A very happy “mmmmm” was all that Annie seemed able to respond with before letting go. Heather hugged Chris in exactly the same way, and Chris grabbed her tightly, lifted her off the ground and playfully shook her. Heather squealed with delight and the pair of them laughed as he put her down on the ground again.
As they let go of each other Heather's eyes turned and fell on John. She held John with her gaze for a second and then, with the same warmth still radiating from her smile, stepped up towards him.
Please don't hug me, please don't hug me was the only thought going through John's head as Heather's naked and unashamed body stood barely a metre away.
“Hi, I'm Heather” she said as she held her hand out to John. “You must be John. Annie's told me all about you.”
“John...yes, I'm John” came the reply as they shook hands. When Heather's breasts shuddered gently as they shook hands it all became too much and John couldn't help blurting out what was clearly obvious.
“You're naked!” he said, phrasing it almost as if it was a question.
“Yes”, replied Heather, with an even bigger smile on her face. “I usually am! Didn't Annie tell you? I hate clothes, I hardly ever wear them.”
“Oh” was all John could reply before trying to gather his wits. “No, she never warned, sorry mentioned it to me.”
“Oh, okay,” replied Heather. “Are you okay with it? I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable, so I can...”
“No, no, its okay” John interrupted, for once trying to hold back his inhibitions, “its cool. Annie's always telling me I should be more relaxed so don't mind me.” John gave a little giggle as he said it, feeling quite brave.
“So how was the trip up?” Heather asked, “Its a hot day, it must have been a rough trip.”
“The car was like an oven in the sun” John replied, trying not to take her eyes from Heather's face, “we were all sweating buckets all the way. Its nice to be out of the car.”
“In that case, did you bring a swimming cossie?” said Heather, “There's a wonderful stream behind the house we can go for a swim in and you guys can cool off and freshen up.”
“That would be lovely. Annie, did you bring.....” John's voice tailed off as he turned to ask Annie if she remembered her costume.
“A swimming cossie? Who needs one?” was Annie's response. At the very suggestion of a swim, both Annie and Chris had stripped naked there and then and now they were standing there just like Heather, naked, unashamed and free.
“Guys, I can’t, you’re not going to make me…” John began to stammer out before Heather interrupted her.
“Its okay” said Heather, placing a hand on John’s shoulder, “we won’t even think of asking you do anything you’re not comfortable with.” Her soft voice relaxed John, and the hand on her shoulder somehow made him feel less vulnerable as Heather continued. “But we’re a long way from civilization, and we’re all friends here, so some of us like to be relaxed about some things.”
“Thanks”, said John, “I know I’m not as relaxed about these things as I could be, I’ll try not to ruin things for you guys.” He only said the last comment out of low self esteem, and Heather was horrified at the suggestion. She held John by the shoulders and fixed her stare on him.
“Don’t ever feel you have to apologise for being yourself, not around us.” Heather told him, “Annie tells me you’re her best friend, and I love Annie like a sister, so I’d never do anything to embarrass you or make you feel awkward.” John’s awkwardness melted a little and Heather could see this. John tried to avoid her stare, but he couldn't. But as her stare softened he looked at her and quietly mouthed “thank you”, before averting his gaze. Heather smiled back and said “Look, why don’t you come inside with me and get changed while these guys head off to the stream for a dip?”
“Ok,” replied John and he picked up his rucksack and follow Heather in the house. John was still feeling a little uncomfortable. He couldn't understand why, but it never occurred to him that because he was wearing clothes, he was now the odd one out.
“Do you want me to turn my back while you change” asked Heather as they stepped into the cottage.
John took a deep breath before replying, “Yes, please, its just....” Heather cut him off before he could get any further.
“Its okay, no need to explain” she said as she turned her back to him. His eyes lingered on her figure for a few moments before Heather started giggling. “You're staring aren't you?” she asked with a mischievous giggle.
“Sorry, sorry” John stammered in reply, turning away in shame.
“Don't worry” she replied, still giggling, ”I guess I should complain if you didn't.” She glanced back over her shoulder at him. “I mean, I'm a naked woman!” Her giggling was as soft as it was reassuring, and John could tell she wasn't in any way offended by his staring. He giggled as well, partly with embarrassed and partly just because of the ridiculousness of the situation.
“I'll just...turn around” he said as he started taking his shirt off. As he began to take off his trousers he paused and nervously looked over his shoulder to check Heather wasn't looking.
“I'm not looking!” she said, still giggling as John quickly stripped off his pants. Feeling suddenly vulnerable in his nakedness, he realised with horror that he hadn't unpacked his shorts, and that they were still in his bag. He rummaged around in it almost in a panic before finding them and quickly pulling them on. The sheer terror of nudity had been replaced by the safety and sterility of clothing but he still felt a brief, disappointing moment of restriction before the comfort of safety and security returned.
