Lydia had the luxury of several minutes to let the night air wick away the sweat from every corner of her body. Fortunately for her, there were no sticky clothes to hold back the accumulated perspiration like a sponge. It was much easier to cool down from a steady run when there was nothing insulating her naked skin against the atmosphere around her. Her mind was set firmly on putting as much distance between herself and the Trace and Avers building as possible. She had not spotted anyone following her, nor any sign of commotion from the building that was shrinking from sight, but she was still eager to continue her journey just in case.
It was a nearly ten-minute walk from the field to her next destination, so Lydia had some time to think. Considering the harrowing closeness of her exposure during her last stop, the prospect of quitting was growing more attractive by the moment. After all, what was she doing? She was nearly two miles from home, completely naked in the middle of the night, and fetching keys from all over town in the most public of locations. She cupped her breasts and looked around nervously, just as she had every thirty seconds for the past five minutes.
On the outside, she seemed a calm, casual woman who just happened to be nude on a late evening stroll through town. Internally, however, she felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Every fiber of her being told her to put on her dress and act like a sane woman. She could completely remove any further risk by putting on the clothes that she brought with her and waiting until places opened in the morning to retrieve the remaining keys. She would be tired upon returning home, but at least she would not be arrested, humiliated, or worse.
Unhanding her breasts, she walked on pensively with her left arm across her waist and using her right hand to play with her lips. Gazing at the stars and scattered clouds silhouetted by the light of the moon, she weighed the possibility. If she quit now, then what would it all have been for? Kerri's house, the park, and sneaking into her work would have been for nothing if she did not go all the way through with her plan.
Now she was passing single-story buildings with darkened windows, but keeping her distance all the same. Lydia was approaching an even more developed part of town that was anything but residential. Consequently, there was no one around to see her under the increasingly frequent streetlamps and so she was not bothered by them.
I guess I shouldn't get dressed until I have made up my mind for good. Putting on clothes and then taking them off again would feel the same as quitting altogether
.
She stopped several feet short of the train tracks and hid behind a large blue mailbox. Something about hiding made her feel even more ill at ease. Nothing was coming, so she stepped beyond any hope of cover and crossed the train tracks into the next part of town. The first thing she encountered was a convenience store with a gas station.
Remembering back to when she made her plan, Lydia knew that the 24-hour gas station was on her route. At the time, she thought it would be a fun and easy obstacle. Now, facing it naked and without cover, it felt more like an existential threat. In reality, it was not much effort for Lydia to skirt the border of the light under the gas pumps to pass behind the shoddy cinderblock building. She knew that there was a camera inside, and an attendant on the night shift as well. Going around the back was well worth the time and effort spent.
Lydia noted the back door but figured that the person inside had no reason to go back there in the middle of the night. She passed around to the other side of the building and peered into the gas station parking lot just in case any cars had shown up. It was 2:36am by Lydia's watch. No one was filling up their tank that late at night. She decided to take off at a run away from the gas station. Two more blocks and she would be at her next destination.
No, I can't quit now. Not after everything I've been through. Sure, I'm naked and I could be seen at any moment. But if I don't do this, then I will regret it forever. I could come out and try it again another night, but if I tuck tail now and run from this then I will always remember this first time that I tried and failed. Not just failed... quit!
Her mind was made up. She would proceed with the plan and just hope that she did not run into any more issues with people showing up unexpectedly. Trace and Avers was surely a fluke. Her next destinations would be much easier, she thought. Lydia gripped the thin straps of her backpack, proudly pushing her chest out before her with a mischievous grin. She was facing her fears and felt her resolve return to her the farther she got from the danger of being seen naked at her workplace.
Two blocks passed by in a blur as she became lost in thought. The town's library stood on the opposite street with a single light over the front door. All else was dark around it and within, just like she had wanted. She ran diagonally across the street toward the side of the building. Just like the last time during the day, she planned to enter around the back. Somewhere inside the library was Lydia's next key.
