"Damn it!" said the 22 year old as he stood outside the sports complex. Its doors were locked and an A4 piece of paper taped to the front said that the pool was being maintained and would be closed for a week.
"For fuck's sakes, Jon, you told me I could come today." He cursed his friend, the manager who wasn't there.
Todd loved to swim, it was his form of stress relief and he needed it now of all times. The past month had been rough on him; he had multiple term papers due, he had finals coming, he had reports to give, and his land lord wasn't making it any easier on him. It was as if life was intentionally being mean to him on that particular month, and the one thing he looked forward to doing was now not available.
Todd grumbled under his breath as he turned around and made his way back to his car. Opening the door he threw his gym bag into the passenger seat and got in. He continued grumbling as he started the car and drove it rather aggressively out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
"You can use it on Saturday, Todd, no one ever comes on Saturday," Todd mimicked his friend in a nasally tone. "Bite me, Jon, the least you could do is text me that the pool was closed."
He and Jon had an agreement. Todd wasn't particularly fond of the idea of being half naked around people. So Jon would let him know when he could have the sports complex pool to himself, in exchange Todd would take care of Jon's tab at the bar he worked in. it worked until Jon would forget to tell him when the pool was empty or in this case being repaired.
Todd finally stopped fuming after a while and accepted that this hell would have to keep up until it resolved itself. Driving home his though shifted when he came to stop and a remote intersection just outside of town. As he was waiting for the light to turn green, he caught a glimpse of a sign on the opposite street. Its lettering was faded but still legible. It was a sign to the nearby summer camp by Lake Twonsa. The camp was appropriately named Camp Twonsa
"Oh," Todd said recognizing something. He had moved to this town a few years ago but only now just realized that it was the same town he visited when he went to that camp 12 years ago. It wasn't a fond memory; in fact it was actually boring. That must be why he had forgotten about it. If he could remember it had close down 5 years ago after going bankrupt or something.
Curious, he turned his car right following the direction of the sign. As he drove, the surroundings started getting more and more forested. Trees grew on either side of the narrow two lane road and in the distance Todd could see the mountains looming on the horizon. The road went on for about 3 miles before a sign on the side of the road directed that the camp was on the next dirt road.
"I hope you can take a bit of off-roading," Todd said patting the dashboard.
The road wasn't too bad. It made driving in his non-off road car bumpy and noisy but nothing to jarring. The dirt road snaked lazily for 500 yards before Todd could see any signs of the camp. A few light posts and a large wooden sign with Camp Twonsa carved into it marked the entrance into the camp grounds. The place was definitely abandoned but still recognizable.
Driving slowly through the grounds, memories of the place started reappearing in Todd's mind. The road zigzagged through the grounds until it ended in a parking lot next to the woods. Todd parked his car facing the trees and cut the engine. Stepping out of the climate controlled car he was hit by warm air that smelled earthy and fresh.
Closing his eyes he took a deep breath relishing the peace and isolation. A few birds called out on the trees in the distance he heard the tapping of a wood pecker. He also heard sloshing water. Looking at the woods Todd could just see through the trees the lake. Its surface rippled in waves that lapped at a sandy shore. An idea came to Todd's head.
He reached back into the car and grabbed his gym bag. He had parked next to a path that led from the parking lot, through the woods, to the lake. As he emerged from the woods onto the shore, Lake Twonsa stretched out before him. The beach was wide almost a hundred yards of brown sand, but thin only dozens of feet from the trees. On the other side of the lake Todd could see some lake houses all with docks of their own and all seemed inactive. Unusual for a sunny Saturday afternoon, but Todd didn't care. It meant he was all alone and he liked that, no one to see him or disturb him.
"This place is perfect," he said to himself. "Ha! I guess I don't need Jon's help anymore."
And to him it was. In the sports complex, even with their agreement, Todd still felt a little self-conscious. (What with the building having CCTV cameras) Here, there was no one for miles in any direction. The nearest sets of eyes were in the houses on the other side of the lake but they seemed too far for the naked eye to see anything.
Without hesitation Todd dropped his bag by a moss covered tree and took off his t-shirt and cargo shorts and kicked off his flip-flops. Now only in his trunks and a pair of goggle he made his way to the water. The water was cool but not uncomfortably cold. When he got to hip deep water he dove in and started swimming free style. He estimated 50 meters of swimming before turning around and heading back to shore.
He lapped to and from shore alternating between freestyle, breast stroke, and butterfly stroke as many times as he pleased. After an hour and a half he started feeling tired and swam back to shore. As he swam he could have sworn he saw something white moving on the beach, but feeling tired he just assumed that it was bubbles in his goggles.
When Todd felt the ground under his feet he was still in chest deep water. He stood up and took off his goggles shocked to find someone standing on the beach. It was a young woman about the same age as him in shorts and a white tank top. She stood by the tree where he had left his stuff and to his horror she was looking at him. Still hidden in the water Todd gawked at her.
"Hello," she said casually. "Did you have a nice swim?"
"I- um-," Todd stammered. Everything felt uncomfortable now. The water felt too cold, his trunks felt tight on his waist, his goggles were pinching his forehead, and he felt she was staring at him.
"Are you alright? You seem nervous."
"I am," Todd blurted. "I thought I was alone."
The woman laughed, which didn't help Todd's feelings. "Why, did you go skinny dipping and think no one was around?" she asked playfully. Todd felt blood rush to his face.
"No, I wasn't. I was just swimming laps."
"Then come on out, you'll get sick if you stay in that cold water," she smiled warmly.
"I'm- er- kind of... shy" Todd finally admitted.
"Oh," her expression changed to surprise and then to understanding. "Um, I can turn around if you like." Before Todd could reply she turned her back on him, facing the woods.
With her back turned Todd felt a little easier and slowly made his way to shore. He kept an eye on her, and had to admit she did look good. Her outfit fitted snuggly against her body outlining her curves. Through the fabric Todd could see the plump form of her ass. Her brown hair fell smoothly to her shoulders contrasting her smooth, fair skin. Before she turned Todd got a look at her face. Her hair fell on either side framing her beautiful face.
"My name's Dana, by the way, Dana Maxwell," she said as Todd got closer to his bag. "What's yours?"
"Todd Torres," he replied bending over to open his bag. He was trying to get dressed quickly but there was a problem; his fingers were wet and kept slipping on the tiny zipper.
"Todd," she echoed. "That's a nice name. So you come here often, Todd?"
"Not really, no." he was trying to keep his voice from sounding struggled against the zipper. "I just realized that this old camp was nearby wanted to do some laps."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to do that in a pool?"
"Yeah but the sports complex pool in town is out for a week so I thought I would do it in the lake." Despite struggling with his bag he started feeling comfortable around her.
"Damn it!" he cursed when his hand slipped and he dragged his knuckles painfully across the zipper.
"What's wrong?" she asked
"My bag's zipper is stuck and my fingers are too wet to get them open."
"My hands are dry let me help you." She offered
"Oh, no, it's okay I just need to..." Before he could finish she cut him off.
"Come on, it's bad for you to stay wet in the air for long. Let me help."