It was unusually warm for October. It was humid, and the rot of leaves hung heavy in the air. She was sweating more than she had in a long time as she ran on the wooded trails behind the University. Leaves were drifting down from the tops of tall trees, and deer watched from afar and then almost absently leapt into thicker concealment.
She picked up her pace as she started up the long hill that was the mid point of her run. Her calves burned but her lungs felt so full, open, and alive. Quitting smoking was the best thing she could have done for herself before having her baby, and embracing this new athletic lifestyle so wholly. Today was a fine day on all accounts.
Her boyfriend David was busy at the campus gymnasium and her mother had taken the baby for the day. Her usual one hour run felt constricted, timed, and needed while today she felt free and flowing. David ran at a faster pace, but shorter distances, so she enjoyed being here by herself today. It was also nice because she didn't have that feeling of being watched from the trees today.
She pushed hard as she climbed the hill, feeling the burn in her buttocks and the pull in her hamstrings. She loved it. As she crested the hill she felt eyes on her from behind. It wasn't a nefarious feeling, only a feeling. She pulled in her rhythmic breath and looked back over her shoulder. A slender woman, with shiny black hair was just reaching the bottom of the hill. She had a runner's body, and tanned skin.
Vanessa instantly saw that the runner was high maintenance. She wore a Nike running suit that was red, and as the woman ran up the hill without effort she saw that she was very attractive, and wore a touch too much make up. She was exotic, but also normal in a country girl next door sort of way.
Vanessa hadn't realized it but she had stopped at the top of the hill, still jogging in place watching the dark haired woman. She felt pulled to her. Drawn. Her heart thudded in her chest with the efforts of her run, and this new compulsion to watch her fellow runner. Vanessa realized how strange this must seem and she began running again.
The dark haired woman didn't miss a beat and passed Vanessa, giving her a quick over the shoulder "hello" in something like an Eastern European accent. Vanessa flushed, and had to slow to a walk. "Hi", she said, and watched the woman run past. She watched the woman's ass and thought, "Very nice. Kind of looks like mine." There was something in the air, maybe it was a past sexual memory clinging to the smell of the leaves. David had once taken her to a pumpkin patch behind his father's house and spontaneously ravished her between the scattered monster pumpkins. That had to be it. It was that memory clinging to the scents of the day.
She was wet. She could feel herself starting to chafe as she walked. The woman slowed and turned and jogged in place. "Did I startle you?" Her accent was thick and interesting. Vanessa knew right then that this was the same accent that Vlad The Impaler had once spoken with. Her flesh crawled with a chill. "A little." Vanessa said. "You made the hill look like nothing. I'm kind of intimidated," she flirted.
"I am still working off my baby fat. My husband and I come from Romania and are here at the University to study Conservation of Endangered Species. I am Zuzanna." At that she padded to Vanessa and held out her tanned manicured hand.
"I just had a baby last year too. It's a struggle isn't it? Getting back in the shape we were before? I love it though, running feels so good and clean." Vanessa could feel her cheeks burning red. Zuzanna had a light sprinkling of freckles across the tops of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She could feel her pulse in the front wall of her vagina: thud, thud, thud, as they shook hands.
"You should run with me. I need a partner to keep me motivated and it'll be safer if you run with me." Vanessa had wanted to run with someone who could keep up with her and liked the idea of safety also. Somehow, she felt as safe with this very sexual woman as she did with David.
"That sounds nice." Vanessa said. "I think I have enough left in me to run back to the apartment. I don't think I can finish the road today." What she was really thinking was that she was nearly ready to dash into the bushes right here and now rub her clit with a fevered pitch.
"Me too. Maybe we could go and get a coffee at the cafΓ© on Evergreen Avenue next to the river?" Zuzanna said.
Chapter 2
David was sweating more than usual. The humidity permeated the air in the new gymnasium as he did his walking lunges. His muscles felt like they had been shredded, and he loved it. He was glad to have met John when he transferred to the University. They shared a passion for fitness, were politically interested, and both active outdoorsmen. His wife was sweet, and funny, and had an ass that he couldn't help but notice was shaped just like Vanessa's.
Their daughter was nearly the same age as their own son, nine months. Vanessa hadn't met John yet, and David only briefly mentioned him as his "workout partner". In truth they were more than that. They were working on a document to encourage legislation to protect wolves in upstate New York and across the country. They also just simply enjoyed each others company and conversations.
It wasn't until they had gotten to know one another that they realized they shared a secret. John had discovered his secret while back-packing in Hungary, the day he met his wife Zuzzana, while David stumbled across his secret after fighting through his first weeks of sobriety two years prior.