Fiction - The Hike

"Coming for a swim?" she asked Ken.

Not waiting for his answer, Suzi headed off towards the lake, stubbing the big toe on her left foot just before she reached the waterline. Ken chucked to himself as he watched her jump up and down on the spot several times holding her injured foot. She was pivoting, eventually bringing her breasts into a side-on view. Ken paid eager attention to Suzi's breasts as they bounced up and down with the accompanying outflow profanity being merely a bonus.

"I hear you laughing over there!" Suzi yelled back at Ken.

"Sorry." Ken responded unconvincingly.

Suzi eventually returned her weight to both feet and limped slightly towards the edge of the lake taking care not to kick any more unsuspecting rocks. She dipped one foot tentatively into the water and judged it to be acceptable, if slightly on the cool side.

Wading out into the lake until the water was just below her waist, Suzi launched herself forwards and breaststroked into the middle of the lake. Treading water, she turned back to face the way that she had come just in time to see Ken follow her in.

Suzi and Ken swam around independently for a while. One time when she got close enough, she splashed Ken before diving to evade any potential response. Once things settled down, she suggested that Ken try jumping off the big rock, but he declined.

The water was cool and Suzi's nipples had reacted accordingly. She was not particularly embarrassed by the state of her nipples. She was female and she had breasts and nipples and when those nipples became sufficiently stimulated, in this instance by the cold, they became erect. It was a perfectly natural physiological response. No, she was hoping to avoid any comments from Ken.

Pushing aside her initial hesitation, she decided to ignore ken's comments if they came and sunbathe on her favourite rock. The rock in question was gently sloping, 30 degrees at most. It was in full sunshine and emerged from the water on the other side of the lake from where Ken currently was.

Suzi casually swam across the lake breaststroke until she reached the rock. The submerged part was slightly slippery, but she managed to climb out of the water and along the rock with far more elegance and poise that she demonstrated on her way in.

Making her way up the rock, Suzi found what looked like a comfortable flat spot and took up position on her back. Spread-eagled, she configured herself in a star shape. Arms directly out at almost right angles, incredibly erect nipples pointing skyward and legs spread with her knees slightly raised for comfort, Suzi luxuriated in the warmth of the sun as it caressed her entire body.

Seeing Suzi leave the water, Ken silently swam over a little closer to her location. Trying not to appear too obvious, Ken was able to see that not only were her outer lips covered in hair, so too was a substantial area of her inner thighs. With her legs spread the way they were, Ken could clearly see her inner lips and up to her clitoris.

Ken was startled slightly when Suzi moved one arm and reached down towards her legs. Extending two fingers, she scratched a spot between her outer lips and inner thigh. Lingering for some time, she eventually returned her arm to its original position. This left one of Suzi's outer lips momentarily spread to one side enhancing Ken's view until the skin gradually returned to its original position.

"You can join me up here if you like Ken." Suzi said.

"Ah, no thanks. I think I'll keep swimming for a while longer." Ken replied not realising that Suzi was aware of his presence.

"Suit yourself." Suzi responded responded without moving.

Ken swam off to the other side of the lake where he exited the water and headed over to his pack. Finding the snack that he was after, he wandered around the outside of the lake nibbling as he walked. Apparently oblivious to the fact that he was doing so completely naked.

"We should probably think about heading back soon Ken." Suzi called out as she stood.

***

"Oh shit!" Ken blurted out removing his backpack, "People are coming."

Suzi looked ahead at the two approaching figures and responded, "Relax Ken."

"How can I relax when we're going to be caught naked in public?" Ken asked struggling to open his backpack.

"Look carefully Ken. Do they seem to be wearing any clothes?" Suzi asked.

"What?" Ken asked taking a second look.

"Are they wearing clothes?" Suzi said repeating her question.

"Um. Oh, No. Fuck! They're naked too!" Ken exclaimed.

"Just keep walking Ken, they won't care that we're naked." Suzi said encouragingly.

Once they got close enough, Suzi called ahead and said, "Nice day for a hike."

