Toby had been down on a remote area of coast land doing some habitat restoration work. While there he slept in his camper van and cooked on his primer. Part of his work was checking on the success of the transplanting of some marram grass which help maintain the dunes there as well as recording numbers of the lizards which had been translocated from a captive breeding programme. So far the project had seemed to be successful as the latter were discovered in good numbers and also signs that they had been breeding.
Though the area was fairly remote he had spied a couple of old cottages a couple of miles down the track.
Up until the third day of his work the weather had been fairly warm but overcast which was fortunately optimal for finding the reptiles. The following day was much sunnier though with a fresh breeze.
Toby was totally absorbed in his work he hadn't noticed the stranger who was walking along the rough sandy track towards him. He hadn't really seen anybody the previous couple of days and just a couple in the far distance on his first day on location.
"Hi!" came a soft voice.
Looking up, Toby saw this fairly tall slim woman with a warm smile, clearly fascinated by what he was up to in the dunes. Maybe not stunningly beautiful, she had a natural charm, her face tanned by the sea breeze, deep brown eyes and long untidily wavy brunette hair cascading down her back and over her sweat shirt. The sleeves were rolled up along her arms which were also tanned and some long fine tawny hairs on them glistening like gems. She also had on a long flowery ankle-length skirt on, just finishing above her rather battered trainers.
"Oh hi," muttered Toby. "Sorry I didn't notice you coming as I was totally immersed here. It's actually really good to see a friendly face. Beautiful location but not many faces. So what brings you here?"
"Well first of all please call me Laura."
"Pretty name and I'm Toby, so lovely to meet you."
Laura continued,
"Well I'm here to do a portfolio of coastal shots, shooting some of the landscapes, the old buildings, the wildlife and even some night sky shots as there's little in the way of light pollution here to dilute the celestial bodies on a clear night. Quite magical here. I've rented one of the old cottages you can just about see on the horizon. I do enjoy the space to be on my own, but hey it's lovely to meet another person. Well that's me! I'm fascinated what you're up to down there in those grasses, so what are you up to?"
Toby explained,
"Basically I'm a freelance ecological consultant and I've been commissioned to do some habitat restoration here after some erosion and trying to improve the situation, including planting some pioneer species to stabilise the shifting sands. As that has been successful we also re-introduced some native lizards that favour this kind of habitat. Also I'm recording some of the invertebrates living in this harsh environment."
Laura was listening with great interest to Toby's every word. Smiling broadly, she replied,
"Oh Toby, what a fascinating job. You must love your work, doing good work here and no doubt elsewhere too? I just adore nature too and love being in wild unspoilt places."
Answering Toby retorted,
"For sure. I find the work inspiring and I do get to travel a fair bit, but if I'm honest with you, much as I love the work, it can get a bit lonely at times, so it's such a treat to meet a kindred spirit!"
"Thanks Toby, I take that as a compliment. I know what you mean too as I spend much time on my own as well. I do enjoy solitude yet at times it's so good for the soul for some solid human contact."
Feeling relaxed in Toby's company, Laura sat down on a raised area of sand and pulled her sleeves up a bit more, revealing more of her slender tanned and lightly hairy arms. Toby also observed she had attractive hands with long fingers and no bling on them. As Laura shifted position to get a little more comfortable her long skirt pulled up a few inches.
As they enthusiastically chatted over the next ten minutes or so Toby would make plenty of warm eye contact with Laura whose company he was enjoying, yet his eyes also kept looking down to where her skirt had risen. It was impossible not to notice that Laura's legs were decidedly on the hairy side and certainly hadn't had any intimate contact with a razor in a long time!
With about 30 cm of leg exposed, Toby was distracted by the rather dense coating of long tawny brown hairs that carpeted her skin, the hairs not coarse, but the fine hairs growing together to give the impression of thicker strands running down her calves.
Laura being a pretty astute woman had noticed the fact the Toby's eyes were frequently not just looking at her as she spoke but gazing down towards her ankles and holding his stare for a few seconds a time.
Grinning, Laura teased,
" You seem pre-occupied with my legs, Toby. Have you not seen hair on a woman's legs before? I hope you don't think it's somehow unwomanly or not feminine like some guys?"
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Toby blushing, spluttered,
" Oh, I'm so sorry Laura. I certainly didn't mean to stare. Guess I was kind of fascinated by your fuzzy calves. Certainly nothing unfeminine about it. After all nothing could be more natural than body hair!"
With a false serious stare, Laura retorted,
"Well I guess that's a relief! I'm relieved you don't seem to think I'm some kind of slovenly woman who neglects herself. So have you never seen a woman with hairy legs before?"
Still feeling a bit sheepish, Toby continued,
"Sure Laura. Over the years I guess a fair number, though these days most seem to be either shaved or waxed. I grew up in a fairly conservative community where most women were demurely dressed and removed visible body hair other than maybe fuzzy arms, though only a few had those
At college it was a totally different ball game. People loved to question and reject convention. They were much more individualistic. Certainly it was common in the warm summer months to see female students sporting hairy legs and pits. Not all by any means. Some preferred to shave, a few would have visibly hairy pits but shaved their legs and I remember one who had pretty furry calves but kept her pits clean-shaven.
It was certainly an eye-opener for me coming from such a traditional background!"
Laura loved hearing this and felt put at ease by this. Curious she asked,
"So did you date any of these hairy girls?"
Toby feeling more comfortable again, laughed,