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Friend of the Wood

By: LesLumens



This is an entry in the Literotica.com Summer Lovin' contest. If found elsewhere with this note attached, it has been posted without my permission. © Copyright LesLumens 2013.

****

Terra pulled back the curtains and grinned as morning sunlight streamed into the room. The day was bright and beautiful — the perfect start to her first summer vacation from college. As much as she enjoyed the classes that would lead her into her career as a veterinarian, balancing that with an active social life had left her in need of a break.

A groan emerged from the direction of her twin sister Ella's bed. "Too early," she muttered as she pulled the covers over her head.

Her brilliant green eyes flashing with mischief, Terra giggled and snatched the comforter away, prompting another groan. "Come on, Ella. I've been dreaming about going to the lake for weeks."

Her sister rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then tugged on her nightgown, which had bunched up above her breasts as she slept. The twins regularly found those assets — inherited from their curvy mother — both a blessing and a curse.

Ella sighed. "I'm not really in the mood."

There was no need to ask why. The twins were rarely apart and shared an almost psychic connection. Ella had been through a rough patch in her social life of late.

Terra sat down on the corner of the bed and smoothed back a few errant strands of her sister's dark blonde hair. "You need to get out."

At the same time, one of the long vines of the philodendron hanging near Ella's bed reached out and brushed her cheek. A moment later, the end curled around Ella's wrist and tugged.

Terra broke out into a grin and entwined her fingers with her sister's. "Let's go."

Ella didn't protest this time, and stood up as the vine released her. Side-by-side, the two young women hurried across the hardwood floors, through the house and out the back door. Unconcerned that they were dressed in nothing more than clinging nightgowns and panties that left little of their charms to the imagination, they crossed the yard to the woods beyond.

Honeysuckle and pine mingled with a myriad of other pleasant scents as the twins' bare feet crunched the carpet of dried pine needles covering the trail. Shafts of light penetrated the dark green canopy, giving nourishment to colorful patches of flowers — some of which grew nowhere else.

All along the way, squirrels, rabbits, and birds abounded. Rather than fleeing from the presence of humans, the animals moved along with them. Birdsong from all quarters blended together in a perfect melody, heralding the twins' emergence into a clearing.

Quite in contrast with most people, the sight of their parents sitting nude on a small hillock of moss didn't shock or embarrass the two young women. Neither did they gawk at the sight of the woman sitting with them, though her appearance certainly invited such.

She looked no older than the twins, but the dryad with new-leaf green hair was actually their great-grandmother. Terra's earliest memories were of swimming in Xantina's crystal clear pool — often with the extended family. Family gatherings were always held in the nude, as the ultimate mother of their line found clothing to be silly and inconvenient. Since it was so common in their home life, the twins found shedding their clothes just as comfortable as the norms forced upon them in the world beyond the wood.

Daniel stood as the twins undressed and said, "Welcome home, girls. Sorry I wasn't here when you got in yesterday."

"It's okay, Dad. Mom told us you were in the middle of a committee meeting," Terra said as she hugged him. "Sorry we were too tired to wait up for you to get home."

She then turned to her great-grandmother and opened her arms for another embrace.

"I missed you, Xanterra," the dryad said as she pulled Terra close, using her real name which was only known amongst the family. "And you, Xanella," she added when Ella approached for her hug.

"Missed you too, Grandma," the twins said simultaneously — dropping the great. 

Their mother Brooke said, "I got my hugs yesterday, but you can give me another if you'd like."

They did, wrapping their arms around her at the same time, and then sat down on the soft cushion of moss to join the impromptu family reunion.

It was only a half hour later when Daniel stood and held out a hand to his wife. "Unfortunately, we've both got to get to work."

"We have all summer to catch up," the dark-haired beauty said, and then kissed him.

Terra said, "We were going to get ready and go to the lake anyway, right Ella?"

Her sister's expression was dubious for a few moments, but then Xantina reached out to caress her great-granddaughter's cheek, as she had through the plant in the room earlier.

Ella's lips curled into a smile and she answered, "Yeah."

"The bad things pass and nice things come." The dryad glanced at Terra for a moment, giggled and added, "Go, but come swim with me soon."

"We will," Terra promised as the dryad gracefully backed up and vanished into the pine boughs.

The sisters continued to chat with their parents as they dressed, and on the brief walk to the house, then split off to return to their room.

"Using Grandma to coax me out of bed was cheating," Ella said as they walked down the hallway.

Terra stuck her tongue out. "It wasn't my idea. It was Grandma's — and she's right."

"I know. Still cheating, though."

"Whatever." Terra rolled her eyes, prompting them both to laugh.

"I really did need that," Ella admitted as she stepped into the room she shared with her sister. "I haven't felt this good since... you know. I'm actually looking forward to the lake."

"Good," Terra beamed, and then plopped down on her bed to text her boyfriend. Keith replied a minute later that he would meet them. It was a pleasant surprise, as he'd developed a bad habit of taking forever to answer her lately.

Once dressed in bikinis covered by shorts and t-shirts, the sisters headed for the car. Upon walking into the front room, Terra saw her brother letting in a friend who had been a fixture at the house for almost as long as she could remember. 

She waved at him. "Hey, Nate."

"Hey, Terra," he responded with a wide smile on his face.

"Are you sure?" she asked, while leaning in close to her sister.

Ella chuckled and swept past. "Give it up, Terra. You're never going to fool him."

She knew it was true, as she'd tried many times before. Somehow, Nathan had always been able to tell the sisters apart, even though almost everyone mixed them up on occasion.

"Hey, we're going to Parker's Lake. Want to come?"

Their brother Dale shrugged. "May as well. Not enough people to get a game going today."

"Sure," Nathan agreed.

"We'll be on the porch. Hurry up," Terra said as she caught up to her sister at the front door.

The twins drank in the beautiful summer morning, taking a seat side-by-side on the wooden railing around the porch. The boys took only a minute or two to grab towels before coming out, and then everyone piled into the car for the short drive to the lake. 

Parker's Lake was on private land, but had been a popular swimming hole for generations. It was closer than the public beach, allowing them to drive the hybrid in electric mode all the way there and back. The sisters preferred the lake due to its natural setting and smaller crowds.

"So, when did you get contacts?" Terra asked once they were underway.

"It was a graduation present," Nathan answered.

"You don't look as nerdy without the glasses," she said while glancing at him in the rearview mirror.

"Thanks." He chuckled and rolled the window up a little before scratching at his left ear, which his wind-blown, dark hair had apparently been tickling.

"Hardly see you at the house or on campus any more," Ella said.

"You know — work and keeping up with my classes."

"As if you have any trouble with that, Brainiac," Terra scoffed.

Dale crossed his arms and snorted. "Do you want me to ride on the roof so I'm not distracting you?"

Terra and Ella laughed, but it was Nathan who received a punch in the shoulder for joining them. They continued to talk as the car made near-silent progress toward their destination — the crunching of gravel beneath the tires just as loud as the electric engine.

Upon making a turn onto a narrower, unpaved road, Terra's brow furrowed and she exclaimed, "What?"

Everyone else saw it as well. A brand new gate had been erected across the road leading to the lake. Beaten down grass and tire tracks showed where people were driving around it and ignoring the No Trespassing sign.

"Well, so much for that idea," Ella said as the car rolled to a stop several feet away from the blue metal gate.

The sound of an engine revving caused them all to look back and see Keith's coupe pulling in behind. He jumped out as soon as he stopped and walked toward them. Terra rolled her window down the rest of the way and her boyfriend leaned in.

"Well, that's some bullshit," he said. "Screw it. Let's just head over to Pride's Park and hit the beach there."

A hungry smile spread across his face and he plucked at the neckline of Terra's shirt while asking, "You wearing that new bikini?"

Terra swatted his hand away. "Yes. I want to go talk to Mr. Parker."

"Screw the old man," Keith scoffed.

"He's been letting people come out here for years. I just want to know why."

"And then go to Pride's?"

"Yes, then we'll go."

"Meet you there, then?"

Terra nodded her agreement and then moved in for a kiss — though she lamented not taking off her seatbelt first when it bit into her right breast. She could sense her sister's silent groan, and couldn't miss her brother's far-from-silent gagging sound as her boyfriend walked back to his car.

Keith's engine roared again before he backed out, and then gravel flew as he spun the tires and took off, leaving behind a giant cloud of dust.

Terra snapped her gaze to the back seat and said, "No comments from the peanut gallery," just as her brother was about to say something.

She put the car into reverse and headed back down the road to the elderly man's house. When they pulled into the drive, they saw him sitting on the front porch in a well-weathered rocking chair, sipping coffee.

"Guessing you're here about the lake?" he asked as soon as they all got out.

Terra answered, "Mmm hmm. We just wanted to know why you blocked it off?"

The old man sighed and sat down his mug on a nearby handmade oak table. "Been some bad apples going down there, and I'm too old to go chasing them off. It's a right mess with all the broken bottles and such. Not that the gate's stopping them."

Terra frowned upon hearing that news. "Do you mind if we go look?"

