The Keys Ch. 04

The parking lot which laid before Lydia featured the first of the city streetlamps that she had encountered since leaving the park. Even then, however, there were several parts of the parking lot that were only sparsely lit. Nevertheless, anyone walking by would be able to see her well enough to spot her and perceive that she was wearing no clothes. She continued to spy the area ahead of her but stayed mindful of possible oncoming traffic behind her. Lydia was still quite exposed to the street.

She braced her crouch against the low hedge with her fingertips on the pavement. Lydia's breasts pressed against her thighs uncomfortably. Her position afforded her most private, sensitive parts even more airflow than she had gotten used to on her walk this evening. She knew she could not stay there forever.

The coast won't get much clearer than this.

The building that loomed over her was where she worked during the day. Trace and Avers, Inc. owned the two-story monstrosity and had plastered their name on the façade. It was an ugly white building that resembled a large, featureless box. There were two rows of tinted windows that wrapped around the perimeter of the building, one for the lower floor and one for the upper. From the roof, one could see the entire town at a distance.

Darkened windows were a benefit in Lydia's mind. She was never able to see in the windows throughout her workdays. No one would be able to see her from the outside once she got inside. She did not think so, anyway. There was a single car in the parking lot belonging to the security guard that manned the front desk overnight. Lydia knew for a fact that the man was a drinker and frequently fell asleep during his shift. She did not blame him for his lack of vigilance, because who would possibly want to break into this building and whatever for?

Tonight it's me! And I am going in to get my next key!

Backtracking toward the street she had just crossed, Lydia stayed low against the hedge just in case the security guard was actually doing his job. She rounded the street corner and went the long way toward the back of the building. It would be the worst luck if the guard were patrolling the building and looked out the window at the exact moment that Lydia was crossing the back section of the parking lot.

He would have a lot more to observe and report that normal if that happened!

Lydia pranced across the parking lot from where she was hiding and made it to the back corner of the building. She was forced to stand away from the knee-high windows by yet another hedge that encircled most of the building. At that point, she stood up straight. If there was someone on the other side of the window, then she would never know it and they would see everything whether she was behind the sparse hedges or not. She simply had to hope that it was not the case however unlikely it was.

At the very least, Lydia did not have to worry about security cameras. The building did not have any cameras since, during business hours, there were people onsite and, at night, the guard was there. The owners did not seem to feel that the expense for cameras was necessary, and this worked in Lydia's favor.

On the back side of the building, there was a single door with a metal handle. It was the back way into the building right next to the roof access ladder. It was sealed off, but not impossible to climb if necessary. The back door was located diagonally across from the front entrance of the building. There was a small chance that opening it could be heard from the front desk but Lydia doubted it.

Behind Trace and Avers, there was a wide, rectangular retention pond which was home to flocks of ducks and geese. She sometimes fed them on her lunchbreak to pass the time. It was by doing this that Lydia had learned about the back door long before she had made a plan to use it by night for a naked adventure. Her pussy tingled at the thought of contemplating her adventure one afternoon while feeding the birds in the sunshine.

Lydia also knew that the lock on the door was faulty. She had often exited the building and reentered it from the front before a coworker shared with her that the back door would open with a firm yank. Like everything else that was critical to go smoothly this evening, Lydia had tested this knowledge many times.

Beyond the retention pond was a field of grass that was undeveloped. In a spur of caution, Lydia chose a spot near the bank of the retention pond to place her items rather than right next to the door. Certainly, it was out in the open. However, if things went well inside the building then it would not matter. If things went awry then she would need to break out of the building quickly and not return that night. She felt that the risk of putting her things by the water was worth it.

Next the dark, rippling water, Lydia sat down on the dewy grass to remove her shoes and place them neatly several paces from the water's edge. Next to the shoes, she set her backpack facedown and folded the straps on top of it. Next, she took off her hat and her hairband too. She shook free her hair from its place and ran her fingers through it. Hairbands were useful but to Lydia nothing beat the feeling of free-flowing hair. She stored the hat and hairband in the backpack and stood up barefoot on the grass overlooking the pond. Once more, she pressed her hands to her hips and was completely naked.

Well, if I'm going to do this then I had better do it.

This was the single most dangerous spot for her to have hidden a key, and the one for which she had been the least sure about when setting all of it up. This was where she worked. Forget getting arrested and humiliated in front of everyone she knew. She could lose her job over this. Granted, she hated the data entry work that she toiled away with in her cubicle, but it was good work in an otherwise challenging small-town job market. She needed this job so this may have been her biggest risk of all.

Lydia climbed back up the slope to the back door and wrapped her hands firmly around the door handle. With an earnest pull, she was unable to budge the door. She sighed. Nothing but a strong jerk would suffice. One where she would be off balance and unable to control the door. It could create a loud noise. Possibly one loud enough to alert the guard. Hopefully, he was sleeping amidst a drunken stupor. She glanced up at the stars and wished upon one to make it so.

