I stuffed the last of the jerky and dried fruits into my pack. 10 gallons of water were already loaded into the special compartment on the back of the bike.
"Heading out, Dave?"
"For two weeks. You know it."
"Lucky bastard. Retired at forty."
"I didn't plan on the computer game I originally programmed in BASIC at age 10 to be so successful... after refining it for 25 years. Now I can do what i always wanted."
I shepherded my friend out the door, locked it behind me, and climbed onto my custom-built motorcycle. Three hours later, I was out in the desert, away from people.
I locked down the bike and climbed into my sleeping bag. There wasn't another soul within miles. The night was peaceful. I gazed happily at the stars for a good hour, letting myself relax. It was good to get away from the world.
I heard the faint noise of someone walking on the hard-packed dirt (not all deserts are made of sand.) A fellow misanthrope, perhaps? I sat up in my bag and waited. The footsteps were coming towards me.
"Hello."
It was a soft, feminine voice.
"Hi." I clambered out of the bag and stood up. "I'm Dave."
The hand that extended itself towards mine was small and delicate. I shook it gently.
"Buduh. I'm of Persian descent, hence the non-American name."
The cloud that had interjected itself between me and the moon moved aside, and in the light of the gibbous orb, I could see Buduh's features better. She did appear to be Arabic, and she was a good six inches shorter than me. Slim, with a decent but not huge chest - it wasn't easy to tell by just the moonlight, but her dress appeared to be covering perhaps a set of C-cups. Maybe a little smaller.
"Delighted to meet you. What are you doing out here?"
Buduh gestured to her backpack. "My boyfriend kicked me out of the house. Said we were through. He was `kind' enough to help me pack a few essentials." The acid tone in her voice grew stronger with every word. "Then he chloroformed me, and when I woke up, I was out here. I thought I saw someone and started walking towards you."
I wrapped her in my arms. "I'm so, so sorry. Your so-called boyfriend needs to be dropped down a mine shaft."
Buduh held me tightly. "What's done is done. Hopefully I never see him again."
"Would you like to lay down?"
"That would be awesome. Thanks, Dave."
I unzipped the sleeping bag and spread it out. Now there was room for two, though we would be uncovered. Buduh and I lay next to each other, and she rested her head on my chest.
"You're being very nice."
I blushed. "I'm just doing what anyone would do."
She pressed more tightly against me. "You'd be surprised."
"Close your eyes," I encouraged her.
She did, and I let my own eyes slam shut.
*
The sunlight on my face woke me. Buduh, still in my arms, stirred a bit.
I lay still and waited for her to come fully awake. That only took a few minutes.
"Mmmm. Good morning, Dave."
"Good morning, Buduh."
We headed behind separate rocks to perform a needed function, then met back at the sleeping bag.
"I normally stay out here for two weeks," I told Buduh. "But this, obviously, changes things."
"How so, Dave?"
"You weren't planning to be out here at all. I have plenty of space at my house, so I'll take you back and you can stay there. I'll help you get your life back in order, although I figure it'll take some time."
"That's very kind of you, Dave. What's the catch?"
"I understand you aren't in the mood to be trusting of men right now, Buduh. The `catch', I suppose, is that I expect you to not steal my property or wreck the house."
Buduh giggled. "That sounds very reasonable."
I packed my stuff back up into the compatment on the back of the cycle. "You'll have to wear your pack, I'm afraid. Only until we get back. You can sit behind me and hold on."
Buduh laughed. "I don't have much of a choice. Be prepared for me to hold on very tightly."
I climbed on, made sure she was seated properly, and she wrapped her arms firmly around me.
"Ready?"
"Yes, Dave."
"Here we go!"
I drove the motorcycle a bit slower than normal and was more gentle on the turns. We made it to my house safely, and I parked the cycle inside the garage.
"That was thrilling. My first time as a passenger on a motorcycle."
She helped me carry the stuff back into the house. I installed her in a comfortable bedroom with attached bathroom.
"Tomorrow I'll take you shopping for essentials. I don't figure one pack has a lot of clothes, for instance."
"Thank you kindly."
The next day, she bought 10 sets of underwear (matching bra and panties), 6 T-shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of slacks, 3 pairs of sweatpants, 8 dresses, 5 skirts and 4 blouses. She then restocked on makeup and feminine items.
"I had to leave my books and movies behind."
"I have a large collection of both, but if there's anything not in there that you want, let me know."
Two days later, we added a copy of Terms Of Endearment and a copy of Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood to my stock of movies. She seemed surprised that I already had Fried Green Tomatoes and Sweet Home Alabama.
"I like a wide range of movies, Buduh. I do certainly enjoy Die Hard and The Expendables and Sudden Death, but that's not the only type I have fun watching."
"You're full of surprises, Dave. Pleasant ones."
That evening, we sat on my living room couch and watched Divine Secrets. We both really liked it.
Buduh curled up against me as we did so. When the movie was over, she looked up from where her head was resting on my chest and gave me a soft smile.
"Kiss me, please."
I dipped my head and very gently placed my lips against hers. We held the soft kiss for maybe 10 seconds. It was a sweet moment.
"Thank you."
I held her closer to me.
"You're quite welcome."
After a few minutes of pleasant silence, where we just enjoyed being together, she rose and went back to her room to turn in for the night.
The next day, after breakfast, we were sitting on the couch and chatting.
"Just out of curiosity, Dave, why didn't you press for more than just a kiss last night?"
"Why would I? I was surprised you wanted that much. Buduh, understand this: I'm not very experienced at dealing with women - I'm better with computers than people - but even I know that after what happened, you're definitely not going to be receptive to me trying to rush things forward."
Buduh giggled. "You know more about women than you think." Then she gave me another gentle kiss.
"Perhaps you would like it if I took you on some dates?"
"I probably would like that very much, as long as your idea of a date isn't a Monster Truck rally."
Now it was my turn to laugh. "That's definitely not me."
We went out that night for a pleasant dinner at a modest restaurant that serves good food. Buduh complimented me on my restaurant choice.
Three days later, we went to a movie at the Retro Dome - "The 300 Spartans." Buduh had mentioned that she did like historical epics.
She approved heartily of the comedy we watched on DVD the next night at home, "The Mouse That Roared." It was, surprisingly, her first time seeing a movie featuring Peter Sellers. I explained that he very often played multiple roles. So the next night we watched "Dr. Strangelove" together as we cuddled on the couch.
A week later, we attended a free concert at the park featuring a couple of local bands trying to drum up publicity and sell a few CDs. We liked them, so we bought 1 CD from each band, and I bought Buduh a cute hoodie. She rewarded me with another kiss.
We drove out to the next Saturday farmers' market and held hands as we perused the stalls, buying a few fruits and vegetables. When we got back home, Buduh informed me that she was ready to let me kiss her chest provided she got to kiss mine in return. We both stripped the top half of our clothing off and got down to underwear (panties for her, boxers for me) on the bottom half, then climbed into my large bed.
I kissed her lips again to begin, then we slipped our tongues out and explored each other's mouths. When we broke away, I gently moved my lips down to her neck. She shivered as I nibbled very lightly on the delicate flesh.
I remained where I was for a short while, then kissed down to her upper chest. I took my time brushing my lips against where her breasts merged with her body, then eased my way through her cleavage.
"That feels very nice, Dave."
"Then you'll love this, Buduh."
I lifted her breast in my hands and kissed my way from the base up towards her nipple in a slow helix, then did the same to her other breast. Her breathing had noticeably deepened. I gently suckled at a nipple, and her slim arms secured my head in place.