"If I didn't think it was dangerous, I'd say you could go swim. Know you young'uns ain't up to no good. If you want to go down there, you go right ahead. Reckon you're gonna be just as sad as I was when I saw it, though."

"Thanks, Mr. Parker," Terra said, and then gestured for everyone to get back in the car.

Following the path beaten down through the tall grass by others, Terra drove around the gate, and then back onto the twin gravel lines of the road. They all saw it even before reaching the slope down to the lake. Sun-faded beer cases littered the area. Vegetation large and small lay on the ground — wilting in the sun — mowed over by vehicles. Blackened spots bore silent witness to where people had carelessly set fires far away from the fire pits built down near the lake. Trash seemed to cling to every tree and shrub for as far as the eye could see.

The shoreline of the lake was even worse. Bottles, broken glass, and beer cans were everywhere. Only a few small patches of plants clung to life here and there. The rest had been trampled or burned. The trash barrels and rocks for the fire pits were nowhere to be found — most likely resting at the bottom of the lake.

It was Ella who broke the silence as they stared in awestruck disappointment. "We've got to do something."

Terra nodded in agreement. "No way we can do this ourselves, though. It will take a year. We need help."

"Going to be a lot of people at Pride's Park," Ella suggested. "You have to go because Keith is on his way there anyway."

A grin tugged at the corners of Terra's lips. "Perfect. We'll go cool off, and find some people to help us with this mess, too. Green's the in-thing now, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"I'm in," Nathan offered.

Terra turned to face the boys behind her. "Thanks. What about you, Dale?"

"Yeah. Mom and Dad will probably get us some trash bags and stuff when we tell them."

Terra's eyes lit up. "Maybe Mom can convince the television station to do a story. Let's go. I'll send her a text on the way."

"I have an idea how we can entice some guys to come out and do the heavy lifting," Ella said with a sly smile.

Terra knew exactly what her sister was planning and chuckled. "Perfect."

Plan in place, they set off to make it a reality.

****

Terra and her sister finished setting up the refreshments on the folding table, and then gave each other a thumbs-up. All around them, people were picking up trash, already making a visible difference. The half-dozen girls they'd convinced to join them were all dressed in skimpy bikinis.

It was exploitive, but every girl knew what she was getting into, and it had encouraged twenty guys to lend their muscle to the clean up effort, with more likely on the way. The girls were all single and looking anyway, which gave them a captive audience with less competition. Terra and Ella's popularity meant that they were able to skim the cream of the single boy crop as well, providing benefits for everyone. There was a great deal of flirting and flexing going on as the garbage vanished into bags.

Ella grabbed a bag and strutted down to the lakeshore, attracting her fair share of attention as her bikini-clad bottom swayed and her breasts jiggled. The breeze even conspired to add to the effect, lifting her long blonde hair into a pennant that streamed off to the side. Terra was happy to see her sister getting back into the game after a few weeks of near seclusion following her most recent breakup.

Considering the selection available, Terra could hardly blame her. There were some seriously good-looking guys walking around shirtless and glistening with fresh, clean sweat.

One was conspicuously absent, though.

She picked up her cell from the table and leaned over it to hide the glare of the sun. After checking for messages or calls she missed, she brought up Keith's number to make a call.

"Hey," he answered.

"Aren't you a little late?" she asked in a playful sing-song.

"Yeah. I forgot I had practice today. I was going to call in a bit."

The playfulness vanished from her voice in a heartbeat. "So, you're not coming?"

"No. I mean — yeah. I'll come after practice."

"When will that be?"

"Don't know for sure. Getting a hell of a workout today. I'll meet you there when I get out. I may be tired, though."

Terra pushed her irritation aside. "Okay. Love you."

"You too. Bye."

She hung up the phone to see her sister staring her down with one hand on her hip while she gestured with a trash bag in the other. Terra shook her head, smiled, and picked up a bag.

****

Terra waved goodbye as the last two cars started back up the gravel path, and then offered a knowing glance to her sister. The girl in the first car and the guy in the second had spent most of the morning together, and the looks they had given each other before leaving strongly hinted that they were looking for somewhere private to spend an hour or two.

The twins then took in their handiwork. From the vantage point leading down to the lake, the difference was profound. Not a single piece of trash remained in sight.

"Not bad for six hours," Ella remarked.

Terra nodded as her eyes swept over the area. "Still a lot to do though."

"Enough people promised to come out again to get it done."

Terra glanced up the empty road and muttered, "Yeah. Promises."

"So call him and give him a piece of your mind. And let him know that he's not getting a piece of anything else for a few days."

That made Terra chuckle as her brother and Nathan walked up.

"Truck's tied down. We're going to head back to the house and separate everything," Nathan said.

Though they'd made an effort to bag together anything that could be composted or was recyclable, a lot more was going to end up in the landfill than Terra would have liked. It was more or less unavoidable, unless they wanted to keep the smelly bags somewhere at the house long enough to finish sorting.

"Thanks, you two. We'll see you back at the house."

Terra and her sister pulled on shorts and t-shirts while the truck drove away, but paused before getting in the car when they heard the engine of an ATV approaching. The truck's horn tooted just before they saw Mr. Parker slowly riding their way.

The old man had a smile on his face when he pulled up. "You girls did a right fine job here."

"Thanks, Mr. Parker," Terra said.

"Still a lot to do, though," Ella said. "Nathan's going to bring his scuba gear tomorrow to help get the stuff in the water."

Mr. Parker sighed as he looked out over the sparkling lake. "Does my heart good. I met my dearly departed Ellen right down there all those years ago."

"We love this place too," Terra said as her eyes misted up.

The old man wiped his brow — and his eyes. "Whew. Reckon I'd best get in out of the sun. You're welcome any time, and I do appreciate you cleaning up this mess. You tell the family I said hello, now."

"We will."

The sisters followed the ATV out past the gate, and then turned toward home after a final wave. Dale and Nathan had already unloaded the bags near the compost pile, and were driving the truck over toward the recycling bins. Terra pulled up next to them and hopped out to help. Between Nathan and the three siblings, all the recyclables were unloaded in only a few minutes.

"Do you want us to follow you to the landfill?" Terra asked.

Nathan shrugged and shook his head. "Nah. I can do it and then go drop the truck off."

Dale offered, "I'll go with you. Not like I'll be able to get in the shower for a couple of hours anyway."

Both sisters stuck their tongues out at him and then headed into the house. A tone sounded from within Terra's pocket, and she glanced at the display for only a moment before putting her cell away. She was mad at Keith for not showing up, and in no mood to see what his excuse was. The momentary distraction was enough for Ella to dart ahead and lay claim on the master bathroom.

Taking it in stride, Terra turned down the hall to the bathroom she shared with her siblings to take a shower. She made it back to the bedroom before her sister, and finally decided to check the message from Keith.

"Sorry. Fell asleep when I got home. Still at the lake?" the message said.

Not quite ready to talk to him, she sent a single word text back. "No."

"Sorry. How about I take you out?" his next message read.

Terra bit her lower lip and considered it. The closest they'd come to a date recently was hanging out with friends for a few hours and then going back to his place to have sex. Maybe this was just the reminder he needed to not take the relationship for granted.

"Maybe. Where?"

"Wherever you want to go."

"Olive Garden?"

Despite it being the place he'd taken her on their first dinner date, he'd later admitted that it was far from his favorite place to eat. Suggesting it was a test to see how serious he was about making amends.


Friend of the Wood



"Sure," he immediately replied.

Test passed.

She quickly tapped out, "Pick me up at eight. Don't be late."

He was ten minutes early — and bearing flowers. It turned out to be only the beginning of a wonderful evening. He was attentive and sweet all through dinner, reminding her very much of their first time there.

She more or less expected him to hint at coming back to his place afterwards, but he surprised her. By the time they shared a goodbye kiss in front of the house, her anger had all but evaporated away.

****

Terra smiled as Keith pulled into the drive on his motorcycle the next morning — right on time.

His prompt arrival was yet another sign that he was trying to make up for the previous day's mistake, and that suited her right down to the ground.

"You might try looking a little less smug," Ella suggested as she loaded jugs of juice and recycled paper cups into the back seat of the car.

"Shush," Terra admonished under her breath, and then hurried over to his bike.

Watching over her shoulder, she waited until her sister was ready, and then signaled for Keith to lead the mini caravan to the lake. With the powerful motorcycle rumbling between her legs and her arms wrapped around his waist, all was right in the world once more.

That changed as soon as they pulled up to the lake.

Keith put down his foot as he rolled to a stop. "Thought you said you had it all picked up?"

Terra scowled at the fresh mess of cardboard, bottles, and cans strewn around the edge of the lake. "We did. Some jerks must have been out here last night."

"Somebody had some fun," Keith chuckled while pointing at a pair of panties lying discarded in the weeds next to a used condom.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ella remarked as she walked down next to join her sister.

Keith gave an empty can by his foot a light kick. "Kind of fighting a losing battle here, I think."

"Oh no we're not," Terra said with a note of ominous finality.