"Indeed!" the second woman exclaimed.

"How embarrassing," the lead woman replied, "we're all wearing the same outfit!"

Both of the approaching women were somewhat older than Suzi and Ken, with not a single tan line marring their evenly bronzed skin. Both women were rather large breasted, however, their breasts where nowhere near as firm as Suzi's. Both chuckled heartily at the joke.

"Are you heading for the lake?" Suzi asked.

"Yes we are. How is it?" the second woman asked as she came to a stop next to the lead woman.

"We were the only ones there, so you should be fine to carry on." Suzi reported.

"Good to hear." the lead woman said.

"Listen," the second woman said to Suzi, "we saw what looked like a professional photographer up at the lookout. You know, big fancy camera, tripod and all that. He was probably taking some shots of the landscape, I doubt that he would make it down this far though. Just be prepared."

"Thanks, but I was planning on getting dressed again just before the last switchback up to the lookout point." Suzi replied.

"OK, sounds like a good plan. See ya!" the lead woman said as she started walking again.

"Thanks, have a good hike." Suzi responded as she started along the trail again.

Ken followed close behind, eventually removing his backpack from its awkward position in front of his penis and returned it to his back. Looking over his shoulder occasionally he waited until he judged that the two women were now out of earshot.

"Did you see that?" Ken asked.

"See what?" Suzi asked genuinely puzzled.

"Their pubes!" Ken responded as if it were self-explanatory.

"No not really." Suzi responded somewhat bemused.

"They were both thick like yours, but with much more grey." Ken explained.

"I don't know what to tell you Ken. Women have pubic hair. It's just a fact." Suzi replied trying not to sound too exasperated.

Suzi and Ken hiked for about another hour. The terrain was mostly uphill so their progress was slightly slower than on their outward leg. Ken tried to raise the subject of pubic hair several more times. Suzi did her best to be tolerant, she could tell that the subject fascinated Ken, but eventually she had to just ask him bluntly to drop the subject.

***

"Right!" Suzi announced as she stopped, removed her backpack and placed it on a nearby rock, "Time to get dressed again."

Ken watched as Suzi opened her backpack and took out her sports bra. She pulled it over her head and down around her chest. She cupped her breasts and raised them up adjusting the underside of her garment as she did so. She made one final adjustment to the shoulder straps before diving back into her bag to remove her yoga shorts.

"Come on Ken, get a move on. I though that you'd be happy to be clothed again." Suzi said briefly looking up at him.

"Yeah, right." Ken replied removing his own backpack.

Keeping her boots on, Suzi carefully fed one foot and then the other through the leg openings in her shorts. Briefly stopping to brush out any dirty that had transferred from her boots, she then brought them up around her hips. She removed any rolls in the fabric and continued adjusting until she was satisfied that they were sitting comfortable.

Aware that Ken was still watching her dress, she decided to have a little fun and pull the front of her yoga shorts up a little tighter than she normally would. Let him just try to rebuke her cameltoe and see what happens. They're just labia after all.

"Let's go." Suzi said not waiting for Ken.

Ken did the same trick with his shorts and pulled them up over his boots. Carrying his backpack in one hand, he set off as he finished putting his shirt on.

"You've got these clothing change pit-stops worked out with military precision don't you?" Ken asked as he caught up.

"I don't know about 'military precision', but I tend to dress light for these sorts of activities. I guess that these clothes just naturally suit a quick turnaround." Suzi responded.

***

Upon reaching the lookout, there was nobody else to be seen. Suzi made her way over to one of the benches and sat down. She got some water and a snack from her pack and suggested that Ken do the same.

As the sun had travelled across the sky since their stop here earlier this morning, the shadows across the landscape had changed so Suzi took this opportunity to get out her camera and take a few more shots.

After Suzi and Ken were suitably rested, they set off on the final leg of their hike back down towards the parking area. Nothing controversial happened on this leg of the trip and Suzi found herself quite enjoying their conversation.

