This is a work of pure fiction. This is a sequel to a previous story, so if you want to find out how things began, please refer to the first story. Any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, or to anything you have ever seen or heard before, is a complete accident.
My relationship with Nicole progressed through the winter. Finally spring came around, and with the warmer weather Nicole started telling me that she was going to take me hiking. She was an outdoorsy person, while I was more of a homebody. I went outside when I had to. You know, to walk the dog, or go to work, or go shopping. Exceptions were made only for miniature golf or maybe a softball game. We made plans to go hiking on a Saturday afternoon in May. I wasn't sure it was going to happen because it rained pretty hard Friday night, and Saturday morning was kind of chilly and foggy, but as the afternoon arrived the sun came out and it got unusually warm.
I met Nicole at her apartment and she drove us to the park. I was so oblivious to outdoorsy stuff; I didn't realize that there was even a park within 20 minutes of our town, much less a large one with hiking trails. It was a huge state park, Nicole told me, with a nature reserve and hiking trails, and if you weren't careful you could get lost. Nicole had done plenty of hiking here, she told me, and so she knew her way around.
We parked at the entrance and Nicole handed me a backpack full of bottled water and snacks, and also towels. Nicole started to explain to me why towels were a good idea to bring with us, but unfortunately I tuned her out, thinking about Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, in which having a towel with you at all times was one of the cardinal rules.
We set off hand in hand for the hiking trails. I wasn't much of an outdoorsman, but I was in good physical shape, riding a stationary bike at least twice a week. A hike of several miles wasn't going to affect me much. The trail that we would take, Nicole said, weaved its way through the foothills and the trees and eventually would take us in a huge circle.
The temperature soared well into the 70's by mid-afternoon. I started out in sweatpants and a sweatshirt but quickly took off the sweatshirt and tied it around my waist. Nicole was dressed in shorts and a white t-shirt, and I found myself glancing at her breasts swaying in her bra beneath her shirt. I figured any sexual activity would have to wait until we got home, if we had any energy left after hiking all day, that is.
For a while I enjoyed myself. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I enjoyed the smell of the outdoors, looking at the trees and the flowers, the birds flying overhead, and the squirrels scurrying around the trees. But after an hour or so it started to feel repetitive. We had gone two or three miles out already, up and down hills and taken so many turns around the winding trail that I would never have been able to find my way back by myself. We only saw a couple of people in the beginning; and we hadn't passed any people in at least a half an hour. I asked Nicole if we could stop and rest for a bit. She gave my hand a squeeze. Hang on, she said, there was something she wanted to show me, just a little further ahead.
We walked on a few more minutes, and suddenly Nicole pulled me off of the trail, through some trees, and then we were standing in a clearing by a stream. It felt like the most secluded place in the world.
"We can rest here," Nicole said.
"Wow, how did you find this place?" I asked.
"Just luck," Nicole said, "One day I was hiking and happened to hear the sound of the water. I come here all the time now. You're the first person I've ever shown it to."
"Wow, thanks," I said.
Nicole turned and gave me a long kiss. "You're welcome," she said, and led me by the hand to a big rock by the brook. The rain didn't affect the trail much, since it was packed hard by the hikers, but here the soft ground was still wet, and we slipped and slid a little in the mud on our way to the rock. I took off the backpack and placed it on the rock. We pulled out two bottles of water and some snacks and sat on the rock, staring silently as the stream, swollen by the rain, rushed by.
We finished our snack and packed everything back into the backpack. I figured we were going to go and finish our hike, but Nicole stopped me.
"Don't be angry at me," Nicole said, "But I found out something about you."
I froze. What horrible thing could it be? I suddenly pictured my ex-wife finding Nicole and telling her about all of the horrible things she claims I did to her. Oh no! Why did she drag me all the way out to the middle of nowhere to tell me? Was she going to run off and leave me stranded here? "What?" I asked meekly.
"One night when you were in the bathroom I took a peek at your computer, and I found out about your... fetish," Nicole said.
She found out about my fetish? That hardly even narrowed it down. I had a pretty rich fantasy life, and several kinks. Which one were we talking about?
Nicole went on. "I saw that site where the women were... you know... in mud," she said.
Oh... that one. I thought. Again, stupidly, I wondered why she brought me all the way out here just to tell me that.
"Do you want to see me... muddy?" Nicole asked.
Yes readers, she had to beat me over the head with it, unfortunately. She wanted to help me live out one of my fantasies? I wasn't going to say no. "Well, if you want to," I said.
Nicole leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Tell me what you want me to do," she whispered in my ear.
