As she pointed from flower to flower above her he could see how much she was in love with the landscape. She seemed almost in a dream as she stood their under the tree, her other hand softly stroking her hair.
Suddenly John felt ridiculous in the t-shirt. Here was a beautiful woman showing him the wonders of the natural world and here he had a barrier up to both of them. He quickly pulled it off and stood up beside her. Reaching above her he pulled the branch down and plucked a head of the white flowers from the tree. He handed it to her and she took it and placed it in her hair behind her ear.
For a moment their eyes met, and for a moment they both felt something was about to happen, but it seemed just out of reach. John felt a surge of frustration within him and desperately searched his mind for the right thing to do. Heather likewise found herself on the edge of making a move, her lack of confidence just holding her back.
As they both felt their moment had arrived, a distant howling sound drifted through the glen. It was long, lingering and inhuman, a sound neither had heard before, and its haunting echo was enough to snap them out of their moment. They both stepped back, the opportunity lost for now, taken by this distant, empty noise.
“What the hell is that?” asked John, awkwardly trying to start a conversation.
“I don't know” said Heather. “I've never heard anything like that.”
“Do you have big cats here?” asked John. “Like the Beast of Bodmin Moor?”
“You mean like pumas or lynx that have escaped from zoos?”
“I've heard a few stories from the borders, but never from the north of Scotland” said John.
“Maybe, there's been a few stories over the years,” replied Heather. “A puma was caught down by Loch Ness back in the eighties, but I've never seen anything round here.”
“Well then, better keep our eyes open” said John with a smile, “this day could get exciting!”
Heather glanced up at John, smiling at his comment but kicking herself for not acting before the wailing sound had distracted them. It was the moment she realised how she felt about him, that she wanted him, more than any man she'd met, and she'd let it slip. She vowed not to let another chance get away from her and that this day, this mountainside, would see the start of their time together.
She sat beside him as he was putting his boots back on ready to start the walk again. As he did, she pointed out the route up the ridge to the mountaintop they were heading for. Her hand rested on his shoulder as she explained the route, and she made sure he could feel her breath on his skin.
She was available to him now, and she damn well wanted him to know this.
From the mountain top, the creature looked down at the glen below. As it came over the crest of the ridge, its keen eyesight had briefly spotted food, but now the food was hidden, and it had screamed in its frustration and anger.
But the creature was patient, and settled down to sleep and to wait until food came to it once again. And it could wait a long time if it had to.
Chapter 8
“See that slope up there?” asked Heather as she pointed to what seemed to John to be a steep and insurmountable cliff face, “That's what we're heading up.”
“Oh” was John's only reply as an entirely new sense of fear came to him.
“Don't worry” she said, taking the opportunity to lean slightly closer to him and brush her shoulder against his skin, “it's not as steep as it looks, and it's not difficult.”
John felt his whole body tense and tingle as he felt her skin brush against his shoulder, his uncertainty about her intentions bringing nothing but confusion to him.
“I trust you” he said with a nervous smile. “And it looks fun” he continued as the challenge of the climb began to fill him with excitement.
“Do you like a challenge?” she asked.
“Bring it on!” he replied with increasing enthusiasm. The more he looked at the hillside, the more he loved the idea of going up there, especially with Heather. He loved the idea of being in such a wild place, the hard, bare rock of the mountain contrasting wonderfully in his mind with the soft, heather smothered peat bog of the glen.
“Then follow me” said Heather as she turned to begin walking up the side of the glen.
Within minutes her whole walk changed, from a steady gait to something resembling a skip as she jumped from rock to rock. She didn't walk up the hill, she bounced up it, leaping with each step, across rock, bog and grass. John watched her as her boundless energy carried her up the hill while he trudged up, each step of the ever steepening hillside testing muscles he didn't even know existed. Where John's feet plunged into a cold, wet bog, Heather just jumped across it, seemingly familiar with every step of the way. Her knowledge and intimacy with the mountain landscape meant she could read the land in a way John couldn't understand, leaving her able to pick her way across the land, quickly and easily.
As fit as John was though, he struggled to compete, and eventually he had to pause for a moment to get his breath back.
“Hang on a second” he called to her.
Instantly she spun on the spot, turning to face him. With the grace of a ballerina she took a few leaping steps back down the slope to where he stood.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yes, I just need a quick break” he replied.
“Me too” she lied with a smile, reaching into his rucksack and pulling out the water bottle, “and a drink.”
She passed the bottle to John who gulped the cool, satisfying water down before passing it back to Heather.