When they finally arrived at the trail head, Ken headed over to his car, opened the driver's door and tossed his backpack around onto the back seat. There were a number of other cars present, no doubt fellow hikers out for the day. He then made his way over to Suzi's car to say his goodbyes.

"Thanks for today Suzi." Ken said eagerly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Suzi replied.

Ken put his arms out waiting for Suzi to respond. Somewhat surprised, Suzi reciprocated with a quick hug before breaking off, giving Ken a small nod and heading to her car.

"See you back at work." Suzi called out over her shoulder as she got in her car.

Ken waved as Suzi drove away and started to head back towards his own car. Once Suzi's car was out of sight, three people dressed in outdoor attire wearing day packs approached Ken.

"Did you get any good shots?" Ken asked.

"That bitch is going down! We have three SD cards full." Nick replied enthusiastically.

"We have already deleted the ones where your face is visible straight off our cameras." Debbie added.

"Remember when she was sunning herself on the that rock in the quarry?" Nick asked.

"Yes." Ken replied.

"Well she had to scratch an itch, you know, down there. Anyway, the angle of the shots that we got make her look like she's masturbating in public." Debbie said.

"Excellent. Well done all. Thank you." Ken replied.

"I set up the web site template last night, all we need to do now is select our images, upload them and press 'publish'." Nick said.

"That bitch won't know what hit her, pretty soon she'll be cleaning out her desk and she'll be out of our hair for good." Marie added.

"Let's head to the café, they have free WiFi." Nick suggested.

"Good idea." Debbie said, "That way nobody will be able to trace it back to us."

***

As expected, once the naked images of Suzi were made public, the whole office was in an uproar. For the first two or three days afterwards, the water coolers were abuzz with muted conversations, sideways glances and less-than-discrete pointing. At one stage, a slideshow of selected images was seen to be running on repeat on the big screen in the boardroom until it was shut down by HR.

It wasn't long before the police became involved. Turning up at the office unannounced, one uniformed and one plain-clothed officer lead a seemingly distraught Suzi away. Word at the water coolers was that Suzi was to be questioned and then probably charged.

***

"All rise." echoed through the courtroom and the judge re-entered.

"Please be seated." the judge announced as she too took her seat.

As everyone took their seats, a low murmur filled the room. The jury had not been deliberating all that long and the revelation that they had already agreed upon a verdict took people somewhat off guard.

Turning towards the jury the judge said, "I understand that you have reached a verdict."

The jury chair stood and responded, "We have your honour."

"And how find you?" the judge asked formally.

"On all counts your honour, our finding is 'guilty'."

"Very well." the judge commenced, "Members of the jury, this court thanks you for your service. You are now dismissed."

Everyone present watched in silence as the jury left the courtroom for the last time.

Looking towards the prosecution and defence tables, the judge simply nodded. Waiting until both the prosecution and defence teams were standing, the judge said, "I'm sure by now you realise that what you did was not only immoral, but also illegal."

Waiting a few moments for the impact of her words to settle in before progressing, the judge finally said, "This court finds you guilty as charged."

Both the prosecution and defence bowed their heads slightly in acknowledgement of the verdict.

"Marie Leslie West" the judged announced.

"Yes your honour." Marie responded.

"Nicolas Daniel Forester" the judge said looking to the next defendant.

"Yes your honour." Nick responded.

"Deborah Jewel" the judge said to the next defendant.

"Yes your honour." Debbie responded.

I sentence each of you to two thousand hours in service of this community as directed by this court and its agents.

"Kenneth William Peterson" the judge said looking at the last defendant.

"Yes your honour." Ken responded looking down.

"Mister Peterson. Please look at me when I address you."

"Yes your honour." Ken replied raising his head to meet the judge's gaze.

"Mister Peterson. It was clear from the beginning of this trial that you were the ring leader of your sad little band of troublemakers." the judge said pausing for effect before proceeding, "Mister Peterson, I sentence you to two years incarceration in a minimum security facility."

There were numerous sharp intakes of breath from the gallery followed by a hushed buzz of comments.