Nathan sighed when he walked down to see the mess. "Want me to help pick this up first?"

Terra shook her head. "No, go ahead and get your stuff and start in the lake. Dale and Keith can work on this while Ella and I set up the refreshments. Everybody else will be here in half an hour."

"Dibs on that side," Keith said, pointing in the opposite direction of the condom.

"Gross," Dale muttered as he walked back toward the truck for bags and trash sticks.

Keith let out a snorting laugh a few minutes later when Nathan walked down to the water in his gear, carrying an underwater light, burlap sack, and his flippers. 

"Hey, it's Scuba Steve."

Terra pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. "Be nice."

"Okay. Okay," Keith grumbled, then returned to spearing cans with his trash stick.

Terra turned to her friend. "Go ahead, Nate. I really appreciate it. I was wondering how we were going to deal with the glass in the water."

"I need the practice. I'll see what I can do. If I'm right about something, it may not be that big of a deal," Nathan said as he walked down to the shore.

"Hope you're right," she said as Nathan sat down at the edge of the water to put on his flippers.

The results of a single night's revelry didn't take long to pick up, and it was made easier because whoever had left the mess had refrained from breaking bottles for entertainment. By the time the other volunteers began to arrive, they were once again ready for the painstaking work of raking and searching out bits of broken glass.

The work provided plenty of opportunity for creative bending and stretching, just like the day before. The bikini-clad girls and shirtless guys were taking full advantage of it to show off for members of the opposite sex. Terra smiled, thinking that on top of everything else, she'd likely played matchmaker for several couples.

Nathan surfaced and slipped his regulator out of his mouth some time later. Terra walked down to the edge of the water.

"What's it look like?" she asked.

"I was right, and we're lucky. There's so much clay in the soil that the silt just slides down into deeper water, and it took most of the broken glass with it. The clay is what makes it so slippery."

Terra grinned, remembering countless occasions where the slick bottom had resulted in hilarious falls — and a few of her own that were only funny in retrospect.

"I can probably get everything up here pretty quick so nobody gets cut, and then grab what I can from down deeper before my air runs out," Nathan finished.

"Great." Terra wiped her brow. "We may all need to take a dip before long."

Several people agreed with that assessment. It was an especially hot and humid day, and the proximity of the cool water only made it seem more so.

"I'll get back at it then," Nathan said.

Keith walked up and grabbed Terra's bottom, prompting her to swat his hand away and admonish him to behave — though the way she said it was meant not to be too discouraging.

She completely missed the look her boyfriend and Nathan exchanged before the latter slipped back beneath the surface of the water.

****

Terra's eyebrows lifted a little when she saw her sister direct a splash at John. She'd wondered why Ella had asked him and a couple of his friends to come, as they weren't part of the twins' usual circle, but that splash spoke louder than words. It was a game in their family, which was an expression of affection, started by their dryad great-grandmother. When John responded in kind, Ella's smile was radiant.

After the surprise wore off, Terra gave him a quick, appraising glance and had to admit that he was good looking. She'd never seen him with his shirt off before, and he'd been hiding nice muscle tone. If she was right about her sister's intentions — and she was sure she was — he would be the first guy who didn't play sports that either of them had dated.

Most everyone else was in the water as well, enjoying the fruits of their labor. There was likely still glass in the surrounding area, but they had done a good enough job on the 'beach' for everyone to feel confident taking off their shoes. Keith waved for her to return to the water, and she held up a finger before walking over to her brother.

John's two friends had hit it off with Nathan and Dale, and they'd been as thick as thieves. All four had pulled back on their shirts, so she asked, "Are you heading home?"

Dale answered, "Yeah. Going to get a game going. Guess it will just be the four of us, though."

He nodded toward where John and Ella were engaged in a splash war. He knew as well as his sister did what that portended.

"I know where to find some good rocks for the fire pits, and I already have some trash barrels. I'll come out tomorrow and help finish up," Nathan offered.

"Thanks Nate. You've been a big help getting the truck and everything."

"No problem," he responded, wearing a wide grin.

Keith walked up and slipped a dripping arm behind Terra's back. Nathan immediately snapped his gaze to Dale and asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah."

The four headed to the truck, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Keith asked, "What's with that dude?"

Terra turned toward him and asked, "Hmm? Who?"

"That Nathan guy. He's always hanging around."

Terra laughed in surprise. "Oh my god. Are you jealous?"

"No. Just wondered."

"He's just a friend. He's like another brother." She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Keith shrugged and then slid a hand down to cup her bottom. "So, you want to get back in the water?"

This time, she didn't protest his touch. After the date the previous evening and seeing him shirtless all day, she was beginning to feel frisky as well. Between the time packing to come home from summer break and what had happened since, it had been almost a week since they'd been to bed together.

"It looks like a lot of people are thinking about leaving. Why don't we dry off so we don't get the bike seat wet?" she suggested.

"Cool."

"Feel like watching a movie?"

"Sure. What's playing? I haven't been paying attention."

"Actually, I was thinking about watching something at your place."

His grin as she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him was all the answer she needed.

****

Terra woke up a couple of hours later than usual because she'd been at Keith's apartment until the wee hours of the morning. A note on top of the alarm clock revealed that Ella had left some time earlier for a second date with John. Considering she'd replaced the O in his name with a heart, Terra assumed things were going well. A second note from her brother lay nearby and said that he and Nathan had gone to take the trash barrels and rocks for the fire pits out to the lake.

She took her time dressing and eating breakfast, expecting that Keith would be asleep until at least noon. After several days of abstinence, she'd been rather enthusiastic in making up for lost time, and he'd already fallen asleep by the time she emerged from the bathroom.

The sound of tires crunching on gravel drew her to the window, and she was surprised to see her brother and Nathan climbing out of a white Civic.

She walked outside and asked, "Did you get rid of the Beetle?"

Nathan patted the hood of the car as he walked around it. "Nah. I still have it. Found this at a government auction — dirt cheap. It's natural gas."

"Cool. Isn't that a pain, though?"

"That's why I still have the Beetle. I can only really fill this one up at the house with the rig there. Use it any time I can though. It's cheaper, and burns cleaner."

Terra wholeheartedly approved of that choice, though his diesel Beetle got excellent mileage anyway.

"Guess we've rubbed off on you a little, huh?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Just wish I could afford an electric."

"What are you up to? Going down to the basement to fight goblins?" she teased, referring to the role-playing game that the two — and sometimes her father — played.

Dale shook his head. "Scout meeting to plan for the weekend camp out."

"I'm going to go ride the coasters," Nathan said.

Terra's eyes lit up. It seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the victory of cleaning up the lake. "That sounds like fun. I haven't been since last summer."

"Want to come along?"

"Let me call Keith," she answered as she reached for her phone — completely missing his smile fading when she said it.

Nathan climbed the steps to the porch with her brother and said, "Okay. I'm running in to the bathroom."

Terra tried his cell, and it rang a few times before going to voicemail. Thinking that he might not have woken up in time to pick up the phone, she tried again. On the fourth ring, he finally answered.

Her voice full of coquettish suggestion, she said, "Wake up. You'd think you were all worn out or something."

He chuckled. "Yeah."

"Want to go ride some roller coasters?"

"I don't really feel like it."

Her mouth already open to tell him to come pick her up, she gave a toss of her hair and said, "Huh?"

"Uhm... I don't know whether I'm just tired or coming down with something, but I feel like hell right now."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just run down and achy. It may be nothing."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"No. If you want to go to the park, go ahead. I'll be okay."

"Sure?"

"Yeah. Go ahead. You'd just be sitting around here while I'm in bed."

"Okay. I'll call you later and see how you're doing. If you get any worse, call me, or go to the doctor."

"Okay. I'm going to lay back down."

"Love you. Bye."

"You too. Bye."

Nathan walked back outside as she ended the call, so she said, "Well, Keith's sick."

"Sorry. Guess you don't want to go, huh?"

"Nah. He said to go ahead. So if you don't mind driving, I'm game."

His smile returned in full force. "Wait for you in the car?"

"Sure. Let me grab my purse and stuff."

Since she already had sunscreen in her purse, it only took a minute or two to gather what she needed and meet Nathan in the car. As he pulled out, she noticed a book tucked between his seat and the center console.

"What's this?" she asked as she pulled it out, intrigued by the cover.

"It's the monster book for the game."

Terra opened the cover and flipped a couple of pages. "The pictures are really neat."

"Makes them easier to describe when you're fighting them."

She looked at the text below the picture of a bear and said, "All this stuff about d4 and turns and whatever makes my head hurt, though. It looks more like homework than a game."

He laughed. "The Dungeon Master takes care of most of that, but the more you know, the easier it is for everyone."

"Guess it must be fun. It's like all you and Dale do."

"It's a blast. You could always come down and roll up a character. Try it out."

"A cheerleader playing D&D?" she laughed.

"It could just be you, me, and Dale. Nobody else would have to know. It could be your dirty little secret."

"Yeah, I don't know about that," she said as she continued to flip through the pages.

