Bush Walkers

This story may have taken place although I don't think it happened like this. There are at least two accounts circulating of what happened that day and this is neither of them.

Warning, this is a slow burn.

***

It started simply enough, at work. At the coffee machine in the morning, waiting for the notoriously particular Liza Black to finish making her selection, Susan Erskine asked Dilani Halder if she had any plans for the weekend. She did it partly out of Friday politeness and partly, well, Susan wasn't sure what. Both Susan and Dilani were quiet and self-contained around the office which was no surprise since they were both young graduates hired to crunch big data, and their skill sets did not naturally overlap with outgoing personalities. And they both always had plenty of work to do, heads down and busy.

"Nothing planned," Dilani admitted. "You?" she asked shyly.

"I'll be going for a bush walk on Sunday," Susan admitted. "that is, if the weather is okay."

Liza, half listening, perked up her attention. "The weather is going to be perfect," she stated, explaining. "I checked, I'm taking the dog to the beach."

"I was going to go alone," Susan admitted. "Do you walk?" she asked Dilani.

"I could walk," Dilani suggested in a way that Liza felt suggested some need to improve her social skills. Liza's face showed that she had to help.

"Nothing healthier than a walk in the fresh air," Liza suggested, hoping that she hadn't pushed them together too hard. Rather than get more involved, Liza picked up her coffee and left them to it.

On Sunday, Susan collected Dilani and drove into the hills to the John Forrest National Park. They talked a little on the drive out.

"Have you done this trail before?" Dilani asked Susan who admitted that she had started it a few weeks before by herself before deciding that she didn't want to do the whole trail alone.

"I didn't feel comfortable being out there with no one else around."

"It's going to be a hot day," Dilani observed later on.

"Warm," Susan corrected. "It's only going to be about twenty-seven degrees."

"I brought water," Dilani replied and took a sip from a bottle she pulled out of her backpack. She accidently brushed Susan's arm as she put the bottle back. "Sorry," she rushed nervously.

"I see you're prepared," Susan noted calmly, as she stole a glance at Dilani before concentrating again on the road. "I don't want to miss the turnoff," she apologised.

Dilani insisted on paying their entrance into the national park. "After all, you did the driving," she pointed out, so Susan backed off from her own aim to pay for both of them.

Susan parked a distance from most of the cars in the carpark. "By the time we get back," she told Dilani, "they'll be in the sun and we'll be in the shade."

Dilani hadn't considered that but quickly worked out that Susan was right. She felt that the day was going to be hotter than Susan's prediction but she didn't rock that boat. She did coat herself with sunscreen once they were out of the car and stretching.

"I didn't think you'd burn," Susan commented as she pasted sunblock over her own pale arms and legs, careful to coat the back of her neck and her face.

"My skin may be a bit dark, but I still burn," Dilani admonished her with a smile as she finished her own sun protection and adjusted her peaked cap.

"You're not that dark, I guess," Susan retreated. "I burn like anything." She smiled an apology, careful that they would still be working together happily on the Monday. "The trail I was talking about I thought we'd take is the Christmas Tree Creek Walk. It's supposed to be a bit of a challenge and it's rated to take four hours. Are you up for that?"

"That sounds fine."

"There's a lookout where you have a great view of Perth on the way. That's as far as I got last time. You won't find many walkers on the track after that."

"We're only thirty minutes out of Perth. And it seems like total outback bushland," Dilani gushed.

Susan smiled carefully because she had thought the same, she just didn't say it. "When you're ready, let's begin," she said instead, as she checked the weight of her daypack, trying to decide if she had too much stuff in it.

Dilani pulled some sort of windbreaker out of her backpack. "I guess I won't need this," she laughed, "can I put it in your boot?"

"Sure," Susan agreed as she clicked the boot open and watched Dilani carefully fold and place the windbreaker there. And she realised that Dilani's shorts went well down past her knees and the sleeves of her blouse covered her elbows. Susan's cap-sleeved t-shirt barely covered her biceps and her track shorts were comfortable even if they did show most of her muscular legs. They set off and in moments they were on an earth trail under a canopy of tall trees.

"Is this pace okay for you," the taller Susan asked.

"I'm good to stay at your pace," Dilani insisted happily.

