I was camping in Yosemite one time in college, when I couldn't get to sleep one night and decided to take a walk through the woods. It was the middle of summer, so it was warm enough to walk outside in just pajama bottoms and a T-shirt (and sandals). We had camped way out in the middle of nowhere, so nobody was around for miles, or so we thought. So while my friends were sleeping, I slipped out of the tent and strolled out through the forest.
Yosemite is gorgeous at night, the woods were quiet and the moon was full.
After about ten minutes of walking, I had paused to watch a nice little stream that was winding its way through the roots and rocks, when suddenly I heard a noise. I tensed. It was large, and it was close by - behind me. I froze; if it was some kind of predator, running would be the worst possible move. Maybe I could scare whatever it was away, I thought, if I stretched out my arms and made loud noises. I was just getting ready to put this plan into action, when the thing broke through the trees and stumbled into the clearing.
It was a naked girl.
She was tall, almost my height; a couple years younger than me, maybe 19 or 20, light-haired, pale, and beautiful in a thin delicate way, kind of like an elf from Lord of the Rings. She was stark naked except for a pair of flip-flops, and she looked scared and confused. I was so surprised that I couldn't move, and I just sat there gaping. She had a gorgeous body (if a bit on the thin side), beautiful small breasts, long slender legs with perfect calves...but for some reason, what I remember most is her ears, which stuck out just a little from her straight blonde hair and made her look even more like an elf.
Then saw me. I was still standing with a stupid open-mouthed expression on my face, frozen in place. As soon as she saw me, she let out a small squeak and dropped to a crouch, hugging her arms across her chest.
"Um...hi?" I ventured, taking a step forward. That scared her, and she let out a choked half-yell.
"Hey hey!" I stopped her, holding up my hands. "I'm not going to hurt you at all! I was just out taking a walk! Are you OK?" To show her I meant no harm, I took a step backward.
"I'm Jason," I said, "I'm from Berkeley."
"Hi, Jason," she said. "Do you think you'd mind looking away?"
"No problem," I said, and turned around.
"Thanks."
"So..." I asked, "Is there...um...anything I can help you with?"
"You wouldn't happen to have a compass on you, would you?" she answered drily.
"Nope, 'fraid not. Are you lost?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Um..."I hesitated awkwardly. "I guess I'm gonna have to ask this eventually, so..."
She got the hint. "My friends and I were playing a stupid game, and I had to take a dare, which was to take off my clothes and walk fifteen minutes into the forest. I guess I got turned around."
"Wow," I said, "You're brave."
"Stupid is more like it," she snorted.
"Well hey," I said, "I don't really need my shirt...want it?"
"Oh my gosh, that would be great." I could hear the relief and gratitude in her voice. Without hesitation, I stripped off my shirt and tossed it behind me. I heard the sound of her picking it up and putting it on, and stifled the manic urge to turn around and get one last look at her amazing body.
"How does it fit?" I asked.
"Um...it's...not quite long enough, but it's much better than nothing." She sounded distinctly disappointed. I couldn't decide if I was disappointed or pleased. I settled on disappointed; I'm a nice guy.
"Well?" I asked. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"
"To be honest, I'm kind of scared walking around out here like this," she confessed, and I could tell it was a bit difficult for her to admit it; she really seemed like a girl who was used to getting by all on her own. She had stripped and walked fifteen minutes into a pitch-black empty forest, after all.
"Do you think yo could come with me and help me find my friends?" she asked, a little shyly.
"Sure," I answered immediately. "I have good direction sense. But...are you sure you'll be OK? I mean..."
"Well," she said, "you already saw everything, right?"
"Um...it was dark, and..." I hedged.
"It's OK, you can admit it. Come on, you can walk in front." She almost sounded like it was her saving me from embarrassment.
I turned around. The girl was even more gorgeous wearing my T-shirt than she had been completely nude. She stood with her hips cocked, one hand pressed demurely between her long long legs, smiling wryly at me.
"Well," I asked, blushing in the dimness and turning around before she could see my eyes get wide, "Shall we?"
"Lead the way, sir," she said, and I noticed how comfortable she sounded all of a sudden.
We crept through the dark woods, and my Boy Scout training took over. I moved us in a "concentric wedge" search pattern, in the general direction she thought her friends were. They couldn't be more than half an hour's walk away, I figured. However, given the girl's less-than-dressed state, I thought it might not be a good idea to start calling out.
"So where do you live?" she inquired from behind me as we crept along. "Are you a student?"
"Yeah," I said. "Berkeley. You?"