“You go on ahead this time,” said Heather between gulps of water, “besides, we should slow down so you can enjoy it more.”
“Thanks” he said, unsure if his fitness had just been insulted or not.
“Don't worry,” she replied, realising what he was thinking, “no matter how fit you are, if you've never climbed before it's always tough the first time.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes, most people wouldn't make it half as far up before stopping” she said, “and just wait till you see how slow that pair back at the cottage are!”
“Aren't they always coming out here to see you?”
“Yes, not that you'd notice it sometimes, the speed they go at” she said, much to John's surprise. “Annie's not bad, but I'll be chasing Chris with a cattle prod tomorrow if he's as slow as he was last time.” She finished with one of her evil laughs that left John not entirely convinced she was joking.
“So I'm doing all right then?” asked John.
“All right?” said Heather with a warm smile. “You're doing perfect.”
John smiled nervously back at her before turning away to begin the walk again. Without Heather's lead he initially found it difficult picking a route up the hill. It was becoming rockier, and he was unsure of the terrain, but the occasional comment from Heather guided his route and he soon found his confidence. He started making good time, and on a good route.
Up ahead he could see the crags that had seemed so threatening from below, but on closer inspection they seemed a lot less daunting. They were steep, but not insurmountable, and he could already see potential routes up them. His pace quickened as he approached them, he was keen to reach the summit and he felt a sudden rush of energy at the thought of reaching it.
When they reached the crags, he felt in his element. The scrambling was a delightful experience and it felt great to get his hands on the bare rock. It was a much more fulfilling experience than just the walk as he felt almost like a wild animal, scampering across the landscape.
“Wait up!” shouted Heather as they reached a flat plane of rock after a particularly steep part of the scramble. John turned to see what she wanted, but she just walked up to him and sat down on the flat rock and patted the rock beside her, inviting him to sit beside her.
“Nothing like sitting your bare bum on bare rock is there?” she said as he sat beside her.
“Mmmmm....” he replied, the refreshing feeli
ng of rough, cold stone against hot muscle briefly distracting him. “Its rather nice isn't it?”
“Oh very nice” she replied. “Something cold is always nice when you're exercising naked outside. A cool breeze, cold rock, its always refreshing.”
“Well, you don't get this feeling with your clothes on, that's for sure” he replied. “Even the breeze isn't so nice when you're dressed. You have to be soaked with sweat, which is never nice anyway, before a breeze cools you, but when you're naked its so much more refreshing.”
“Annie says she notices a big difference when she hikes naked with me” said Heather. “She swears she needs less water and gets less dehydrated, even though it's usually a hotter day when she hikes naked.”
“I feel like my body isn't confused” replied John, “almost like it knows what temperature it should be.”
“Annie says something similar” said Heather. “She says that even if she's just wearing shorts or a t-shirt then there's still parts of her that's hot or cold compared to everything else when we're out walking.”
“So will they hike naked as well?” asked John.
“Chris won't” replied Heather, “not once my cousin turns up, he's too shy. Annie will when she gets too hot through.”
“What's your cousin like?”
“Claire? She's nothing like me,” said Heather with a laugh. “You'll be lucky to see her in anything closer to naked than a swimming costume with others around, but I always remain hopeful. She won't mind other people being naked though, she's used to it in our family, she's just a bit shy, like Chris.”
“Her boyfriend's a little uptight though,” she continued. “Poor Brandon, he never knows where to look when I start running round and jiggling all over the place!”
She laughed out loud at this and John, feeling not entirely unsympathetic to Brandon's predicament, laughed as well.
“I know how he feels” he said, thinking just how much time he'd spent forcing himself to hold eye contact with Heather.
“And what does that mean exactly?” asked Heather, as her laughter died and a serious look came over her face. John felt horrified, convinced that he'd offended her, and began desperately searching his mind for an answer that would appease her.
But the serious look on her face died within seconds as Heather collapsed into laughter. She placed her hand on his knee to steady herself as her laughter subsided into giggles.
“I'm sorry” she said through her giggling, her other hand up at her face, “ you should have seen the look on your face.”
“I thought you were mad with me there” said John as a huge wave of relief ran through him.
“Oh no, I couldn't be mad at you” she replied, “but I will say this.” She paused, the uncertainty of what she would say hanging in the air for a second.
“You don't have a girlfriend to be jealous” she said, an impish smile spreading over her entire face. “So feel free to know exactly where to look.”
John was speechless, completely lost for words, with absolutely no idea what to say as a response. Fortunately for him, Heather didn't wait around for one.
