It was a typically hot Thursday afternoon, the African sun just hinting at beginning its lazy descent behind the peaks of the Waterberg. Angie, a single lesbian workaholic, was taking her first vacation for three years. She had a slightly stern, but attractive face, and thick shoulder-length hair caught exactly between brown and blonde.
Now, walking slowly along the riverside, listening to the soothing trickle of the stream which wound down from the mountains all around, the rush and noise and traffic of Johannesburg was long forgotten. She came eventually to the thatch-roofed restaurant where she would meet some of the guests for that evening's game drive. She strode confidently into the bar area as the sound of voices, laughter and the clink of glasses engulfed her. Secretly she was uncomfortable being alone, and knew none of the other guests. She couldn't help feeling the eyes on her. She was dressed modestly in a loose brown skirt, tan shirt and sensible shoes, but her figure attracted attention wherever she went -- long, toned legs, a narrow waist and fairly large breasts. It was a fact she used to full advantage in the boardroom, out-fitted in one of her "power-suits". Her business acumen would get her nowhere here though. She glanced around the room of middle-aged Afrikaner men with beer-bellies and plump stern-looking wives trying to manage rambunctious children, and felt even more out of place. One figure stood out however. She was leaning against the bar chatting to the cheerful Xhosa barman with his huge white smile. She wore typical bush attire -- khaki shorts, ankle-boots and a cotton shirt with the reserve's logo on the breast pocket. The masculine-looking outfit couldn't however hide that her figure was all woman. A large rifle hung at her waist. Her long sun-bleached blonde hair was tied up and hung halfway down her back. Her tanned legs were well muscled and she was obviously very strong, although her frame was slight. She couldn't have been more than five foot four, but there was something about her presence that made her seem taller. Taking a deep breath, Angie decided she had nothing to lose and went to sit a seat away from her. Two almost turquoise-blue eyes found hers.
"Hello there..." Angie wasn't entirely sure but she thought the blonde was checking her out for a moment, "I'm Rachel, the ranger for tonight's drive." The beautiful woman extended her hand and Angie took it, pleased at the strong grip, "and that bastard coming up to us now is Adam." A very tall and rather handsome blonde man -- by his attire obviously another ranger -- approached them. Despite her choice of words Rachel had a broad smile on her face. The man reached his hand out, also smiling.
"And who is this lovely young lady?"
"This lovely young lady was about to tell me her name before a certain arrogant asshole decided to butt in." Adam only smiled at the half-hearted insult.
"Angie -- my name's Angie."
* * * * *
"Sshhh!!!" the mother next to Angie hissed at her son, who was engaged in a noisy argument with his sister over a small silver toy car. The large game-drive vehicle, driven by Rachel, was parked at the side of the dirt track they had been following, and Rachel was trying to answer the group's questions about the herd of elephant a few metres from the vehicle.
She looked over her shoulder and fixed the offending boy with an icy stare. He shut up quite quickly. Then she passed her eyes over Angie and looked her up and down openly. Angie wondered if she would be able to see her blushing in the early evening light. "As I was saying," she said pointedly, "The elephant has the longest gestation period of any land animal, 22 months."
There were moans of sympathy from the mothers in the vehicle.
The drive wound on pleasantly until the light was almost all gone, a spectacular sunset the likes of which you only get on the African continent blazing in full glory behind the mountains. Rachel parked the car and Adam -- who had been sitting next to her and cracking jokes all afternoon, much to the delight of the guests -- retrieved a cooler-box from under the seat and handed the guests their sundowners. Their knowledge and understanding of the habitat throughout had been amazing. There wasn't a paw- or hoof-print in the sand on the side of the road they didn't recognize, or a plant they couldn't name. Now, with the engine quiet, and the warm air a peaceful blanket for the soul, even the children understood that this was a moment to be quiet, and the rich smells and sometimes eerie sounds of the bush engulfed them. Somewhere near an owl hooted in the steadily increasing darkness.
After the game drive Rachel and Adam dropped a few of the guests off at their chalets and drove the rest back to the restaurant and bar. After the last guests had clambered down from the vehicle, complimented the two rangers on the experience and given each of them generous tips, Adam and Rachel invited Angie to join them in the restaurant for dinner. She was reluctant, but they persisted, and after they revealed they wouldn't even have to pay seeing as their food and drinks were included in their salaries -- and seeing she was more than a little interested in finding a bit more out about the beautiful blonde girl from the bush -- she agreed. They choose a table, ordered a bottle of wine which turned out to be excellent, and chatted comfortably about their very different lifestyles.
Angie was struck by the intense love they both shared for Nature. They talked passionately about topics such as the protection of endangered species, the progress being made in the trans-frontier parks (huge nature reserves crossing country borders which aimed not only to allow animal migration to better reflect natural circumstances but also to strengthen co-operation between neighbouring countries), creating mutually beneficial relationships between conservation management and the indigenous peoples of the area, the balance between farming game for hunting and preserving bio-diversity... by the time Angie looked at her watch after they had finished supper (and were on the third bottle of wine) it was already nearing midnight. They insisted she let them take her back to their camp to meet something they called "Tiny"..? Her inhibitions dulled by the wine, she barely hesitated. Rachel drove them to the staff camp, which was beyond the high electrified fence that separated the game from the guests (although sometimes you couldn't tell which was which, Adam joked), and itself was enclosed only by a much smaller fence. Angie had to admit, climbing from the safety of the high vehicle, that the thought made her a little nervous. As if to confirm her opinion, Rachel suddenly grabbed her arm and whispered, "Listen, lions!" The low, throaty, grunt-like rumbles were even more noticeable for the way you could feel the vibrations rattle in your ribcage than for their actual volume.
"Oh my God how close are they?" Angie whispered, her eyes wide.
"Don't worry love, they're a good way away from us. And lions are lazy, even that small fence will be a good deterrent." Angie wasn't convinced, but they were the experts. And they both had rifles and knew how to use them. She hoped.
