Partially inspired by my own time at university, this is the story of two friends who embark on a series of increasingly daring adventures. Any comments or feedback are much appreciated, hope you enjoy!
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Chapter Eight -- The Homecoming
'What the hell do we do now?'
Charlie fidgeted nervously and turned to look at Holly expectantly, waiting for some brilliant solution. Unfortunately Holly had no good ideas. At all.
'Why are you looking at me, I don't know...'
The couple in question looked young to Holly, early twenties maybe, dressed in casual hiking gear just like the girls had been. She wondered how far their clothes had made it down the river, but there was no use thinking about that now, she'd left them very much in the shit and there was no going back now, only forwards. The couple's bags sat next to their blanket which they were both resting on, the guy napping on his front with his head resting on his arms, while the woman was on her back with a book flapped over her eyes, protecting them from the sun.
Charlie rubbed her bare shoulders nervously. 'Are they asleep?'
'Well they're either asleep or just lying there quietly, and obviously there's a big fucking difference.'
'Why did they choose that spot, for god's sake. They're right next to the gate, if they weren't we could have just gone round behind them.'
'I know...' Holly groaned, this was really bad. The only alternatives were to go back the way they came, which was unappealing, or to just wait for the couple to leave and hope that when they moved on they didn't come their way. She voiced her thoughts to Charlie who wasn't happy.
'But we have no idea how to get back that way, and if we wait here for too long someone else is bound to turn up. And then we'll be trapped in the middle.'
Holly stuck her tongue out nervously as she deliberated. 'So what are you saying, we try to sneak past?'
Charlie shrugged. 'Do we really have a choice?'
Annoyingly they didn't, and so with a heavy heart Holly approached the gate and eyed the rusty hinges suspiciously.
'I think climbing over will probably be quieter than trying to get this thing open?'
'Yeah, probably. Come on then. Over you go.'
'I have to go first?'
Charlie almost exploded. 'Do you remember who threw away all our fucking clothes?'
'Ok, ok...'
Holly anxiously gave the couple one last look and then gently placed her boot on the gate's metal frame, then pushed herself up onto the top bar, causing it to creak slightly.
Charlie winced. 'Slowly. And quietly...'
'Shush.' Holly swung her leg over and gingerly reached her foot down until she felt the ground, then smoothly stepped off and checked behind her to make sure that no one had stirred. They had not, so she reached out a hand to help Charlie climb across, trying to ignore her swinging breasts as her friend hunched forwards, then the naked pair stood facing the footpath that they needed to follow, and the two people they needed to evade.
Charlie whispered into Holly's ear, as they were only a few meters away from the nappers now. 'So should we run past? Or go slow and hope they are deep asleep?'
Holly though for a moment. 'Try and stealth it I guess, just tiptoe and pray?'
'Ok...' For the first time in any of their escapades Charlie showed real nerves and reached out a hand which Holly took, appreciating the silent show of support. They timidly crept forwards, taking tiny steps and subconsciously breathing very shallowly, studying the couple for any sign that they might be about to wake up. As they drew level with them Holly noticed that she'd read the novel that the woman was using as a shield, and they had the same type of phone too. The same phone which was resting on her stomach, and which at that moment suddenly buzzed with a new notification. Charlie's grip tightened and both of them instantly froze as the woman groggily leant up on her elbows and rubbed her eyes, blinking away the sunshine before she suddenly noticed the two girls in front of her.
'Umm...' She seemingly had no words, she just sat there staring at them with a questioning frown. 'Are you... ok?'
'Hmm?' The guy next to her grunted and shifted slightly, threatening to roll over and see what was up. Holly instinctively let go of Charlie, who immediately hid behind her, and put her hands together pleadingly and shook her head frantically. Being seen by a female was bad enough, but to also get judged by a man would be too humiliating for words. The woman seemed to understand and put her arm out to pat the man's back reassuringly.
'Nothing honey, don't worry.'
Her partner muttered something and settled back down, and Holly mouthed a silent thank you. The woman nodded demurely, a slight amused smile playing across her lips, as she showed no sign of looking away. Holly decided they'd pushed their luck as far as it would go and so she dragged Charlie away, tugging her by the arm as her friend seemed to initially be paralysed in place. They briskly set off down the path, their faces reddening as they imagined the cheeky view they were presenting from behind, to a complete stranger. Holly took one last look back as they were about to disappear from view and saw the woman watching them go, her camera now in her hand, presumably filming their hasty retreat. So the guy might not have seen them in the flesh, but he definitely would later. Hopefully the video wouldn't end up online either...
Holly tutted to herself as she imagined their bodies appearing on some sleazy website. 'Great...'
'What?' Now Charlie nervously glanced back to see if they were being followed.
'Nothing.'
Charlie doesn't need to know that footage now exists, thought Holly, what you don't know can't hurt you. Now they'd gone far enough round the curved path to be hidden from view, and Holly slowed their pace down again.
'I just can't believe we got so unlucky there, what are the chances...'
Charlie scoffed bitterly. 'Of being caught when you're walking around in public for hours with no clothes? Pretty damn high I'd say.'