Take the trees back to the main path

After thinking about the situation Jen decided that the ditch was too risky. If one of the mowers cut the grass right next to the ditch, she wasn’t certain she could have enough grass to hide behind and she could be seen. And if a car happened by and she had misjudged the depth of the ditch, she might be partially visible from the road. No, she didn’t feel like she could safely go that way.

She turned to her right and started making her way through the trees back to the main trail. She kept an eye to the right to make sure she was still well hidden from the dog park. She could still hear the couple playing with their dogs that direction. Even though she knew the lawn mowers were still just getting started and there was a whole field of tall grass between them and her, she glanced that direction occasionally as well.

It wasn’t a terribly far walk to get back to the main trail. Soon the treeline started to curve left and the tall grass was tapering out. Looking over her shoulder she saw that the lawn mowers had both cut a few rows. She remained uncertain if the ditch would have saved her any time or not.

Soon Jen was walking roughly straight north. She could hear the lawn mowers to her left. She started angling a little to the right to get back to the main trail.

The cement path came into sight and after taking a moment to make sure there was no one around she stepped out from the trees so she could walk faster and not worry about where she stepped. Immediately she picked her pace up to a quick jog. She wanted to try to run the rest of the way but after walking barefoot over cement, dirt, and twigs her feet were sore and chafed and she knew that would prevent her from keeping that pace for long.

She strode around a curve in the path and the entrance to the parking lot came into view. Jen hurried forward until she neared the entrance, then slowed and move back off the path to her right, weaving around the trees until she could make sure the parking lot was empty. Her sedan sat straight ahead of her, one other sedan parked a short distance away. Far to the left she could see the two trailers, still attached to their respective trucks, doors open and ramps down. The sound of the mowers still just audible. No one was in sight. Also to the left, maybe a yard past where the trees ended, sat the green steel trashcan where Jen’s clothes were supposed to be waiting for her.

Jen jumped out of the tree and sprinted hard for her car, the hot asphalt burning the bottom of her feet with each step. She paused long enough to duck slightly and grab her car key off the tire. Triggering the unlock button several times, she opened her car door and dropped into the seat.

With the door closed behind her Jen knew she was almost entirely out of sight of anyone who might come by. Only her head and shoulders could be seen unless someone got uncomfortably close. But she could drive off before that happened.

She started the engine, shifted into park and eased up next to the trash can. Immediately she stopped and watched for the lawn mowers. They were on the last minutes of their job, only a few more paths to cut before they were done. But one was turning to face her direction. She reversed the car back behind the trees and thought. The trash can was just ahead of her, but no immediate cover around it. She’d be fully exposed for a short bit when she retrieved her clothes, no matter what she did. Parking near the trash can and waiting for both mowers to be facing away seemed the simplest choice but she was concerned that might draw their suspicion.

Jen picked the next easiest option she could think of. She parked her car and stepped into the trees, then slowly crept forward until she was able to see the field while hiding behind a tree trunk. The mowers were moving northwards in a straight path, one a few yards behind the other one. The remaining tall grass was only a strip. Jen wasn’t certain if one mower could get it in a single swipe or not. She knew that if only one of them was needed to finish the job she might be sprinting back to her car and waiting for them to leave. She decided to wait and see how it went.

Soon the furthest mower from her, driven by an older man who slowly moved side to side as though he was listening to music. He finished the cut that he was on and swung the mower wide to his left before curving back around in a U-turn. He started tackling the next swatch of grass. To Jen’s relief there was still a foot of grass left standing.

She kept her eye on the mower nearest to her now, watching as he finished his cut and spun the wheel. In seconds he was facing away from her as well and Jen made her move.

She quickly stepped out from behind the trees and to the trash can. A new wave of embarrassment and fear hit her once she was out of hiding, being this close to two people who only had to turn their heads to see every inch of her nude body. She jammed her hand into the trash can and pushed something made from paper out of the way, reaching deeper. Her fingers brushed something soft made from plastic and she grabbed it, hauling it up. It came into view and Jen confirmed it was the bag holding her clothes. She immediately turned around and dashed back into the trees.

She didn’t stop moving once she was hidden behind another trunk, instead feeling it safer if she got to her car first. The mowers would be done soon and she knew a car idling with no occupants would draw their attention. They might not look into it, but they might feel compelled to come closer. She slipped behind the wheel, dropped the bag on the passenger seat and slammed the door closed.

Jen pulled the bag open and immediately shifted her car into reverse. Getting dressed right here would still likely catch the mowers’ attention. She backed her car up a far away from the trailers as she could get, twisting in her seat to watch out the back window as she spun the wheel. She braked once she got to the northeastern corner of the parking lot and killed the engine.

Looking up she saw the two mowers both heading towards their trailer, just having wrapped up clearing the field. Jen worked through the pile of clothes until she found her bra, getting that tossed over her shoulders and clasped behind her back first. Next she got her t-shirt up and over her head, pushing her arms through her sleeves and pulling it down over her chest and stomach.

She glanced out again and saw the two men starting to drive the mowers up the ramps. Jen grabbed her panties next. She had to bend and twist to her right to get around the steering wheel in order to loop her legs into the underwear and start sliding them up. Sitting back up straight she still had to hunch over to pull them up to her thighs, then lift her butt off the seat to get them over her hips.

She looked up to check on the mowers and almost jumped with a start to realize one was looking at her, the younger, bored man. Jen wasn’t certain what she did to draw his attention, but thought maybe she’d made the car shake a little bit when she was contorting around the steering wheel to get her panties back on. She tried to wave in a polite ‘hello’. The man kept looking her way for a moment then started walking toward her.

Oh shit, Jen thought, shit! Maybe I can drape my jeans over his legs and he won’t… no, let’s see if we can talk him out of coming over.

Jen hit the button to lower her window and stuck her head out. “Hey! Sorry, I’m fine!”

“You sure?” he called back, “your car was rocking a little bit.”

Jen thought fast, “oh, I dropped my phone and it fell under the seat. I’m trying to reach it, little tricky though.”

The man slowed, then stopped. After a second’s thought he nodded, “okay. Have a nice afternoon!”

“You too!”

She watched as the man turned around and walked back towards his trailer. Jen breathed a sigh of relief, then turned her attention to her jeans.

These proved to be an even bigger struggle than her panties had been. She had to remain wrenched around the steering wheel long enough to get each foot into the jeans, then bunch the legs up until she wouldn’t be standing on any of the denim. She was finally able to sit back up straight and wriggle her jeans back up and into place, buttoning and zipping them before un-arching her back and letting her butt fall back to the car seat.

Jen took a moment to close her eyes and breathe. She felt herself start to relax a little. She was finally dressed again, and could try to work out the tension in her neck and back on the way home. She opened her eye to see the trucks starting to pull away from the field and towards the exit of the parking lot. Jen fired her car back up and started heading that direction too.