Coming back for the school reunion had been a big mistake.
Ten years changes everyone a lot, especially the ten years after leaving school. Most of the people who had turned up were strangers to me - I could barely remember them from school and had certainly not kept up to date with their lives since. None of my closest school friends had come back and I was wishing I hadn't either. The majority of those at the party last night still lived in the town and hadn't done anything with their lives. I shuddered as I remembered Trevor making a pass at me - he'd not only stayed in the town, he'd pretty much stayed at the school and become the caretaker! I'd left the party as soon as I could, just after ten, and gone back to my hotel for the night. Now, I was stuck here for another day with nothing to do and nobody to share it with.
I'd decided to visit some of my old haunts, and was now strolling along the riverbank. This wasn't a public footpath, but as children we'd set off across the farm fields, following the river as it meandered its way out of town. It was a hot, lazy day. Little wind, just the gentlest of breezes to relieve the baking sun. The sun was sparkling on the water, brilliant flashes of light where the wavelets caught the sunbeams, reflecting them in all directions, flashing like a disco light show. This bit of the river was one of my favourite places as a child. The river had just come tumbling down a cascade of broken rocks and it fell into a wide pool that suddenly stilled the rushing water and let it spread out and slow down. The pool was about twenty feet across and forty feet long, with a wide grassy bank on my side of the river and steep cliffs, crowned with trees, about thirty feet high on the other side.
As the river left the pool it turned through ninety degrees, so this little pool was a private as anywhere in the world. You had to be almost on top of it before you could see it. We used to come here as a gang in our earlier years, skinny-dipping together without any shame or worry until puberty hit us. After that, the boys would still strip off but the girls rarely did. We would still come down here to watch them though, pretending to be shocked at their antics, secretly comparing and admiring their ripening bodies.
Francis, Jane and myself, the inseparable trio we were known as, still used to come here and swim naked together each summer up until we all left for university after school. Nothing sexual in it, it was just a secret place we all enjoyed together. On a hot, sunny day like today it was lovely to splash around in the cool water and afterwards lie together on the grassy bank to dry off. By the time we were ready to leave school the talk at those times would usually revolve around boys, which ones were hot, which ones we fancied, which ones fancied us! It was mostly fantasy and make believe. We three were all still virgins when we went of to university.
Walking beside the river today brought back many of those happy memories, and coming up to the pool, I sat down on the grassy bank recalling all the fears and hopes we had had then. Francis and Jane were both married, with two children each, they hadn't been able to come away for the weekend. I had been married too, to Tom, for five years. When we'd split up two years ago it had been obvious that we had little in common, we'd fallen in love, rushed into marriage and regretted it within twelve months. The marriage had struggled along for the next four years, love turning into companionship, then into habit, finally into irritation. We'd actually got along a lot better after the divorce and now were quite good friends again. Tom was seeing a new girl, a nice girl called Tracy I liked her, but she was obviously very wary of me being around Tom and I got the feeling that she gave him a hard time whenever we spent time together.
Lying back on the bank, musing to myself, I realised, as I batted the flies away for the twentieth time, that it was really very hot. Down at the level of the water, shaded by the bank behind me and the cliff in front of me, there was no wind at all. I was sweating and getting uncomfortable. I slipped of my sandals and started to paddle in the river. The edge was quite shallow, but the bottom sloped away quite sharply. Up against the cliffs the pool was over ten feet deep.
As I stepped into the water, the sudden chill of the cold water on my feet made me gasp. Two more steps out and the water was more than half way up my calves. I was wearing a summer frock that came down to my knees so I hitched the hem up a little and took another step outwards. The water was now lapping at the top of my calves, one more step and it was over my knees. I walked a little way parallel to the bank, holding my frock up out of the water. It was lovely and refreshing, the water was cold and clear, sparkling like champagne as it gave up the air that it had absorbed during its tumble down the rocks.
I took a couple more steps along the pool, and almost stumbled as I stood on a rock shaper than the others. One hand let go of my frock and I reached my hand out to steady myself. The edge of my frock almost fell into the water but I clutched at it again, saving it from getting wet. I looked around, suddenly nervous as a thought occurred to me. The place was still as secluded and private as ever, so I pulled my frock over my head and threw it onto the bank. Standing there in my bra and pants, I felt naughty and excited. I wasn't a schoolgirl any more and though I had no qualms about wearing a bikini on a holiday beach, or even sunbathing topless when lying down, standing in an English country meadow in my frilly underwear seemed suddenly wanton!
I crouched down and ran my hands through the water, considering. We'd never worried about swimming naked here as children, why not do it again? My insides tingled at the thought. As teenagers, getting caught never really occurred to us and if we had been, we'd have been embarrassed, but would have laughed it off. Now, I was a twenty-eight year old, if I was caught naked in public, it could go a lot harder for me. One more fly buzzed round my face and as I swatted it away, my mind was made up. I was already pulling off my bra as I stepped back to the bank. My panties quickly followed and were dropped onto the bank with the rest of my clothes.
