I was taking a holiday up in the mountains. Just camping out, going hiking and fishing to keep myself occupied. On the first Friday I was feeling a little out of sorts so I headed down to the nearest town (if you can call it a town) to seek a bit of company.
I guess my luck was in reasonable shape. The community was holding a dance and so I wandered along to it. Officially it was a dry dance. Unofficially, you could get a drink at the back of the local hall, as long as you didn't make it too obvious. Not being a big drinker I just grabbed a beer and left it at that.
There was the usual assortment of people you find at these venues. Young ladies and not so young ladies. The main trouble was that the not so young ladies were married and tended to dance with their husbands and mutual friends. The young ladies were all either married, engaged, or going steady, with jealous husbands, fiancΓ©s, and beaus, hanging around.
Still, I managed to get in a few dances, although never with the same girl twice. Mind you, I wouldn't have minded dancing with some of them several times, but self-preservation suggested I not push it.
There was one lovely young lass there, Annette by name, and I couldn't work out what category she belonged to. There were a constant flow of young men swirling around in her vicinity, and I didn't blame them at all. If they had a queen for the dance, she would have been the runaway winner. I did manage to snag one dance with her, but I think it was more sympathy than my sparkling personality that got me the dance.
I chatted to her while we danced, finding her personable and friendly. Hopefully she found the same where I was concerned. It didn't help when I suggested a second dance. She firmly refused, saying she had a full agenda and it wouldn't be polite to dump one of them.
I also hinted that I'd have no objection to a stroll in the starlight between dances. She hinted that I'd have a better chance of winning the lottery, but at least she smiled when she said it. From the killing looks being directed at me by her entourage I think she was really making sure that there wouldn't be a fight, with me the outnumbered victim.
All in all, I had an enjoyable night, a couple of beers, a number of dances, and a bit of innocent flirting with the local lovelies. I was feeling pretty happy with life when I finally headed back to my camp.
The late night and those beers caught up with me. I slept in the next day until the middle of the morning. Not that it mattered. It's not as though I had to get up for work. I was going fishing and the fish wouldn't mind waiting.
What with one thing and another it wasn't until after lunch that I headed out to do a bit of fishing. In one of my earlier hikes and general explorations I'd found this nice deep pool. The river kept it fed and I suspected that there were a few trout in it, probably along the west side where some weeping willows were growing. I like willows. They're greedy trees; they use a lot of water and also overshadow a largish area where nothing else grows, except some scrubby grass. They provided a choice spot for a fisherman to sit out of the sun while waiting for a bite.
I heard splashing as I approached the pool. Not a lot of noise, just enough to raise my hopes that the fish were jumping. Active fish were hungry fish, and I was prepared to feed them. In return, I'm quite sure they would be willing to feed me.
I came up under the willow I wanted to settle under and found out that someone had beaten me there. There was a neat little pile of clothes folded up next to the tree, with a towel on the ground. The splashing I could hear was apparently someone having a dip. Irritated, I moved out from under the tree to the water's edge.
"You do know that you're scaring the fish," I called out to the back I could see rising up out of the water.
There was a shriek and the back went below the water. Not for long. A head bobbed cautiously back up, facing me.
"Hey," I called, "Annette, isn't it?"
It was. No way I could mistake that pretty face, even if she didn't look too happy to see me.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Go away."
"I'm just here to do a bit of fishing. Why don't you hop out and let the fish get their nerve back and start feeding. I'm depending on those little suckers for dinner tonight."
"Well, there's no fish in this pool," Annette snapped. "Why don't you try further down the river?"
"I don't think so. I saw some nice trout here the other day. If you haven't traumatized them I should be able to land a couple. You've had your swim. Why not hop out and let me fish?"
"Fine! I'll get out and you can do your fishing. Um, can you move elsewhere while I get out? My clothes are under that tree."
"Ah, no, I don't think so. Don't mind me. Just hop out and I'll promise not to look while you change."
She dithered, not wanting to come out of the pool.
"Is there a problem?" I asked innocently.
"Ah, I, um, I'm not wearing anything," she muttered.
"I'm sorry, but could you say that a little louder. I didn't quite catch it."
"I said I'm not wearing anything," she nearly shouted, face a nice rosy hue.
"Oh. Well, don't worry about it. It won't bother me. I've seen a naked woman before."
"Not me, you haven't. Just go away for five minutes."
"I'd rather not. I like it here. Come on. Out you hop. I won't bite you."
"It's not biting I'm worried about," she pointed out. "It's what else you might do."
"Well, I can guarantee that I'll look at you with sincere appreciation. I noticed last night how lovely you are. I can't wait to see if my imagination is anywhere near the beauty you will prove to be."
Why she gave me a nasty look is beyond me. I was complimenting her.
"Look, just be a gentleman and go away for a few minutes. That's all I need. Surely that's not too much to ask?"
"Ah, yes, I rather think it is. It's not often I have such a lovely lady at such a disadvantage. It would be criminal not to take advantage of the fact. I'm quite sure my man-card would be revoked if I left without seeing you."
We both fell silent, neither of us moving, each waiting for the other.
"Um, you can't stay there all day, you know," I pointed out. "Your skin will get all wrinkled and you'll look like a giant prune. Why not hop out now while it's still nice and warm."
I was certainly getting some nasty looks, but I sensed that she was about ready to capitulate.
"Alright," she finally said. "I'll come out, but if you touch me with anything but your eyes I'll scratch your eyes out."
"Um, the trouble is, I fully intend to touch you as soon as you're within reach of my greedy hands. First by stroking your breasts and then by kissing them. After that, who knows what I may get up to, although I do have a fairly good idea."
"Oh, great. I'm supposed to come on out of the water so you can have some fun groping me."
"You wrong me. I'm not a teenager. I have much more in mind than a simple grope."
"What, you expect me to agree to have sex with you?" she said, in a voice that was really a strangled shriek. She wanted to scream at me but probably thought it impolite. "There's no way. You're a complete stranger to me."