They walked on in silence. Only the slow wind in the top leaves of the trees and the chirping of insects interrupted the soft footfalls of the two women crunching easily along the track. Susan let Dilani move on ahead of her, so she could keep a pace comfortable to her. She noticed how Dilani moved smoothly and strongly even if her musculature was not apparent under her modest attire.

And her pace suited Susan. "You're quite fit," she admired.

Dilani turned and smiled. "I work out four or five times a week at the gym." But in case that was boasting she added: "But this is completely different from what I usually do."

Susan however was distracted totally. Something about the open warm smile, her large open brown eyes and the way the sun shone on Dilani's soft face woke Susan to see her incredible beauty. It hit Susan so hard she did not know how to process her reaction. For a moment she stood overwhelmed by Dilani's stunning appearance. Dilani, unaware of her effect, turned to keep her eyes on the track. Susan clicked out of her paralysis. She followed Dilani's decent pace but looking at her differently than before.

The track soon widened so Susan could catch up and walk alongside Dilani now noticing her breasts curve out from her chest. What is happening to me, Susan worried, as Dilani showed no grasp of her powers over her colleague. Susan wished they could encounter some other walkers. Partly to regain her sanity and just as much to see if Dilani had that effect on others.

But they reached the lookout without meeting anyone. In Perth's clear air and being about 200 metres above the coastal plain, they could easily see all of Perth's highrise centre, the suburban spread and even the blue shimmer of ocean before Rottnest Island appeared as a thin sliver on the horizon. They tried to spot their houses.

"Unknown territory after this," Susan advised, trying to sound offhand as she found herself studying Dilani's soft hands as the shorter woman handled her phone for the necessary panoramic photos.

"Let me," Susan insisted as she gestured that she would snap Dilani in front of the vista.

"Sure," Dilani agreed.

Their fingers touched as Dilani handed her phone over. Susan let that electricity course into her. Dilani examined and approved of the pics that she took.

"Do you want me to take some?" Dilani asked.

Susan posed but unlike Dilani who stood facing the camera beaming like a natural, Susan turned looking over one shoulder attempting a model's pout. Dilani laughed at that and Susan did too as Dilani snapped her. "Another," Susan suggested and shifted her forward sleeve to bare her shoulder. They both laughed. Susan held the pose but lifted her t-shirt to bare her side. What was she doing? Well, if nothing else she was amusing Dilani who kept snapping with Susan's phone. For one last shot, she held down the side of her shorts enough to bare her hip.

"That's done," Susan decided straightening herself back together.

"Where are you going to publish those racy pics?" Dilani laughed.

"There's no known site that could handle them," Susan insisted with a seriousness that got them both laughing as intended. "Now for our trek into the Never Never," she warned. "Say goodbye to civilisation." It was still the two of them.

They continued as they had before Susan's conversion. Until they heard a noise behind them. They stopped. Someone was coming up the track. A lone man, tall and thin, in the right sort of khaki trekking clothes strode up to them, grunted and continued on.

"Well, hello to you too," Susan mocked as he disappeared around the next bend.

"Quite a catch," echoed Dilani.

"You think?"

"Nah, man in a hurry, on a Sunday, in the bush. Definitely not my type." She smiled "But nice legs," she added, out of character, at least Susan thought. She had never heard Dilani comment on other people.

"You don't give opinions on other people?" Susan asked.

Dilani shook her head, her long dark hair waving a little. "Better to keep such things to yourself sometimes," she replied.

As in the car, as at work they didn't talk much as they strode deeper into the bush that seemed to grow ever denser for a while. As the track widened letting the sun shine onto them through a break in the canopy, they heard a rhythmic clumping sound just ahead of them and stopped, Susan reaching for Dilani's arm for support.

"What do you think?" Dilani asked. "A kangaroo?"

"Maybe," Susan replied, then realising. "God, you're hot," wiping Dilani's sweat onto her own thigh.

"Maybe," Dilani agreed.

"You could take off your blouse. I'm guessing you have a sports bra underneath."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what? If someone sees, they'll think you are dressed sensibly for the weather. Look, okay, so there's no embarrassment I will too." And Susan lifted her t-shirt off revealing a sensible bra covering her pert breasts. And stared at Dilani.

