There's always some decisions you make which you come to regret later in life. Often, they concern a member of the opposite sex and what did, or more likely didn't, happen. For me, this is one of those "what if ..." stories.
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When I was about 19, I was part of an outdoor activities club. You know, kayaking, climbing, mountain hiking and all that. Everything you couldn't do around here. The South East of England has few hills, nothing you'd could pretend is a mountain or a fast flowing river. So, we practice our techniques and skills as best as we can and look forward to the next trip away to the more adventurous parts of the country.
When I was about 19, I also enjoyed hanging about with mates, playing sports and generally chilling through the summer months. There was this one afternoon I'll never forget. About 10 of us had arranged to meet down the local park for our usual plan, play some footie, throw frisbees, have a picnic with a few beers and lay back to watch the stars come out.
And then my mate Pete arrived with a friend. I hope I didn't stare too much, but as I think back to it, there was lots of ogling going on, not just by me. Pete introduced us all to Charlie and we all introduced ourselves to her. There was something about her that was more than just her instinctive, sensual beauty. Now, don't get me wrong, she was stacked in all the right places with a quick first impression etched into my mind for later on. I had her down as a natural blonde, a slim size 8 or 10, with a generous B or small C breasts. Just enough arse to swing, but not too much, and man, oh man, I'd never thought a long Summer dress could appear designed for one individual. But it was more than her beauty: I think it was the way she pouted her thin lips when she thought - and there was a good amount of activity going on upstairs too, much more than was usual for your traditional, natural blonde teenager.
If I had just one word to describe her: elegant. The second word would be unreachable.
The main question in my mind though, was how on earth did Pete know her?!? And know her well enough to bring her along to a mates afternoon. He's not the type to hang around with hotties, so why this one and what was he see to her? All questions for later on.
I was feeling rather tongue tied, so all I managed was "Hi Charlie, really nice to meet you. I'm Dave."
"Nice to meet you too," she replied and moved on around the group.
I went back to throwing the frisbee and every time I made a good catch, had a quick glance to check if Charlie had seen it. Pretty much every time I saw her watching us all, as she sat talking with a few of the girls. She seemed to fit in well, considering it was the first time she'd met us all - I need to find out how girls do that so easily? I noticed I wasn't the only one struggling to focus on the frisbees that afternoon. Several of us were taking longer than usual to throw, often looking over at the girls before throwing or after a catch.
Soon enough, we tired of frisbees and got the football out. It was a welcome relief, as it demanded more of our attention to play. There were fewer pauses as it was only the goalies who could glance over at the girls so easily. So, it was no surprise that none of us noticed when she left. We finished our game, wandered back to the picnic site and she wasn't there anymore. Gutted!
"Where's Charlie gone?", I asked.
"She had a family thing to get to this evening," Pete replied. And that was it. Charlie was off the radar for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We chilled, picnicked, drank our beers and enjoyed the stars, as we'd planned to. Soon after midnight, we headed home. I was knackered, so went straight to bed when I got home, but woke in the middle of the night. Looking down at my duvet tent, the reason was obvious. I snuck down to the bathroom and was surprised how quickly I relieved the pressure, concluding it must have been a really good dream. Just a few happy movements and I'm there. Thinking of Charlie, sat there relaxing in that summer dress was enough. Normally I'd need to mentally undress a girl, but not Charlie. I hoped we'd meet again, but I had no idea how or when that was going to happen. After all, we'd only spoken 2 sentences to each other - hardly the basis of a solid, blossoming relationship!
The next day, I was working at home with Pete. He's a good friend, but lives a few miles away so we don't meet up that often. Today though, I had to find out more and asked him over to help me clear out the garage. It was another hot Sunday afternoon - an occurrence not quite as unusual as everyone expects in southern England. Ok, so it's not something you can plan for, but it's still almost universally appreciated.
We've been at it for an hour before I ask Pete the burning question.
"How d'you know Charlie then?"
"She's a friend from college," he replied, "who lives around the corner from me. We've been hanging around occasionally for ages and she's been asking to meet my friends. Her parents are rather protective of her though, so it's not been easy."
"She seemed to fit in with the others real quick though, for someone who's not out that much," I offered
"Yeah, she knew a few of the girls from college, and no doubt they got onto the usual girlie chats straight away. Shame you didn't get more of a chance to talk with her though, she loves the outdoors and is hankering to see some of the wilder parts of the country."
"Cool", I replied, jumping for joy inside. All my dreams had true come at once! The girl of my dreams, well last night's dream at least, shared an interest with me, and it's one where people naturally spend a lot of time together! Sweet. "Our club heads up to the climbing wall every Wednesday. It's probably the best place to meet some of the guys if she really wants to get involved and see more of the country." Please say you'll pass on the message, please, please.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," he said. Yes! "Mind if I come along too, as she hardly knows you, and the others in your club not at all?" No! But I had to concede it was a good point though. "I'll give her a call later and let you know this afternoon mate."
True to his word, Pete called to say they would both be coming climbing that week. Pete couldn't make most weeks as he has football training on Wednesdays, but would come along to keep Charlie company this week. Quality result.
The next three days were slow. Painfully slow. My right arm was getting more action than usual and the hour after a happy tug was about the only truly relaxed time I had. Minutes became hours became days with my one track mind stuck repeating its single track: Wednesday with Charlie.
Pete, it turns out, can't stand heights. I'm not a great fan, but Pete struggles with escalators and second storey windows. So when the fateful evening finally draws near and I meet them in the sports centre car park, his first question is to ask what we want to drink before slipping off to the café leaving me alone with the object of my half week old fantasies.
"Pete says you enjoy the outdoors," is my opening remark. I wasn't expecting to be alone so soon with her tonight, so I'm thinking on my feet.