"I feel so guilty," Manny told her new husband, Ed. "Mom fixed almost the whole meal, and we are really sneaking off from them on our first day here." And she felt guilty about last night, too. She loved Ed. Keeping her hands off him in the months before their marriage had been a struggle, and not always a successful one. But in the room next to her parents...

"When you were a teenager and came up here, did your family spend all weekend together?" Ed asked.

"Gosh, no. But, if I wanted to take a lunch, I would have to fix it myself."

"So we go with her blessing, no?" Ed asked.

She led the way carrying the basket. Ed followed carrying the rolled ancient blanket. The path was perfectly easy to see, but he didn't walk beside her, anyway. She guessed where his eyes were pointed, and put a little extra sway into her hips. Turning him on was such fun, although -- after last night -- it probably wasn't necessary.

Anyway, these jeans had been a struggle. They weren't really picnic clothes. She had better get all the use out of them that she could.

They were hot and sweating before they stepped into the relative coolness of the woods. The clearing with the spring and the mint was much smaller than she remembered. Maybe she was bigger; maybe she wasn't counting the pool and the brook this time. The woods were quiet. A few crows called from distant fields. Otherwise, every wild creature could have been sleeping in the heat.

"Put it down there," she said gesturing at the patch of mint. She bent to help him straighten out the blanket. Then she took the jar of iced tea out of the basket, and put it in the spring where it would keep cool. She took off her shoes and socks. Something easier to remove would have been more appropriate footgear; but the path required rough shoes.

"Was it worth the trip?" she asked him.

"It's beautiful," Ed said, and it was.

"And very private," she pointed out. "It's our land, and posted against hunters even in the fall." It was high summer now, hot even here in the shade.

She kissed him. He was a little surprised at first, but then clutched her against his frame and pressed his tongue into her mouth. She tasted it for a moment, and then chased it back.

"Do you want to eat now?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "I probably put the diaphragm in an hour ago. I don't know how long it will last." The diaphragm, of course, would last years if she didn't take it out; the jelly was what worried her.

Now Ed twigged. Honestly! and the man was so good at crossword puzzles too. He grabbed her more tightly and kissed her more thoroughly.

"Manny, I love you," he said. "Manantia, I absolutely adore you."

"All you want is my body." Not that she really believed that.

"Right now." He kissed her again, pulling her against his body with a grip on her hips. She started unbuttoning his shirt, and he reciprocated. Their arms tangled, but the tangle was fun; she wasn't in that much of a hurry. He kissed her belly button, and then unsnapped her bra. She appreciated his mouth on her breasts, but her legs felt suddenly weak. When she sat down on the blanket, he moved to her jeans.

These were as much of a struggle for both of them to remove as they had been a struggle for her to get on. A dress would have been better for her present purpose than jeans; but the path they had come required rough clothes. Besides, if she didn't want her parents hearing them make love, she didn't want them guessing about her purpose either. Jeans were the costume for a picnic.

He finally had them loose. While he drew them off her legs, she lay back on the blanket. He stripped off his t-shirt and put it on top of her jeans. Then he lay down beside her, and they had another kiss. This time, though, she could feel his chest rubbing across her breasts. He kissed all over her face, and attacked her neck.

Slowly, his mouth worked lower. However excited his kisses made her feel, they weren't moving and disturbing the birds and animals. A few birds were singing in the trees; a squirrel chittered overhead.

He kissed every bit of her breasts except the important parts. Finally, she grabbed his hair to move him towards her nipples. When he sucked on one, it was rapture. He moved to the other under his own steam. She could only lie there, caress his shoulders with her hands, and accept all these marvelous feelings.

He broke away to tug at her panties. She lifted her hips, to ease his job. Long ago, she had used the privacy of this clearing to explore herself, explore her feeling, explore her body. But she had never been naked here.