She stopped and frowned when she reached an entry for dryads. "Why are dryads in the monster book?"

He broke out into laughter, but then cleared his throat when he saw her scowling at him. "Sorry, but that's exactly what Dale said the first time he saw it. Everything is in there. Humans even have an entry. It's just stats for everything you can encounter in the game."

"Oh, okay," she said, feeling a little less offended.

"We don't even use that any more. Dale came up with a cooler version of dryads that we use. Just a second." He pulled out his smart phone, tapped a couple of times, and handed her the phone.

The picture at the top was surely drawn with her great-grandmother as the model. Dale had done a good job capturing her and hiding her nudity behind strategically placed leaves. She read the text below and couldn't help but smile. Dale hadn't really come up with anything, but rather described what he knew to be the truth.

"That's much better," she said, handing him back his phone.

"I like his version a lot better. I usually have him run the dryads whenever one is in the story. He plays them perfectly, and we even have half-dryads as a player character race now."

You have a couple as players too, she thought with amusement.

"He's come up with a really interesting way for them to talk. It's sort of naive, but wise at the same time. Pretty cool."

"You're giving him a bit too much credit for creativity," she teased, and then flipped through a couple more pages before putting the book back where she'd found it.

He glanced her way and chuckled. "Well, the invitation to come down and play is always good. So, glad to be away from Professor Reynolds?"

"Oh my god, yes," Terra groaned. "If I ever have trouble falling asleep, I just play back recordings of him."

"You're lucky you didn't have Weinstein. He could put Reynolds to sleep."

She shuddered at the thought and started mocking her boring professor, much to Nathan's amusement. The miles rolled by unnoticed as the pair chatted and laughed. Soon enough, they pulled into the packed parking lot of the amusement park for a day of fun.

****

Though she was soaked to the skin, Terra was laughing when she emerged from the log flume into the brilliant sunlight. She blew a drop of water off her nose and broke out into laughter again when she saw Nathan wringing out the tail of his shirt onto the brick walkway.

"I haven't gotten this wet in all the times I've been on that put together," she remarked.

"Must have been a perfect storm of wind and the water level or something," he guessed. "It's not designed to completely drown you that way."

Such a nerd, she thought, and then reached for her phone when she saw Nathan check his. It had survived the dousing, but she was shocked when she noticed the time. A few taps called Keith so she could see how he was doing.

The call went directly to voicemail.

"It didn't ruin your phone, did it?" he asked when she pulled the phone away from her ear to stare at it incredulously.

"No. Keith knew I was going to call him, but it just went to voicemail."

"Maybe he's already got somebody on call-waiting or something. Give it a few and try again, I guess. Want something to drink?"

She plucked at her shirt, which was clinging to her rather indecently. "You wouldn't think so after this dousing, but yeah."

"Iced tea?"

"Mmm hmm."

He pointed behind him. "I scoped out a place that had it earlier."

They walked to the concession stand and got into line, but a familiar sensation caused her to look off to the side. Sure enough, she saw her sister at the same time Ella saw her.

As soon as her sister and John reached her, Ella asked her date, "Could you get me a drink?"

"Sure. What do you want?"

"Iced tea," Terra, Ella, and Nathan all said in a perfect chorus.

John laughed and stepped in behind Nathan to give him a friendly thump on the shoulder. Ella grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her off to the side.

"Guess what?" Ella whispered as soon as they were a few steps away. When her sister lifted her eyebrows in silent acknowledgment, Ella said, "He's passing all the tests."

"Are you doing that again?"

"I'm tired of wasting time on jerks who are going to annoy me or cheat on me. Should have done it with Caleb." She sneered the name of her last boyfriend with unconcealed contempt. "So, where's Keith?"

The connotations of her bringing up Keith in almost the same breath were hardly lost on Terra, as she knew how her sister felt about him.

"He thinks he's coming down with something."

Ella didn't look convinced. She looked over her sister's shoulder and moaned. "Doesn't he have a great butt?"

Terra didn't look, but she had noticed that herself at the lake the day before. "Guess you're serious, huh?"

"Mmm hmm. He's so funny, and the way he looks at me..." She shivered. "I swear it makes me melt."

The twins clasped hands and smiled at each other. They then turned when Ella gave the slightest twitch of her eyes, indicating that Nathan and John were on their way back.

The girls took their drinks and offered thanks, then Ella said, "Guess I'll see you back at the house." She took John's hand and led him back in the direction they'd come from.

"What do you want to ride next?" Nathan asked, and then took a sip of his soda.

"Let's see if we can find some shade for a few minutes."

Nathan looked around and spotted a bench under a tree. Terra nodded when he pointed at it, and they made their way there. As soon as she sat down, she pulled out her phone and tried Keith again.

Voicemail once more.

"Still not answering?"

She shook her head and frowned.

"I can run you by there to check on him if you want."

"I don't want to ruin your day."

He shrugged. "Ah, it's okay. I'm not going to have any fun if you're worried anyway."

"Sure?"

"Yeah. Just tell me how to get there."

"Thanks, Nate." She smiled and leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek before standing up.

She tried twice more on the way back — leaving messages both times. By the time Nathan pulled up in front of Keith's apartment, she was truly worried. Knocking on the door proved no more fruitful than calling him, so when she came back out, she scanned the parking lot and noticed that his motorcycle was gone.

When she called again before walking back to Nathan's car, he finally answered.

"Where are you? Why is your phone turned off?" she asked in a mixture of worry and irritation.

"Uhm... I decided to go to the doctor. Sorry. I had my phone turned off while I was in the office."

"You could have called me and let me know, or sent a text, or something. I'm sitting here in front of your apartment worried sick. So, are you okay?"




Friend of the Wood



"Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Yeah, the doc can't find a thing wrong with me. Guess I'm just tired. Actually feeling better now. Maybe I just needed to get up."

"So, are you coming home?"

He paused a moment before answering. "Not yet. Mom's been calling and nagging me, so I'm going to go by there."

"Okay. Well, call me later then."

"Will do, babe. Gotta go."

"Love y..." Her brow furrowed when she heard a click before she could finish. She chalked it up to poor signal.

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked when she got back to the car.

"The dunderhead just had his phone turned off while he was at the doctor. He's fine."

"That's good. Ready to head home?"

"Yeah. Sorry to ruin the day over nothing."

"It was fun," he disagreed. He ran his fingers through his still damp hair and said, "At least we don't need a shower."

Terra laughed. "It was. Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, and then put the car into gear for the drive back to the house.

****

Terra looked at her phone, saw that it was just after eight, and tossed her book away with a scowl. I can't believe he's doing this again.

His slow responses to her texts and the occasional missed call were something she'd grown to accept, but the last few days were too much. She popped out of bed and stomped down the hall.

"Honey, are you okay?" her mother asked as they met each other near the back door.

"I don't want to talk about it," Terra grumbled as she walked outside.

She purposely steered away from the clearing where the family usually gathered, and made her way deep enough into the trees to gain some privacy. Beneath the boughs of a huge pine, she pulled out her phone and called Keith.

She barely let him answer before asking, "When were you planning to call me back?"

"I forgot. Give me a break."

His distracted tone and lack of an apology reminded her of every little inconsiderate thing he'd done recently, and something inside her snapped.

"It seems like all you do is forget lately. First it was coming out to the lake. Then I call you and you say you're sick. When I call to check on you, I can't get hold of you and I'm worried to death. Is it too much to ask to call me back when you told me you were going to?" The last hovered tantalizingly close to a shout.

"Sorry, okay. Why don't I come pick you up?"

"And what? Go back to your place and fuck? That's all you seem to care about any more. It's all I can do to get a text out of you unless it's about having sex."

"I don't want to fucking fight about this right now."

This time, she did shout. "Fine then."

A stab of her thumb ended the call and she closed her eyes, not sure whether to scream or cry. After a couple of minutes, she sat down hard on the carpet of pine needles and leaned back against the tree — trying to calm down.

A brief chattering caused her to look up at a tree a few feet away. Two squirrels were clinging to the bark, looking at her with their tails twitching. One of them let out a series of chirping, inquisitive cries when she made eye contact.

"I don't have anything to feed you, and I'm not really in the mood," she said when both squirrels moved down the trunk a couple of feet.

She sighed when they let their tails droop before scurrying back up into the obscuring boughs.

Thinking that she wouldn't get any peace from the critters, she was about to get up and lock herself in her room when she heard rustling off to one side. Upon turning that way to discourage whatever animal was thinking of approaching her, she instead let out an aww upon seeing the tiny bunny peeking at her from the undergrowth.

It had to be barely weaned from its mother, considering the size of it. It eyed her warily for a moment, and then bounded across the distance toward her. The rabbit froze just out of reach, looking at her, and then behind it, trembling all the while.

"It's okay," she whispered while slowly extending a hand, palm up. "I won't hurt you. You're safe here."

The rabbit stretched its nose toward her and sniffed, then jerked away. A few moments later, it did so again, but moved closer. Slowly but surely, it moved toward her until its nose was nearly touching her fingertips.

