would be really hard for you to..."

He gently pulled her over to a fallen log next to the trail. He turned her slightly, spread and raised her one leg up onto the log before kneeling right in front of her. He was stunned by the beauty of her lips. She had shaved them leaving a triangle of pubic hair above. Her lips seemed full and there was obvious moisture oozing from between. As he leaned towards her, he could smell her pungent arousal. His tongue slipped between her lips, whereupon he heard an audible gasp from above. He started to run his tongue up and down her crack, spending extra attention to the little nub above. Each time he licked it, she would sigh heavily, occasionally murmuring little nonsensical words as she squeezed his head between her hands.

After several minutes, he concentrated on her clit and slipped a finger into her, curling it forward to find the knobby area right inside. Annie suddenly appeared to have trouble standing as she gasped and screamed out several times "Oh God". Her body quivered before she straightened her legs and stood straight. "You, Sir, have the most fantastic tongue I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. And, you have my permission to repeat that many times in the future."

As Ryan stood up, he responded, "Glad you liked it. I know I sure did. Taste?" He bent down to her and they kissed yet again, but in a more languid manner. After breaking apart, they briefly stared at each other. Wordlessly, they turned and held hands as they started to walk down the trail.

After fifteen minutes or so Annie cleared her throat and said, "I can't believe we did that, can you?"

"No, I am still in a state of shock. Shit, we barely have met and now we've had out-of-this-world oral sex..."

"I feel I should be shocked with myself. If any of my friends told me that they'd done this, I would label them slutty and loose. But here it just seemed so, I dunno, so right."

"I agree. I'm a guy and while we might fantasize about something like this, I personally don't like to hop right in the sack with someone. I want to get to know them first. But with you, seems like I already know you."

"Maybe being naked makes it harder to hide something and you have to be yourself right away. It seems I already know you well and I feel totally comfortable with you. I'm not at all embarrassed or ashamed about what we just did."

"Neither am I. Say, could I ask if you're busy Saturday night? I'd love to take you out for dinner. Interested?"

"I'd love to. But first, I want to do this." She turned to him, tugged on his hand and pulled him to her. She leaned up and gave him a wonderfully sexy and sensual kiss.

"Wow, is that how you say 'yes' to a dinner invite?"

"No, that is how I treat you after dinner," she laughed as she turned away from him and started to walk again down the trail. As they walked, they shared a little information about themselves, their hobbies and hometowns but they somehow didn't talk about their current life situations in any detail. They laughed at little jokes, he told her he was fascinated by geology and she admitted she was a fan of old-time musicals. But mostly they walked side-by-side, holding hands and quietly enjoying each other's company.

By the time they got near the parking lot, she was getting a bit anxious. What would they think of her coming naked down the trail with an equally naked guy? Would they even be there? Finally, as she could just make out an opening ahead, she stopped Ryan and turned to him.

"I have two favors, please. First, I would like it if you could go ahead and see if my friends are there. They should be in a red SUV; I think it's a Subaru. If so, would you mind going to them and asking to borrow at least a T shirt for me?"

"Sure, no problem. What's the second request?"

"I need another one of your fabulous kisses," she whispered as she pulled him towards her. In the middle of the most sensual kiss of the day, she heard a scream from down the trail.

"Annie, is that you? Oh my God, what's going on?"

Annie jumped back to see Brittany and Madison coming towards them. They seemed worried and curious at the same time as they yelled at her.

"Annie, you're naked."

"What the fuck! Who is this guy, has he hurt you?"

"I'm going to call 9-1-1! You, you take your hands off our friend."

"Wait guys, wait. Let me talk. Stop with the 9-1-1 shit. Madison, Brittany, this is Ryan. We met on the trail and he graciously offered to walk with me back to the car."

"Yeah, we met him earlier. What a perv, going naked."

"No, you two. Listen. Ryan is just celebrating National Nude Day. He does this every year and we met on the trail. No biggie."

"Uh, Annie," asked Madison, "What happened to your clothes. Have you suddenly gone native on us?"

