It's hard work finding a good place to stash a key. I sigh, running my fingers through my scalp as the cool, brisk wind makes a mess of my hair. This far out in the wilderness, surrounded by tall, slender birch trees with naked, spindly branches every which way, ankle-deep in golden leaves, I could hide it pretty much anywhere--which is part of the problem if I'm going to retrieve it. No matter where I turn my head, the landscape is identical, tree after tree after tree blending into one another like the average Bob Ross painting. If I left my key
here
, it may as well become pirate's treasure for all the help it would give me. Nobody would ever find it. Including yours truly.
I bite my lip. I can still chicken out, if I really want to. I haven't locked myself out just yet.
Aimlessly, I walk along a well-trodden desire path through the trees, chancing upon a fallen, hollowed-out birch tree before I circle all the way back to the road. I raise an eyebrow. I'm skeptical, but it's as good a location as any. I squat down, scooping out fresh earth and crumbled leaves from the hole until there's just enough room for my key to lie flat on the ground. Not too obvious. But not too hidden, either. Perfect. The wind might disturb the fallen leaves around the log and blanket it, but as long as I can retrace my steps, I should be fine, even in the dead of night with only moonlight to guide me. Right?
I roll my eyes far back in my head. I am way too confident sometimes.
I scurry away to the road and jump in my car before my nerves are fried, then drive, drive,
drive
with my uneasy heart beating against my chest like a drum until I'm right where I started--home. I get out and climb the front steps, twisting my neck this way and that, making sure the coast is totally, completely, 100% clear by the time I'm on the porch. At this hour, of course nobody is around except for the occasional cricket, but still... I want to be prepared for anything.
I place a hand on my chest and work on my breathing. Breathing in, then breathing out... Breathing in, then breathing out. The wind picks up, toying with the hem of my sundress as if daring me to get on with it. As if to tease me further, a burst of air rushes up to caress my inner thighs, reminding me of what it'll be like once it can touch
all
of me. Mother Nature is incessant in this regard. It doesn't matter how hard or how carefully I hold my skirt in place: the wind tousles it around anyway.
A better time than any to finally get rid of my outfit for good.
The house, as you might have figured out by now, is locked shut. There's no way for me to get in short of throwing a brick into one of the windows. The keys to the front door are tucked safe inside, along with my wallet and other personal effects, in the nightstand by my bed on the second floor--in other words, all but impossible for me to get to. And the spare? The spare key I usually leave under the welcome mat I'm standing on right now? Yeah, I don't think I need to put two and two together there.
That is to say that I'm stuck outside until I come back for it. In any other circumstance, this would be more of a nuisance than anything else, a waste of an hour of my time and a few miles' worth of gas. But not tonight. Because tonight, I have a dare in mind I've wanted to plan out and attempt for weeks now. A stupid, utterly reckless challenge that no sane person right in the head would ever think to try--unless, of course, they were an exhibitionist like me.
The dare? Lock myself out, leave a key in the middle of nowhere, then try and go back for it--naked.
One hundred percent
bare
.
...Yeah, it's definitely something. But I've already made it this far, and the last thing I'm going to do is let myself back down now.
The house isn't entirely closed up. Before I left, I opened one window a smidgen, big enough to slip something into the living room, but not so big that I can worm my way through. In a pinch I could probably open it further if I can't find the spare key, but for now I'll leave it just as it is in the spirit of the dare. One last time, I scan my environs for any sign of life, squinting my eyes to better look in the darkness. Like before, I come up empty. A small perk from living out in the countryside, I suppose.
I'm dawdling. I realize that now as I catch myself waiting for some sign to push me to do it, a green light at a four-way street, a gun to fire at the starting line--something, anything. When really the only thing stopping me is... well,
me
. Nothing's stopping me, not really. And why should it?
After all, it's not like there's anyone else around.
In one quick, confident motion, I pull my sundress up and over my shoulders and stuff it through the window before I have a chance to think, then follow it with my bra, panties, sandals--everything except for my smile. My outfit collapses in a misshapen pile on the carpet floor on the other side, now easily out of my reach. Even if I try really hard to reach down through the window to grab it (and risk dislocating my shoulder), I can't get to them. It's official. I'm locked out. Naked.
So, so naked.
It's not until I sneak back to my car and start the engine that I feel just how exposed I really am. The cold leather sticking to my bare skin, the gas pedal brushing against the sole of my foot, the air all over me coming in through the open windows, kissing every inch of me it can reach--each sensation is new, alien, startling, dotting my entire body with goosebumps. Absentmindedly, I rest my hand on my leg and gently glide my fingertips up and down my inner thigh. Clothes usually get in the way here, preventing this kind of slow, tactile touch, but without them...
Ugh, I'm a mess, and I haven't even left my driveway yet. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, then get on the road before I burn any more time. It was late enough as it is when I left my house the first time to store my spare key deep in the woods, and now so much of the night is gone that I can just faintly make out a hint of gold in the horizon. I better get a move on. A little something tells me I don't want to be running around naked searching for a key in broad daylight.
I drive, holding my breath each time headlights appear in the distance and a vehicle darts past me. Can they peek into the interior of my car? No shot. It's too dark, and even if they
could
, all they'd be able to get a glimpse of is some bare shoulder. At most, given the hour, I'd look pretty underdressed.
If only they could tell just