"Through her I learned that my Spirit shared in the Spirit of all things." - Rudolfo Anaya
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Gary had come a long way since his recovery from the back injury, the loss of his wife and his subsequent escape into alcohol. If his neighbor hadn't intervened, Gary would have probably drunk himself into a grave beside his wife. He walked precariously with a cane, balance occasionally eluding him. Still, he was determined to make his fifty-year-old body healthy again.
The first few weeks of daily exercises in the pool at the gym were a struggle. Gary persevered through the pain in his lower back as he attempted to hold himself upright, the water providing just the needed support to allay his fear of falling. Focusing on his stature, straightening his posture, kept him oblivious to much of what occurred around him.
It was unusually busy one Tuesday morning in the pool. All the lanes were occupied. Gary surveyed the situation and concluded he would relax in the spa until one of the swimmers had finished their routine, when a young redheaded woman approached him.
"You can share the lane with me," she offered. "I've already swam a few laps and now I just need a space at the deep end to continue my routine."
The young woman grabbed a pair of the water dumbbells she had set at the edge of the pool. From her hips up to her hair which was gathered in a bun, she exuded confidence and a sexiness that was displayed in her simple saunter in the water.
Gary had noticed the young woman before but didn't pay attention to her remarkably balanced, curvy body. It occurred to him that she worked very hard to maintain such a perfect figure. Her round butt, hips, smooth belly and ample breasts were put together in flawless proportion.
"I noticed you don't need much space for your exercises either," she said to Gary.
"Thank you," he replied and stepped down into the water. Gary tried to work on his focus but that day he was distracted, having the vision of a perfectly shaped woman sharing the lane of the pool with him.
Gary and his late wife had what he considered a typical marriage. It started out with relentless lust for each other. In their early twenties they both had the energy and desire to fuck constantly, an insatiable hunger for carnal pleasure. They once considered having a family, but it was medically impossible for his wife to conceive. Without the responsibilities of rearing young ones, they pursued their careers.
By the time Gary and his wife were in their late thirties, they had seemingly exhausted their sexual proclivity. Most evenings they were spent physically and mentally from their work, leaving little energy to give to each other. His wife would settle down with a couple of glasses of wine and Gary would savor a couple of glasses of Bourbon before they settled into a restful bed together. They were happy advancing their careers and building some wealth which they promised each other would let them enjoy their lives later.
That later never came for them. A drunk driver struck them broadside. Gary survived with a broken arm and fracture in his lower spine. His wife died on the way to the hospital. His dreams shattered, Gary let himself drown in self-pity, consuming Bourbon in relentless pursuit to ease the emotional and physical pain.
The pool had become his savior, both physically restoring his strength and emotionally as a place to find some discipline in his workout routine. Every morning at seven he was working on himself, setting a goal to start a new life someday.
"You have really come a long way," the young redhead said to Gary several months on after their first encounter.
"I'm starting to feel healthy again," Gary told her. He was considerably stronger. "It's good to be able to get around and be active again."
"Would you like to go out for coffee?" the younger woman proposed. "By the way, my name is Jen," she told him. It seemed awkward that after several months of seeing each other at the pool, they never introduced themselves to each other.
"My name's Gary," he told her. "I would love to go and get some coffee with you," he said somewhat shyly, not having been approached by a woman who expressed an interest in him since he met his wife. It didn't occur to him that there may have been women interested in him but he was unreceptive, until this young redhead made advances to him.
They met at the Starbucks in the retail center where the gym was. Gary offered to pay for Jen's latte, but she refused, apologizing, saying she was used to taking care of herself. Their conversation began with small talk about the weather; how they would never get used to the triple digit temperatures and would beg for the relief that came from the monsoon rains.
"I suppose, I'm back to getting around well enough that I should consider going back to work," Gary told her. He had been living off his disability insurance and the settlement from the accident. "I've worked hard to get back on physical shape, but I'm getting bored. I need some mental stimulation," he confessed as he felt comfortable with Jen.
