When I Found You

© Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. All characters depicted are 18 years and over.

***

After my sophomore year of college it was time for a real break. I had worked the previous summer just to keep myself busy between the spring and fall semester. I made some spending money but had no real time off to rest. This time I was going to take some real time off before going to work again.

I wanted to go camping somewhere. I always enjoyed camping during the early summer when I was younger. My family used to go to my uncle's property and camp out for a week. It was a beautiful place next to the Davy Crockett National Forest north of Houston, Texas. That meant it was heavily wooded, but it also had a clearing with a really nice natural pond where we would go swimming. My uncle had put in a road which ended a short distance from the pond. We had helped him clear out a place where we could park our cars and pitch some tents. It also provided a fire break for a camp fire. We also helped build a really nice fire and cooking pit so we did not have camp fires that might get out of control.

I decided that was where I wanted to go. My parents offered the use of their truck and camper/tent trailer, all that really remained was to contact my uncle so he knew I would be there. I called him and he was glad to hear from me. He had no problem letting me use the property for a week, but also let me know that there would also be another person on the property also camping. He was letting a neighbor camp for a while. I said that was no problem for me and thanked him for letting me camp there and about the other camper.

With that I gathered up what I would need for a week, packed it in the trailer, said goodbye to my parents, and set out on my drive to the property. My parents live near Austin so it would be a good three hour drive to the property, but it was a nice day and I had an early start. And I was in no hurry. I made one stop for fuel and a bathroom break on my way. I picked up a cold drink and a snack while I was there and then got back on the road.

The day really was nice with a cloudless sky. I could see the occasional hawk or vulture sweeping through the sky. The scenery was great for the end of May with everything green and beautiful. It put me in a really good mood.

By eleven in the morning I arrived at the property. I had to open the gate to get in. It was there just to keep the curious at bay, but I opened it and drove the truck and trailer on through. Then I stopped again to close the gate.

The gravel road was in pretty good shape so I did not have any problems getting the truck and trailer down to the clearing at the end. When I got there, sure enough, there was a car parked there and a small tent pitched about twenty feet from the fire pit. I looked around and did not see anyone so I went ahead and backed the trailer on the opposite side of the fire pit. I unhitched the trailer and then parked the truck next to it.

When I got out of the truck I checked closer for the occupant of the tent, but no one was around. I figured they must be off on a hike somewhere and would be back later. Rather than set up right away I wanted a look around since I had not been here for two years. The pond was not too far away so I decided to walk down to it and see if it had changed.

The path to the pond was still distinct which was a good sign. It wound around a little but after a ten minute walk I could see the pond just ahead. I came to the edge of the clearing surrounding the pond and gazed out over the scene. As I was taking it all in a head broke the water in the pond. The pond is about ten feet deep in spots so the person must have been under water. The person was pretty far away so I could not get a good look at their face, but they were swimming to a spot just to my right. As they approached the shore they stood up in the shallow water.

It was a woman! And she was naked! And she was beautiful! She had not seen me yet but I had a great view of her. She was just about my age with a wonderful tan all over. She was slim, about 5-5 tall, a great figure, hair that went down to the middle of her back, perfectly shaped breasts, and a shaved pubic region. She was wringing out the water from her hair and walking towards some rocks. I spotted her clothes on top of one of the rocks along with a towel.

As she picked up the towel, I faded back along the trail a little. I did not want her to think I was spying on her. I waited a few minutes for her to get dressed and then walked out in plain sight of her.

"Hello." I said. "I'm . Chris"

I had startled her. She had her blouse on but not much else. She grabbed her towel and put it around her.

"Oh, sorry. I did not mean to intrude. I will leave while you finish dressing."

She smiled at that. "Oh, you don't have to leave. I'm Sherry."

"Hello, Sherry. I'm the nephew of Brad Henderson. He gave me permission to camp here and he said someone would probably be here. I did not mean to startle you."

"Ah, that explains a lot. It's okay, I just didn't expect to see anyone."

