Helen was at her computer chatting over Messenger to Steve. Having made contact with him through a dating site she had arranged to chat with him online, mainly to find out more about his interest in 'dogging', an activity which she knew nothing about. Until his e-mail to her she had never even heard the term used in all her forty-nine years and it intrigued her!
Dogging, he told her, was the habit of spying on couples enjoying themselves in cars, mostly in the evenings and with the tacit agreement of the people spied upon. The name had arisen from the excuse of 'walking the dog' used by voyeurs to explain their presence.
"No, it's not usually prearranged." He was saying. "There are places well known to be dogging sites and both voyeurs and exhibitionists just turn up at them, knowing that there is a good likelihood that they'll find what they want."
"Ok, but how do people know who is there to show off and who is there innocently, just looking for somewhere for a quiet bonk?
"There are unofficial rules that people follow. For instance, if a couple in a car leave the interior light on, that's taken as a sign that they want to be watched, often they'll flash it to attract attention, and if they leave a window open it probably means that a certain amount of involvement is ok, though you have to wait to be asked, especially now summer's here."
"You mean that couples actually invite strangers to join in?" Helen was shocked.
"Some do and some don't, and even then there are varying degrees of participation, from a quick feel of the woman's breasts to a full on shag!"
"Will you tell me something, Steve?"
"Yes, of course. What?" Helen could almost hear suspicion in his typed reply
"Do you go to watch or to show off?"
"Usually just to watch, unless I get lucky with a lady there!"
"You don't take your partner, then?"
"I'm afraid partners are a bit thin on the ground as far as I'm concerned! Didn't you see in my profile that I'm single?" Steve was referring to his entry on the dating site where they met.
"I've learned to take much of what's on profiles with a pinch of salt, Steve, sorry if I've offended."
"That's ok, you haven't, I know a lot of bullshit is written in profiles, - but just where is this conversation going?"
"I was going to ask if you'd take me."
The reply was a long time in coming. "To do what, exactly?"
"I'm not sure yet, probably just to watch, but I'd love to try it!"
"It's not that usual for a woman to just watch, but, yes, ok, why not!"
...........................
Two weeks later a car pulled up alongside Helen and, having bent to check the occupant, she got in and said a face to face 'hello' to Steve for the first time. He was, she decided, a very handsome man, tall and well built, much better than his online photo. He had the ageless and distinguished look that comes with a rugged features and a full head of grey hair, but she knew from his profile that he was in his mid-fifties, just a few years older than her.
"A drink first, I think?" He looked for Helen's agreement and having received her nod, drove silently to a pub about half a mile up the road.
"What can I get you?" He asked her, steering her to a quiet table away fro the bar.
"White wine, please."
He came back with a bottle of good white wine and two glasses and poured the drinks. "It's a bit early yet, there is rarely any action where we are going until after dark, so we've got time to chat for a bit, if you'd like?"
"Sure, but you sound as if you have a subject in mind. Do you?" She looked at him questioningly.
"Sort of. I just want to clarify something!"
"Oh. Go on?" She still looked puzzled.
"When we were chatting and I asked you just what you wanted to do, you said, if I remember rightly, 'I'm not sure, but I'd love to try it'. Try what? Watching or doing?"
"I'm still not sure. I don't think I'd have the nerve to do anything, but I can't help thinking what a thrill it might be to have men leering over me!"
"If you did do anything, how far would you want to go?"
"I don't know! Why are you asking?"
"Well, if you decide you want to show yourself off, would you want me to do anything with you?"
"You mean, would I let you play with me, or even fuck me, with others watching?" Helen could see where Steve was heading! "I would have thought it went without saying. If I do decide to show off I'd hardly want you to sit there twiddling your thumbs, would I? But let's just see how things go, eh? I might bottle out altogether yet."
"I doubt that somehow, but I just needed to know how things stood."
Steve poured Helen more wine, and for a while they sat quietly contemplating the evening to come and its possibilities. Then Helen came out of her reverie and looked at Steve.
"You know, I think that really I'd subconsciously already decided before I came out that I'd like to put on a show, and that I'm only keep myself a way out if I chicken."
"Good. But what makes you say think that?"
"Well, I sat here thinking about doing it, and suddenly realised that all the clothes I've chosen fasten down the front, easy to undo sitting in a car! Look!" She indicated herself, pointing out her blouse and front buttoned skirt.
Steve laughed. "I'd noticed that, but thought it was just a lucky coincidence. But there's no pressure, you don't have to do anything if you decide not to." He glanced at the clock over the bar and then out of the window where dusk was just beginning to fall. "Shall we go?"
Helen drained her glass, and then looked regretfully at the half full bottle. "Yes, I'm ready, but it's a shame to waste this, it's a good wine."
Steve glanced at the bottle and then went to the bar, returning a minute or so later with a bottle cap and a plastic glass. He resealed the bottle and grinned at Helen. "Now we needn't waste it!"
"Thanks, I think I might need the Dutch courage!"
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The venue Steve had chosen was the car park of a country park cum nature reserve and was popular, he told Helen, because of the wooded areas close by and because all 'normal' traffic had usually gone well before dark. He had clearly been there before!
There were a few cars already dotted about, each one innocently parked on its own with no sign of lights or any other activity.
"Now what?" Asked Helen.
"Now we sit and wait for a bit. Any action will start of its own accord when folk are ready."
Steve re-opened the wine and filled the glass for Helen. She took it gratefully, and they sat silently gazing out of the windows and waiting for things to hot up. One by one several other cars drew in and parked quietly, then Steve tapped Helen on the arm, pointing across to one of them.
All Helen could see was that a man had got out and was leaning on his car lighting a cigarette, his lighter flaring brightly in the gathering summer gloom. She looked at Steve for an explanation.