Emma awoke to the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, she never could shake the habit. Being the youngest of three children, there was always a wait for the bathroom in the mornings before running downstairs and trying to eat breakfast before the school bus arrived. Even now, after graduating from the local junior college, she still got up with the sun.
She rolled out of bed and stood, soaking in the sun's warm rays coming in through the window, before heading across the room to her closet. She paused in front of the dressing mirror, and looked herself over.
"Still looking good." She thought to herself turning from side to side.
There really weren't words to describe Emma's shape. Not really curvy, not really thin. Not busty, but definitely not flat chested. Not athletic but definitely fit. She never bought clothes to accentuate her body, but easily made anything she wore look sexy.
Reaching into her closet, she brought out her usual summer wardrobe. Snug fit low rise jeans and a thin button up flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Tossing them onto the bed, she slipped her nightshirt over her head and flung it into the hamper in the closet.
Turning back to the mirror, she looked at her reflection again. She ran her hands across her stomach and up to her breasts. She cupped them in her hands and rubbed her nipples with her thumbs. It had been a long time since hands other than her own had touched her body. Day classes and a night job to help her parents pay for them didn't leave much time for relationships. She slipped her jeans and shirt over a lacy bra and panty set (just because she was a farm girl didn't mean she couldn't feel sexy) and headed down for some toast and coffee.
"Hi mom. Dad already gone?" she said pouring her coffee.
"Yep. He's out checking the fields. Crops look good this year. So what are you doing today? Going anywhere?"
"Probably Nowhere."
"Take the four wheeler. No one's been out there in a couple of years."
Now this might sound strange to someone listening from the outside in, but Nowhere was a real place. The family farm backed up to another family owned farm and where they met, there were four wooded acres that all the kids had named Nowhere. Technically, it was the owned by the neighbors, but all the kids laid claim to it. Emma had two older brothers and the Palmer's had four kids, two boys and two girls. In the middle of Nowhere there was a clearing with a fire pit made from discarded rocks and a picnic table, supposedly stolen from the local forest preserve by the older boys. The kids played out there when they were younger. Camped out there when they were a bit older. Had bonfires and beers later in life. Emma was the youngest and had seen it all out there.
By early afternoon, Emma made it out to Nowhere. Only getting the four wheeler stuck twice. I guess it wasn't just like riding a bike after all and the trail was really overgrown. She rode around Nowhere enjoying the memories when she saw a truck parked at the edge of the trees. She recognized it immediately. It was Tyler Palmer's. Tyler was the youngest of the Palmer boys and two years older than Emma.
Emma had a secret crush on Tyler when they were both in high school, but he was a football player and she was a bookworm. He dated cheerleaders and she hung out with the "brainiacs". She daydreamed of riding in his truck next to him after football games or to the drive-in theater, his arm around her shoulders. And at night, alone in bed, she dreamed of so much more.
But, why was Tyler's truck out here and he wasn't? She pulled out her cellphone and dialed his number.
"Hey Emma. What's up? You back from college already?"
"Hey Tyler. Yeah graduation was two weeks ago. I've been home ever since."
"Nice. I was going to go to college too, but I started helping dad on the farm and one thing led to another and well you know....."
Yeah, she knew. Tyler was a good football player, but not enough to earn a scholarship and his grades weren't the kind to get into college. He was good with his hands and tools, just not an academic.
"I'm out here in the middle of Nowhere and your truck is out here. You get rid of it?"
"No. Tractor quit out there. It just wasn't getting any fuel. I had to walk all the way back to the shop. I thought it was a bad filter so I threw my tools in the truck and drove into town, got a new filter, and drove out to put it on. It started right up so I went back to work. Got up towards the road and it quit again. At least it was a shorter walk."
"That explains it. How are you getting it back home?"
"I'm going to ride my dirt bike out in the morning and then throw it in the back and drive home. Hey, can you lock it up for me? My tools are still inside."
"Sure. No problem. Maybe we can get together sometime while I'm home."
"It's a date. I need to run. They didn't have the fuel pump we needed in town, so I have to drive into Des Moines and pick it up. Meet me out there in the morning and we can catch up. Don't forget to lock up my truck."
"I will. See you tomorrow."
She hung up the phone and walked over to Tyler's truck. The truck she wanted to ride in, make out in, whatever in. She opened the door and climbed in the passenger side. She slid towards the center of the bench seat as if Tyler were driving and imagined heading into the next town over and the drive-in theater. Her mind began to wander, wondering where a night like that might lead. She could almost smell Tyler right there with her. She opened her eyes and realized why. On the floor lay Tyler's sweaty denim shirt and hat. With the windows up and the early summer heat, the whole truck smelled like Tyler. She reached down and grabbed them. She put his hat on her head and raised the shirt to her face and drew his scent in deeply.
"Why didn't you ever notice me?" she sighed. "I was just as pretty as those cheerleaders. I would have loved you more."
She kept Tyler's shirt pressed to her face and closed her eyes. She saw him with the cheerleaders on the football field. She remembered seeing them after a game in their skirts and poms, climbing into the seat she sat in now, driving out of town to the second half of the double feature at the drive in. Then listening to them giggling and whispering on Mondays. The answer to her question became obvious. Well she could fix that. She climbed out of Tyler's truck and locked the doors.
"See you in the morning, Tyler."
Emma got up early with butterflies in her stomach. She had laid out her plan last night as she lay in bed, but there was still the fear of the unknown. She put on just a little mascara, light blush, and lipstick just a shade darker than the color of her nipples (she had read that in a magazine somewhere), and grabbed the day bag she had packed the night before. Starting the four wheeler she headed down the trail to Nowhere. She had to get out there before Tyler or she would have to play it by ear with Plan B.
She made it to Nowhere in record time and after taking a quick lap around the trees, she parked by the fire pit and the picnic table. The truck was still there like yesterday with no sign of Tyler's dirt bike.
"So far so good." she said, grabbing the day bag and heading deeper into the trees. "I'll bet you'll notice me now."
Fifteen minutes later, she heard an approaching dirt bike. She closed her day bag and tossed it next to the four wheeler. She headed through the clearing towards Tyler's truck.
"It's now or never." she said as she stepped out of the trees and into the warmth of the sunshine about 100 feet behind where Tyler had just pulled up and was unlocking his drivers door.
"Hey Tyler." she called walking towards him.
"Morning Emma." he answered as he turned around. "How's it....."
The last word caught in his throat as he saw her.
She smiled at him and waved, swaying her hips as she walked. She knew exactly why he was tongue tied. And she loved it.
