On the Path Ch. 02

After my close encounter on the bike path, I couldn't stop thinking about the incredible high I'd felt that morning. I found myself constantly fantasizing ways to recreate that feeling. Finally, I had to admit that all these exhibitionist scenarios I had imagined could never be confined to my dizzy head. The excitement was too intense, too addictive. I had to have it again. That's when I stopped fantasizing and started planning. When I zeroed in on one particular plan, it scared me to death, but I knew I'd have to do it. I couldn't resist. The only problem was when.

I needed a way to disappear for two or three hours, to get away from my humdrum suburban life, away from Richie and the kids - just a tiny slice of time for myself, a time to transform myself and carry on my thrilling secret life. I couldn't quite figure out how I'd do it until Richie called one morning to tell me he had to take a client to dinner that night and he'd be home late. My heart started pounding in my chest and the nerves were jumping in my stomach. Instantly, I saw that this was the opportunity I'd been waiting for. About 3:30, I called Charlene, the high school kid who is our regular babysitter, and fate was with me. She could sit that evening. I told her to come over about 7:00.

The kids were already in bed when I left, telling Charlene I'd be back around 10:00. I had my inadequate muscle T under a pretty little cocktail dress that would be consistent with the story I planned for Richie. In that short dress, the cool vinyl of the car seat on my bare legs constantly reminded me of my goal for the evening as I drove out to the airport. This was the fantasy I had fixed in my head. I planned to run around half naked through the massive airport parking garage, dodging random people walking to and from their cars. It seemed like the perfect plan, terrifying, but doable.

I went up to the top level. It was deserted, but there weren't very many parked cars scattered around the wide open lot. It was too isolated, with no place to hide. I went down to a lower floor and parked in angled slots against a concrete wall. That floor was nearly full, but there didn't seem to be many people walking around. I pulled the dress over my head and quickly stripped out of my bra and panties without removing the T-shirt. stuffing them both in the glove compartment. I put the dress on the passenger seat and looked at my face in the rear view mirror. There was color in my cheeks and a shine to my eyes, but I looked just as scared as I felt. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

The lighting was dim, just enough to see my reflection in the car window, and I wasn't satisfied. I looked sexy, but the T-shirt nominally covered me. Unless they were fairly close, anyone who saw me wouldn't look twice, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't see anything they shouldn't. What I wanted was that tingling breathlessness, the fear and excitement that fluttered in my chest that morning when my little muscle T malfunctioned and left no doubt about what I was and wasn't wearing. For this outing, this adventure I'd planned for with so much excitement, half naked wasn't going to cut it.

I hesitated for just a moment, looked carefully around the garage and saw no one. I opened the car door, took off the T-shirt and threw it in on the passenger seat. That left me nude except for my sandals, which I realized would be risky, slapping loudly on the pavement when I was trying to move silently through the echoing garage. I threw them on the floor in front of the passenger seat, shut the door quietly and bent down below the level of the car roof, still desperately scanning the aisles. Now, I had done it. I was completely nude in a public place where anyone could come along and see. I felt like I was flying and all I wanted was to keep that wonderful feeling singing through my body.

Keeping low, I shuffled out to the back end of my car and again scanned the aisles. I could hear a car moving in the distance, but I couldn't see it, and I couldn't see any people. The coast was probably about as clear as it was going to get. I challenged myself to scamper across the open aisle and slink from one hiding place to another, making my way around the perimeter of the garage stark naked. I knew it was crazy, and I knew I'd have to move quickly or I would chicken out. I took another deep breath and raced across the aisle into the next line of parked cars where I felt reasonably hidden. I was panting, and it wasn't from that short sprint.

From my new vantage point, I could see a much wider view of the garage and I looked around in dismay. The place was huge. It seemed like it was the size of a dozen football fields, much more than I had intended in my personal challenge. I started making excuses, but I didn't turn back. I was so jacked up I thought I'd just see how far my nerves would take me before my legs turned to jelly and I had to cut it short.

In the mean time, I saw two wide glass doors leading to Terminal 1 just four rows down the main aisle. The doors were at the center of a small pool of light. I couldn't imagine being exposed in that spotlight, but something inside made me want to get as close as I dared. There were still no people around, no cars. I ran across another aisle and paused among the cars. Then another and another. I reached the edge of an open space that included the pool of light before the terminal doors. I peered through the doors into the lobby where I could see an elevator. But the elevator doors were closed and there was no one in the lobby. I teased myself into a dash to the far side of the open space. For a few seconds, I was perfectly visible to anyone who happened to come out of the terminal, but no one did.

I reached the safety of a line of cars parked against the far wall of the garage, and I stopped for a moment between the first and second cars in line. I was slightly hysterical, giggling softly to myself when I heard a noise that stopped the giggles instantly. A car had turned into the aisle where I was hiding. I raised my head and saw it less than 50 yards away, coming slowly in my direction. I was pretty well hidden between a small Toyota sedan and a big SUV, but the headlights were like eyes peering into the darkness, looking for me. Then another noise made me jump. It sounded like two men coming out of the terminal doors. They were close enough for me to hear their conversation even though my heart was pounding so loud I'm surprised I could hear anything.