Summoning her courage, Lydia used all the strength in her arms to execute a quick jerk on the door towards her body. A sharp, sickening scrape of metal on metal ripped through the silence of the night. She had done her work well though. Lydia saw that the door was ajar and free from its lock. She pressed the full extent of her naked body against the grey painted metal door, not caring how cold it was upon her bare skin. All she could think about was whether she would hear a sound of approaching footsteps in the dark hallway within. If she did, then she would be done for.

As if the stars themselves were smiling upon her wish, no sounds followed the opening of the door. With considerably less effort, she pulled the door toward herself. The hinges whined in protest, which made her open the door more slowly. Only enough, however, to allow her to press her butt against the building and slip through the narrow opening. As carefully as she had opened the door, she closed it behind her. She used the handle, which was unlocked on the interior side, to avert a loud click when the door shut.

She now stood in nearly complete darkness, showered gently in the soft glow of the red "EXIT" sign which also seemed to glower menacingly at her from above the door. She would be glad to exit most willingly, but not before getting her second key from upstairs. The back door led to a small room with a tiled floor that was empty except for another door, this one wooden, immediately to her left. She pressed her ear against the door that led to the downstairs hallway to see if she could perceive any disturbance. Detecting none, she carefully twisted the door handle and pushed the door quietly away from her inward.

Before venturing further, she peeked one eye around the edge of the door to see if anyone was there waiting to catch her breaking and entering. With a slow sigh of relief, she found that she was still alone on her side of the building. She opened the door wider and stepped out into the hall. There was no need to take special care with any of the doors inside. They were of much higher quality and did not creak, squeak, or otherwise give any audible indication that they were being opened or closed.

It was eerie to be inside her workplace at night, present nudity notwithstanding. It was a feeling accompanied by any occasion in which a safe, familiar, populated environment during the day was uncannily deserted, dark, and dangerous by night. She hugged her middle and peered out the window to her left. As suspected, all was plain to see outside from her side of the glass. This confirmed for Lydia that no one inside the building had seen her... yet.

Ahead of her and to her right stretched long hallways that opened into the opposite sides of the building. The first floor consisted of hallways around the perimeter and two hallways intersecting the middle like a cross. Four quadrants consisting of executive offices and meeting rooms populated the downstairs, with a small alcove in the front for the receptionist's lobby next to the building's only bathrooms.

By night, the entire front area was the domain of the security guard. It chilled her more than the frigid tile against her bare feet to think that another human being was so close by while she was in her current state of undress. Worse still, she wondered if he had the authority to arrest her and put her in handcuffs behind her back. Just the thought of standing with her hands bound behind her under full light in the lobby while the guard stared at her with lecherous eyes during the wait for the police to arrive made her feel exceedingly vulnerable.

Having spent much time in this building, Lydia knew every bench and fake potted plant that lined the downstairs hallways. She tip-toed forward past a set of double doors that led into a boardroom and pressed her body against the drab, grey drywall near the corner marking the halfway point of the back hallway. It suddenly occurred to her that her nipples had hardened, possibly because she kept pressing them against cold surfaces.

Fluorescent light blazed forth from the cross hallway opening. Lydia was not sure what it meant when she had first seen it upon entry, but it turned out to simply be a safety light, the kind that stayed on at all hours even when the other light panels were switched off. It was tricky, but she did not think it would unduly impede her ability to reach the stairs.

Bending sideways, inching herself further around the corner just enough to reveal her shoulders to the light, she scanned the cross hallway for threats. The stairs rose toward her on her left, just wide enough to fit two people across. Except for the ladder out back and the elevator in the lobby, the stairs were the only access to the second floor. Across from the stairs sat two vending machines. One was for beverages and the other for snacks. The snack machine contained a light within that further illuminated the area at the bottom of the stairs.

Beyond the intersection, attached to the wall, was a water fountain which suddenly hummed to life. Coincidence, surely, Lydia thought begrudgingly. The sound would mask her footsteps, but they would also hinder her ability to hear someone approaching. Despite the sound of the water fountain, she could hear the faint hint of music far down the hallway. Lydia reasoned that it must be from the front lobby and it made her grin. If that was how faint sound was at this distance, then the security guard at the front would have scarcely been able to hear her open the back door. At least, she hoped so.

Seeing no reason to linger, Lydia pushed herself away from the wall and into the jarring light of the hallway. There was nothing that could hide her nakedness now, so she scurried ahead with her eyes fixed upon the end of the hallway. She reached the vending machine and crouched on top of the bench that was pushed up against it. Not for the last time, she tried to ignore the strangeness of her appearance in this place. No one she knew would dream of being caught dead wandering naked here.

No sound signaled the approach of the security guard so she removed herself from the bench and stood in front of the vending machines. She realized just then how useless of a hiding spot the bench was. If anyone had come along, there was nowhere to hide and nowhere to retreat in a way that she would be able to remain unseen. She needed to get moving immediately. Despite this, a misplaced caution got the better of her. She glanced around the vending machine to check the other crossway.

In the full light of the snack machine, every inch of her naked athletic body was perfectly visible in the crossway from which she had approached the stairs. She just needed to check the other one to be sure. Even if momentarily, she knew that she would be exposed to all four directions when she made her move to ascend the stairs. Nothing right, nothing left. Nothing behind her, and nothing ahead of her. Just long shadows cast by more fake plants beyond the intersection.

