The Keys Ch. 01

Lydia rested her left knee on the soft turf of her back yard, crouching to check her small black leather backpack one last time for everything she needed. With what she was about to do, with everything that could go wrong, she needed to make sure that she started with absolutely nothing missing. Her heart pounded relentlessly against her chest as she checked and rechecked her bag.

As she rummaged, Lydia made sure to find her small flashlight amid a crumpled-up dress squeezed into a ball so that it would fit in her tiny bag. She chose this particular bag in the hope that it would not attract attention in the dark, would not weigh her down, and, most importantly, would not give her something to meaningfully cover up with. She also tucked her cell phone in the front pocket, powered off, just in case she desperately needed it. Satisfied, she stood up and observed her work.

The backpack was filled with essentials. Next to it was a black beanie hat with six pockets sewn in and zippered shut. The hat was partially meant to hide her straight, shoulder-length chocolate brown hair in case she was spotted. Finally, she peered down the length of her trim, athletic body toward her shoes, a pair of flats bearing a similar shade as her light olive skin. A little smudge of dirt had clung to her knee when she rose. She brushed off the dirt and looked up again at the double French back doors to her house.

In the faintly visible reflection afforded by the pale light of the waxing half-moon, she gazed at herself standing in the backyard of her house with her hands on her hips clothed in only in moonlight. Lydia's attention was drawn to the place where, with a proper mirror, she would find two piercing hazel-brown eyes staring back at her in bewilderment as if to say, Are you seriously going to do this?

She considered the question out loud.

"Yes, I'm really going to do this," she declared to herself. "If for no other reason than because I'm afraid to do this."

"Come on, Lydia," she murmured to herself more quietly now, "This is your last shot to do this and you've planned it all out. It's going to be fun, and you're going to be fine."

She smiled weakly at that last comment. She really had no idea what to expect from this night except for excitement and adventure. Perhaps there would even be time for something a little more... pleasurable.

But only if an irresistible opportunity arose, Lydia thought to herself.

Counting on her fingers she recited the plan to herself, "Pool, park, Trace, tracks, books, bronze, power, and park."

She had decided upon this pneumonic to help keep herself on track. There was only one thing she desperately had to remember.

"Eight, four, eight. Five, two, six," she whispered to herself at least a dozen times before she was satisfied. Despite having written it down in her diary, Lydia made herself memorize not only the route but also the code that she needed to finish it. All that was left was to summon the courage to take the final step into what was increasingly feeling like madness.

That's it, she thought, it's now or never and I need to start before I lose my nerve for good.

The back door had been left just slightly open in case she needed to get back into the house for any reason or, perhaps rather, in case she changed her mind. She decided to go back into the house for one last thing, leaving her bag near the wooden fence in the back yard. Gliding through the dark, empty house to her room, she grabbed her wristwatch that she usually used when she went running. Technically, there would be some running tonight so she guessed that this would not be an exception.

It still felt strange to her to walk so freely through her family's house, even after having done it a time or two before tonight. Passing through the living room she could almost envision her parents sitting on the couch while her sister fumbled through a cabinet in the kitchen in search of a snack. Clothing optional was far from the official policy of the house and her present nudity would undoubtedly cause an uproar. Simply imagining a scene where she was the only one naked in full view of her family gave her an exhilarated, giddy sensation.

No second guessing now!

Returning to the backyard, she strapped the Velcro watch snuggly onto the back of her backpack. Presently, the watch read 1:08am. She held her hat by her mouth by biting on it with her lips and, with the aid of a hairband, fashioned her hair into a simple ponytail behind her head. Putting her hair up was usually the last thing that she did after taking a shower, long after having gotten dressed, so she was a little surprised at the slight swaying of her breasts as she did so.

Suddenly, her mind registered again that she was completely naked and outside. Instinctively, her elbows jerked toward the center of her exposed chest. It was only a momentary reflex. She remembered what she was doing and returned to her hair.

When she was finished with her ponytail, she placed her black beanie hat over her head and slightly covered the top of her ears. Finally, her backpack, the only accessory besides her shoes that could even remotely be counted as clothes at this point, she hoisted over her shoulders.

At long last, she paced across the yard to her back door and hovered her right hand over the doorknob. She noticed, not for the last time, that her hands were trembling. Was this fear? Excitement? Doubt? Maybe it was just plain adrenaline at what she was about to do. On an impulse, she gripped the handle and pulled firmly which resulted in a definitive *click*. In that moment, Lydia found herself slightly short of breath. She gazed in amazement at the door and acutely felt all over her body the sensation of being without clothes.