"I saw your car at the fire pit and just went for a walk to look around a bit. I have not been here for two years and I wanted to see what had changed. I looks just about the same since I was here last time."

"It hasn't changed much. I have been coming here off and on for about two years and it is always beautiful and unchanging. That's what I like about it. Would you mind turning around while I finish dressing?"

"Not at all."

I turned around and waited for her. She continued talking while she dressed.

"My parents live just west of here. We met Brad and he invited us to use the land for camping any time we wanted to. My parent's land is not wooded and this is a perfect place to camp. So I have been coming here during school breaks just to get away. You can turn back around now."

Even dressed and with damp hair she was beautiful. She now had added jeans and boots to her shirt with the towel draped over her shoulder.

"Where do you got to school?"

"Baylor. I just finished my sophomore year."

"I go to UT and just finished my sophomore. What a coincidence."

"Yeah, it is."

"Have you lived near here very long?"

"No, just a little over two years now. We moved here when I graduated high school. My parents wanted to get out of Houston and the traffic after I was finished with high school."

"I can appreciate that. Austin traffic is bad enough, but Houston is far worse."

"Well, I need to get back to the camp and have some lunch, swimming always makes me hungry."

"And I have to start setting up camp. Shall we walk together?"

"Sure, it would be nice to have some company."

We walked back to the camp talking about nothing in particular. When we got back I started putting up the tent on the trailer and Sherry started making a fire for lunch. After getting the tent up I started unloading the trailer of stuff that would be safe outside. There were no bears around but there were raccoons and squirrels so the food and cooler were left in the trailer. I made up a bunk for myself in the tent and then started thinking about lunch.

"Chris, would you like to share some lunch with me?"

"What are you having?"

"Hot dogs and some chips. Is that okay for you?"

"That sounds great if you don't mind me eating your food."

"Not at all, I brought plenty."

"I have cold drinks and beer if you are interested?"

"A beer would be perfect."

I opened the cooler and got out two beers. I took one over to Sherrie. She was cooking four dogs and had brought chips and condiments. I opened the beer for her and handed it to her.

"Thanks. Hummm. That tastes good. How do you like you hot dog?"

"Cooked, not cold. I can eat it any way you fix it."

"You are easy."

"In more ways than one."

She got the joke and smiled at me.

When the dogs were done we prepared them with mustard, relish, and a few onions.

"You don't seem to have a chair, Sherrie. Would you like to borrow one of mine?"

"Thanks. With a car I can't transport everything I could use. So I do without some things."

We went over to the trailer and I set up two folding chairs. We sat down and ate our hot dogs.

"Hummm. You do a good job on cooking hot dogs. Mine usually come out burned."

"Thanks, Chris. I burned mine for a long time until I discovered that they have to be cooked over coals instead of a flame."

"I guess I will have to brush up on my outdoor cooking. I have not done it in a long time. Sherrie, what is your major in college?"

"Biology. Eventually I hope to get into research. What's yours?"

"Engineering. I want to be a civil engineer and do city planning."

"That sounds interesting and even exciting."

"What about your field? What kind of research do you want to do?"

"I would like to do brain research. We actually know only a little about how the brain works, and even less about how we learn things. I would like to contribute to finding out some of those mysteries."

"That sounds like a big topic to tackle. And not something an outdoors girl would be much interested in."

She blushed at that. "Well, I was not always an outdoor girl. I was a city girl until my parents moved out here. I started coming here and walking around and later I started to camp here. I really love it and even I am surprised at the way I am attracted to this place."

"I know. This place is special to me, too. I used to come here with my parents every summer and sometimes more often. I have a lot of nice memories of this place."

"You are actually the first person I have seen here since I started camping here. That's why you startled me at the pond. I thought of this place as my own private camp ground."

I smiled at that. "Uh, just so you know, I saw you get out of the water. I just walked up and there you were. I was not trying to spy on you."

She grinned. "That's okay. I'm not a prude or anything. Did you enjoy what you saw?"

Now it was my turn to blush. "I have to say, you are very nice looking. I think you startled me as much as I startled you."

