Gloria

"Go fuck yourself, you, stupid broad!" boomed her husband's voice She stormed out of the cabin overcome with a mixture of anger, frustration, and disappointment. The woods were thick and shady, shielding her from the afternoon sun. She plunged in any direction so long as it was away from him! She walked and walked. The sun began to set. The skies darkened. Thunder was heard throughout the land.

**

The young men were fast friends of long standing. They had come here, their first vacation trip as working adults to fish, drink, and jerk off, not necessarily in that order.

"You know, Zach, maybe we should have gone to Florida to try and bed some hotties."

"And get our souls sucked out and our hearts stomped on again? No thanks."

"Fine, but I'm getting tired of Rosy and her five sisters, and we've already caught more fish than we can take home. We're catch and releasing some real beauties."

"Fish don't break your heart, Matt."

"Oh, Christ are you pathetic! If we leave now maybe we can make it to that roadside bar between here and the town."

At that point, the heavens opened in a downpour as lightning forked across the sky.

"It's raining, Matt. Let's just put on a porno."

**

The pounding, pelting rain stung her bare arms and legs. In the dark she could barely see the woods in front of her. She shivered. Her feet went out from under her, she landed in a puddle of muck coating her from forehead to ankle. She turned her face upward in defiance of the stinging rain to clear her eyes and erase the vile taste from her mouth. She had long passed the point of exhaustion. She was running on adrenaline now. Lighting struck a bough directly above her causing the limb to shatter into smoky embers and practically deafening her. Her panicked body surged ahead alert for any sign of civilization.

**

"Zach, you don't need a friend to be a monk with you; you need a friend who will be your wingman at a legal brothel in Reno!"

"Women suck!"

"Yes, they do, Zach and most of the time you don't even have to pay them to do that!"

"Even hookers break your heart!"

"Oh, Jesus Zach. If I knew you would be this morose, I would have left you drunk and mooning over Sylvia and done something productive with my time, like getting laid. No! I had to be the noble friend picking his mate up when he's down. What's the point of bringing you to the great outdoors and sunshine if you are going to behave like a heartsick puppy? I mean junior high guys shot down by the first girl they ever tried to talk to are more resilient than you! A fucking week of this! You are a shitty friend. I mean it sincerely, fuck you! You, need to get back in the game. Love is a war, Zach. It's mankind's deadliest yet also its most stupendous form of combat. Stop being a pussy and come with me and hunt FOR pussy!"

"Can we at least finish the movie?"

"Yeah, use the time to pull yourself together. The only guy who has seen more of this babe is her gynecologist!"

Zach chuckled. Matt went to put some coffee on. Thunder of incredible intensity rocked the small cabin.

"Holy shit! That one was close," stated Matt.

As the reverberations brought him out of himself for the first time, Zach raised himself from the couch and pressed his nose against the window.

"I'd hate to be even a duck out in this mess."

There was a knock at the door and something that sounded like a groan.

"What the fuck is that?" they said almost as one.

Matt took up a flashlight. Zach took up the Louisville Slugger they used against unwanted invaders of either the two legged or four legged varieties.

She was laying passed out on the flagstones that served as a porch.

"Oh my God, Zach! Give me a hand!"

They picked her up and carried her out of the rain. They set her down on the sleeping bag in front of the fireplace. Zach, his stupor evaporated, had a blazing fire going in minutes.

Only now, in the decent but not outstanding light of the cabin could they see her. Long legs, nice arms, the sopping wet cotton blouse adhered like a second skin to her brassiere which held prominent breasts. Her hair might have been blonde. It was hard to tell, mud covered her skin and clothes like a brown blanket. Her face was pretty. She seemed to be about forty maybe forty-five. It was hard to tell. Despite the roaring fire, the woman was shivering, and her skin was paling behind its coating of mud.

"We need to get her out of those wet clothes and into bed Zach."

For a moment Zach looked at his friend. Was it right? But then he recalled that Matt had aced the first aid merit badge when they had been boy scouts together. Back when Matt planned on becoming a doctor.

"Let's get her clothes off first, then get her into bed. We have to work fast," explained Matt.