"You can come here. I won't let anything get you," she said as she pulled her hand back.

The bunny's ears twitched, and it suddenly leapt into the triangle formed by her crossed legs. Terra giggled and reached down to pet it. The rabbit stiffened at her first touch, but then relaxed and settled into its comfortable nest.

"See, you're okay," she whispered as she stroked its soft fur.

The bunny didn't react when excited chatter arose from the tree where the squirrels had vanished. The pair once again scurried down the trunk, but ignored Terra. Instead, they leapt to the ground and ran toward the edge of the woods.

"Hey, bushtails," she heard Nathan say.

Tracking the sound of his voice, she could just see him through the foliage. Much to her surprise, the pair of squirrels leapt onto his shoulders.

"Okay, now. Calm down." He blew out a puff of air and shook his head when one of the squirrel's tails tickled his nose. "Here you go."

She was taken aback by the way the squirrels were reacting to him. It was a common occurrence with anyone in the family — often to the point of being downright annoying — but she'd never seen them accept anyone else so completely.

Upon thinking about it, she did remember him feeding the squirrels with her brother at times, but this was something altogether different. As he fed peanuts to the perching squirrels, he made his way into the trees.

"Just the two of you? Where's everybody else at?" he asked. "You hiding back here? You weren't shy a few minutes ago when you were jumping everywhere trying to get my attention."

She scrunched up her nose, wondering how that could be. The animals had only seemed to notice him as he was approaching. She shrugged it off, assuming it must have been some other squirrels closer to the edge of the trees.

He made eye contact with her after a couple of seconds, and the squirrels sitting on his shoulders made a noise that sounded very much like laughter.

"Friends of yours?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face.

He chuckled and shrugged, lifting both of his shoulders' passengers.

"Friend of yours?" he asked in turn, nodding toward the bunny tucked in between her legs.

"I guess so. Something scared her, and she ran over to me."

"She's a little one," he remarked as he walked closer. The squirrels barked in agitation and Nathan got the hint to shell another peanut for them.

"So, what are you doing out here?"

"Uhm..."

Even in the fading light, she could tell he was blushing. "What?"

"It's about the game. You probably wouldn't get it."

She rolled her eyes and sighed theatrically. "Just tell me."

"Okay. Well, I play a druid in the game. Coming out here with these guys is kind of inspiration."

"So, you're a protector of nature, huh?"

His voice dropped into a lower register and took on a noble tone when he responded, "None shall despoil this place of nature's blessing while I and my faithful animal companions stand watch."

She giggled, and Nate's blush deepened.

"Yeah, I knew you would think it was stupid."

"No, that's neat. You even looked different when you were talking like that."

"That's sort of the idea. You become someone else in the game."

They both heard Dale call out, "Nathan, pizza's done and we're ready to go again."

"Guess I'd better get back," he said while nodding toward the edge of the woods. He pulled a few more peanuts out of his pocket, exciting his 'animal companions'. 

"Okay, bushtails, you're going to have to work for the rest of them." He then tossed the nuts off to the side. The two squirrels didn't even give them time to settle before jumping down to grab one each.

"Don't suppose you have a carrot in your pocket?" Terra asked, nodding down at her own furry friend.

He cleared his throat. "No, uhm..."

She laughed. "I was kidding." When she heard her brother call out Nathan's name again, she said, "Better get going before he casts a spell on you."

"Later," he said before making his way back out of the trees.

Terra was more than a little surprised how the interruption had broken her bad mood. Thinking about it nearly turned her down that dark road again, though.

Shaking those thoughts out of her head, she considered the fluffy bunny still happily nesting between her legs. She hated the thought of leaving the frightened, nearly defenseless rabbit alone again. Even as she struggled with that quandary, she felt a familiar presence.

"I will watch over this one, Xanterra," her great-grandmother said as the dryad peeked out from behind a tree. "She has wandered far, and her mother worries for her."

The rabbit perked up its ears when Xantina said something to it in a language Terra didn't understand, but somehow felt as if she should. A second later, the bunny hopped over to the dryad and allowed her to pick it up.

"So, you were here looking for her, Grandma?" Terra asked as she stood up and brushed pine needles off her bottom.

"I watch over the young ones and guide them to where they should be," the dryad said with a mischievous lilt to her voice. "Your mother worries for you, too."

"Guess I'd better go talk to her, huh?"

Xantina swept over with a giggle, not answering the question, and kissed her great-granddaughter on the cheek. Graceful as a dancer, she vanished into the foliage a few seconds later.

Terra found her mother standing on the porch, absently caressing the leaves of a large potted fern. Taking the initiative, she said, "Sorry, Mom," as she walked up the steps.

When her mother opened her arms, Terra settled into the hug and found she had to fight back tears.

"Why don't we go for a walk before it gets too dark?" her mother suggested.

Terra sniffled and took her mother's hand.

****

Driving to Keith's the next morning, Terra was trying to keep an open mind. The walk had turned into a conversation that ended on the porch swing late in the night. It wasn't that she hadn't heeded her mother's advice before, but hearing the experiences behind that knowledge put those words of wisdom in a whole new light. Her mother had been through everything she was dealing with as the popular girl in school — and more. 

She needed to have a serious conversation with Keith, and she had to swallow her pride. Having always been at the top of the social ladder, she'd become accustomed to guys doing anything she wanted. That long talk had made her realize that she might need to be a little more considerate if she wanted a relationship to work.

The phone rang about halfway to his apartment, so she turned down the music and tapped her Bluetooth earpiece to answer.

Her sister said, "Nate and Dale just came back from Parker's Lake. Somebody's been out there and trashed the place again."

Terra let out a growl and squeezed the steering wheel tight. "How did the cops miss them?"

"I don't know. I checked with Dad and he said that the sheriff was going to send someone out there at least once every night."

"I'm on my way to Keith's."

"I know. Don't worry about it. John's coming over, and Nathan's going to get his brother's truck again. They don't think it will take the four of us long to clean up. I thought you'd rather find out sooner than later."

"You're right. No matter how things go, the last thing I would want is bad news afterwards."

"That's what I figured. John's here."

"Talk to you later then."

Thinking about the lake actually proved a welcome distraction. She'd begun to work herself toward an anxiety attack by mulling over what she wanted to say to Keith, and worrying about what he was going to say to her. By the time she pulled up in front of his apartment, she'd come to the conclusion that the police were going to need some help catching the culprits trashing the lakeshore.

Keith's car was in the lot and his motorcycle was parked in the shelter, so she assumed he was home. As she walked toward the apartment building, she heard his voice. The direction told her that he was at the pool, which could only be accessed by residents. Changing course, she walked toward the fence so she could call to him to meet her at his apartment.

It so happened that he was sitting on the other side of the privacy fence right where she reached it. She paused for a moment before saying anything, because he was talking to someone.

"Yeah, I fucked up and Terra's in one of her bitchy moods."

That did nothing to reassure her. She swallowed hard, thinking that bitchy was probably the perfect description for the way she'd been acting. Before she could summon up the strength to call out to him, he answered something one of his friends had said.

"She'll get over it. She can't resist the D. At least it gets me out of that tree-hugging shit for a couple of days. Fuck, I get so sick of that shit. I take trash with me to throw out the window of the car sometimes to make up for having to throw every frikkin' bottle or can in the right bin when she's around. She's lucky she's an epic piece of ass or I'd have kicked her to the curb by now."

Terra stood on the other side of the fence in open-mouthed, stunned disbelief. She thought about screaming at him, but she was too mad for words. Instead, she spun on her heel and stormed to the car, changing his name in her phone to Fucking Jackass along the way. She sped out of the parking lot, but only a short distance down the road, she pulled over into a gas station lot. The last thing she needed was a ticket on top of what she'd just discovered.

It had been a lie from day one. The first time he'd asked her out was to a tree-planting event for Arbor Day, and now she knew it had been nothing more than a calculated ruse to get into her pants. She banged her fist on the steering wheel and pinched her green eyes closed — refusing to cry.

After a few minutes of cradling her face in her hands, she sucked in a deep breath and let it out as a blast. Grabbing her phone from where she'd tossed it in the passenger seat, she called her sister.

"He wasn't home?" Ella said by way of answering.

Terra could hear her brother and Nathan talking in the background as they picked up trash at the lake.

"Yes, he was home."

As much as she knew her sister had never liked Keith, there was genuine sympathy in Ella's voice when she said, "I'm sorry. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm too mad, and I'll look like some kind of crazy woman screaming into my phone. Feel like a camp out?"

After a brief pause, Ella said, "That went by a little fast."

"I'm trying to avoid that jackass, and I need something positive to do. I want to camp out somewhere near the beach and try to catch whoever's been making that mess there."

"Hang on a second." Terra could hear the wind blowing and the sound of her brother talking fade into the distance. "Tonight?" Ella asked when she stopped.

"Every night until we can call the cops to come bust them."

"I've got plans with John tonight."

