Chapter 9

We wound our way through the woods, the ripple of water clearer in my sight. The footing became more uneven, sloping down, with rocks and small branches jutting out from the ground. The trees gave way to a clearing, festooned with rocks and grass. A small distance along, the rocks marked the border of a soft sand beach, more silt than sand, but a beach all the same.

The swimming hole was a widening of a small creek. The water flowed down, between granite stones and small gullies. The water moved placidly, lapping against the silty beach, before flowing down into a shallow rapid at the far end. Alongside the hole, there was a large granite stone which had been worn away by the flowing water, leaving a small cliff, about ten feet high.

As we came closer to the beach, I noted that my wife and Charlotte had spread out the towels on the ground. Charlotte was running her hands over Kaila's back, and I saw the thin white sheen of sun block. They both looked up as Helen and I approached.

The smile on my wife's face was priceless to me, approving and happy. She looked directly at my hand, holding Helen's.

"Hey babe." She grinned, turning back to look at the water. "This was a great idea."

"I'll be tone with the lotion in a moment," Charlotte announced, sliding her hands across Kaila's skin in an intimate caress. Her hands slipped across my wife's shoulders, rubbing against the collarbones, before gliding down to rub the sunscreen into Kaila's upper chest.

It was damned arousing, watching the beautiful redhead rub my wife's body, and it must have shown on my face. Helen pulled me along, leading me toward the unoccupied towels.

I sat down heavily on the sand, glancing over at Charlotte again, whose hands were now on Kaila's tits, gently massaging the white cream into her flesh.

"Want some?" Charlotte grinned at me, crooking her head towards the orange bottle which lay beside her.

I reached over, and picked up the bottle. I upended it, pouring a dollop into my hand. I rubbed it into my arms, moving it across my admittedly pale chest, before I felt Helen's hands on me.

"Let me get that. Helen offered, taking the bottle from me and pouring a bit over my back. Her hands stroked, kneading the flesh of my shoulders, but also caressing, turning the whole affair into a gentle, sensual experience of touch. I rolled my neck as she slid her hands along my back.

"Thanks, Helen." I said, looking over my shoulder, to give her what I hoped was an appreciative smile.

"Don't be too grateful, you still have to get me." She grinned, and I noticed her eyes flick to the other two women, who had now stretched out on their towels, and begun soaking up the sun. I also noted that they were holding hands as they did so, and a smile came to my face.

I took a while longer for Helen to finish my back, and when she was done, she surprised me by moving around me and starting on my legs.

Her hands stroked along the skin of my legs, rubbing in the sun block, and not missing an uncovered spot. With a final slap of her palms against my thighs, she stood up and moved to the last unoccupied towel, sitting on it cross-legged. She leaned back on her hands in an obvious invitation.

I immediately grabbed the bottle again, moving around behind her and slathering her shoulders and arms. It was a thrill to have my hands on her again, especially after what we had shared just a few moments before on the path. Helen seemed to relax into my touch as I ran my fingers over her back, just enjoying the experience of touching this trusting woman.

"That feels really nice." Helen said as I slid down to rub at her legs.

"I like making you feel good." I replied, my hands stroking at the inside of her knee.

"Keep that up and I'm going to fall asleep." Helen moaned, a soft yawn crossing her lips. "I thought you wanted to swim."

"Well, if you're ready..." I challenged, standing up and turning to the water hole. With two large steps I was at the edge, and with a leap I was in the air. I splashed down against the surface of the water with a resounding crack of flesh against liquid.

COLD, was my first thought as I stood in the water that reached to my ribs. I had little enough time to contemplate that, before I was soaked by a blonde and dark blue shape smashing into the water right next to me.

"FUCK! That's cold!" Helen gasped, her arms instinctively coming up to warm herself. I noticed that the sudden cold had instantly caused her nipples to harden, and poke out from her swimsuit.

The sound of laughter behind us caused me to turn. Both Charlotte and Kaila were looking at us with amused grins on their faces.

"Hey, you try it if it's so funny." I shouted back at them.

"Naaah, I'll just stay here, where it's nice and warm. With the SANE people." Kaila called back, lying back on her towel, with a final snort.

The water was still cold, but I was getting used to it. I lowered my shivering chest into the water, allowing myself to grow more comfortable. It took a little longer than I had expected, but Helen was right next to me, doing the exact same thing. The little bit of macho I did possess was not going to let me give up before she did.

I tried a small breaststroke, which helped somewhat. At least my muscles generated a little head as I did so. I moved again, propelling myself through the water with casual strokes. It got easier after a bit, the crisp water an interesting contrast to the warm air. I broke into a full freestyle, moving to where the water was deeper.

I ducked my head, and took a few strokes toward the bottom. I kept my eyes open, the blurry vista of the rocks and sand a study in light green. I swam along, before pushing off and breaking back into the bright light of the late morning.

I looked back to see Helen also swimming, her lithe body cutting through the water with ease. She was a vision of athletic grace, as she pulled up next to me, treading water, her hair wet and slicked.

"That'll wake you up." She grinned.

"Hell yeah." I returned her expression, and then glanced about. "Meet you over behind the big rock?" I nodded my head towards the large boulder I had seen earlier.

Helen didn't reply, merely taking her elegant strokes towards the rock. I followed after her, and soon we were once again in shallow water. I noted that from where we stood, chest deep in the shallows, we were out of sight of the others. The chill water swirled around us as we moved closer together.

"Got something in mind?" Helen asked, a suspicious expression on her face.

I kissed her. Her body was chilled, but felt warm in my arms as I pulled her into an embrace, and I was pleased when she didn't pull away, but rather kissed back, pressing herself back at me. My hand came up to rub along the back of her neck.

She stepped back after a moment, and turned to look to the left and the right. An amused smile came across her face.

"Definitely romantic." She nodded, stepping so that she was again close to me. "All we need now is a Cinderella album."

"I try. But uhm... Cinderella?" I smiled back at her, glad to see her happy. At that moment, the fact that she was happy seemed the most important thing in the world.

"Shhh... My secret vice. I like eighties hair bands..." She snickered, "I swear I thought that Tom Kiefer was a chick when I first heard them..."

I couldn't help myself, and broke into a quiet chuckle which she eagerly joined. It wasn't a horrible confession, just something I never would have pegged her for. The fact that she was sharing it with me was sweet. There was no other word for it, a sweet and romantic trust.

Helen ducked down, so that everything but her head was immersed in the pond. She looked up at me, and I too lowered myself into the water, steeling myself against the chill.

"Want to do a few laps?" She offered, looking towards the opposite shore.

"I'm not in the best shape." I admitted, looking at where she had indicated.

"Two laps then." She countered. "Ready?"

With a swift move she pushed off the bottom of the water and swam through the water with her long powerful stroked. I followed her, not nearly as proficient, but competently enough to avoid making a TOTAL ass of myself.

I was barely able to keep up with her on the first crossing of the pond, and on the second, she left me far behind. When I finally stood up again back where we had started, she feigned a yawn, having been standing for almost a full minute.

"You win." I huffed, pulling a small clump of algae out of my hair.

"Wasn't a contest." She grinned, "I think that would be nice to get moving a bit."

"Well, I'm officially freezing." I joked, jerking my thumb in the direction of the beach.

I stepped around the large boulder, keeping to the shallower water where I could, but swimming where I had to. Helen followed me, the soft splashes of her movement the sign of her presence.