Chapter 2

Wade was happily humming a Beatles tune underneath his truck, dressed in an old muscle shirt and jean shorts, when two bare feet appeared in his line of vision.

‘What’s wrong with your truck?’

The voice was melodious, soft; mellow and sweet like clover honey.

‘I’m just tinkering,’ Wade replied, scooting out from under the vehicle and wiping hair and sweat out of his face (and succeeding in slathering oil across his forehead, incidentally) before turning towards his visitor.

He was rather startled to see that it was Daisy. He shouldn’t have been, and yet he was.

‘I saw you last night,’ she said evenly, smiling in a friendly way.

‘You did?’ Wade stammered. She had?! How? Her eyes had been closed the entire time! Or so he’d thought...

‘Yeah,’ Daisy said. ‘You were right here by your truck then, too, fishing around in your tool box.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Wade said stupidly. ‘Of course. I’m sorry, I think I’d better introduce myself. Wade Quist. We’ve just recently moved in.’

‘I know,’ Daisy said. ‘I’ve lived over there my entire life. We saw you move in. I’m Daisy Mandelay.’ She stuck out a small, browned hand for him to shake, and he took it.

Wade tried to not to remember what her hands had been doing the night before. He smiled at her, and when they pulled apart, both laughed to see he’d left oil and dirt on her hand.

‘Sorry,’ Wade said. ‘Listen, what are you up to right now? I was just about to break for lunch. Maybe you’d like to join me?’

She nodded, smiling. ‘Sure. My mama’s working.’

They sat at the kitchen table surrounded by boxes in various stages of unpacking and listened to the radio while eating grilled cheese sandwiches.

Wade decided he liked her as a person, too, and not just for her body. She was funny, and genuine, and casual, despite her rather unusual way of talking. For a teenager, she was rather serious ... rather like he was.

Daisy

Daisy had noticed the eyes of the neighbour boy on her when she’d been retrieving her nightshirt a few nights past. In truth, she didn’t mind who saw her naked, but the idea that he may be watching her and appreciating her body was one that sent excitement shivering up her spine.

Just in case he liked what he saw, she took extra time to find the nightshirt. She’d already found it long ago, but fumbled about for a while longer before slipping it over her head.

The next night, when she came out of the bath wearing only a towel, Daisy did not know if his eyes rested on her. The room across from hers was dark, but whether he watched or not, she wanted to take the time to pleasure herself. Daisy masturbated several times a week, on average five or six. She had a voracious appetite for the simple, all-consuming pleasure an orgasm gave her, and she didn’t have to think about anything else when she was building up to one, either.

In the bath, she’d teased herself a little, imagining what the boy next door might be doing if, or when, he thought of her. If it was anything similar to her line of thought, then he must be going a little mad with arousal. She was.

Daisy allowed herself a moment to simply relax on her bed, naked, feeling the lovely soft smoothness of the sheets on her bare body.

In the bath she had teased herself too much to want to wait very long before proceeding to the main course, envisioning various scenarios involving her and her neighbour, but Daisy still forced her hands to move tantalizingly slowly, loving how warm, ripe, and needy her pussy felt. She couldn’t help it, though, and a little cry of pleasure escaped her throat as she shoved two fingers hard into the wet hole between her legs.

What would his seed feel like? Daisy wondered to herself idly, arching up into her own fingers. Soft, like pudding? Sticky, like honey? Or perhaps it would feel slippery, as soap did. She had no prior knowledge about the feeling of semen, and wondered whose it would be when she did.

But then all thoughts were lost to her as extraordinary pleasure took over.

Today, when Daisy awoke and went outside, full of buttered toast, she smiled a Wade, who was under his truck yet again. He smiled, waved at her and winced as he hit his head on something underneath the vehicle. She remembered their lunch of grilled cheese the day before, and smiled privately to herself as she thought of the jokes they had shared.

The forest parted easily for her. She was well known to it, and it to her. There were even small trails she had worn out herself, taking the same paths every day. Daisy checked all the usual things; the hummingbird nest in an aspen, the bee hive close under a balsam, and the pocket gopher holes. All seemed normal, and content, and as the sun reached its zenith, she made her way to the river. It was part of her usual routine.

Daisy pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the ground. She didn’t like to wear a bra, and usually didn’t, except when her mother urged her to do so for some special event.

She shimmied out of her denim, and her panties, and clambered easily down to the water.

It was icy cold, and lovely on such a hot day, despite its shock to her body. She immersed her entire body and came up half-gasping, half-laughing at the sudden frozen feeling in all her parts.

She swam for a long time, at times floating on her back and idly stroking between her legs, not really invested in an orgasm but just enjoying the tantalizing, tingly pleasures her own touches provoked.

When Daisy emerged from the water, she lay back on a large warm rock, sunning herself to dry and keep the peaceful feeling around herself. She cupped a breast, liking the softness in her hands, and then rolled to rest comfortably on her tummy.

The sounds of the wood were an easy companion to her, and she knew all the normal ones. However, the sharp crunch of old leaves bing crushed and a twig snapping were not usual, not even with animals like deer. She sat up halfway, shading her eyes to see, but saw nothing. It was too bright to see much anyway. Yet she knew someone was there.

‘Who is it?’ Daisy called, not unfriendly, but still wary. ‘There’s no hunting allowed here, you know.’

Living on the edge of a tiny town with forest all around, this had posed a significant problem before. Most hunters had the decency and honour to ask before they hunted on your property, but some didn’t, and still others wandered in from adjoining land, not knowing the ownership and permissions had changed.

‘I know you’re there,’ she said, a tone of finality lacing through her words, but still patient as ever. ‘You can’t fool me.’

The woods gave no answer. Wind laced its fingers through the leaves, and heaved the great trees slowly back and forth in a steady rhythm. Even so, the birds did not sing or call ... a sure sign that someone they were unused to was about. If the birds hadn’t told her, Daisy would still have known. She sensed a human presence and began to get uneasy due to the person’s silence.

‘There won’t be any trouble,’ she tried to reassure the unseen shadow. ‘I don’t mind anyone seeing me naked. God gave me the body I have and there’s no reason to be ashamed of it.’

Slowly, the shadow emerged from the trees.

‘Wade!’ Daisy exclaimed, and while she was surprised to see him there, she was relieved that it was someone she felt was trustworthy. ‘You scared me half to death! What are you doing out here? Why didn’t you come out when I called?’

He shrugged, flushing and looking sheepish.

‘I was exploring,’ he said, the words hesitant. ‘And when I saw you like this ... I thought you’d be embarrassed if you knew someone saw. I thought it would be best to just leave you be, but then that stick cracked, and... ‘ His face reddened even deeper.

‘It’s all right,’ Daisy assured him. ‘I’m dry now anyway. I’ll get dressed in a minute.’

Daisy leant back against the rock for a minute more, eyes closed and face tilted up towards the sun. She debated offering herself to him just then, and wondered how comfortable making love on a warm rock would be--likely, not very. Still, she wanted him. She wanted to part her thighs for him, have him settle into her hips and slide his cock into her. What was it like? Was he small? Daisy didn’t think she’d mind one way or another; it would do the job, and if you loved someone enough their physical self didn’t matter so much anyway, not silly things like that.

Eventually she sighed and dressed. Wade turned away slightly, blushing the same colour as her mother’s rich pink roses.

‘I come here all the time,’ she said. ‘It’s a peaceful place, and I can swim. I love to swim. I think I’d go crazy if there wasn’t somewhere close I could swim all the time; the public pool costs too much to go regularly.’ She shrugged, fastening her belt, almost dressed. ‘And it’s nicer here, anyway.’