She knew it would be painful to watch her sister and John enjoying each other's company, but still suggested, "Maybe he'll want to come. He was in Scouts, right?"

"No, I mean I have plans."

Terra's eyes shot wide open when the significance of her sister's emphasis on plans hit her. Things between the two were moving even faster than she'd realized. "Oh! Oh, okay."

"Maybe Dale will come out with you?" Ella suggested with an apology in her voice.

"He has that Scout camp out."

"Oh yeah. Nathan? I really don't think you should be out here alone. I mean, I'll come out tomorrow, but..."

"It's okay. I guess I could ask Nathan. One way or another, I'm staying out there tonight."

"You want me to say something to him? See if he has any plans?"

"I guess. I'm going back to the house. I feel like I need a shower right now."

"Okay. Mom stayed home today."

Terra suppressed a groan. As much as she appreciated her mother helping her sort through her feelings the night before, she didn't really want to go through it again. 

"Thanks for warning me."

"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

"I know. Good luck tonight."

"Thanks. I'll talk to Nathan."

She hung up and decided she was at least calm enough to drive rationally. She started out planning things she would need that night, but after a minute or two, her brain went numb. She drove the rest of the way home on autopilot, her thoughts a slow moving, incoherent mess.

Her mother was watering a Ficus tree when Terra walked in. A sigh escaped the older woman because she knew her daughter's early return didn't bode well. But, rather than asking what happened, she pointed at the end table near the couch instead.

Terra looked and saw a movie she'd wanted to see that had just come out on Blu-ray. "Thanks, Mom," she said as she picked it up.

"Actually, Nathan brought it over for you," Brooke said as she moved to a huge, bushy red Geranium in the corner. The plant had started as a single bloom Terra had brought home from school for Mother's Day years and years before.

Terra's phone rang, and her vision went red when she saw Keith's new name on the display. She hurled her phone at the couch.

"I swear all guys are thoughtless assholes who only care about one thing."

Her mother's eyebrows twitched upward and she asked, "All?" while nodding to the Blu-ray Terra was gesturing with as she fumed.

It took a second or two to sink in, but then Terra shook her head and said, "Nathan doesn't count."

"And why's that? He's a guy, isn't he?"

"He's... He's Nathan. Come on, Mom. He's a nerd."

"Well, so was your father."

"He still is."

Brooke chuckled. "Yes, and I wouldn't have it any other way. At least nerds aren't completely full of themselves when it comes to relationships. They listen, learn, and... Well, let's say they're very attentive to your needs once they get over being backward."

"Eww — Mom." Seeing her parents nude on a regular basis was one thing, but that was something entirely different.

Her mother giggled. "Well, it's true. I'm just saying that maybe you should consider looking past bad clothes, a bad haircut, and lack of social skills. Those are things you can fix in a man. You can't fix stupid, self-centered asshole."

The surprise of hearing her mother so casually toss that curse out caught Terra off balance, and she couldn't think of a thing to say.

"Just something to think about," her mother said as she moved to the nearly identical Geranium on the other side of the doorway — nurtured from the plant Ella had brought home the same year. "If you need to talk, I'm right here. Any time."

"Okay. I'm going to go take a shower."

"You could always take a nice long bath in our bathroom if you want," her mother called after her as she headed into the hall.

The thought of that was enough to make her take her mother's advice once again.

****

Old man Parker looked dubious as Terra explained what she planned to do. He confirmed it when she finished by saying, "I don't know. Don't seem real safe to me."

"We're not going to confront them or anything. We'll be able to see anybody coming way before they could see us. We're just going to call the police and come straight back up here," Terra tried to reassure him.

"Y'all are bound and determined, ain't ya?"

She nodded and scowled. "I'm tired of some jerks ruining it for everyone else."

"They're trespassing if they go past the gate. That's all we need to see. We don't actually have to wait for them to get there," Nathan added.




Friend of the Wood



"Hmm..." The old man scratched his chin and pursed his lips. "Well, I suppose it's all right. If it was anybody but you, I'd say no. Y'all have always had uncommon good sense."

You might not think that if you knew the jerks I dated, Terra thought bitterly. "Thanks, Mr. Parker. We'll catch them, and that should scare anybody else off for a while."

She then turned to Nathan. "Let's get the stuff out of the car."

"Come here for a second, son," Mr. Parker asked.

He nodded and told Terra, "Be right there."

Terra gathered up her pack and tent, putting them on the roof of the car. She then pulled out Nathan's gear as well, just in time for him to reach the car. She could see that he was blushing.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said, and picked up his pack.

"What is it? You're as red as a stop sign."

He knew her well enough to understand that she was going to get an answer, whether he liked it or not. "Well... Uhm... Mr. Parker was just telling me that... Uhm..."

"Spit it out, Nate."

He answered under his breath in a rush of words, "He said, no hanky-panky."

She chuckled, and couldn't believe how good it felt. "Well, he doesn't have to worry about that."

"That's what I said," Nathan agreed as he grabbed his tent.

"Let's get set up before it gets dark."

Both experienced campers, they had their tents up well before the sun sank below the horizon. They'd chosen a spot at the base of the trail that led back up to Mr. Parker's home, which was well-obscured by shrubs and the abundant growth of cattails along the edge of the lake. Despite the full moon, there was little to no chance of anyone seeing them from across the water, but they could see the beach perfectly.

Terra sat down in front of her tent. "Now I guess we wait. Have any good campfire stories to tell?"

"We don't have a campfire," he said as he sat down as well. He winced and pulled a stick out from under him that he'd somehow missed while clearing the area of debris.

Terra leaned over and slapped him on the arm. They both chuckled and she said, "Seriously."

"Well, I guess I could tell you about one of our epic adventures in the game."

Terra shrugged. "Sure. Why not."

Nathan cleared his throat and began, "It was an inauspicious beginning, to be sure. Mikhale knew there was something odd about the travelers he and his companions passed on the road just before dusk. The winds spoke of ill omens, and the very grass the men sat upon seemed to reject them."

At first, it was all Terra could do to hold back giggles. The archaic language tickled her, and Nathan had taken on a tone that sounded little like him. As the story continued, that changed.

She realized that Nathan had sucked her in when she gasped at his description of a sudden attack. The cadence of his voice had an almost hypnotic effect, and he was doing different voices for all the characters. He was painting such a vivid picture with his words that she sat enthralled, hanging on his every word.

He finished the story and she shook her head as she slipped out of the trance. "So, wait. You pretty much ended up right back where you started. It was a wild goose chase."

Nathan shook with quiet laughter. "Yep. But, hey, we got rid of some bad dudes. The roads are a little safer, and we had some gold in our pockets."

"And all you fought were some bandits and monsters. Where do the dragons in Dungeons and Dragons come in?"

"My rule of thumb if you encounter a dragon is split up, run like hell, and hide in the deepest hole you can find. We treat dragons like truly epic creatures. With most characters, you're either beneath their notice, or you're probably a dragon Lunchable."

"God," she sighed, though there was amusement in the sound as well.

Nathan laughed and stretched. "I need to go water the bushes. Be right back." He grabbed his flashlight and trekked away from the water.

The message tone from her phone sounded, and she picked it up to see the message was from Keith. She hadn't even looked at the first message from earlier in the day yet, and struggled with the decision for a few seconds before tapping the icon to bring it up.

The message said, "Are you still mad?" The one that had just arrived said, "Come on. You're not answering me now."

She knew she was going to have to deal with it eventually, and frankly, she didn't feel he deserved the dignity of as much as a phone call.

Her thumbs flying across the keys, she typed out a reply that said, "Lose my number asshole. Consider yourself kicked to the curb," tossing his own words back into his teeth.

Nathan returned and sat down just as she finished typing the message. "You okay?" he asked.

"Not really, but don't worry about it," she said as she put her phone down next to her.

"Okay," he said, sounding a little hurt by her curt tone.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you." She sighed.

"I understand. Want me to leave you alone for a bit?"

"No. I really just want to forget about it."

"Guess I could try to think of another good story."

A half-hearted smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, but faded just as rapidly when her phone alerted her to another message. Again, she briefly considered ignoring it, but picked her phone up, hoping the message was from someone else. No such luck. It was from Keith.

He'd obviously caught her reference, because the message said, "Fucking spying on me? Who needs you anyway, psycho bitch."

As soon as she finished reading the message, a loading icon below stopped spinning, and the image appeared. Terra didn't recognize the cum-covered platinum blonde in the picture, but she certainly recognized Keith — or at least his dripping cock.

The phone fell from her nerveless fingers to the grass below. She tasted bile, and quickly slapped a hand over her mouth as her stomach churned.

"Terra? What's wrong?" Nathan asked, scooting closer and holding out a hand — but not quite touching her.

On top of everything else, having that picture ready to send meant that Keith had been cheating on her. Even though she was furious with him, that revelation stabbed into her heart like a knife. Her eyes welled up, and she began to sob.

Nathan's hand came to rest softly — tentatively — on her back. "Terra... I..."