"Oh, that's the crazy thing. When I was changing at the car I accidentally closed the door right after I threw my bathing suit in the car. Somehow it locked on me. I called for you but you were already too far up the trail to hear me. So, I just started to walk the trail. Didn't know what else to do. Then I met Ryan. He offered to escort me here since it was scary being all alone and naked."

"You better not have hurt her," Brittany said to him.

"No, we got along great," he answered as he felt her hand squeeze his.

"You must have, I see you're holding hands."

"Look guys, I felt safer that way, no big deal. Now could one of you go get me a T-shirt or something and then we can head back to get the other cars? Please."

"Right on it," said Brittany. "Be right back."

A few minutes later she returned with a shirt and a pair of gym shorts. "Here you go. Uh, Ryan, is it? What about you?"

"I've got my car key tied to my shoe lace, I'm good. I'll head out once you ladies have gone."

"OK, Annie, let's get you out of here. Oh, and thanks for taking good care of her."

Once she had the clothes on, Annie was practically dragged down the trail and Ryan was left alone.

"Dammit, I don't have her number. Shit!" He ran down the trail just in time to see the SUV peeling out of the parking lot and disappear in a cloud of dust.

-----

Annie sat despondent on her bed in the sorority house. She couldn't believe she met a fabulous guy and failed to get his full name or phone number. And, she admitted, she had not given him her last name or number. 'What a damn fool,' she thought. 'Now how can I get ahold of him or he me?'

"Are you still missing him," asked Madison. You barely knew him, saw him naked for what, a couple of hours, and now all you can do is think about him. What was so great about him, anyway?"

"We just clicked. I know, it was only a short time, but I think he could be the one."

"Girl, you're being crazy. Don't go thinking that, not until you have really spent some time with a guy."

"I know, I know, but I still wish I had the chance of more time with him. Too bad you pulled me away so suddenly that I forgot to give him my number. And I don't even know his last name."

"Well," said Madison, "Let's go with what you know. How old is he? Oh, yeah, you don't know. Where is he from? Texas? Yeah, right. That narrows things down a whole lot."

"Madison, sarcasm won't help here."

"I know, but what can you do? No last name, not even sure if he is graduated or not, where he goes to school or where he works. And there are a gazillion schools right here in New England. I think it's hopeless."

"What if I went to social media and tried to send out messages there?"

"You'd get every crack pot in the six-state area after you, not a good idea."

"Shit, you're right."

"Maybe he'll get ahold of you, ya think?"

"Maddy, he knows as little about me as I do him. All he knows is that I belong to some sorority, but again, I'm quite sure I didn't tell him which school. Oh, I'm so stupid. I shoulda..."

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda."

"Maybe if I, oh, I don't know... This is hopeless."

"Come on, Roomie, let's go get dinner. I've got a bottle of wine we can split back here in the room. Maybe you can forget all about him."

"Not very likely, dammit!"

-----

Ryan was pulling out his hair. He couldn't believe he met a fabulous woman, got along with her great and yet he didn't know how to get in touch with her. All he knew is that she was fund raising for a sorority. 'And just how many sororities are there in New England?' he thought to himself. 'I could call every school and they might not even give me the info I need. They might think I'm some kind of a stalker. Good luck with that.'

In his mind, he thought of dozens of plans to contact her, only to realize the odds of contacting her were tiny, at best. Facebook would be of no help, and to try and advertise, well where would he start? After thinking it over for a few weeks, he decided he would try to get some advertising out to all the local colleges and universities. He spent several days obtaining all the information needed to contact the schools' newspapers and online bulletin boards. He systematically contacted each one and purchased a simple announcement:

"Are you Bastille Day Annie? -- Please call Ryan at 323-474-xyxy."

Within a few days, he realized there were hundreds of weirdos and kooks out there. His phone was flooded with messages and his voice mailbox overflowed. He patiently listened to each call hoping she responded. After a couple of weeks, the calls tapered off and she had still not responded. Due to the number of strange, and in some cases threatening calls, he terminated his phone number and got a new one with no forwarding from the old one.

-----

"Annie!" screamed Madison, "Did you see the ad in the Collegiate? Ryan was trying to get ahold of you."

"What? You're kidding! Where?"