The grass was taller around the side of the building and a few bushes obstructed her path. She had to hike her legs high to lunge over them. The back of the building was eerily dark. Lydia had grown accustomed to the general dim light provided by the streetlamps. She placed her right hand on the red brick exterior of the library and carefully wound her way further behind the building. The library was oddly shaped, which meant that Lydia had to take a few turns to finally arrive at her entry spot.
There were no full-sized windows in the back of the library. Instead, the windows were about seven feet from the ground to allow for the sunlight to enter the library at an angle. They were long in breadth but short in height. For Lydia's part, it was a boon that they opened from within. From where she stood, there was a gap in the trees through which she was clearly visible to the next street over. Lydia deemed it to be safe, however. Even during the daytime, no one really looked back this way.
Standing with her feet together, hands on her hips, and head tilted sideways, she considered the challenge that she would face with getting inside. Lydia stepped over to the bushes to pull a five-foot step ladder that she had placed there a few days prior. She unfolded it and placed it against the wall.
This should be enough to get inside.
She walked back to the bushes and placed her backpack on top of one that looked particularly sturdy. Next, she put her hat on the bag. Finally, she kicked off her shoes next to the base of the bush and was fully nude once more. She had a growing appreciation for the feeling, evidenced by the giddy jump-in-place dance she did upon feeling the earth between her toes again. She brushed her front and her back with her hands, just to feel her body, and walked back toward the step ladder.
Here we go!
Taking two steps at a time, Lydia ascended toward the window and found it cracked open just slightly. It had been held in place by a few index cards so that, in passing, the window would appear closed but would be able to be opened from the outside if done carefully. It took a few tries to secure a grip on the pane of the window with her fingertips, but she was eventually able to pull the window towards her and upwards. Inside, it was impossible to see. Lydia was staring into a lifeless void. All of a sudden, she was not so sure she wanted to go in.
Under her weight, the ladder was sinking slowly into the soft soil below. Just a few more inches and she would have to climb down, reposition the ladder, and try again. She lifted her left leg high, acutely aware that her butt was hanging shamelessly in the breeze, and found a foothold on the bottom of the window frame. The act caused her right foot to suddenly swing wildly and knock over the ladder with a muffled crash. Before she could stop herself, Lydia yelped in fright. She was precariously dangling naked out the back window of the local library.
The coarse brick was rough against her skin and especially her sensitive nipples. Lydia summoned all the strength in her arms to pull herself up and rest belly down in the high-up window. She was half in, half out of the library and panting hot, heavy breaths into the night. After a few more seconds she pushed against the base of the window and rotated her body to allow her right leg to enter the building as well.
Feet first, Lydia descended into the foreboding darkness of the library. Ordinarily, she loved this place. The librarian had always been warm and inviting throughout Lydia's childhood and adolescent years. She had whiled away many summers picking out books from the shelves and either taking them home to read or curling up in a quiet corner of the library to get lost in another world. She felt like she knew the library as well as her own home. Suddenly, her foot felt something smooth and cold.
*
PING!
Ping-ping!*
A low rumbling sound ensued and Lydia understood with deep regret that she had accidently kicked a metal vase with a fake plant off a coffee table, and it was now rolling away. She relaxed her elbows and searched for the table to on which to rest her foot. Finding it, she let go of the window and ambled in the direction of the rapidly quieting vase. She grasped it off the floor with both hands, restoring the silence. Crouched into a ball, her eyes blindly darted left and right to see if her noisy entry had been noticed. There was no one in the library though. She was alone except for the thousands of books.
Lydia walked back to the window and returned the vase to its table. She turned around and carefully stepped between one of the aisles, somewhat aided by her adjusting eyes but still mostly feeling her way through. She did not feel the need to step lightly here. There was no night shift at the library, and therefore no one to catch her. She lifted her hands to push her hair back into position. The vacancy was a welcome change from her previous stop.
Carpet turned to tile as she emerged into the common area with the study tables. The library was divided into two sets of bookshelf rows on the half of the library that she was in. She let her hands drift over the tables where she had often sat to study for exams in high school.