Walk across the clearing

Jen felt an increasing sense of desperation, the longer she was left without any clothing. Saving time was her biggest priority. Her only priority. Mentally Jen committed to the course of action. Walk straight across the clearing, act casual, hope the teens in the distance didn’t notice anything amiss and get back to her car.

Taking a deep breath, Jen stepped out from hiding and started walking north along the path. The hair on the back of her neck raised as she realized she was again in complete view of anyone, from any direction. She **** herself to keep walking. Another deep breath. Eyes straight ahead. If the teens were looking at her she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Almost halfway there, she thought. Breathe. Walk casually. Hair faster than a normal pace. Breathe.

She could still hear the boys talking and laughing. She was sure they were focused on their game. They didn’t sound any closer than they had before. No sounds to her left or behind her. Jen kept walking, arms swinging lightly. Focusing on the trail ahead of her and the trees to its right.

Over halfway. Getting closer. Please don’t let them notice…

She felt her stride quicken a little and didn’t fight it this time. She wasn’t going abnormally fast, just a hair faster.

Jen let her eyes dart to the right. The boy facing her flung the frisbee to one of his friends who started running to catch it. If anyone had paid any attention to her at all they must not have spotted anything unusual. She felt the tiniest bit of relief at the fact, although that emotion was mitigated by the fact that she wasn’t in the clear yet.

It’s okay, another five yards or so. They didn’t notice you yet, they won’t notice you now.

Jen made the last strides across the clearing and felt safer with the trees obscuring the boys’ view of her. She glanced at them again, now only partial glimpses between tree trunks. Another two yards and the trees were thick enough that she could barely see them at all.

She took another three steps further up the trail before she returned to hiding in the forest. Her breath practically exploded from her lungs once she was out of view of the trail and she leaned against a tree. Even though she’d been reminding herself to breathe deeply the entire time she walked past the clearing she hadn’t been able to keep up with the oxygen demands of her racing pulse. Her heart beat furiously in her chest the entire time she was exposed. Only now that she was out of anyone’s view again could she feel it starting to slow. Twice now she’d been totally exposed and **** to view and her nerves weren’t coping with it at all well.

She soon felt herself start to regain her composure. Her breathing began to slow again. She reminded herself that both times no one had seen her, and they furthered her goal of getting back to her clothing that much sooner. Necessary risks, but ones that paid off.

Jen stood away from the tree and began walking northwards again. She kept the trail to her left generally in view so she wouldn’t get off course and returned to weaving around the trees. She knew the trail had some curves along the way to the parking lot and she wasn’t certain the exact distance to get there. She started turning slightly to the right when she realized the path was doing the same.

As she walked Jen listened carefully for any noise, ready to stop in her tracks and hide if she heard anyone approaching. She heard nothing except the occasional rustling leaves she brushed by or twig she stepped on. She didn’t trust this to be the case for long but used the time to try to move as quickly as she could, given the situation. She had to be careful not to tread on anything that might injure her and had to keep zigzagging around trees. She realized this was undoubtedly slowing her down.

I just want my clothes…

Her impatience started to work on her mind again. Most people would be impatient in her situation, she figured. But returning to the trail wasn’t necessarily the best option. Gain speed but might get seen if she didn’t hear someone coming before they could see her. Or stay hidden but lose a little time taking a less than straight course.

Another ten yards further north and she found herself looking to the path a bit more often. She knew it wasn’t just about trying to stay on course. It was about the temptation to get on the path so she could move faster, get to her coveted clothing that much sooner.

I’ve been able to hear anyone before seeing them so far. What’s going to stop that from happening now? Bicycles make noise, skateboards make even more noise if anyone happens to be one. I’ve even heard people walking. Not that walking makes all that much noise, but so far I’ve avoided everyone.

Deep down she knew that it would be a risk. Not so much cyclists or skateboarders, that noise had been more than enough. It was someone out walking then she would have less warning. Along one of the straighter parts of the trail she would very likely see someone before hearing them. And if she could see them, they could undoubtedly see her.

She caught herself looking at the cement path again. Dammit, I just want to get dressed…

She continued through the woods as the path arced to the left. Soon it straightened back out and Jen knew she was on the last stretch to the parking lot. The trail was a straight shot there.

Jen’s patience finally wore out and she crept through the trees towards the cement track. Her head peeked around the trees and she saw no one. Up ahead the trail ended at the beginning of a blacktop, where the parking lot began. The trees ended right next to the trail. The parking lot was large enough for twenty cars, and spread a good distance to the west. It would practically be a literal border between nature and civilization, if the park itself wasn’t already surrounded by the city.

