Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ï>¿The Keys by OutdoorCat

   Lydia sets out to find six keys and get her clothes back.

   The Keys Ch.  01

   Lydia rested her left knee on the soft turf of her back yard, crouching
to check her small black leather backpack one last time for everything she
needed.  With what she was about to do, with everything that could go
wrong, she needed to make sure that she started with absolutely nothing
missing.  Her heart pounded relentlessly against her chest as she checked
and rechecked her bag.

   As she rummaged, Lydia made sure to find her small flashlight amid a
crumpled-up dress squeezed into a ball so that it would fit in her tiny
bag. She chose this particular bag in the hope that it would not attract
attention in the dark, would not weigh her down, and, most importantly,
would not give her something to meaningfully cover up with.  She also
tucked her cell phone in the front pocket, powered off, just in case she
desperately needed it.  Satisfied, she stood up and observed her work.

   The backpack was filled with essentials.  Next to it was a black beanie
hat with six pockets sewn in and zippered shut.  The hat was partially
meant to hide her straight, shoulder-length chocolate brown hair in case
she was spotted.  Finally, she peered down the length of her trim, athletic
body toward her shoes, a pair of flats bearing a similar shade as her light
olive skin.  A little smudge of dirt had clung to her knee when she rose.
She brushed off the dirt and looked up again at the double French back
doors to her house.

   In the faintly visible reflection afforded by the pale light of the
waxing half-moon, she gazed at herself standing in the backyard of her
house with her hands on her hips clothed in only in moonlight.  Lydia's
attention was drawn to the place where, with a proper mirror, she would
find two piercing hazel-brown eyes staring back at her in bewilderment as
if to say, Are you seriously going to do this?

   She considered the question out loud.

   "Yes, I'm really going to do this," she declared to herself.  "If for no
other reason than because I'm afraid to do this."

   "Come on, Lydia," she murmured to herself more quietly now, "This is
your last shot to do this and you've planned it all out.  It's going to be
fun, and you're going to be fine."

   She smiled weakly at that last comment.  She really had no idea what to
expect from this night except for excitement and adventure.  Perhaps there
would even be time for something a little more...  pleasurable.

   But only if an irresistible opportunity arose, Lydia thought to herself.

   Counting on her fingers she recited the plan to herself, "Pool, park,
Trace, tracks, books, bronze, power, and park."

   She had decided upon this pneumonic to help keep herself on track. 
There was only one thing she desperately had to remember.

   "Eight, four, eight.  Five, two, six," she whispered to herself at least
a dozen times before she was satisfied.  Despite having written it down in
her diary, Lydia made herself memorize not only the route but also the code
that she needed to finish it.  All that was left was to summon the courage
to take the final step into what was increasingly feeling like madness.

   That's it, she thought, it's now or never and I need to start before I
lose my nerve for good.

   The back door had been left just slightly open in case she needed to get
back into the house for any reason or, perhaps rather, in case she changed
her mind.  She decided to go back into the house for one last thing,
leaving her bag near the wooden fence in the back yard.  Gliding through
the dark, empty house to her room, she grabbed her wristwatch that she
usually used when she went running.  Technically, there would be some
running tonight so she guessed that this would not be an exception.

   It still felt strange to her to walk so freely through her family's
house, even after having done it a time or two before tonight.  Passing
through the living room she could almost envision her parents sitting on
the couch while her sister fumbled through a cabinet in the kitchen in
search of a snack.  Clothing optional was far from the official policy of
the house and her present nudity would undoubtedly cause an uproar.  Simply
imagining a scene where she was the only one naked in full view of her
family gave her an exhilarated, giddy sensation.

   No second guessing now!

   Returning to the backyard, she strapped the Velcro watch snuggly onto
the back of her backpack.  Presently, the watch read 1:08am.  She held her
hat by her mouth by biting on it with her lips and, with the aid of a
hairband, fashioned her hair into a simple ponytail behind her head. 
Putting her hair up was usually the last thing that she did after taking a
shower, long after having gotten dressed, so she was a little surprised at
the slight swaying of her breasts as she did so.

   Suddenly, her mind registered again that she was completely naked and
outside.  Instinctively, her elbows jerked toward the center of her exposed
chest.  It was only a momentary reflex.  She remembered what she was doing
and returned to her hair.

   When she was finished with her ponytail, she placed her black beanie hat
over her head and slightly covered the top of her ears.  Finally, her
backpack, the only accessory besides her shoes that could even remotely be
counted as clothes at this point, she hoisted over her shoulders.

   At long last, she paced across the yard to her back door and hovered her
right hand over the doorknob.  She noticed, not for the last time, that her
hands were trembling.  Was this fear?  Excitement?  Doubt?  Maybe it was
just plain adrenaline at what she was about to do.  On an impulse, she
gripped the handle and pulled firmly which resulted in a definitive
*click*. In that moment, Lydia found herself slightly short of breath.  She
gazed in amazement at the door and acutely felt all over her body the
sensation of being without clothes.

   That's it.  I'm committed now.  No turning back.  I'm locked out until I
get my house key.