That's it. I'm committed now. No turning back. I'm locked out until I get my house key.

There she stood, naked under the stars, with a journey that eagerly awaited her first step. Looking again at her reflection, she touched her cheeks and guided her hands slowly down her neck, tracing her fingers along the ridge of her collar bones. Onward, she guided her hands down toward her heart and across her curvature of her breasts, pausing only momentarily to gently arouse her nipples with the fleeting attention of her soft fingertips.

Moving more vigorously, Lydia rubbed her palms against her lean, slightly toned abdomen and then down her sides to her hips. First she felt the warmth of her butt against her hands before they moved once more to her front and into the narrow gap between her thighs. Her thumbs slid across smooth skin that was subtly textured by the tell-tale prickliness of recent grooming. She looked down at her cleanly shaven pussy and smiled at her handiwork of just a few hours past. She had wanted to be as naked as she could be tonight.

She slowly realized that she was getting lost in the sensation of feeling her body without the obstruction of clothing, out in the open air where anyone might see. She knew that she could not stay in her backyard all night, so she ignored to gathering moistness between her legs.

For now, anyway, she thought to herself. There will be plenty of time for that later.

Lydia stepped away from the back door of her house. That sealed barrier separated her from the ultimate safety. The place where all her belongings that might restore modesty, save for one crumpled dress, were tucked neatly away in closets and drawers. As far as she was concerned, they might as well be across the ocean. She turned and finally took her first real steps toward the fence.

Lydia twisted her body at the waist to reach her watch which was securely hanging from one of the thin straps on her backpack. Upon pressing the button to illuminate the watch face, she saw that it was now 1:21am. There were several hours until sunrise, but she did not want to risk being out the entire night. She walked briskly to the backyard fence to the creaky, wooden gate that separated the trees from the turf.

Hand on the handle, she looked askance once more at her two-story house; a towering dark figure in the night against the hazy orange light of streetlamps beyond. The lights were shut off. Her parents away on a trip for at least three more days. Her sister was spending a week with her friends a few towns over. The house would still be empty when she returned home. It was the only place that she knew of where she would truly be safe from being caught naked. She needed to get back to it and there was now only one way to do so. With that in mind, Lydia swung open the door and stepped into the night.

Somehow being outside her yard made her feel even more exposed than just being without clothes. She hugged herself but made sure not to cover anything that she would ordinarily want no one to see. That was one of her rules for this adventure. Each step among the trees behind her house was accompanied by the soft crunch of dried pine needles underfoot. She remembered that to make the most of this experience she needed to do exactly what she planned.

Lydia made her way down a path that spanned nearly 100 yards, winding its way around a large rock at one point and over a giant downed tree. The path connected her house to a public trail that was used sparsely enough. The main trail was about 20 miles long and Lydia often made her way to it for running by using this little-worn side path that was all her own. When she got to the fallen tree, she had to mount the trunk to pass over it. She had never really appreciated the rough texture of the bark until it was spread across the span of her body, particularly upon the more sensitive parts.

Slipping off the other side of the tree, she was a few meters away from the public trail in the dim moonlight obscured somewhat by the patchy canopy overhead. The faint smell of pine sap all around her. All was quiet except for a distant whispering breeze. Stepping into the clearing and looking left, she saw the trail that led about a half-mile down before curving off out of sight. Of course, she could not see more than about 100 feet through the darkness despite the moonlight.

Peering off to her right, she scanned the area ahead which led to the community park which was her second destination. Her first one would be on the way. She stepped back into the trees to get something that she had left for herself the day before. Gripping the handlebars, she pulled a bike from behind one of the bushes. She had always wanted to try bicycling in the nude. This seemed as good an opportunity as any for a first time.

Her eyes were adjusting to the dim light now. Lifting her left leg over the bike resting her foot on the pedal, she situated herself on the seat with a few fidgets.

This is not quite as comfortable as I had imagined...

She leaned herself over the handlebars. Just for fun, shimmied her shoulders to feel them jiggle as if dancing in celebration of freedom.

It really doesn't take much to amuse me, she thought with a grin.

For the most part, Lydia felt that this was a good thing. She felt strongly that people who could not, or would not, smile at the little things were taking the wrong approach in life.

Pushing off with her right foot and pedaling with her left, Lydia started slowly down the trail. Although she was starting to see more clearly, she still felt like she was just a dark shadow moving blindly among even darker shadows. She had thought about using her flashlight for this part of the journey but decided against it. Lydia did not think anyone else would be out on the trail at this hour, but if there was then a flashlight on a bike would be a beacon visible from a mile away.