Lydia pursed her lips and darted into the intersection of hallways. She gripped the handrail of the stairs for leverage to propel herself around and onto the first step. Using the pads of her feet she rushed up the stairs as quickly as she dared. It felt like a full-on run. She could not help but notice her breasts and butt bouncing with every step upward. Lydia bet that it looked equal parts sexy and silly from the perspective of someone watching her from the bottom step.

Twenty-three steps ascended from the crossway, Lydia withdrew from the light of the downstairs crossway into the relative darkness of the upstairs hallway. The stairway opened up to a window overseeing the retention pond behind the building. For a split second, she could just make out the spot where she had left her backpack. Craning her neck to check the stairs just in case the guard just happened to show up, and then raising her line of sight to check the second-floor hallway for undesired occupants, Lydia thrust herself around the barrier to the stairway and fully into shadow.

Half-way there, and almost done. The hard part is most definitely over.

Lydia tried to calm her mind while slowly panting out of breath. The second floor of Trace and Avers was an entirely different floorplan. Standing with her back to the pond, Lydia looked down a hallway which spanned the length of the building. There was another safety light at the other end near the front window which overlooked the parking lot. It shone over the upstairs water fountain which currently rested silently. On her left was a long wall adorned with abstract office art and two padded benches. There were two doors, one near the stairs and one much further down, which led into an open office space with ten clusters of cubicles arranged in two rows of five. There would be no need to go there unless she absolutely, desperately needed to access the elevator for some unforeseen reason.

On her right, there was another long wall partitioned by a side hallway in the middle. Both quadrants were accessible by a door in the main hallway and a door in the side hallway. Each contained a set of four cubicle clusters, one of which was hers. Emboldened by the darkness, Lydia stepped away from the rubber steps of the stairs and onto the plush carpet of the hallway.

She allowed herself to indulge in a sensual swagger as if flirtatiously showing off her body to imaginary fully-dressed coworkers in the hallway, especially the cute guys who she had no doubt would appreciate the alluring twitch of her bottom with every step. She lifted her hands far above her head, reaching for the sky in a glamorous twirl of her wrists like a sparkling fashion model on a runway.

Lydia was doubtful of the possibility of the security guard laying in wait to catch her in the side hallway. She figured that if she was going to get caught then it already would have happened by now. Still, she checked the side hallway before passing it. Her destination was the door on the far side of the hallway on the right. It had been a while since leaving home, though, and she was feeling a bit thirsty. Before heading in, she trotted toward the water fountain under the safety light, pulled her hair back with one hand, and took a long, refreshing drink.

Oh, my god. This is amazing!

Lydia savored the stream upon her lips, paying no mind to the shattering effect it had on the general silence. If the security guard could hear her drinking water all the way down the upstairs hallway, down the stairs, and round the corner in the lobby, then he would be worth every penny as a security guard. Her bet was that he was not.

Satisfied, Lydia stood up and faced the full-length window. Below her was the parking lot and the street she had walked into town on. Beyond, she saw the twinkle of streetlamps spreading in all directions further into town. Trace and Avers was one of the only two-story buildings in the small downtown area. Somehow, standing above the world in all her natural glory made her feel mighty. To solidify the feeling, she lifted both her arms into a flexing gesture as though challenging the world to come and get her.

A transparent reflection of Lydia was visible in the window too. She was used to pumping her arms at the gym, except there she would wear yoga pants and an sports t-shirt. Sometimes, when working out, she wished she could see her body working hard without clothes, much like she was doing right then.

Well, the whole town has seen me naked now. I guess there is nothing more to be worried about.

Lydia joked to herself, but she really did wonder if anyone could see her from the town. She wiped away a few drops of water that had dripped down her chest and turned toward the door which led to the front quadrant of cubicles. One cubicle in the room housed her desk. As with the door downstairs, this one opened mostly silently at the hinges. As before, Lydia still felt the need to open the door hesitantly and check inside. There was no light in the room except that which spilled in from the windows. Lydia planned to keep it that way. It would look strange from outside if the upstairs office light suddenly switched on. Plus, she was not entirely sure now that she would be concealed behind the windows if it was brighter inside than outside. Lydia had only seen the building during the daytime.

The light from the hallway cast a long shadow on the nearest cubicle in the shape of Lydia. Even her shadow looked naked to her now that she could see each smooth curve with such definition, unobstructed by the outline of flowing fabric or even skin-tight jeans. She stepped inside and carefully shut the door behind her. In the darkness, she could see out the windows along the wall more clearly. These windows were full-length as well.

Less clearly, she could make out the four cubicle clusters in the room. The only sound to be heard was a faint tick-ticking of the wall clock over the door to her right which led back into the side hallway. The heights of the cubicles were enough to prevent a sitting person from being seen if she hunched over even slightly. However, anyone standing could see over the cubicle walls. From across the room, she might just have been able to stand up straight without her breasts coming into view. Picturing it though, Lydia knew that in the full light there would be no mistaking her nakedness even from behind the cubicle walls.