Now well into the first weeks of June, a young man and woman were wandering out in nature together.. With the heat of the imminent summer now starting to really kick in, Derrick now found himself taking a hike through the woods with another acquaintance he had not seen in some time.
"It figures you a high scholar like you would be into nature, Josie," Derrick commented to his current companion.
"But of course," she smiled, enjoying the breeze on her face.
Josie had long, black hair cascading down her back and an even more petite frame than Ashley. Her figure was less womanly overall but has its own adorable charm to it.
Now strolling through the nearby woods, it became clear how different the mood here was compared to when they had set this meeting up. It was easy to have extended an invitation to her in the afterglow of that furious evening with Ashley, but now that they were reunited with the heat of that moment gone, it was a swift reminder that neither was particularly gifted in creating conversation. The sounds of nature helped fill the void of silence as they made their way along the path, taking in the scenery together.
Sooo... you seemed to have gotten my message," Josie was the one to break the ice as they paused at flowing stream, "From a few weeks ago, I mean."
"Yeah, that was certainly something..." he murmured his response, "Got my attention that's for sure."
"Well, you've had mine for a while," she responded, "I always preferred the more reserved types. You had a mysterious allure about you."
"I'd hardly call myself reserved. I just didn't always have a lot to say in school. I just wanted to get home and play video games."
"When your parents keep you at home studying like mine often did, video games are a good escape."
"What were your favorites?"
"I like The Legend of Zelda games," she gave a casual answer.
"Those are good, simple fun. So are they as strict now?"
"Not quite, but I found it best not to tell them I was meeting a guy out here. Same with that movie we went to."
"I understand," Derrick paused to dip his hand into the current.
Even while taking this moment to cool off, Derrick could sense a hesitation within Josie. Something she had wanted to say since the moment they had stepped outside together. He could see her face trying to muster up the courage for what it was that she had on her mind and it seemed to come after a deep sigh.
"I know you agreed to have me out today, but I saw that you and Ashley were already..."
"It's complicated," he kept his explanation simple.
"So how did you end up doing that?"
"Hot tub and some old, unfounded rumors."
"I can see how that might lead to certain things. Sorry that I bought into the gossip."
"You had nothing to do with it. I admire your choosing to do what you felt was respectful to my privacy."
"I never would have taken you for such a showoff."
"I could say the same for you. It's always us quiet types, huh?"
"Well, I mean, that picture I sent..." she fumbled with her words, "I only would've sent something like that to you... I just got so fired up and frustrated by what Ashley was sending out to us that I just had to do something, you know."
"Trust me, I get it. I just wasn't ever expecting to have that effect on anyone."
"How can you say that, I mean, just look at you," Josie motioned with his hands to his apparent confusion.
"Hey I never thought of myself as ugly, but I'm hardly a heartthrob," Derrick missed the point.
"That's not quite what I mean," Josie re-emphasized, "I'm talking about looking at all of you."
"Oh, that, of course," he briefly felt like a moron.
"Not that the rest of your body is bad or anything. That part is simply... special," she started to blush.
"It's gotten some attention as of late," he offered the typical understatement.
"I noticed long before then," she turned a deeper shade of red, " It was just... more than I ever could have guessed."
"Ashley let me in on how you used to deliberately state, you didn't notice it by chance," he revealed as her embarrassment started to overflow.
"Oh, come on, why couldn't she keep that a secret?" she began to pout instead.
"Hey, it's partially my fault. I did some stupid stuff too," he admitted with nor further elaboration, "I didn't think it would still bother you this much. I was only teasing."
"No, no, no," she tried to slap some sense back into herself, "It's wrong, it's rude, and I should apologize."
"If I accept your apology, can we start fresh?"
"Alright," she pulled herself back together.
"Then let's use this chance to cool off. You look like you're on the verge of overheating."
They both removed their shoes to dip their feet into the brook. Once the cool water at worked its magic on their toes. Derrick bent over to splash some water in Josie's direction prompting her to suddenly back away from him.