"Order!" the judge said raising her voice banging her gavel once silencing the gallery.

"Mister Peterson, I sentence you to two years incarceration in a minimum security facility during which time you will serve this community in a manner prescribed by this court and its agents." the judge said pausing to take breath, "I am also ordering that you be placed on the national sex offenders registry."

As a low murmur filled the courtroom, the judge waited before proceeding, "I can not stress enough here today how malicious and revolting your offence was. With premeditation, you lured your victim into a situation. A situation, carefully orchestrated by you no less, for the chance to extract petty revenge on your co-worker. Pathetic mister Peterson, simply pathetic."

Broadening her gaze to the four defendants once more, the judge announced, "Taking photographs of a naked person, no matter the circumstances, and publishing said naked photographs without the permission of said person is an invasion of privacy and a crime. Furthermore, creating an online account in someone else's name without their consent also constitutes the crime of identity theft."

Pausing briefly before proceeding, the judge finally said, "I hope that all of you give full and careful consideration to your actions leading up to this point and let the outcome of the proceedings here today guide you in the future. Court adjourned."

The judge brought her gavel down in one final blow, reverberating of the walls of the courtroom signalling an end to proceedings.

"All rise." echoed through the courtroom once more as the judge stood and exited to the rear.

***

Whilst some of her colleagues were sure that she'd be dismissed, Suzi was not only retained by company management, but was promoted into the department head position previously held by Debbie. It took some time, but eventually Suzi was able to return to hiking naked again. It was never quite exactly the same, hiking either strictly by herself or with the closest of friends.

It took months for the images to finally be removed by the hosting site. Partly because Nick had maintained that he had created no such website and therefore had no password to reveal. In addition to Nick's issues, however, the laws of the country in which the host operated were very lax when it came these sorts of issues. Suzi was told by a police detective that it actually took a back‑door diplomatic appeal to resolve the issue.

Suzi would not allow herself to be defined by Ken's actions that day, however, she could not help but be changed forever by them. There was still, however, one lingering question. This question had been asked hundreds of times yet never satisfactorily answered. Why? Why did Ken and his crew do what they did?

EPILOGUE

Whilst the storyline is totally fictitious, it was inspired by a real life incident:

About seven years ago, Audrey and I were visiting our local naturist resort. It was late in the evening and we were sitting around chatting with one of the proprietors. She had inherited the resort from her grandparents, her parents not wanting anything to do with the place. She told us of an situation that her grandfather had encountered many years ago.

Back in the 1970s, her grandfather was doing some normal maintenance on the property when he discovered that one of the older male guests had set up a camera and tripod in the woods near the local swimming hole. Single male guests were not always suspect, some may be widowers, etc, and this guy seemed perfectly fine. He'd been there for about four or five days already and had seemingly got along well with everyone.

Seeing what was happening, her grandfather confronted the guy who immediately tried to pack up is gear and flee. Drawn in by the commotion, a number of guests from the swimming hole came over to see what was happening. When her grandfather explained the situation to the other guests, guests who had daughters who visited the swimming hole regularly, they decided this this guy needed to be stopped.

So, they detained him and manhandled him up to the rec hall where her grandfather called a frequent guest who just happened to be a lawyer. To his shock, the lawyer told him that the photographic offender had a good case for an assault charge against them and that they should release him immediately.

When asked why, the lawyer told him that the cops would just consider them to be a bunch of dirty perverts who got what they deserved for running around naked all day. One of the other guests suggested that they smash his camera and burn all of his film. As a compromise, it was decided to burn his film, but to just send him packing.

They subsequently found fourteen rolls of exposed fill in the guy's cabin plus a half-used roll still in his camera. They took his film and sent him on his way, possibly with a few accidentally bruised ribs and a black eye, telling him not to return. They also distributed his description and car details to every other naturist resort that they knew of in the area.

Needless to day, we found the outcome of this account to be very unsatisfying. I took inspiration from the account to wrote this story and twisted the ending so that the perpetrator was brought to justice.