I was too scared to lift up my head to peek at them through the windows of the Toyota, but the sound of their feet and their voices seemed to be coming closer. If they walked down my aisle, I'd be perfectly visible in my imperfect hiding place. I had to move. I crawled as quickly and silently as I could around to the front of the SUV and peeked past the fender. Two middle age men in suits walked across the narrow opening that I could see between the two cars.

I silently let out the breath I'd been holding, but quickly realized my relief was premature. The two men stopped, apparently behind the SUV.

"See you at work tomorrow," one of them said.

"Yeah," said the other, "let's set up a time to go over those figures."

"Sounds good."

One set of footsteps moved away. The other set came right at me along the driver's side of the SUV. I scuttled, as quickly and quietly as I could, around to the passenger side of the SUV. The man got in and slammed the door. In two seconds he would be pulling out of the parking spot, leaving me caught in the glare of his headlights, crouched naked, directly in front of him. I was totally panicked. A dozen different escapes flashed through my brain, but they all seemed too risky. I froze.

Then the engine started up and the headlights came on. The bright lights reflecting off the concrete wall of the garage raised my terror to a new level. Like a deer in the headlights, I instinctively did the wrong thing and started crawling away from the light. Before I got past the passenger door, I realized that a couple feet further would put me right in view of his side mirror. I quickly moved back to my original spot, crouched beside the SUV's right front tire, my useless brain still searching for a way out.

When the SUV began to move, I had no choice. I desperately slithered around in front of the Toyota. I think I stayed low enough that I made it without the guy in the SUV spotting me, but that didn't put an end to my panic. In front of the sedan I was hidden from him as he pulled out, but I was exposed to anyone coming out of the terminal.

I was keeping one eye on the doors and the other on the SUV as it pulled out. I hadn't even begun to consider my next move, when a new threat arose. The car I'd seen coming down the aisle just before the two men came out of the terminal was pulling into the space the SUV had vacated - more bright headlights, more terror. To make it worse, it wasn't a car; it was a small van. Unlike the SUV, with its windshield pushed back a few feet back from the front bumper, the van's front windows were right up front. When he pulled all the way into the slot, his passenger side window would look right down on my hiding spot. I had no choice, I scooted around to the other side of the Toyota. There I was hidden from the van but totally exposed to the terminal doors.

The van pulled into the slot but did not shut off its lights, and no one got out. That vaguely worried me, but I was more focused on the terminal doors, and any concern I had with the van evaporated when I heard the faint sound of the elevator stopping, watched the doors rolling back and saw the faces of people waiting to get out. If I could see them, I was certain they could see me.

I didn't wait to find out. I scooted back around in front of the Toyota, running bent over, as if that would hide me from the people on the elevator. All it really did was show them my bare butt in retreat if they happened to be looking. I ran right through the headlights of the van, holding my tits and trying to watch my footing. I was panicked beyond any rational thought. All I could think of was getting out of there, but I couldn't resist a side glance through the windshield at the occupants of the van.

There were two of them, a man and a woman. The man was in the driver's seat, the woman in the passenger's. They were both about 50, wearing brown uniforms and eating a snack or a meal. The man had a small plastic cup in his hand and the woman was just taking a bite of sandwich. They must have been a cleaning crew on their break.

I will never forget the look on their faces when they saw me run in front of them not more than six feet away. It seemed like the woman could have reached out the passenger window and touched my shoulder. They were startled at first, but in less than the second it took me to run through their lights, the look changed to one of shock and amazement. Without any other thought, I just kept on running, but I'm sure they could see me lurching down the line until I came to a corner of the concrete wall.

I ducked around the corner, out of view from the terminal doors and the van for the moment, but far from safe. Before me was another wide expanse of the giant garage, a sea of cars. I stopped for a moment, breathing hard and trying to apply my scattered wits to somehow escaping all the horribly humiliating outcomes my imagination kept throwing up at me. Following the wall would offer the security of knowing no one was sneaking up from one side, but it would take me further and further from the safety of my car. On the other hand, I couldn't go back the way I came. Behind me I could still hear people walking, getting into cars, driving around. The only other choice was to cross a wide aisle that was well lit and possibly visible to the people coming out of the terminal or coming up the ramp. It felt terribly risky, but at least it took me in the right direction.

I looked all around, saw nobody and ran as fast as I could across the aisle. I paused in a row of parked cars on the other side where I ducked down and listened. The garage was quiet except for a few cars moving about back near the terminal doors. When I raised my head and looked in that direction, all I saw were some dim lights. Then I remembered that the ramp was right behind me and lights of any car coming up would probably wash right over me. I quickly moved down the row of cars, alert to any sounds or lights that threatened, but as I went further, running faster and more upright, the sounds faded and the lights stayed dim in the distance.