There was no one coming from the south that Jen could hear, which meant anyone approaching from that direction would likely be on foot. She could move quickly and not worry about anyone out for a stroll catching up. No one was on the trail coming from the north, but she knew that only offered so much assurance. Someone could be walking through the parking lot now and she wouldn’t see them until they were turning straight towards her.

Glancing both ways once again she stepped onto the trail and immediately started walking towards the parking lot at a quick pace. She angled to the left of the trail since her car was parked closer to that side. After several yards of walking her rashness kicked in further and she began to jog. She’d never been one to exercise regularly and couldn’t recall the last time she’d tried running. Probably back in high school. Certainly not in the last fifteen years. She started to feel herself become winded after several yards, but she continued running, her hands pressing her breasts to her chest to stop them from swaying while she moved.

After about fifty yards she had to slow back down, not because she was out of breath- though she was- but the cement was rubbing the bottom of her feet raw. She was nearing the end of the path regardless and would have had to slow down soon anyway. She would have appreciated another few yards though.

She approached the end of the path and stepped back into cover, this time using the woods on the left. Her sore feet protested even when she stepped on rocks and sticks but she continued walking. Soon the parking lot was visible in front of her and she was able to come to a stop.

She quickly assessed that no people were in the parking lot, not on foot and not sitting in any of the cars. A jeep was the furthest to the left. One red sedan sat on the right edge of the lot. Two SUV’s and one other sedan were parked sporadically around the blacktop. Straight ahead of Jen was her car. Leaning forward and looking left she saw the dark green trashcan that Eve had promised to leave her clothes in. The car was much closer than the trashcan. The smart move was to get to the car and drive to her clothes.

She paused for a moment and confirmed she couldn’t hear anyone coming by foot or on anything with wheels. Then she stepped between the trees and immediately broke into the fastest run she’d ever managed.

The pain in her feet quickly renewed as she hit the hot blacktop, not only from the scraping they’d gotten from the jog on cement but now the heat of asphalt baking under the sun. Jen ignored this and kept sprinting to her car. Her head darted backwards, over her right shoulder, confirming that no one was coming out of the park. She reached her car and grabbed up the key she’d left on the tire, hit the button to unlock the car and practically dove into the vehicle.

Jen took a moment to relax and checked around again for any signs of people. A car drove past the parking lot on a street to the west. No one emerged from the park. She slipped the key into the ignition and turned the engine over. Shifting into gear she let the car start easing forward.

Driving naked, that’s a new one.

Jen was immediately annoyed with herself for making light of her situation. She put it out of her mind and drove up to the trash can. She parked carefully alongside it and checked her surroundings again before opening her door. Stepping out onto one foot she was able to dip her hand into the opening. The first thing she touched was paper. She nudged it out of the way and reached further, feeling plastic under her fingers. She grabbed onto it and pulled it out, hopping back into her car and closing her door before she took the time to confirm it was the bag with her clothes.

Her head flopped back against her headrest and she closed her eyes for a second, breathing deeply. She only allowed herself a minute to rest before she started opening the plastic bag and sorting through her clothes. She slipped her bra on first, nimbly managing the clasp after years of practice. Then she tried to get her underwear on, but twisting around the steering wheel made this awkward. Eventually she decided to set them aside for a moment and worked her way into her shirt instead.

Now only bottomless, Jen backed the car away from the trash can and next to where the trees started. She stopped the engine and bundled her panties and jeans under one arm. One quick look around to make sure no one had come up from the trail and she opened her door and took a few quick steps into the trees. She would be reasonably out of sight if anyone showed up, and if they decided to investigate she could scramble to get her jeans on before they made it very close.

Dropping the jeans on the ground she stepped into her underwear and practically yanked them up and over her hips. Finally she unfolded the jeans, took a moment to brush the dirt of them, then lifted her legs into them one by one.

Much easier than getting dressed around a steering wheel, she thought.

Once her jeans were zipped and buttoned she returned to her car. She was able to get her sandals on easily enough by dropped them near the pedals letting her feet grope around for them.

Finally dressed, Jen re-started the car and turned the air conditioner on high. The air began to cool as the engine warmed up, and she realized how much she’d been sweating during the ordeal. She took a few seconds to relax, to remind herself that this terrible day was over, and started driving.