“Okay, I'm done” said John as his breathing began to calm down. Heather turned around and looked at him.
“My turn to stare now” she said with a smile as her eyes lingered on his torso. “You look pretty good. It’s a shame you keep covered up.”
John hadn’t been expecting that, and the comment threw him off guard. He immediately began to feel as if he'd done something wrong, and began blurting out an apology
“Shhhh” said Heather. “Its okay. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But whatever you do want to do, we’ll be cool with, I promise. We’re friends, okay?” John nodded in response. Something inside him yearned to just throw off his shorts and run outside, but he just couldn't find the strength to do it.
“Ready to go?” Heather asked and John nodded enthusiastically in response. Grabbing his hand, Heather led him straight back out the front door and they ran round the house and down to the stream, where the squeals and splashes of the others could be heard.
Running towards the water they could see Chris standing with his back to them on the edge of the rocks, ready to jump in. He took a step forward and looked over the edge. It must have been twenty feet down to the water and he was taking some time to build up the courage. Heather decided to force the issue and letting go of John’s hand she broke into an open sprint and leapt onto Chris’s back, knocking him off balance and the pair of them tumbled over the edge and into the water below, Chris screaming in surprise all the way down. John rushed to the edge to see what happened and immediately lost his footing on the wet rock. Barely missing the sides with his head, he plummeted the twenty feet and hit the water with an enormous splash, barely missing Heather and Chris who had only just emerged from under the water themselves.
Everyone laughed, but when John surfaced coughing and spluttering, Heather immediately swam to his aid. Treading water, she took hold of John’s arms and supported him until he could catch his breath again.
“Are you ok?” Heather asked.
“Yes, I think, yes I’m fine. I slipped off up there. I almost smacked my head off the rocks” John replied.
“Well, come on, let's take a rest over here.” Heather gently pulled John away from the deep water and onto the bank where they sat side by side half in the water.
“I got a bit of a fright there” said John. “I can’t believe how
slippery it is up there.”
“Its always been okay with me” said Heather, “I guess you were just unlucky”
“Oh, never mind” said John, perking up a bit as he watched Annie and Chris enjoying themselves, “c’mon let's swim!” He stood up and dived straight in, swimming skilfully under the water until he surfaced right in front of Annie, who jumped back in amused surprise. Heather dived in to follow and the two of them began to chase each other round the pool, both as skilled as the other at swimming.
It was later in the afternoon, and the sun beat down hard on them. Three naked bodies lay in the sun by the side of the rock pool, while the one clad in the shorts floated silently on his back, drifting across the water as a gentle current driven by a waterfall slowly carried him over the still water.
“So what’s wrong with him?” Heather asked no-one in particular.
“He’s just a bit repressed, that’s all” replied Annie.
“But why?” Heather replied. “He’s so nice and sweet, but he seems to have no self esteem.”
“Ah”, said Chris, “dodgy parents.”
“What do you mean dodgy” asked Heather with a look of concern and anger on her face, “did they…hurt him?”
“Discipline was brutal in her house, her parents used to beat him all the time. They’re just the coldest people you’ll ever meet,” explained Annie. “They never hug each other, they never told John they loved him. The poor guy doesn’t know how to be loved, or how to love someone.”
“Has he ever had a girlfriend?” asked Heather.
“Nothing successful” said Chris. “He did have a girlfriend for a few months, and we thought that might work out, but it didn’t.”
“Wow, that's a real shame” Heather said, surprised.
“Don’t bother”, Annie suggested with a giggle, “he’s the best, most reliable and loveliest friend in the world, but he doesn’t do intimacy like that.”
“Oh, that’s sad” came Heather’s reply. “He seems so sweet. And he is rather cute! ” Heather stood up and looked down at Annie. “Is that why you brought him here? To meet me?”
“You’re what he needs”, replied Annie, “a friend who can bring him out of his shell and teach him how to live life to the full.” Annie paused for a second before continuing, “You also know what its like to be damaged, if you know what I mean.”
Heather knelt down beside Annie, the smile wiped from her face and replaced by something sombre and serious, “Yes”, she said, “I do. And I know what its like for someone to save you when you’re damaged. I’ll be gentle with him, don’t worry.”
Heather walked off into the water and gently swam towards John. As she approached him, she turned on her back and floated slowly towards her head first.
“Hey there sweetie”, Heather said to John, “how’s it floating?”
“Mmmmm…its nice in here, isn’t it” came the reply. “I keep wanting to go up to the spot I fell off and dive in, but I’m a bit nervous.”
“Oh, don’t worry about the nerves, just do it when you feel ready” said Heather as she twisted round and started treading water. “Just relax and your fears will disappear. You can overcome anything like that.”