"Well, I hope nudity does not bother you. I am usually very casual about my body when I am out here. Unless the mosquitoes are out."

"Yeah, they can be bad sometimes. But this time of year they are not out in force yet. As for me, I am not bothered by nudity either, but I am probably not as casual about it as you are. But don't let me stand in your way of being yourself. I'm just here to relax."

"Thanks. I will remember that."

"If you want company, though, I can be accommodating to that. I like to hike around and swim in the pond. There are some nice wildflowers over in that direction. It's too late for the bluebonnets, but there are other flowers almost a pretty at this time of year."

"Yeah, I found that field last year when I was here. It is beautiful."

"Well, I better get back to setting up my camp. I have a few more things to do."

"And I am going to read a book for a while."

"Good enough. See you later, then."

Sherrie went over to her tent and sat down on the tarp in front of her tent. Her book was inside the tent and she retrieved it and then laid back and started reading. I had some things to lay out and set up. I dug out the single solar panel and set it up over in the sun. Then I ran the power cord to the inverter which was connected to a small battery. That would give me enough power to charge my phone and tablet as well as supply power to the lights in the camper. But that was about it for that size battery. For anything else I would have to use the truck battery which was risky.

Next I set up the canopy connected to the trailer. It was small and only protected the trailer door but it was useful if it rained. Then I blocked the trailer tires with some rocks. That pretty much had the trailer set up.

I had a few more things to do but at least the major items were taken care of. After about an hour I had everything set up and put away. I sat down in the lawn chair and looked over at Sherrie. She was still reading her book. By now her hair was dry and I could tell she was a brunet. She was still an amazing looking woman. I could look at her all day and never tire of the view. I broke my stare and went to the cooler to get a cold drink. Then went back to the chair and continued to look at Sherrie. I had only known her a few hours but she was a fascinating person. Great looking, smart, ambitious, uninhibited, fun to be with, all in all someone I would like to know a lot better.

When I finished my drink I decided that I needed a walk. I bagged my empty can and went over to Sherrie.

"Sherrie, I am going for a walk and wanted to know if you wanted to come too?"

"I would love to. Let's go."

She put her book back in her tent and then we set off. I had a path in mind. It made a big circle of the pond and went past the field with all the wildflowers. There was also a good chance of seeing deer along the route.

We walked toward the wildflower field and talked along the way. Sherrie informed me that she was an only child and was third in line as valedictorian for her high school class. She had also been on the dean's list since she started college. She was not bragging about it because it came up when I revealed I had been on the dean's list last semester. It proved that she was as smart as I thought. But she did not flaunt her intelligence, which I appreciated.

When we reached the field she was surprised.

"Oh, Chris. This is the first time I have seen it this beautiful! Last year there were not this many flowers."

"Yeah, it was a dry winter and you need rain to really bring out the bounty. But this year's beauty is fleeting, a month from now this will all be dried grass."

"I guess Texas is like that."

"Makes you appreciate things like this. But I love this place just the same."

We moved on and the trail led into the woods. About ten minutes in I thought I saw something off the trail ahead. I stopped and pointed in that direction. Sherrie looked hard and then seem to see what I saw. A deer and a fawn were grazing in a small clearing. We proceeded slowly and as silent as we could to get closer. The deer looked our way but was not startled. She seemed to know we were harmless.

Sherrie put her arms around one of mine while we watched. She seemed transfixed at the sight of the deer and fawn. In truth, I was transfixed at her. Her touch was electric and she looked beautiful.

After a few minutes I motioned to her that we should continue our walk. After we had gone a little way she finally let go of my arm.

"Chris, that was amazing! I have never seen deer when I come to camp here."

"They are easy to miss if you are not looking for them. They blend in to the brush and you can walk right by them and miss them completely. And they usually startle easily. I was actually surprised they stood there and let us watch them."

"Well, that was a sight I will not forget. Thanks for showing them to me."

"You're welcome."

