"Earl!"
Van sighed as his two year old yellow lab took off into the woods behind his house. His constant companion was usually obedient, but with all the wonderful sights and smells surrounding their new home in the country, Earl had become a challenge the last couple weeks. He wanted to believe the dog would eventually find his own way back home, but that nagging doubt led him to tromp off into the woods after him.
In the thick brush, he soon lost sight of the dog, but by pausing every minute or so he could usually hear the tell tale sound of Earl crashing heedless through the woods. He called every so often, each time less confident that the dog would hear and come back. Van also had to take care to keep his bearings so he wouldn't end up lost in the acreage of his own back yard.
A brief woof from up ahead got him back on track and Van soon found himself arriving at a clearing -- apparently one of his neighbor's backyards. The house beyond was a modest, elegant structure, enhanced by a gorgeous in-ground pool and surrounded by a well manicured yard. Much of the yard not taken up by the pool was dominated by a large vegetable garden, clearly well loved and already producing a variety of healthy looking produce.
It was next to the garden where he finally spotted his wayward dog, who was soaking up the affection of a nearly nude woman. Van was startled by the sight, skidding to a halt before coming out of the woods. The woman, perhaps in her thirties like himself, appeared to be on the tall side with freckled bronze skin. She was wearing only sandals, work gloves, and a wide-brimmed straw hat that, along with sunglasses, conspired to hide her face.
Van admired her rugged beauty and the way the sun glistened off her full, sweat dappled breasts. At the same time, though, he was struck with the awkwardness of the situation. He needed to get his dog back, but he couldn't do so without intruding upon this woman's privacy. Given that she was gardening naked in a very rural neighborhood where privacy was the norm, he wouldn't be surprised if she was very pissed.
He considered sneaking back away some distance and then calling out for his dog again, giving her an opportunity to "hear him coming" well before he made a public appearance. Before he could put this plan into action, however, the woman looked up his direction and spotted him from where he was just inside the tree line. She waved at him, thereby bringing the awkward circumstance to a head.
"Earl!" he said as he stepped out of the woods. "Bad dog!"
"Seems like a good dog to me," the woman said, standing fully upright after having been scratching the dog behind the ears.
"Oh, he is, when he's not running off into other people's yards. I'm really, really sorry about that. Totally didn't mean to intrude on you."
"It's nothing," she said with a smile. She took off her sunglasses, revealing warm, brown eyes, and then peeled her gloves off to offer him a handshake. "Liz."
"Van," he said, taking her hand. More than anything, he was astounded by how utterly unselfconscious she was standing in front of him unclothed.
"Nice to meet you, Van," she said. "And you, too, Earl."
"We, uh, just moved in a couple weeks ago," he said, pointing vaguely toward the woods behind him. "Somewhere back there a bit."
Liz chuckled. "Guess that makes us neighbors, then. I'm sure you'll like the area. Since moving here a few years ago, I can't imagine ever living anywhere else."
"Yeah, I'm really liking it so far," he said. "The woods, the wildlife, the peace and quiet. And, apparently, lovely neighbors."
"You're too kind," she said, shaking her head. "Sorry about my appearance, I wasn't expecting visitors."
"No, no, I'm sorry. I'm the one intruding. It's your yard, whatever makes you happy."
Liz gave him a wry smile. "I meant that I was sorry about being sweaty and dirty. Didn't say I was apologizing for being naked."
Van flushed in embarrassment and was about to stammer yet another apology when Liz burst out laughing. He loved the sound of her laugh, even if it was at his expense.
"Just messing with you," she said. "Trust me, I have a very good reason for dressing like this. Or not dressing, as it were. Just giving you fair warning for the next time you're out this way."
Van wondered what sort of "very good reason" she might have. Nudist? Lost a bet? Laundry day? He was tempted to ask, but chickened out at the last moment and decided to try to move the conversation to something a bit safer.
"Your garden looks incredible," he said, grateful to take his gaze away from her tantalizing body and toward the garden.
"Thanks," she said. "It's my pride and joy these days."
"Was thinking about starting one, now that I have some space, but I'm sure it's too late in the season to start this year. Well, that and I'm pretty clueless when it comes to that sort of thing."
"I'd be happy to get you started. But, yeah, probably next year. You're more than welcome to help yourself to anything in my garden, though. God knows it produces ten times more food than I could possibly eat. Can't give it away fast enough once it really gets going."
"Sounds good. Might have to take you up on that sometime."
"I was planning on making spaghetti sauce from scratch tonight, mostly using just stuff straight out of the garden."
"Wow, that sounds good."
"You should come over for dinner. I'll have way more than enough food and it'd be nice to chat when I'm not so self-conscious over being sweaty and grimy."
Self-conscious? Van wanted to say yes, since he was finding the woman to be friendly, engaging, and unassuming. The naked thing, however, was making him just a little bit reluctant, as if it hinted at a quirky side to her that he wouldn't find as appealing.
"I'll even put some clothes on," she said teasingly, as if suspecting his hesitation.
"Yeah, sure," he finally said. "That sounds great. Should I bring anything?"
"Just yourself. Unless you're married, or have a girlfriend or something."
"Nope, just me. And Earl."
"Six o'clock good?"
"Six. Looking forward to it. And nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Van took Earl by the collar and started walking him back to the woods. He looked back once to wave goodbye and take one last look at Liz. There was something about her nakedness mixed with the sweat and dirt of hard work that was incredibly attractive to him. In some sense, it seemed to fit with the rugged individuality he'd sought in moving this far from the city. It might not have been quite how he'd envisioned it, but he certainly wasn't about to complain.
* * * * *
Van regretted not asking Liz for her address earlier. Or a phone number. It was only later in the afternoon that he realized he probably wouldn't be able to figure out which house was hers from the street, leaving him with retracing his route through the woods on foot as his only option on the way to dinner. The early evening summer heat was leaving him sweaty and he'd already managed to scratch his legs a couple times on the thick brush. If this was going to be a regular thing, hiking to her house, he would have to consider cutting a proper trail.
Finally, he reached her backyard. Many of the thoughts that had pervaded his mind all afternoon returned as the moment of truth was imminent. He had no idea if she was married. For that matter, she might have even have kids. Aside from a penchant for gardening in the buff, he really knew very little about her. He'd convinced himself to avoid getting his hopes too high that there could be a little potential for a relationship here.
Van contemplated walking all the way around to her front door, but decided that she didn't seem like the sort who would hold him to such formality. Instead, he walked up to the back patio door and tapped on the glass. He didn't have to wait long as Liz appeared moments later to open the door for him.
"Heya," she said, stepping aside to let him in. "Glad you could make it."
"Thanks again for the invite," he said, stepping in and offering her a bottle of wine he'd brought along so as not to be entirely empty handed. "Figured I should bring at least a little something."
"Great, thanks," she said, taking the bottle and carrying it to the kitchen which was adjacent to the living room into which the porch door had opened.
As promised and to his relief, Liz was dressed, though hardly dressed up. She wore black, spandex shorts and a snug athletic tank top. It looked like she was ready to go to the gym. Without her hat on, he finally got his first good look at her hair -- chestnut brown, short, and wavy almost to the point of being messy, though it worked on her.