"Right here. Look at this notice. It was in the edition that came out while we were gone on semester break. It's from about four weeks ago. Call him, call him now."

"Oh Maddy, this is great! Here, give me the number." She grabbed the torn-out announcement and carefully dialed the number.

"I'm sorry, but the number you have reached is no longer a working number."

"Oh, shit. No! It can't be! The number is not a working number," said Annie as she began to cry.

"Annie, I'm so sorry. To get your hopes up and now this. I'm thinking this will require some serious alcohol consumption."

"At least I know he was trying to reach me. Maybe there's a little hope, ya think?"

"Sure, a little bit. Say, why don't you try the same thing. Put out an announcement asking Bastille Day Ryan to contact you."

"Well, I could, but I bet you it would cost a fortune. Anyway, every nutcase in the region would probably respond. No, I best not."

"Yeah, you're right. Shit, Annie, I'm so sorry for you. Come on, let's hit Duke's Bar. Maybe there'll be a cute guy there to take your mind off Ryan."

"Maybe, but I still want Ryan. I just know in my bones that he's the one. Let me get some decent clothes on and I'll meet you downstairs in five."

Three weeks later Madison and Annie were talking again about the situation. As they chatted Madison asked if Annie had ever gone back to the trail, which she hadn't.

"Wait a minute," screamed Annie. "Maybe I can put up a poster at the trailhead, you know, telling him to come back on a certain day, or something."

"Do you think he hikes there very often?"

"Hell, I don't know, but what else can I do? Can I borrow your car tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'd love to go with, let me drive." The next morning, they left after Annie had written up a nice little sign to post on the kiosk information board.

"Bastille Day Ryan. Meet me here on the first of October, 1p.m. Annie"

They tacked the sign up and drove back to the house full of hope. The anticipation climbed daily until they drove back on the first. They arrived at noon with a picnic basket. Annie had slipped in a bottle of chilled white wine along with the food. She and Madison sat by the trailhead and waited. By one thirty they were becoming glum and finally, Annie opened the wine and started drinking straight from the bottle.

"Damn it," she swore. "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up too high. Let's wait another hour, just to be sure." Eventually the two went back to the house, a sober Madison driving with a drunk Annie weeping into her hands.

-----

It was a week later when Ryan decided to go to the trail for a fall hike. It was clearly too cold to go nude, but he wanted to see the fall colors one more time before the snows hit. As usual he went alone, preferring to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature without a hiking partner. He knew it wasn't the safest thing to do in the fall but he was familiar with outdoors safety and carried a small pack with all the needed essentials.

When he arrived, he ignored a new sign on the trailhead kiosk and took off. A few hours later when he returned, he wandered over to the kiosk and casually read the announcement.

"Bastille Day Ryan. Meet me here on the first of..." The rest of the sign was missing.

Realizing the importance of the sign, he cursed to himself. He had no idea when the sign went up and wondered who tore off the bottom of it. As he had no idea how old the sign was or even what it had said, he decided to be at the trailhead every month on the first. From then on, he would arrive at six or seven in the morning and wait until dark, even if the trail was snowed in. She never showed.

-----

Life slowly settled down for both Ryan and Annie. They each went about their daily lives with a bit of sadness and loss. Annie kept looking for any repeat announcements to no avail. About once a week she would see someone on campus or in town who at first glance looked like Ryan. She would approach the men only to be disappointed when they turned around.

Ryan too kept seeing Annie everywhere in crowds. He followed some of the women until he determined they were not Annie. On one occasion, the woman he initially followed became irate when he approached her. He apologized profusely stating he was looking for an acquaintance who looked similar to her.

Then on one day he was sure he saw Annie get onto a bus down on the main drag through a nearby town. He launched into a run down the sidewalk for six blocks, chasing the bus to the next stop. Right as he got up to the bus, the doors started to close. He stuck his hand in the way and pulled himself up into the bus, to the scolding of the driver. He threw some money in the meter and walked back down the aisle only to see Annie, he was sure it was Annie, walking down the sidewalk away from the now closed rear door. He knew he was in trouble with the driver and couldn't ask for the bus to stop, so he watched sadly as Annie faded from view.