We hiked on until we came to the pond. We were on the opposite side from where we normally arrived to the pond. This side had a little area of grass that was short. On the grass were three rabbits grazing. I pointed them out but Sherrie said she had seen them many times. So we continued on.

Eventually we rounded the pond and came back to the camping area.

"Thanks, Chris. That was a nice walk. I had a really good time. Can we do that again?"

"Oh sure. It is one of my favorite activities when I come here. It clears the head and like today, it can be invigorating."

"Well, I guess I will get back to my book."

"Before I forget, do you need to charge your phone? I set up the solar panel and the battery should have some juice by now."

"Thanks, but I charged it this morning using the car."

"Just don't run down the car battery."

"I always turn the car on for a little while after I charge my phone."

"Well, be careful. And you can use the battery I have any time. There should be plenty of power to charge your phone with."

"Thanks."

With that she headed back to her tent and I to my trailer. Later on I got the fire restarted for the steaks I planned to grill. I dug out a big round steak, potatoes, and corn on the cob. I wrapped the corn in foil with butter and did the same with the potatoes. By then the coals were ready.

Sherrie came over to the fire pit to see what I was fixing.

"What are you fixing?"

"Steaks, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. Want some?"

"Do I! You bet I do. It sounds delightful."

"I wasn't sure if you were a steak eater or not but I figured I would ask."

"You only have to ask once."

"How do you like yours cooked?"

"Medium."

"Ah, a real meat eater. I like that in a woman."

She laughed at that. I put the corn and potatoes in the coals and then put the steak on about twenty minutes later. That would make everything ready at the same time. I set out some plastic plates and some silverware along with some paper cups.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Got any Diet Coke?"

"Yes. That is what I drink as well."

I went to the ice chest and put ice in the cups and then brought two cans of Coke out for us. The steaks were about half done so we had a small amount of time until they were ready. I checked on the potatoes and they were almost done as well. That meant the corn would also be ready on time.

When everything was cooked I cut the steak in half and set out the corn and potatoes. I had set up a little camp table over by my chairs and we ate dinner on that.

"Wow, thanks Chris. This looks wonderful. And you said you needed practice at outdoor cooking."

"Well, anybody can cook this kind of food. Its tomorrow I'm worried about."

She giggled at that. "Some things can be forgiven after a meal like this."

We ate in silence and when we finished we both sat back in our chairs.

"I haven't eaten like that in a while. It sure was good." she said.

"Not bad for someone who hasn't done anything over a fire in a long time."

She was silent for a while.

"Chris, I'm glad you are here. This has been a wonderful day. Its been a long time since I enjoyed a day like today. Thanks."

"No thanks necessary. I'm glad to be here and I'm glad you are here. It was a nice and relaxing day. And it was better than being by myself. Thanks for being here."

"I'm glad I was."

We sat there in silence watching the sun get lower. It was already behind the trees and would set pretty soon.

"I guess I better clean up the dishes and put out the fire. Looks like we will need to gather some wood for the fire tomorrow."

"There's a big pile of wood just over there so no need to gather any."

"Thanks for letting me know. Want to help with the dishes?"

"Sure."

I got out two buckets and put a little water in each. The I added a little dish soap to one of them. We washed the plastic items, burned the paper items, and bagged the foil and other small items that needed to be carried out when I left. I let the dishes air dry and put out the fire after the paper items had been consumed. It was after sunset when we finished.

"Thanks for dinner, Chris. I guess I'm for reading a little and bed after that. Good night."

"Good night, Sherry. Sweet dreams."

I went inside the camper trailer and switched on a single light so I could read. When I looked out Sherrie was already reading by flashlight in her tent. She had pulled the mosquito net down and was lying on her front with a book on her pillow.

I got out the book I was reading and crawled on my bunk. I could still see Sherrie in her tent from my bunk. I tried to read but could not concentrate, I kept thinking about Sherrie. She was one of the nicest people I had ever met and I was really attracted to her. She was warm, friendly, and spoke her mind, all qualities I admired in a person. Plus she was a real knockout. Oh well, I switched off the light to get undressed.