She didn't even remember leaning into his shoulder when she felt his arms wrap around her. Her tears soaked his shirt sleeve as he held her and whispered words she couldn't hear. On and on it went until her chest hurt and her throat ached. She tried to stop, but the sobs continued to erupt every time she thought she was regaining control.

After what felt like hours, she caught her breath, though whimpers still shook her. He still had his arms wrapped around her, holding her close. His hand stroked her hair, and when she glanced up at him, it looked as if he was about to cry himself.

"I... I'm s-sorry," she said as she leaned back — but not too far.

"It's okay," he said as he reached up and wiped away a tear meandering down her cheek.

Their eyes met in the light from the LED lantern, and she realized his were blue. She'd never paid enough attention to notice before that moment. Those deep blue pools drew her in, opening a portal straight to his heart. In the space of a gasped breath, a thousand glances, smiles, and small gestures of kindness over the years coalesced into a truth she'd been too caught up in herself to notice.

For the first time, she saw the love in his eyes.

"Let me take you home," he offered. "I can come get all this stuff in the morning."

It was too many emotional shocks for a lifetime — let alone one night — and she didn't trust herself to answer with more than a nod.

****

When Terra awakened the next morning, her sister sat down on the bed before she'd even blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and caught her up in a hug. "What happened?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Terra let it out as a shuddering sigh and looked at the bedside table.

"Oh no, my phone," she mumbled, dimly remembering dropping it the night before.

"Oh, it's over here," Ella said and stood up. "Nathan realized you'd left it and went back for it after he brought you home." 

She returned to hand over the phone. "He saw those jerks at the lake when he went back. He called the cops and they got busted."

"Good," she said as she tapped her phone to bring up the message from Keith — looking away before it opened. She handed the phone back to her sister.

"Oh my god. What an asshole. I'm sorry," Ella said when she looked at the phone.

"Not as sorry as I am. Please delete that. I don't ever want to see it again."

"Done."

"Did Nathan say anything?"

Ella shook her head. "No. He looked almost as upset as you, though." She then handed the phone back.

Terra noticed that her hand was dirty and spotted — probably from her tears. She pulled a lock of disheveled hair to where she could see it and asked, "How awful do I look?"

Ella tilted her head to the side, lifted her eyebrows and gave a one-shoulder shrug.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. Want me to grab you some clothes and run you a bath?"

Terra gave a slow nod. "Please."

Feeling at least a little better after her bath, Terra walked out into the front room just in time to hear someone pulling up outside. When she looked out the window, she saw Nathan's car and headed out onto the porch.

"So, you doing okay?" he asked with a nervous titter in his voice.

"As well as I can. Ella said you caught those jerks last night."

"Yeah. Word's getting around, too. Don't think anybody will risk partying there for a while."

"I hope so." Terra stepped down off the porch and walked up to give him a brief hug. "Thanks for putting up with me last night."

As she stepped back, blue and green eyes once more locked together. In the light of day, his eyes were even more brilliant — and even more full of love. Terra drew in a quiet, shuddering gasp as her pulse began to race. No one had ever looked at her the way he did. She felt weak in the knees and light-headed.

"I... No problem," he said after a few seconds, his eyes never leaving hers.

Terra knew she was venturing into unfamiliar territory. But at the same time, there was nobody outside her own family who was more familiar than Nathan. Before she could second-guess herself, she took his hand and said, "Let's go for a walk."

Nathan looked down at their clasped hands — his surprise written across his face in bold letters — then smiled and nodded. Terra smiled back and led him toward the trees behind the house.

****

The car rolled to a stop at Parker's lake and Nathan asked, "Where is everybody?"

It had taken a while, but he finally held her hand easily in his as they sat looking out over the sparkling lake. For the first several days of her trying to coax him out of his shell, he'd looked ready to either bolt or apologize most of the time.

Not that she had helped him with that at first. Reeling from the horrible end of her relationship with Keith, she'd sent him mixed signals for weeks. Sometimes, the easy friendship she had with him was comforting and helped her cope. Then he would look into her eyes and she would panic when she saw the deeper emotion there.

But every time she withdrew, he would creep into her thoughts.

He won her over not by pursuing her, but by being there when she needed him, and never asking for more. The tension eventually reached a tipping point, and she asked him out on a real date, thinking it was the only way she could resolve her feelings, one way or the other.

It was at the end of that evening that her uncertainty had evaporated into nothingness — and his began.

Terra grinned at him as she thought about it and squeezed his hand. "This is everybody. Come on."

A gentle breeze caressed them, chasing away the heat of the day as they walked hand-in-hand down to the shore. Terra kicked off her sandals a few feet from the water, and then let go of his hand to pull off the shirt and shorts covering her bikini.

Despite her barely-clad body, he only had eyes for her face, and that made her break out in goose bumps. She, on the other hand, couldn't help but admire his body as he pulled off his shirt. He was nothing like the guys she'd always dated, who spent as much time in the gym as anything else, but he had the lean muscle tone of someone who stays active.

Feeling her cheeks grow warm, she said, "Come on," and waded into the water, being careful not to slip on the slick bottom.

He knew it was coming, as she'd done it every time they'd come down to the lake to enjoy their reward for cleaning it up, but her splash still caught him almost full in the face as he dodged. She laughed and swam away as he returned fire.

The sound of splashing, laughter and squeals rang out for a couple of minutes until she once again caught him with a direct hit in the face. She dived beneath the water almost before she had time to form the thought, and popped up right in front of him while he was still sputtering from her splash.

She wrapped her arms around him, and shuddered when he did the same. They kissed, and electric chills shot all through her body.

When she looked up into his incredible eyes, she asked, "How do you feel about me?" He hesitated for a moment, so she said, "Don't think. Just tell me."

"I... I love you, Terra. I think I've always loved you."

She leaned into his chest, a whimper escaping her as her heart soared.

"I love you too," she said, and knew that truer words had never passed her lips.

She pressed those lips to his, and though still tender, their kisses took on new strength as they held each other in the lapping water. Slowly, but surely, she felt something else creeping in with the swelling love in her heart.

A sly smile spread on her face, and she pushed with her feet to float out into deeper water. Nathan readied himself, expecting another round of splashing, but she had something else entirely in mind. His eyes shot wide open as she reached behind her to untie her bikini top. He caught it when she threw it at him and stared down at it in stunned surprise while she slipped down her bikini bottom.

"Come on," she said as she tossed the bottom to him as well.

"What if someone comes out here?"

"Ella's out with John, and Dale's at that fundraiser. Nobody else has permission to be out here. Throw them up on the shore and come with me. Yours too."

She swam toward the middle of the lake, giving him tantalizing looks at her bare bottom, and then stopped to tread water. His face was beet red, but his shorts were lying next to her bikini on the shore as he swam slowly toward her.

She alternated between treading water backwards, then surging ahead with powerful strokes, keeping well ahead of him and his slow breast stroke. When she reached the opposite shore, a broad grin spread across her face. She'd thought to find a good spot when she got there, but she'd swum directly to the perfect place — almost as if it had called to her.

Terra climbed out onto the soft carpet of grass and turned to see Nathan barely treading water as he marveled at the sight of her nude body. As much as she liked making eye contact with him when they talked, his reaction was exactly what she'd hoped for at this particular moment.

She knelt down in the grass, and a few locks of dripping hair fell to obscure one eye as she smiled and fixed him with an unmistakable come hither stare.

One thing had worried her over the past weeks as she recognized common interests she'd never really paid attention to before and discovered new ones with him. Some cynical part of her had whispered in the back of her head that someone so perfect for her had to have a flaw somewhere. One place that flaw could possibly lie had always been hidden, even in his swim trunks.

When he finally worked up the nerve to climb out of the water, that worry flittered away in an instant.

She took his hand as soon as he walked within reach and tugged so he would sit down beside her. His eyes kept darting toward the far shore, so she cupped his chin in her hand and distracted him with a kiss. She couldn't help giggling when she wrapped her hand around his half-hard member and he gasped.

He swelled rapidly in her hand as she stroked his cock. Thinking he would hesitate, she took the initiative and lifted his left hand to her breast. When he gave it a gentle squeeze and brushed the erect nipple with his thumb, she let out a long moan.

His eyes were filled with wonder when he lifted them back to hers and whispered, "You're so beautiful."

Terra whimpered — his words and the emotion behind them making her soul sing — then braced a hand behind her and slowly reclined, once again beckoning him with her eyes. When he placed a hand on the ground and leaned toward her, she first guided him to her lips. Though she could feel the desire in his kiss, it was just as sweet as every other they'd shared.

Aching to be touched, she cupped her left breast and glanced down at it before using the hand tousling his hair to further indicate her desire. Her back arched up from the grass when he kissed the swell of her breast, and both of her hands came into play to center his lips over the turgid point.

A second kiss directly over her nipple drew a quiet whimper from her. It was quickly followed by a moan when he sucked it between his lips.

"Oh yes. Just like that," she encouraged him.

The way he suckled her with the softest of pressure soon had her wriggling and moaning from his efforts. It took only a tug from her hand on the back of his head to cause him to move to her nipple's twin, which he worshiped with the same loving touch. Stretching out her fingers, she found his hardness and caressed it, making the fires of her need surge higher.