"I feel like I'm running out of choice here," Dilani smiled in a way that Susan couldn't read. But she started to unbutton the blouse. As she slipped it off her shoulders, Susan quietly took it, folded it and placed it in her own backpack. Dilani looked at her with curiosity but didn't say anything. As Susan had hoped, her breasts under her sports bra were more prominent than Susan's.

"Don't you say anything at work," Dilani insisted. "And no photos. I am a natural prude."

"You have my word," Susan smiled. "What would Liza say," she added staring right at Dilani's chest. But Dilani didn't answer that.

They sipped at their waters. Susan felt her own forehead and then Dilani's. "You're still hot," she advised. "I think the problem could be these large sweaty things," she concluded as she started to undo Dilani's shorts.

"What are you doing?" Dilani asked politely of the obvious. "Are you going to try to dominate me?"

"No," Susan smiled, "that's not me. I'll do it by persuasion, by sensible suggestions."

She yanked Dilani's shorts down the rest of the way forcing the shorter woman to step out of them. As she folded them into her backpack she admired what she saw. "I guess I should have checked that you are wearing sensible undies."

A little in shock, Dilani asked "Did you plan this?"

Susan shook her head. "No, seriously, not. I'm making it up as I go along." And she let that hang for a moment. Until she suggested "if we're rested, let's continue."

Dilani gestured at Susan's shorts. "Aren't you..." she tapered off.

"Hell no," Susan laughed. "That would be obscene. You see..."

And she let that hang too.

Susan let Dilani lead as the track again narrowed. She laughed and Dilani looked at her enquiring.

"This is how it begins," she intoned. "Two Australian girls disappear into the Australian bush in their underwear, never to be seen again."

"Don't," Dilani protested.

They walked on silent for a bit more. "You're a very private person," Susan said.

"I am, that's right. That's me." Dilani turned around with her hands crossed over her chest.

Susan adjusted Dilani's daypack requiring Dilani to drop her hands so that Susan had a full view of her from the front, only in her underwear. "So what goes on outside of work? What is happening that we don't know about?" she teased, running her hand down Dilani's arm.

Dilani stepped back. "You'd be surprised at how boring I am." She even gave a mysterious smile and then stopped. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

Susan was tugging at the back of her pants. "I just have to see your arse." And she lowered Dilani's pants at the back, then stood back to enjoy the view.

"You could have asked," Dilani complained even though she spun slowly around before she readjusted her underwear.

"And you would have said?" Susan asked with an indication of satisfaction.

"No, I would have said." She pouted. Then she posed, showing off her arse but covered this time. "I'm not that kind of girl."

Susan laughed. "I'm not so sure. You're got a great figure. No tan lines. Show me again."

"Only if you admit that you get off on it," she laughed.

Susan looked only slightly shocked. "I'm hardly going to deny it." And gestured for the payoff. Dilani paused for an appropriate time and then complied by slipping both her thumbs in the sides of her pants, then pulled them down carefully so only her bottom was on show. She shimmied her bottom a little bit but not much happened.

"It looks so firm," Susan admired. "Thanks," she added almost silently.

Dilani looked at Susan in a strange new way and asked "so what have you got?"

"Interested?" Susan joshed.

"Maybe."

Susan shrugged and tugged her pants right down, lifted them from under her feet and swung them in the air. Dilani gestured for her to turn around, so she did.

"Ah," Dilani exclaimed, "you're a girl. Just like me!" And briefly pulled her pants down at the front to prove it. "I suppose if I was a lesbian, I'd be getting excited about now," she added.

But before she could say or do anything more, a sudden crunching on the path brought a man straight into their clearing.

"Sorry, if I'm interrupting anything," he smiled with roaming eyes and no shame. He took a moment to look them both over. For some reason Dilani's hands went to cover her top, leaving her exposed lower down. The man stared, obviously impressed at his luck. "Very nice," he advised her. Dilani stared at him, silent. And wondering why she was not readjusting her pants from down near her knees. Or screaming at him.

"We were just comparing," she blurted. Probably one of the dumbest things she'd ever said, she thought.

Standing brazen, Susan commanded "You can look but no touching."

The man turned to her as if he had only just realised that she was there. "Whatever your game is," he agreed. "I'm just happy to be a part of it." And he stood admiring them for a long moment.