Quickly, efficiently, the lads stripped the woman down. Off came the sodden hiking boots. Off came the saturated white cotton socks. They unclasped her snug jeans, boosted up her attractive butt and tugged them off. The cotton blouse was so saturated just getting it unbuttoned was a task. At last, they got it open revealing abundant cleavage spilling out of a white brassiere. She was clad now in just her underwear. Barely opaque lace red panties and the less racy bra. Zach looked at Matt who nodded. Zach removed the insensate woman's knickers while Matt unhooked her bra. She was a natural blonde. Together they carried her to the nearest bed which was the one Matt usually slept in. They tugged up the sheets and just stood for a moment or two. Dazed and unsure.

Matt fetched the first aid kit and took the now naked stranger's temperature.

"She has a fever. I hope she isn't developing pneumonia or something worse. Prolonged exposure can cause that."

"What should we do, Matt?"

"Not much we can do. No cellphone reception. I don't want one of us running to town for help in case something goes wrong, and we don't know the state of the roads in any case. There are probably a lot of trees down."

"So?"

"So, we keep her warm and hydrated and see how she is in the morning. Will sit in shifts to watch her."

"Who do you think she is?"

"We both noted her wedding ring. Whoever she is, she's not ours."

There was a long pause.

"Let's get a washcloth and some towels and sponge off the mud on her legs, arms and neck. What we can do after that is wash out and dry her clothes. She'll need them."

Soberly the boys took damp washcloths and a big fluffy towel and exposed a little bit of her at a time as they wiped away the mud and grime. Her skin was very nice.

"We'd better check her for ticks as well. Lyme disease is nasty," reminded Matt. Carefully they explored her unconscious body. Lifting the right breast revealed two engorged ticks. The blood suckers were also found along her hips. Her abundant blonde bush turned up half a dozen by itself. "She must have been out there in the woods for a long time," commented Zach. Caught up in a mood somewhere between nursing and lusting, they ended up giving her entire body a sponge bath and had explored all parts of her before tucking the covers under her chin.

"Too bad we can't keep her and keep her naked. If she looks this good all goose fleshed and pale, I'll bet she's a grade A MILF under normal conditions."

"Fuck, Zack. You lose it over Sylvia the way you did and now you're lusting after some older woman who is probably going to be pissed off at us royally tomorrow when she wakes up naked in a strange cabin with two guys half her age who undressed her without permission."

"You said it was to save her life."

"She might not see it that way!"

"Oh!"

"Oh, indeed."

Matt stretched. "Yeah, let's get rid of the mud we tracked in with her and then we'll wash her clothes. We'll hang them by the fire to dry."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Better that watching a porno at any rate."

"Oh, come on Matt. Nothing beats porno."

"I'd say the real thing does, Zachary. The real thing does."

Both young men took a long appreciative look at the beguiling stranger. Her featured were relaxed and attractive. The blanket and sheet had slid down a bit exposing an gorgeous eraser tip chance pink nipple and light brown areola. Both had a penchant for alluring older women though neither had had a great deal of experience with them. Older women seemed so much more confident and relatable than women of their own age.

They worked with a sense of purpose, carefully rinsing, laundering, and hanging each article of her clothing. If they spent more time on her intimates than the rest, well that really wasn't anyone else's business now, was it? Finally, everything hung in neat rows on the improvised lines above the cleaned and polished boots.

Zach took the first watch. He intended to listen to stored tunes on his phone through ear buds while he read a magazine, but the piquant loveliness of Mrs. Anonymous made music irrelevant. Tunes would only dissipate his current mood and he wanted to preserve it. There was a bottle of cold water by the bed with a straw in case she grew feverish and needed hydration. Zack held the straw cap up to lips; she reflexively sipped a bit. Zach instantly imagined those lips around a different shaft. His pain over the breakup with Sylvia was acute. The pretty stranger reminded him, more than a bit, of Sylvia's mother. His checking out Sylvia's mother had been the match that ignited the conflagration between them. "Yes, I have been checking out your mother, Sylvia. You should be flattered."