"Make love to me," she whispered as his lips moved back to her left breast again.

He released her nipple with apparent reluctance, planting a final kiss over it before looking up into her eyes. There was a touch of shame mingled with the desire in those blue orbs when he said, "Terra... I... Uhm..."

"Shh," she said, pressing her finger to his lips while smiling at him. She knew as surely as if he'd managed to voice it why he was concerned. If he wasn't a virgin, she knew he couldn't have much experience. He spent enough time at the house for her to have known about any girlfriends.

He responded to the guidance of her hands, moving between her legs as she parted them. He drank in the sight of her and sucked in a deep breath when she ran her fingers over her baby-smooth nether lips — yet another gift of her dryad blood. She never had to worry about an unwanted hair sprouting anywhere on her body, because none grew anywhere below her long eyelashes.

Terra smiled as she propped up on one elbow, drawing his gaze back to hers, and curled her fingers around his erection. He shuddered as she pressed it against her nether lips. Then she gave a tug.

His groan was deep as he slid into her, while hers was higher pitched, but no less filled with surprised delight. When the curly hairs at the base of his shaft settled against her, she moaned deep in her throat and closed her eyes. He fit her as if made for her — like two pieces of a puzzle finally joined. He leaned over her, and she wrapped both her arms and legs around him, holding him deep inside her.

"Terra," he breathed, "Oh my god."

"Mmm — you feel so good. Make love to me."

When she relaxed the grip of her legs, his hips rose up, sliding about half his length out of her satiny embrace. When he penetrated her again, her eyes shot wide open and she gasped. The position he was in caused his shaft to slide in just the right place to send the most delightful, minuscule vibrations to her clit. On the next rock of his hips, she felt it again and voiced the blissful sensation as an oh that carried hints of laughter.




Friend of the Wood



He groaned each time his cock slid into her depths, following the rhythm she set with her legs resting on his lower back. Her hands roamed over his skin and through his hair, her own sounds of pleasure bubbling up ever more frequently with each stroke.

There was nothing hurried in their coupling. Their bodies undulated as one on the bed of grass. Though the summer sun shone down bright and strong upon them, the breeze cooled them, blowing across the glistening sheen of sweat rising on their skin. Rustling leaves and lapping water mingled with their soft sounds of passion as she felt a tingling come to life in her depths.

"Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes," she whimpered — moaning every time he filled her so wonderfully, perfectly full. The pressure was building inside her — both warm and somehow shot through with chilly pinpoints as well.

"Oh, Terra," he groaned, the sound tight with strain.

"Don't stop. Just like that. Just like that," she pleaded as she climbed toward a peak. She'd planned to wriggle a hand between their bodies to the center of her pleasure, but it was proving unnecessary. She was on the cusp of release, and the sound of his voice suggested that he was close as well.

Nathan's breath was hot against her rapidly rising and falling breasts. Her heart pounded in her chest. Higher and higher she soared, until a quavering cry signaled her tumble into sweet oblivion. A chorus of birds somewhere overhead burst into song, seemingly sharing her joyful release.

He froze in place with his manhood buried deep inside her. Her walls, arms, and legs gripped him tight. She trembled, whimpered, and moaned as the orgasm went on and on, spurred by the throbbing of his cock inside her. She held him close as her climax settled down into aftershocks, and then finally released him so he could straighten his arms and look down on her as she panted for breath.

"Did you..?" he asked after a few moments.

She let out a giggle that transformed into a sharp moan when another ripple of beautiful agony shot through her.

"Mmm hmm." As she finished moaning her answer, she realized his cock was still rock-hard inside her. "Y-you didn't come?" she asked in surprise.

He shook his head. "Almost. Way too close."

"I want you to."

After a couple of puzzled blinks, he said, "But, I don't have a condom on."

Terra grinned at him and shivered — her toes curling. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm not going to get pregnant."

She let him assume that she was on birth control, though the truth of the matter was that one of the quirks of her family was that they were only fertile on Earth Day. She beckoned him with a crooked finger and puckered lips, and he responded accordingly.

Her lips were still brushing his when she whispered, "I want you to come for me."

Though she kept her arms wrapped around him, she left his hips unrestrained this time. Still not completely recovered from her orgasm, she let out a squeal when his buried cock slid from her depths, triggering a powerful aftershock. Then she gasped as he sank into her again.

For a few strokes, he maintained the slow pace she'd set for him previously, though he pulled back farther. She could feel his breaths quickening as she caressed his back, and the pace of his hips followed. She gasped again as the first of those quicker, stronger thrusts drove his cock into her depths.

Her breasts began to quiver, and the lingering effects of her orgasm intensified, spiking every time their bodies clapped together. Growls crept in with his grunts of exertion, and she could tell he was losing control.

"Come for me," she told him in a high-pitched whisper.

After a couple of fast strokes, a broken groan rumbled in his throat as he fulfilled her wish.

"Yes. Oh yes," she moaned as she felt him pulsing in her depths and trembling in her arms.

He grunted with each ejaculation — flooding her with his cream. When the final surge joined the pool in her depths, his strength went with it. Terra ran her fingers through his hair as his forehead came to rest on her chest, just below her breasts. She giggled when an involuntary contraction of her walls caused him to emit a shocked, falsetto cry.

He gasped for breath, but still managed to mutter, "Oh god, Terra. In... Incredible."

"Do you need to move?" she asked.

"I..." He groaned.

"It's okay," she said, and then gave him a pat on the back.

He stiffened and let out several explosive breaths as his cock slipped from her warm embrace to rest against her thigh. Then he rolled over heavily onto his back.

She wasted no time snuggling up next to him. Their eyes met, and they both laughed, though his was slow and weak. Looking at his awestruck expression, she had to know.

"Was that your first time?"

His already flushed cheeks darkened and he nodded. "Was it okay?"

"It was wonderful. You're wonderful," she answered. It was the first time she'd ever had an orgasm without direct attention to her bud. She took it as one more sign that she'd wasted far too much time searching for her other half, when it had always been right there in Nathan, patiently waiting for her to realize it.

She moaned as she thought that it could only get better with practice.

He wrapped an arm around her, and she scooted up for a kiss. As soon as their lips parted, he said, "I love you. It's like a dream being with you."

A joyful whimper on her lips, she kissed him again. "I love you too."

She could barely remember the last time she hadn't been the one to initiate that exchange with someone.

"Think I lied to Mr. Parker, though."

Terra laughed, remembering the old man's admonition that there be no hanky-panky. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Lying next to him in contented afterglow, one thing did creep in to try to steal the sweetness of the moment. It was a fear that had assailed her with each and every relationship she'd ever been in — her family's secret. Eventually, if they were going to truly build a life together, she would have to reveal that, and the thought frightened her beyond imagining.

"Are you okay?" he asked, snapping her from the darker turn of her thoughts. He always seemed to know the moment she was the slightest bit discontent.

"Mmm hmm." She found it easy to smile at him when he reached over to caress her cheek. As he touched her and fixed her with a loving gaze, she remembered him with the squirrels. That memory made her consider that perhaps he would be more accepting of her family than she was giving him credit for. Her worries soon vanished as she basked in that comforting thought and his embrace.

****

Peeking out from the trees not far away, Xantina smiled. Her magic grew stronger as another of her daughters found the one to complete her, allowing the dryad to journey farther from her tree and crystal-clear pool to this place.

Xantina needed none of her newfound strength to see into Nathan's heart. She knew her great-granddaughter had nothing to fear. When Terra found the courage to reveal her secret, she was in for a joyful surprise. Often caught up in his fantasy world, Nathan had long dreamed of reality having the magic that stirred his imagination. Finding out that it was real was only going to draw him even closer to her.

The baby rabbit in her hands and the two squirrels sitting on her shoulders knew it as well. They were rather proud of themselves for playing a small part in making Terra realize it.

The birds gathered in the boughs above once again burst out into song, joining Xantina and the rest of nature in welcoming to the family yet another Friend of the Wood.

****

Hope you've enjoyed this tale of magic and fairytale romance.

Apologies to those who follow me for missing Earth Day... Again. I'll endeavor to start earlier next year, but it's up to the characters to tell me their story, and sometimes they feel like waiting.

If you enjoyed this one, you might want to venture back in time by reading earlier stories in this series. Each story follows a new set of characters in a timeline that is mostly generational, which is as follows:

Steward of the Wood, Daughter of the Wood, Forever of the Wood, Secret of the Wood, Kindred of the Wood, Heart of the Wood, and Beauty of the Wood.

You can learn how Terra's parents met in "Secret" for example.

And yes, I know that they should be flying around in solar-powered Jetson cars by now *laugh* Hope you can add that to your suspension of disbelief along with dryads existing ;)

Please do take a moment to cast your vote. Your votes and feedback via comments, favorites, and emails are what keep me ( and most of the free authors on the site ) coming back for more. In this case, they also determine the winner of the contest.

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