Reader: This is the first of two parts. However, they can be read independently.
Spring has arrived at our house in California. All of a sudden there is a ton of activity to do outside. I won't complain though. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy yard work. After a winter of cold and rain coupled with the last five days of sitting at a desk and staring at a computer screen, muscling the mower and digging in the dirt is refreshing exercise. So, I got up early on Saturday to get a formidable dent into the chores. I needed to mow and go through the annual check of the sprinklers to see if any were damaged by the handful of below freezing days from February.
I decided against shorts as the wind was still chilly. Jeans, t-shirt, and a sweatshirt were the apparel of choice. But, as the morning wore on and the sun got higher and hotter, I lost the sweatshirt and I rolled up the short sleeves of my faded t-shirt. It was a gorgeous day and it held so much promise.
My wife, Kate, was to take the kids to a birthday event. She waved and got my attention. I let go of the bar on the mower and shut the engine down. I heard birds in the absence of the machine. Kate looked fantastic. She was dressed for the casual, social outing in her black tank top, jeans, and sunglasses. I love it when she accentuates her large breasts and doesn't try to hide them. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She hollered from the deck, "Josh, I'm taking the kids now. I'm not sure I'll be back much before dinner. So, you're still gonna bbq, right?"
"Yeah, as soon as I'm done mowing I'll come in and marinate the meat. Should I bbq the artichokes, too?"
"Please do. Pasta Salad is in the fridge. I'll call you later when I know more about what time we'll be home," she stated while wiggling her pink cell phone out in front of her.
"Cool. I have a ton to do. But I'll try and finish up early enough to start dinner," I lied. For as soon as I'm done with the lawn and the sprinklers, I intended on opening a beer and taking a nap in the sun. Some solitude and quiet was the real agenda, not more chores. Besides, I was way to white. I needed some sun on my skin.
"Thank you," she said with the 'you' trailing into the house and out of earshot.
"Later," I said to nobody and bent down to restart the mower. It took two pulls to restart this old thing. It isn't the best mower, but it works. I looked up to see the kids through the sliding glass door, grabbing their wrapped presents, and bouncing toward the front of the house to go to their party. I examined how much mowing I had left and leaned into the handle. It took me about 25 minutes to finish what remained. I pushed the mower back into the garage and closed the garage door.
I got lucky with the sprinklers. I only had to replace one head, which was no big deal. I was done by noon. I wandered inside for a beer, something to eat, and to prep for dinner. At 12:30, I grabbed a beach towel from the linen closet and headed back outside.
There is a spot in the backyard where one can layout on a towel in the grass and not be seen by the neighbors. Our house sits at the top of a hill so we are above just about everyone. The whole yard slopes from one side to the other so it provides a perfect angle to get a bit of sun down at the lower corner. The fence is high at that point and the tall Cypress trees offer a thick, green backdrop along the back border. It is a peaceful spot.
I splayed out the towel. I took off my shoes, socks, t-shirt, and jeans, leaving me in my boxers. I folded my jeans to act as a pillow for my head. I took a big swig from my beer bottle, cradled it into my shoe, and flopped down on the blanket. The sun was just warm enough. The warmth felt good on my skin. There was a slight, cool breeze and I listened to the subtle movement of it in the wind chime. Distant dogs barked. A far away neighbor was mowing, too. After a few minutes, I felt a bit more comfortable and relaxed, so I removed my boxers. I was now nude.
I propped myself up on my elbows and looked down at my penis and balls. I've kept my balls shaved since my vasectomy a couple of years ago. Smooth is better than hairy any day in my book. I thought about sunburn, but didn't really care at the moment. I fell back down, took off my sunglasses, and closed my eyes with my hands behind my head. Sleep was next on the agenda.
"Yo! Josh!"
It was a female voice. I thought for a minute it was part of a good dream featuring a former girlfriend in a bikini. I was a bit groggy and slightly aroused.
"Does Kate know you do this?" the voice laughed from the above deck.
I was startled into reality. I flipped over onto my stomach in an attempt at modesty. I squinted up towards the house as my hands slapped the ground in search of my sunglasses. I found them and put them on while stammering, "Uhm.... Uhmmm. What's wrong with getting a little sun?"
I immediately recognized our close friend Lori, dressed in an appropriate sundress for spring. She was leaning out over the rail. In doing so, her cleavage was even more pronounced.
Lori and Kate occasionally work together in the professional world. She lives just down the street and is a frequent, unannounced, yet always a welcomed, visitor. She is about ten years younger than me, being in her mid-30s, and single. She teases the kids and hits us up for dinners one or two weeknights a week. It is, however, strange to see her on the weekends.
"Obviously, your home alone," Lori giggled.