"What's your name?" Susan asked him, for some reason as Dilani started to lift her pants back up.

"Dwayne."

"You're kidding," Susan laughed.

"That's the one I'm stuck with, sorry. Do you want to tell me your names and what this is all about?"

"I'm not sure we do," Dilani replied. "Haven't you got somewhere you have to be?" she added gesturing down the track while she tried to spread her pants to properly cover herself.

"I'm not on a deadline, if that's what you mean," he smiled back. "Such a shame you covered up. Very nice," he repeated.

Dilani smiled at that. "Well that's me but she's not," she indicated at Susan who seemed unsure what to do with her shorts which she still held in the air. She brought her hands to her sides.

"Very nice to meet you, Dwayne," Susan suggested, "but I really think it's time for you to move on."

So he did, giving them a smile over his shoulder. "If you walk fast, you can catch me," he added as he disappeared into the bush.

"He was very nice," Dilani giggled. Why, she wondered was she not embarrassed or outraged? "Are you going to put your pants back on? Or are you going to stay like that?" And thinking suddenly, she grabbed the shorts out of Susan's hands and stuffed them into her daypack.

"Right, okay, thanks," Susan started, "I guess this is revenge?"

"No," Dilani corrected, "just an opportunity."

"In that case," Susan retaliated as she turned Dilani around and adjusted her pants so that most of her bottom was showing. "Just in case he slows down and wants another look," she confirmed. "Do you think Dwayne was even his real name?"

They walked on for a while pretending that everything was normal.

"Water stop," Dilani suggested so they halted and dropped their packs.

"Wouldn't want to spill any water on ourselves," Susan agreed. "And get this wet and see-through or something," as she lifted Dilani's bra up to bare her breasts.

"You want me to take it off?" Dilani complained.

"Why not?" the still bottomless Susan retorted. And then asked "have you ever done anything like this before?" as she lifted the bra over Dilani's head.

"I can categorically say that I have never done anything even remotely like this," the topless girl admitted to her bottomless friend. "And have never even thought about doing anything like this. You?"

"I've imagined walking free like this but never thought I'd get the chance. What would we do if someone we knew suddenly came on us?" Susan stretched her legs, pressing each foot against a convenient tree not minding the view she was giving Dilani.

"Well, this is something I won't forget in a hurry." And because she felt like it, she lowered her pants for a moment and stood naked. But she quickly adjusted them back up, made them more comfortable and then made sure that her bottom was still on display. "Let's get this ordeal over with," she mocked.

***

The girls were almost at the end of the trail. Susan stopped and reached into her backpack and pulled out Dilani's shorts.

"You want these back?" she asked, matter-of-factly.

Dilani smiled at her friend. "Yes, actually," she answered quickly.

"Okay then," Susan smirked. "Drop your pants again and they're yours."

Dilani rolled her eyes. "Fixation," she complained but pulled down her pants as if it was the most normal thing for her to do now. She even ran her fingers for a moment over her mound. Susan reached across and brushed her hand over Dilani's breast.

"What!?" Dilani demanded.

"I thought there was a fly," Susan stated.

"Sure," Dilani responded.

The two swapped the clothes they had been holding and quietly got dressed. Susan had little she needed to adjust, but Dilani fastened only one button to show that something had changed, letting her blouse gape open. In moments they were back near the carpark where they had started. When Susan noticed Dwayne leaning against a fast looking car eating an ice cream.

"There's the very nice man," she snarked to Dilani. She waved to him and he nodded back with a knowing smile. Dilani returned the smile at the same lux and he waved enthusiastically at her. He gestured for them to come over to which they gestured no.

"Of course we had to run into him again. You have no idea how embarrassing this is," Dilani complained to Susan when she was sure that they were far enough away not to be heard.

"I feel about as bad as you do," Susan disagreed with a big grin.

Susan opened her car and they were quickly off. Dilani let her mind wander until she was half dozing, so Susan turned the Sunday afternoon radio up, some dreamy nature sounds, some gentle guitar.

Dilani stirred and looked around. "You're not taking me home."

"No, we're going to my place first. Obviously."

"Why?" Dilani asked, but Susan stared at her as if that was evident.