“Come on then, “ she said standing up and heading up the rocks, “mountains to climb now.”
Chapter 9
Heather and John climbed onwards, weaving their way through the seemingly unending crags. John was beginning to tire, but he never slowed down, never letting Heather pull ahead of him. The burning pain in every muscle in his legs was unrelenting, but he refused to give in, instead relishing the intense relief as every gust of wind cooled the muscles beneath his hot, sweat covered skin.
The nature of the climb began changing again, the slope now beginning to level off with the summit almost in view. Heather quickened her pace, almost to a run, but he had no chance of keeping up now. Instead he did the only thing he could – he got his head down and pointed his feet uphill, vowing not to stop or even look up until the end.
Within minutes he was approaching the summit, and the sense of relief and achievement as he approached the small cairn that marked it made all the pain worth it. As he walked up to the cairn, he discarded his rucksack, kicked off his boots and walked the last few metres completely naked. An overjoyed Heather stood at the cairn waiting for him and as he arrived she held out her arms and threw them around him, embracing him in a tight hug.
The feeling of her skin against his was startling as her cool, damp sweat and wind chilled skin seemed to draw the exhausting heat from his body. He shivered as it the heat left him, a sweet relief from the fire he felt in every muscle in his legs and back. He wrapped his arms around Heather, feeling the heat drawn from them as well. Her whole body was a delight, refreshing and rejuvenating him.
“Well done” she whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek. She held him tightly, feeling the same cooling relief from him that he felt from her.
“Wow” said John as they separated from the embrace. “You feel so cold and fresh.”
“So do you” she replied, “amazing feeling isn't it!”
“Yes, yes it is” he replied as heat began returning to his body.
But now John noticed the view, and it took his breath away. He'd never seen anything like it in his like. To the north stretched a seemingly endless wilderness of bare rock, a hummocky landscape scattered with lochans that reflected the sunlight like a bed of broken mirror fragments. To the east rose a jumble of mountain peaks, extending as far as the eye could see. Some were grassy, some rocky and pointed, some even held the occasional patch of snow in their higher corries. But to the west, beyond the next ridge, there lay the sea, rich and blue in the afternoon sun. There was a scattering of islands, mostly little more than rocks poking out the water, but there was one large one, covered with woodland with a beach just visible on one side.
“This is amazing” John said, lost for any more words than those. Heather smiled, happy to see him feel so good about himself.
He looked around the summit. It was the highest point of a long, gently elongating ridge, about fifteen metres across, crowned with bare rock and patchy grass. A small lochan sat on one edge if it, with clear but dark water, and in the hot sun neither of them could resist jumping straight in. Both yelled as they hit the water, the adrenaline rush of the sudden, enveloping coldness the reward for their long and exhausting climb.
Although the water had looked dark, it felt clean and cool, and they both splashed around in it. The dirt and sweat washed off as they played in the shallow water, enjoying the beauty of their isolation. John still struggled to believe just how beautiful this landscape was, he felt utterly in love with everything about Heather's lifestyle and he was by now desperately thinking of how to take things further.
Heather watched as he walked out the water to look at the view again. He walked around the water's edge taking everything in, but he was awe stuck by it. All he could do was sit down on the ground and lie back and let nature's wonder wash over him, he was powerless to resist its lure any more.
Heather decided it was time to act. She got out the water and knelt beside him, taking his hand in hers.
“You okay?” she asked.
“This place is amazing” he replied, “I had no idea somewhere like this existed.”
“This is just the start of it” she said, “there's endless lochs, pure white beaches, it's wonderful up here.”
“I wish I could live out here” he said with a hint of sadness.
“Can I ask you something?” Heather said, changing the subject and lying down on her front beside him.
“Anything” he replied.
“Last night,” she started, “you said you thought I was beautiful.”
John instantly felt tense.
“Did you mean it?” Heather asked, adding “Please be honest with me.”
“Yes, yes I did” said John after pausing for a deep breath.
“Do you really mean it?” she persisted.
“Of course I meant it” he said, now starting to feel very awkw
ard.
For a few seconds Heather said and did nothing. But then she placed her arm over John's chest and lifted herself slightly onto him. He began to tremble with nerves as he felt her breast rub against his chest.
“Then why don't you look at me, at all of me?” asked Heather. “I'm here in front of you, but you only look at my face.”
John was visibly shaking now, both from terror and excitement.
“I was being polite, I didn't...I'm sorry...” he replied, his answer stumbling into confusion.
Naturist, Red in Tooth & Claw Page 6