The only thing helping her most at this point was the fact that she was so familiar with this trail. She had biked and run this earthen public trail many times before. She figured that biking it in relative darkness would be safe enough.

*BUMP*

Lydia skidded to a halt and nearly fell over onto the trail.

Not so safe after all, apparently.

She picked up the fallen branch that she had run over and tossed it off the trail. Lydia paused for a moment to recollect herself, her left foot on the pedal and her right anchored firmly on the ground. She looked at her watch and figured it had only taken eight minutes for her first scare, and it had nothing to do with being seen... this time.

She looked down to see her chest moving up and down with each deep, startled breath and her belly which had flexed taut as if bracing for impact. She figured that it was a good thing her reflexed were so good. This evening could have ended faster than she hoped, and not at all in a good way.

While she was looking down, she noticed that her vagina was almost completely pressed against the bike seat and, consequently, concealed at the moment. She would not have noticed at all if she had not stopped after running over the branch. Lydia adjusted herself on the seat to expose her sex once more to the night air. Somewhat amused, she wondered if this counted.

One of the rules for this evening was to not cover up in anyway, not even with her hands. She figured there was no way around this possible infraction, so it did not count. Lydia continued on the path again, taking advantage of her next rule which was to use the bike only on this path. The rest of the adventure would be on foot, starting at the park. She brought her hat, in part, to cover her hair in case she was seen and identified that way. However, the hat would stay behind when she was actually getting the keys, which were the main centerpiece of her adventure.

The day prior, Lydia had hidden six keys around town for her to retrieve during the night. Lydia, of course, knew where they were. The trick would be getting to them while naked without being seen. Not too hard to do in the dead of night, she figured. She had scouted the locations on various occasions during the daytime, and her route was planned extensively.

Part of the plan involved a safety net. Lydia was trying to be daring and risky, but not stupid. She intentionally packed a dress in case she was caught too far out of the plan and needed to stay out of jail. She had also packed a cell phone in case she found herself in real danger and needed a way out. She had thought about packing a spare house key in case she could not get one of her destination keys but decided that would be *too* safe.

The six keys opened padlocks that sealed a container hidden near the park. Within that small box was the only key to Lydia's house that she would be able to get until her parents came home. Without it, she would be stuck outside with nothing but her backpack. The idea kind of thrilled her, imagining being stuck outside naked for three days, but she knew in her mind that getting her house key back would be far preferable.

The most important rule of all was that she must be back at her house by dawn. She had timed out the entire route and, by leaving around 1:00am, she estimated that she would be back about an hour before dawn. Lydia slightly quickened her pace on the bicycle at the thought of having finally left the house almost 20 minutes behind schedule.

Still plenty of wiggle room though, she thought to herself half-reassured.

Lydia found herself rather enjoying the trip so far on bike. The breezy air as she pedaled was refreshing against her bare skin. Sometimes she found biking to be a bit of a workout. A chore, even. But without the constriction of clothes, it was really quite divine she thought. Not a hint of perspiration. She did not mind breaking a sweat for fitness but she preferred avoiding being sweaty otherwise. For that reason alone, Lydia decided that biking this way was the best.

She had been pedaling for several minutes now and thinking about the night ahead. Slowing her pace, familiar landmarks were starting to come into view. In this part of town, two neighborhoods were situated right next to the local public trail. One was her own neighborhood where her house was almost right next to the trail. The other was the one coming up. This neighborhood, closer to the park, was where her friend Kerri lived. The only difference was that Kerri's family lived one street over from where the path to the trail was. Lydia figured that it was close enough to the trail to be relatively safe but far enough away to serve as a warm-up challenge.

Coasting into a final halt, Lydia dismounted her bike and parked it against the backside of a tree a few feet off the trail. It was unlikely that anyone would come by and steal it at this hour, but she preferred to err on the side of caution. She could see the glow of new streetlamps, the white fluorescent kind, through the trees where the neighborhood lied. Lydia started to get the familiar giddy feeling of excitement again.

Nearby there was a smaller tree with branches that she could reach. She did not relish the idea of bugs getting into her backpack or her hat while she was away, so she hung them on a branch. She also removed her flats and wedged them between the backpack and one of the straps.

There. Safe and out of sight. Ready for me to come back and get it. Hopefully, this one will only take a few minutes.

She checked her watch and saw that it was now 1:39am. Lydia was fully and completely naked for the first time tonight. Surprisingly to Lydia, it felt really good. She shook her arms and legs to limber them back up after biking. She made sure one more time that everything she was leaving behind was secure. She grinned mischievously and set off in the direction of Kerri's house where the first key of the evening awaited.