"Flattered? Flattered, that my horn dog boyfriend objectifies everything that moves? Are you comparing her titties to mine? Her legs to mine? In your imagination, are you balls deep in my mother's pussy? You disgust me Zach!" He recalled the conversation of only a week and a half ago. No defense he could muster was enough for Sylvia. Worse, and the reason his justifications had failed was because Sylvia was right. He had gone far beyond imagining Linda naked. He'd imagined himself in the middle of a mother-daughter sandwich! Sylvia had seen it in his eyes and had him dead to rights. Should he feel guilty for being a normal, sexually active, and sexually curious young man? He certainly didn't think so.

The authentically blonde stranger emitted a soft moan and shiver before falling silent once more. Zach gazed at her still mostly unlined face. He wondered what color her eyes were.

"Blue," he said softly to her. "I bet you have sapphire blue eyes." He could just see her in his mind's eye smiling on a tropical beach wearing a French bikini. Or better yet, she was at one of those topless places on the French Riviera! Unable to resist, Zach bent his head and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. When his shift ended, he'd be sure to beat off quietly. What Matt had said was so true, reality did beat a porno every time. He hoped she wasn't too angry at them in the morning. He adjusted the stiffy in his pants and focused on his reading. It was just him, the sound of rain falling heavily on the roof above him and a beautiful naked woman who was nothing but question marks. It was an incredible evening!

Matt took over at three A.M. He checked her temperature a second time and took her pulse.

"Well?" asked Zach.

"She has a fever. A bit higher than before but not dangerous and her heart is working harder than it should be while she is asleep. If may be fluid collecting in her lungs or it could be simple exhaustion combined with exposure. We won't know anything until she wakes up."

"If she wakes up."

"She's not going to die, Zach. Most probably she'll wake sometime tomorrow afternoon and start chewing us out five minutes later."

"Well, she will be different in my dreams."

"Zach have you learned nothing from Linda and Sylvia?"

"Linda wasn't the problem. I can tell by the way she looked at me that I had more than a chance. Sylvia was the problem."

"Your ability to delude yourself, Zack is breathtaking."

He chuckled and said, "Get some sleep!"

Matt sat up with the attractive stranger. Midway through his watch the torrential rains stopped, and it became silent enough to hear the nighttime sounds from beyond the cabin. Crickets chirped, an owl hooted, and a fox barked. The clouds above the cabin parted and moonlight streamed inside, suffusing the blonde visitor with an ethereal glow.

She stirred a bit. Matt offered her the straw. She took a long draw and her head returned to the pillow. Matt took her temperature once more, her temperature was still high, but not as high as it had been earlier in the evening. That was a good sign. He rested his palm on her forehead. He felt that she was remarkably pretty and wondered what tale she would tell them to account for her presence in the woods. What she didn't carry said as much as what she did carry. No canteen, no shoulder bag full of granola bars or other energy providers, no fanny pack carrying sunblock or a wallet. All those indicated that she had not planned to be in the woods for long. Her condition however, and the number of ticks that they removed from her insensate form indicated that she had been in the woods for most of the day. The contrast of reality and expectations clashed mightily. Was there, even now, someone frantically searching for her? Would rangers come knocking on the cabin door in search of her at any moment? If they did, and they found her here naked would he and Zach be charged with something criminal? Questions with no answers. At least until morning. Perhaps she was a bit of magic, a wood nymph, trying on a human guise but losing all sense of direction and panicking. She was pretty enough to be a nymph. She sighed softly in her sleep. Matt wondered what her speaking voice sounded like. He nodded off to wake with a start when the rising sun filled the cabin with orange gold radiance. Matt adjusted the sleeper's covers, determined that her fever had broken, and made his way to the kitchen to brew some coffee and start breakfast.

Zach joined him as the bacon started frying.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Better, fever's gone."

"That's a good!"

"Yes, it is a very good sign."

Matt was dishing out the bacon when the boys heard a startled gasp. A moment later, their mysterious guest was standing outside the low partition that surrounded Matt's bed, wrapped in the blanket, her eyes, large, blue, and panicked assessing the two young men.

There was a long moment of silence. No one in the cabin knew what to say. The woman's eyes spied her now dry clothes hanging on the improvised lines. She made her way over to them, carefully swept most of them up and vanished behind the partition once more. A few minutes later she emerged fully dressed, save socks and shoes, and said,

"That coffee smells good, so does the bacon."

Zach placed some bacon on a plate while Matt filled a coffee mug.

"I know the caffeine will help, but do you have anything for a nasty headache?" she asked.