"What kind of work do you do?" Jen asked.
"I develop computer models. Mostly for predictive behavior in markets," he told her.
"Is it technical and dry?" Jen inquired.
"Actually, it requires some imagination," Gary explained. "And it's a lot of hit and miss."
"Are you married?" Jen asked boldly. "I didn't notice a ring, but you never know how relationships are these days."
Gary wasn't surprised by Jen's probing into his personal life. Younger people seemed to be upfront and unabashed in their behavior. He figured she had different generational ideas about life and possible future. Asking a question so probative carried different connotations. Was she hitting on him? Or was she innocently friendly?
"I was married. I lost my wife in the car accident when I was injured," Gary responded. Jen reached across the table and lightly held his hand as if to offer sympathy.
"Let me have your phone. I'll give you my number," she said smiling. "I'd like us to see each other."
Gary didn't know how to respond. She sensed that. "You come across to me as a beautiful person. I'd like to get to know you better," Jen said to relieve the awkwardness Gary was feeling.
Gary went home and sat down with a book to get his mind off the beautiful redheaded woman with the perfectly formed body. It was a technical book on large-language programming. It didn't work. He felt his cock engorged as the vision of Jen dominated his mind. He succumbed to the need to relieve himself, stroking his stiff rod until he came.
Jen didn't avoid the fantasy of making love to Gary. She quickly shed her clothes and laid on the bed, her fingers bringing her to a quick orgasm as her imagination of his body, his hard cock pounding her hot pussy overwhelmed her. She knew that she would have to make her desire for him real.
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Gary and Jen dated a few times just to get to know each other better. Their sensual desires were suppressed mostly because Gary wasn't confident in his age, lack of recent sexual activity and his back injury led him to avoid an outright discussion or advances. Although she was occasionally frustrated, she knew that patience would pay off.
Gary learned that Jen was a schoolteacher. She specialized in educating special needs children.
"It's difficult and sometimes frustrating getting an autistic child to invite you into their world," Jen explained while they were having dinner at a Mexican food restaurant. "It was so much easier inviting myself into your world," she told Gary.
"And what made you want to be in my world?" he asked seriously. "We don't naturally fit together," he remarked.
"Maybe we do," Jen answered him. "We'll find out."
"I was broken, physically and emotionally. I can't imagine what would attract you to that," Gary responded to her.
"Your spirit wasn't broken," she told him emphatically. She thought how remarkable it was that he had made an extraordinary effort to start over and seek a new fulfilling life.
There was a long pause in the conversation as they finished consuming their plates of carne asada with rice and beans. Jen broke the silence.
"There's a celebration coming up," she told Gary. Hesitantly she began to propose they join a group of pagan spiritualists. "It's a bit unusual. It's a celebration of our naked natural beings."
Gary wasn't sure he understood what she was trying to get at with this celebration.
"So, there's a spiritual ritual where we present ourselves naked to the world," Jen timidly explained. "I know it sounds weird, but it really comes naturally. We can attend this together. It's a beautiful celebration. I'm sure you'll get something out of it," she tried to convince him.
"Some sort of spiritual enlightenment?" Gary asked confused.
"Not enlightenment. But we will get each other," Jen told him.
Gary had imagined her naked body many nights as he relieved himself before falling asleep. Now, Jen was proposing they engage in some kind of naked ritual. He wondered how many others there would be. Was she as beautiful as he imagined under her one-piece bathing suit? Would he be able to control his erection? Was this real?
The night before the National Nude Day celebration, Gary was anxious. He texted Jen: 'Are you sure we should do this?'
'Yes,' Jen texted back. 'I want to see your naked body.'
'We could do that alone,' Gary responded.
'Not the same,' Jen texted back. 'Would you be totally naked of all your egos if you weren't vulnerable?'
Gary retreated into his anxiety. His desire for Jen had grown to a point where he could no longer stand being without her and to not ravish her naked body would drive him back to alcohol and depression. He needed to summon strength.
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