I realized I needed to cut over to my left to circle back to my car. I started crossing aisles, and with no one to slow me down, I made good time across the wide lot. But after crossing a number of rows, I started to question my sense of direction. In my blind excitement, I had forgotten to note the alpha-numeric designation of the section I had parked in. All I knew was that it was against a wall and close to the entrance to Terminal 1. It seemed like I should have come to the wall by then. When I came to a sign for Terminal 1and the arrow pointed back the way I had come, I knew I must have missed a turn somewhere.

I turned and started running back, and soon saw the sign pointing to the right for Terminal 1. At the same time, I saw two cars coming toward me from that direction. I crouched down among the parked cars and waited for them to pass. They went down the aisles on either side of me. I was well hidden between two lines of cars, but it was enough to get my nerves back up to high alert. When I thought the cars were far enough away, I started running toward Terminal 1. Almost immediately, I was running along the wall, and I could see the pool of light and the doors, which was a relief. My car was only 30 yards away, but suddenly my nerves were shattered again. The double doors opened wide and a flood of people came out. Maybe it was only a dozen or so, but it seemed like way too many to keep track of. They were scattering in every direction, and several of them were coming my way.

I ducked down behind the cars and tried to decide what to do. I was in a pretty good spot, with a solid wall on one side and a line of parked cars on the other. I thought I'd wait there until the foot traffic died down. Then I heard footsteps coming my way. They seemed to take forever to get to me, but they passed the car I was hiding behind and kept on going. I raised my head enough to see the backs of an old couple moving slowly down the line. I was ready to make my way to my car and get out of there, but when I looked in that direction, more people kept coming out of the terminal. It seemed like a jumbo jet must have unloaded right into this corner of the garage. I felt the surge of panic rising again in my chest, and I tried to fight it down so I could think.

This time, I decided it wouldn't be any riskier to keep moving than it would be to stay still. I kept my head down and moved to the next car, trying to keep track of the people dangerously wandering around the aisles without showing myself. It felt like there were a dozen people just beyond that thin, porous line of sheltering cars. My heart was banging away and I was panting again, but I kept going. I saw a couple of people through the gaps between the cars, but none of them turned to see me, and I made it to the front of my car, where I crouched low and considered my options.

Getting in was going to be another risky manuever. There were still a number of people walking by and a few cars driving around. Opening my car door could attract attention, and it would put me between my car and the car next to me -- very exposed. While I was planning how and when, I was terrified to hear the car next to me grumble to life. The headlights came on blindingly bright against the concrete wall.

I was crouched in front of my car, low enough that the driver probably couldn't see me, but it raised a bigger problem. When the car pulled out, leaving an empty space next to the driver's side of my car, I couldn't get to the door without being totally exposed to the crowd out there. I was frozen with fear but fiercely determined to get into my car and drive away. Somehow, I had enough presence of mind to remember I could enter the car on the passenger side and slide over the console to the driver's seat. I peered around my right front fender to see if I could see anyone walking by. There was no one, so I duck-walked over to the door, ready to jump back and hide behind the cars if I heard anything coming close.

As far as I could tell, I made it undetected to the door. I gently pulled the handle and breathed a sigh of relief when it opened. It's a fairly new car, and it has a complicated program for locking and unlocking the doors. Sometimes, it seems to lock up automatically when I leave it. Sometimes the clicker only opens the driver's door. This time, the passenger door was open, which was stupid, of course, but lucky. My dress and T-shirt were still on the seat, my purse and sandals on the floor. I mentally kicked myself when I thought of where I'd be if some enterprising young criminal had come along and stolen them.

I picked up the dress and slid onto the seat, keeping low, and I cursed that damned car which was programmed to leave the interior lights on until I put the key in the ignition. I was frantic under that light, but digging the keys out of my purse would have to wait. I closed the car door without a slam, then tried to put on the dress while I was scrunched down in the seat. Why the hell did I wear such a stupid little dress? I got it over my head, but it got stuck on my shoulders with my head still inside and I fought it for what seemed like minutes before it finally slid down and my head popped out. What I saw when I could see again nearly made me pee all over the passenger seat of my car.

While I was struggling with the dress, an SUV had pulled into the vacant space beside me and an old man was getting out of the passenger side just a few feet away. He was looking down into my car and grinning. I choked and frantically pulled the dress down over my exposed pubic patch. The old man winked at me and walked away.

I drove out of the airport in a fog. The whole experience had left me numb. Somehow, I made it through the spaghetti maze of airport access roads out to the highway home. By the time I'd gone a few miles, I realized my hands were shaking uncontrollably, and I pulled off into the parking lot of a convenience store. I thought about going in and buying a small bottle of wine to settle my nerves, but that wasn't what I wanted.

I just sat there in my car at the far end of the empty parking lot of some anonymous convenience store. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply and slow. In a minute or two, a new feeling began to grow inside me. I remembered with crystal clarity the shocked look on the faces of the cleaning crew in the van. I remembered the old man's wink. I remembered the terror that had choked me, the excitement of it all. I thought of all the risks I had taken, the fear I had conquered, and a small smile began to play at the corners of my lips. It grew into chuckles, then into wild laughter. When the laughter played itself out, I pulled down the dress and put on my bra and panties. I shoved the T-shirt deep into the bowels of my purse and drove home, already planning my next outing.