“You mean like going swimming without the shorts?”
“If you want to” replied Heather. “Do you want to?”
“Yes. Yes, I do”, John replied as he sat up, treading water to face Heather, “but I don’t know why I haven’t yet, there’s just something holding me back.”
“I tell you what”, said Heather, swimming a little closer, “don't worry about it, and just try it when you're ready.”
John paused for a second, trying to find a reason to just pull the shorts off right there, but he couldn't find the courage. But he felt within himself that he had to defeat some fear.
“Now watch this!” he said as he swam to the bank and jumped out and ran to the top of the rocks he had fallen from earlier. He held her hands above his head ready to dive and then again almost slipped, but this time he found his footing before performing a beautiful swan dive from the rocks into the water. He came to the surface screaming with joy, more alive than he’d felt in a long time.
Heather swam up to him from behind and grabbed him with a great big hug, squeezing him tightly against her. John yelped as she tickled him, and pulled away, still laughing after his dive. He swam straight to the bank and ran all the way to the top before diving straight in again. He shrieked with delight as he surfaced and swam again for the bank, this time with Heather closely following him. The pair of them ran to the top and dived off in unison, hitting the water together with a huge splash. He surfaced with a huge smile on his face, and finally he felt relaxed.
Chapter 4
The smell of the barbecue drifted softly in the evening breeze across the back of Heather’s cottage. Steaks of beef and an abundance of vegetables from Heather’s own garden filled their plates as they relaxed and ate in the early evening sun. They’d been playing in the stream all afternoon and were tired and hungry.
They sat on a home made picnic bench that Heather had carved herself from dead wood she had collected. It was strong and comfortable to sit on and the four of them relaxed and laughed as they ate. Annie and Chris were dressed just in shorts, while John had put his t-shirt on. Heather remained naked, the spit of the fat of the barbecue not anywhere nearly a good enough reason for her to wear clothes. She was happy to cook the meat using only her wits to protect her, jumping back with a squeal every time the fat sizzled. In fact she quite enjoyed it, she embraced everything about being nude and treated a nude barbecue as just another adventure.
John had never tasted food like it. The vegetables were like nothing he’d ever eaten, his diet so often consisting of tinned or frozen meals for one. Heather could barely keep John’s plate topped up fast enough as he devoured everything put on her plate.
“This food is amazing” said John as he tucked into another mouthful of vegetables.
“Home grown in the mountains” said Heather with a wink, “the best kind.”
“Heather’s cooking is just the best” said Chris as he reached for another slice of steak, “you never go hungry when she’s around” he mumbled as he shovelled half the steak down his throat.
After a hearty meal, the four of them lay down and relaxed on the grassy slope behind the cottage. Annie draped one leg over Chris and kissed his cheek. He turned his head and returned a passionate kiss. Heather looked over at them and then back to John.
“C’mon, let's give this pair some space” she said to John as Chris and Annie started to cuddle up closer, “there’s something I want to show you.” Taking John by the hand, Heather led him away from the cottage towards the stream.
“If we walk uphill a bit, we’ll get a beautiful view of the sunset” said Heather as she bounced along the grassy hill side. John kicked off his shoes and followed her, remembering how nice the ground had felt underfoot when he had been by the river. As they reached the stream they crossed it by some stepping stones and turned and headed straight uphill. As the grass turned to rougher vegetation, John had to watch his step, but Heather just carried on regardless.
“Doesn’t it hurt your feet?” John asked, amazed at Heather ability to walk on anything.
“Nope”, she replied with a smile, “not a bit.” I almost never wear shoes anyway, only when its really cold.”
“Do you wear clothes when its cold?” asked John
“Sometimes, but its never really that cold” she replied, “although I do seem to cope with the cold better than most. I guess I was raised like this, I'd rather shiver and move faster to keep warm rather than put anything on.”
Heather sat down on a large rock that over looked the setting sun. She lay down on her back and stretched out her arms and legs as if embracing the rays of the sun before rolling onto her front and holding her chin in her hands. John sat down beside her and looked at her. Heather returned his gaze and held it.
�
��Why are you always naked?” asked John.
“Why do you always wear clothes?” came the reply, but she quickly followed up it with “only joking, I know I’m the unusual one.” John thought she was about to say something else, but Heather just remained silent, continuing to look into John’s eyes, and for the first time John thought he could see vulnerability in Heather’s eyes. Realising this, Heather broke her gaze and in a slightly awkward voice added “its complicated, it’s a long story.”
“Oh, I’m sorry”, said John, feeling awkward and intrusive, “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“I don’t mind telling you.” Heather replied. She took a deep breath and continued. “I’ve lived in this cottage all my life. I'm an only child and my parents died when I was a teenager.”
Naturist, Red in Tooth & Claw Page 2