I was a bit embarrassed and answered sternly, "Can't do this with the kids around, now can I."
"Relax. Don't get up, please," she snickered. "Do you want me to leave? I just came by to see what you guys had going on. My house is tented for bugs. The landlords forgot to tell me about the fumigating, so I needed a place to go. Actually, I need a bathroom." She paused. She held up a bottle of Chardonnay, "I brought Kate a bottle of her wine."
"She took the kids to that birthday party. She won't be back 'til nearly dinner time," I informed her. My penis was shrinking between my stomach and the blanket as a result of my predicament.
After a second of awkward silence, Lori cleared her throat saying, "I should go."
"Will you be joining us for dinner tonight," I asked quickly. I didn't really want her to go, despite the fact that I was naked. "Tri-tip and artichokes!"
"Yeah, if I can," she asked and turned back toward me to talk. I could tell she was sort of checking out my nudity. She looked around at the neighbor's houses. From the deck you can see over the fences. She looked back at me.
"Then stay. Come sit in the sun with me. I'll put my boxers back on if you want."
She thought for a second, "Sure. Let me use the bathroom first." She turned and started for the opened slider. Her dirty-blond streaked hair bounced behind her.
I enthusiastically followed her with my voice, "Grab a towel from the closet. And a beer if you want one."
She was inside before I finished. I propped my chin on my folded hands and watched the slider from behind my sun glasses in anticipation of Lori's presence for sunbathing. I was eager to see some of her skin, if nothing more than some cleavage and leg. I listened for the flush. I heard the linen closet door shut. I recognized the familiar flap of the refrigerator closing and the sound of one, then two beers being opened. She emerged from the open slider and skipped down the stairs from the deck to the grass. I stayed on my stomach and watched her approach.
"Do I have to be nekid?" she joked.
"No," I responded. "Be as comfortable as you want. I'm sure Kate has suit somewhere, if you...."
"Not needed, thank you," she interrupted. She dropped the towel from under her arm and handed me a beer. "Here."
"Thanks." I reached up, took hold of the bottle, and placed it in my other shoe.
Lori set her beer in a divot in the grass. She then dropped a tube of sunscreen by my elbow, "You might think about using some. That ass of yours is gonna to burn."
"You're smarter than I am. I thought about going back into the house but figured I'd remember on my next beer run inside," I overly explained while watching her spread out her towel near me. She angled it a bit away from mine, however, as the sun had shifted a bit. I'd move mine, but that would require getting up and I was not ready to expose myself again quite yet.
"Neighbors can't see you here, huh?" she asked scouting out from this vantage point.
I answered, "No. I suppose if they wanted to really look they could find a way. But, honestly, I didn't care at the time and .... " She reached under her sundress and pulled down her thong panties. They were blue. She dropped them on her sandals resting next to her towel. She slipped the thin straps off her shoulders and pulled her arms out of the strings.
I continued, "... and, anyway, I wasn't expecting ....." Lori had hooked her thumbs in the material around her breasts and pulled it down to her waist. She shimmied her hips and the dress fell to her ankles. She stepped out onto her towel completely naked.
" ... guests," I finished.
Lori sat down on the towel and folded her dress neatly, setting it to the side. I simply gawked at her. She picked up her beer, "Cheers!"
"To spring!" I toasted back, tapping the neck of my bottle to her beer. She took a long swig. I took notice of her body. Her full breasts were beautiful. She obviously had been under the sun or a lamp wearing a bikini top recently as she had intriguing tans lines already. Her nipples were small, pink and slightly puckered inwards at the tip. She had a slight belly, but obviously worked at keeping her figure toned as her arms and legs had defined shape. She was completely shaved, as far as I could see.
Before, I couldn't turn over because of being caught and embarrassed. Now, shrinkage was definitely not the problem. Turning over would admit being turned on. But Lori was right, my back and ass were going to burn. I had to turn over. One, two, three..... and, I flipped over and sat up on my elbows. I closed my eyes, cocked my head back, and felt the sun on my face.
Lori interrupted my silence, "What do you think Kate would say right now? Would she be upset?"
"Surprised, maybe. Upset, no. She'd be more worried that the neighbors could see. She could care less about us being naked in front of each other. Hell, naked hot tubbing at her place while we were dating was a weekly weekend event with her roommates." I paused, "No, Kate would join us, albeit with a few reservations, I'm sure."
"This is nice. Peaceful," she sighed. She flipped open the bottle of lotion and put a dab in the palm of her hands.
"What time is it? Did you see the clock when you came out?" I glanced over her toward the open sliding glass door. I was trying not to watch her, but the question provided a reason to look her direction. She was massaging lotion into her breasts with large, circular motions. She held one breast in the palm of her hand while applying lotion all around. Then she did the same to the other.
