Hello and welcome to my readers. Thank you for your votes, comments and feedback on my previous submissions. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. Thanks to Rogue Lurker, my editor extraordinaire and geekychick_76 for her comments and suggestions.
___________________
"Can I help you with that?"
Dawn wiped the sweat from her eyes with a gloved hand and looked up from the tree she was struggling to plant. Her green eyes met the deep blue of a pretty, blonde-haired woman wearing a Forest Warden cap. "Oh, thank you," she replied, stepping back as the woman lifted the tree by its burlap-wrapped root ball and placed it in the hole Dawn had dug.
Dawn was one of numerous volunteers participating in the Earth Day Reforestation Project sponsored by the Forest Service, replacing trees recently clear-cut by illegal loggers on public land. She had asked her husband, David, to volunteer and help her, but his leisure interests extended only to on-line gaming and cyber role-playing.
Dawn wondered what had happened to the vigorous, athletic man she had married thirteen years ago after college. With degrees in Engineering and Computer Science, they were guaranteed high paying jobs and a secure future. They prospered and lived a comfortable life, but Dawn felt they were drifting apart. She still loved David, but his attitude toward her was so distant and indifferent. Occasionally, the man she fell in love with in college would reappear with his quirky sense of humor and his kindness, and then disappear again into his cyber world.
David had become more sedentary as the years passed, preferring to remain indoors when Dawn wanted to hike or jog. She had maintained her youthful figure through diet and exercise, while David's once-muscular body had turned weak and flabby. Their sex life had become non-existent and Dawn had turned to her secret collection of vibrators for satisfaction. What Dawn longed for was to be kissed and held and made love to. The thought that David no longer loved or desired her left her feeling sad and unfulfilled.
"Do you need some help putting the dirt back?" the woman asked, snapping Dawn out of her reverie.
Dawn looked at the woman's name stitched on her uniform shirt. "That would be nice, Cindy," she replied. "I am getting tired. This is the seventh tree I've planted today. And please call me Dawn."
"Glad to help, Dawn," Cindy said, flashing a dazzling smile.
***
She is adorable. Such a cute figure and that beautiful red hair. I wonder if she's with anyone…
Cindy mused as she shoveled dirt around the root ball. She had been alone for several months since her lover had taken a job out of state and Cindy has refused to leave the Forest Service to follow her. She loved Kathy, but she loved her job and the outdoors more. From the moment, she had seen Dawn in her tight shorts and t-shirt, Cindy was intrigued. The red-haired beauty made her skin tingle and she wanted to stay close, hoping for a sign that the feelings were mutual.
"It was so kind of you to help me, Cindy," Dawn said happily, pouring water from a bucket around the base of the tree. "I don't want to keep you from your other duties, but could you help me with this last one?"
Just try and stop me
, Cindy thought, easily lifting the last sapling and carrying it to the locator stake. The women exchanged smiles and casual conversation as they worked. Sitting down for a rest, Dawn removed her gloves and Cindy's heart sank as she saw the glint of a wedding ring.
Damn, just my crappy luck, getting interested in a married woman. Way to go, Cindy.
Cindy could not keep her eyes from roaming over Dawn's lithe body. The swell of her firm breasts, her narrow waist, round ass and long legs were driving Cindy to distraction. She barely listened to Dawn's discourse on her Earth Day volunteering and how planting the trees made her feel useful.
Cindy watched Dawn's full lips move as she talked, shivering despite the warm sun as she imagined how they would feel against hers, sucking on her tongue as they embraced. She edged closer until their bare legs were touching, noticing that Dawn did not pull away.
***
Dawn's heart began to race as Cindy's leg touched her, the contact of their skin making her flush. From the moment she had seen the statuesque beauty, Dawn had felt the first stirrings of desire in many months.
Why is this woman arousing me like this? I'm a married woman, for heaven's sake. I'm not interested in girls. What in the hell am I doing?
Dawn found herself looking at the larger woman appraisingly. Cindy was tall and muscular; her full breasts, broad hips, firm thighs and tanned skin emphasized by the dark green shorts and uniform shirt she wore. Her uniform cap rode jauntily on her short blonde hair and her blue eyes sparkled as she talked.
Dawn began to sweat as Cindy slid even closer to her, offering her a drink from her canteen and resting her hand on her shoulder. She barely heard Cindy ask her if she would mind helping re-pot some seedlings in the potting shed. Cindy helped her to her feet and they began walking back to the cluster of temporary buildings.
***
The warm air in the potting shed was redolent with the smells of straw and soil as the women placed fresh planting material around the tree seedlings, carefully watering them and placing them on wire shelves for planting. Cindy could have done the work herself, but she wanted to spend more time around Dawn and this was a perfect excuse. Dawn was happy to be working with Cindy, the woman made her feel excited and alive.