Matt hurried to the first aid kit and returned with some pain killers. The beguiling stranger took two capsules. The beautiful blonde took the spare seat at the head of the table. Zach set the bacon in front of her as well as a knife and fork. Matt placed the mug of steaming Joe next to the plate of bacon and pointed out the milk and sugar. The beguiling visitor prepared her coffee as she liked it and took a sip from her mug after placing the painkillers in her mouth. No one spoke for quite a while. Matt and Zach watched the lovely visitor eat and drink. Finally, she broke the ice,

"So, are either of you two hunks going to fill in the details as to how I ended up naked in one of your beds?"

Matt and Zach began speaking at once, stepping on each other's words and making a hash of the explanation.

"One at a time!" she interjected.

Silence descended.

She pointed at Zach, "How about you go first? Then your sandy-haired friend can tell his version and between the two of you I will have the truth."

Zach recounted the previous evening from the time of the blonde's arrival to the current situation. Matt followed suit, ending with, "I'm Matt, my friend here is Zach, and you are?"

"Gloria. Gloria Reed."

"Nice to meet you."

"I'll reserve judgement on that for now," she returned. "You jokers have a toilet?"

"There is a composting one through that door," said Zach as he gestured.

Despite everything, the boys enjoyed Gloria's wiggle as she strode to the far end of the cabin.

The boys watched the closed bathroom door in anticipation. It opened. She strode out. Her still bare feet crossed back to them. She settled herself at the head of the table and stated, "We need to talk."

The boys nodded.

"You guys don't strike me as queer. You certainly aren't looking as me as though you are. So, I was stripped down by two horny young men. And given a sponge bath. And examined minutely for ticks! Does the phrase TMI not mean anything to you guys?"

"We're sorry..." began Zach.

"Shush! I know what state I was in last night. I was exhausted terrified and covered in mud. If I hadn't found your cabin when I did. I very probably would have died. I appreciate that you saved my life. And judging by the gleam in your eyes when you recounted you act of selflessness, you clearly enjoyed yourselves."

Both boys flushed crimson.

"Oh, come on! I don't believe either of you are virgins. I like the appreciation, considering how my adventure in the woods began."

"What were you doing out there without supplies or a canteen?" asked Matt.

"That's not important right now. The point is you saved my life. I'm in your debt gentlemen. I have nowhere to go for the present so I will repay my debt to you by cleaning your cabin and later cooking you a fine dinner. If I can crash here until tomorrow, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure!" said Zach.

"We have plenty of fish in the freezer," supplied Matt.

"You're not angry with us?" ventured Zach.

"What's done is done. Besides I could have ended up in the cabin of a couple of obese, drunken, rednecks. You guys clearly have class, and are both handsome, and kind. I don't mind being naked in front of a true gentleman, which both of you are. You are also young enough and secure enough to respect boundaries. Rednecks would have taken advantage of me while I was out. I know instinctively that neither of you did."

The boys looked at her.

"You guys sure seem shy for two college guys."

"We graduated last September. We ended up working for the same company. This is our first adult vacation," said Matt.

"Aren't you a little young to be two old codgers who go away on fishing trips together?"

"Well..." ventured Zach, "While the fishing is nice, this vacation is really to get me back on my feet again."

"Zach had a bad breakup with his girl."

"Really? Give me all the juicy details, stud."

Despite Matt's madly gesticulating at Zach to implore him to not spill too many details, The dark-haired lad confided completely in the older woman and relayed every intimate detail of his breakup with Sylvia and the cause.

"Gloria looked at him bug-eyed for a moment and said, "So, Zachary. You must view me as heaven sent. How do I compare with Sylvia's mother?"

The boy turned crimson and gazed at the floor while Matt gazed at the ceiling in frustration.

Gloria chuckled. "Your honesty is endearing, Zach, but you love of detail will be your undoing. It already was with Sylvia. If it's any consolation, her mom probably did have the hots for you."

"Really?"

"Really, Zach. There is nothing an older woman enjoys more than a look of appreciation from a younger man. Especially a handsome and fit one such as yourself."

"Then I had a chance?"

"No, dummy because you were dating her daughter! She appreciated your attention, but no way in hell was she going to act on it while you were involved with Sylvia."