As a result of this sighting, he spent hours each week at coffee shops or on benches near the same bus stops waiting, hoping to see her again. He never saw her, not knowing she had just quit her job at a nearby bistro and she never needed to come to the area again.

The weeks dragged into months and both remained despondent about their loss. Annie quit drinking and partying altogether and threw herself into her studies. Her grades benefitted nicely.

Ryan was doing his first year of postdoctoral studies at a nearby university and spent all of his spare time either in the lab or wandering the streets of the nearby towns and cities looking for the elusive Annie.

By the time spring came around, Annie, heartbroken though she was, started to casually see a guy from her psych class. He was nice enough, but he did nothing to excite her and she found herself always comparing him to Ryan. She eventually let him down gently saying she had someone else out of town she was involved with. Even though this wasn't entirely true, in her mind she was still "involved" with Ryan. She felt it was easier to use her excuse than to try and explain her odd situation.

Ryan would hang around with some of his postdoc friends, hit the bar to drink and shoot pool. On more than one occasion he was approached by young women, but he politely declined their suggestive invitations. Although his program did not require him to work in the summer, he took advantage of a special internship to work in town and chose not to return to his home in Texas.

-----

In July of this year, Omega Omega planned another Bastille Day fundraiser and even though Annie was in town, she declined to participate. Her friends all understood why. She mentioned she just wanted to put a pillow over her head and sleep the day away. The others got excited about a bike/walk-a-thon which was scheduled for a remote area in the western part of the state. They planned a fifty-mile ride followed by a five-mile walk. For the six weeks prior to the event, they trained and Annie even joined them to get some exercise for herself.

On the night before their fundraiser, all the participants left to camp near their biking route. Annie remained as the only student in the sorority hall. Dinner was a dismal affair shared with the security guard and the housemother. They were unable to cheer her up, not realizing it had been a year since she met the man of her dreams. Before long she went upstairs, drank a couple of glasses wine and fell into a fitful sleep.

In the early morning she woke up from a strange dream. In it she was back on the trail from the year before and met Ryan again. The dream was very erotic; she went down on him and he on her, like they had the year before. They found a moss-covered glen and lay down for passionate, sweaty sex. When she woke up, it was still dark and her heart was racing. She felt moisture and tingling in her pussy, reached down and pleasured herself with quick, deep strokes of her clit. After a couple of intense orgasms, she fell back asleep for another few hours.

Upon getting up, she had a quick breakfast of yogurt and granola in the kitchen. As she was climbing the stairs back to her room, she kept thinking about her dream. At one point, she thought that maybe, just maybe, the dream was a sign. Why didn't she go back to the same trail? She knew Ryan wouldn't be there, but she decided the only way she could get past her memories was to face them head on. She planned to walk the trail in the opposite direction and then swim briefly in the lake. 'I'll use it to 'wash' the memories from my mind, then maybe I can get on with life, kinda like that song in South Pacific,' she thought.

After grabbing a few snacks from the kitchen, she hopped into Madison's car and drove slowly to the trailhead. Once there, she grabbed a pepper spray, pulled on her walking shoes and started down the trail. Right inside the trees, she realized it was quiet, calm and serene. However, something just didn't seem right and as she walked a bit further, she eventually realized she needed to do this hike naked, like she had the year before. She looked around and found a large stump several feet off the trail. She stripped off her shorts, panties, shirt and bra and stashed them behind the stump. Her key was tied to her shoelace and with pepper spray in her hand, she was ready to hike.

She squared her shoulders, looked down the trail and started to slowly walk towards the lake. She knew it was a five-mile hike there and another five back. Still, she wanted to do it, needed to do it, to finally clear her mind of her obsession with Ryan.

She walked fairly quickly and, in under three hours, broke into the open of the parking lot by the lake. No one was around so she slipped off her shoes and walked to the lake, paddled out a short distance and dunked herself in the cool waters. After swimming a few little stretches along the shore, she strode back out of the water, slipped on her shoes and began to walk back to the car, a full five miles away. She looked at the sun and realized she had plenty of daylight left. For some reason, she was not at all worried or scared, as she had been the year before.