Walking through the woods has always been one of life's little pleasures that I have deeply enjoyed. The fresh air, the aroma of the earth. Communing with nature is revitalizing for the soul.
There's a trail nearby that I walk every chance I get. I'm sure there are others who know about it, but you can't tell that from the trail itself as there's never any sign of anyone being there. Of course, I never really thought about what that means. There should at least be footprints in the dirt. Nothing looked disturbed, no footprints. I was sure I was not the only one who knew about this trail though. I decided not to dwell on it and just enjoy my walk.
So, I'm taking my stroll, enjoying the smells and taking pictures when I heard a twig snap. I jumped and turned around to see where the noise came from.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."
I was looking into the blue eyes of a man who made my heart skip a beat. I had never seen him here before. But what struck me most, was the way he was able to sneak up on me.
"I didn't want to disturb you while you were taking pictures," he said walking toward me.
"That's ok," I replied. "I don't usually spook that easily, but I guess I was just really engrossed by that yellow butterfly."
"A nature lover I see," he replied. As he stepped forward, the sunlight shone down between the trees and fell on him. The sun made his eyes sparkle like sapphires.
"Uh, yeah, I am," I tripped over my words. Those eyes of his. I felt a tingling down low that I haven't felt in a long time.
"Always nice to meet a fellow naturist. My name's Troy, by the way."
"Um, nice to meet you Troy."
We shook hands and all of a sudden, Troy went very still.
"Don't move," he said still holding my hand. He slowly pulled me toward him. My pulse started to race.
"What is it?" I asked in a whisper. I didn't know whether to be pleased or scared. He stilled so fast, but the look in his eyes was not one of fear. More like amusement.
"Very slowly, turn around. There's a mother deer with her fawn about ten feet behind you."
I turned around being careful as not to frighten the deer. In doing so, I ended up stepping back into Troy's arms. His chest was warm against my back. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to whisper in my ear.