   There she stood, naked under the stars, with a journey that eagerly
awaited her first step.  Looking again at her reflection, she touched her
cheeks and guided her hands slowly down her neck, tracing her fingers along
the ridge of her collar bones.  Onward, she guided her hands down toward
her heart and across her curvature of her breasts, pausing only momentarily
to gently arouse her nipples with the fleeting attention of her soft
fingertips.

   Moving more vigorously, Lydia rubbed her palms against her lean,
slightly toned abdomen and then down her sides to her hips.  First she felt
the warmth of her butt against her hands before they moved once more to her
front and into the narrow gap between her thighs.  Her thumbs slid across
smooth skin that was subtly textured by the tell-tale prickliness of recent
grooming.  She looked down at her cleanly shaven pussy and smiled at her
handiwork of just a few hours past.  She had wanted to be as naked as she
could be tonight.

   She slowly realized that she was getting lost in the sensation of
feeling her body without the obstruction of clothing, out in the open air
where anyone might see.  She knew that she could not stay in her backyard
all night, so she ignored to gathering moistness between her legs.

   For now, anyway, she thought to herself.  There will be plenty of time
for that later.

   Lydia stepped away from the back door of her house.  That sealed barrier
separated her from the ultimate safety.  The place where all her belongings
that might restore modesty, save for one crumpled dress, were tucked neatly
away in closets and drawers.  As far as she was concerned, they might as
well be across the ocean.  She turned and finally took her first real steps
toward the fence.

   Lydia twisted her body at the waist to reach her watch which was
securely hanging from one of the thin straps on her backpack.  Upon
pressing the button to illuminate the watch face, she saw that it was now
1:21am.  There were several hours until sunrise, but she did not want to
risk being out the entire night.  She walked briskly to the backyard fence
to the creaky, wooden gate that separated the trees from the turf.

   Hand on the handle, she looked askance once more at her two-story house;
a towering dark figure in the night against the hazy orange light of
streetlamps beyond.  The lights were shut off.  Her parents away on a trip
for at least three more days.  Her sister was spending a week with her
friends a few towns over.  The house would still be empty when she returned
home.  It was the only place that she knew of where she would truly be safe
from being caught naked.  She needed to get back to it and there was now
only one way to do so.  With that in mind, Lydia swung open the door and
stepped into the night.

   Somehow being outside her yard made her feel even more exposed than just
being without clothes.  She hugged herself but made sure not to cover
anything that she would ordinarily want no one to see.  That was one of her
rules for this adventure.  Each step among the trees behind her house was
accompanied by the soft crunch of dried pine needles underfoot.  She
remembered that to make the most of this experience she needed to do
exactly what she planned.

   Lydia made her way down a path that spanned nearly 100 yards, winding
its way around a large rock at one point and over a giant downed tree.  The
path connected her house to a public trail that was used sparsely enough.
The main trail was about 20 miles long and Lydia often made her way to it
for running by using this little-worn side path that was all her own.  When
she got to the fallen tree, she had to mount the trunk to pass over it. 
She had never really appreciated the rough texture of the bark until it was
spread across the span of her body, particularly upon the more sensitive
parts.

   Slipping off the other side of the tree, she was a few meters away from
the public trail in the dim moonlight obscured somewhat by the patchy
canopy overhead.  The faint smell of pine sap all around her.  All was
quiet except for a distant whispering breeze.  Stepping into the clearing
and looking left, she saw the trail that led about a half-mile down before
curving off out of sight.  Of course, she could not see more than about 100
feet through the darkness despite the moonlight.

   Peering off to her right, she scanned the area ahead which led to the
community park which was her second destination.  Her first one would be on
the way.  She stepped back into the trees to get something that she had
left for herself the day before.  Gripping the handlebars, she pulled a
bike from behind one of the bushes.  She had always wanted to try bicycling
in the nude.  This seemed as good an opportunity as any for a first time.

   Her eyes were adjusting to the dim light now.  Lifting her left leg over
the bike resting her foot on the pedal, she situated herself on the seat
with a few fidgets.

   This is not quite as comfortable as I had imagined...

   She leaned herself over the handlebars.  Just for fun, shimmied her
shoulders to feel them jiggle as if dancing in celebration of freedom.

   It really doesn't take much to amuse me, she thought with a grin.

   For the most part, Lydia felt that this was a good thing.  She felt
strongly that people who could not, or would not, smile at the little
things were taking the wrong approach in life.

   Pushing off with her right foot and pedaling with her left, Lydia
started slowly down the trail.  Although she was starting to see more
clearly, she still felt like she was just a dark shadow moving blindly
among even darker shadows.  She had thought about using her flashlight for
this part of the journey but decided against it.  Lydia did not think
anyone else would be out on the trail at this hour, but if there was then a
flashlight on a bike would be a beacon visible from a mile away.

   The only thing helping her most at this point was the fact that she was
so familiar with this trail.  She had biked and run this earthen public
trail many times before.  She figured that biking it in relative darkness
would be safe enough.

   *BUMP*

   Lydia skidded to a halt and nearly fell over onto the trail.

   Not so safe after all, apparently.

   She picked up the fallen branch that she had run over and tossed it off
the trail.  Lydia paused for a moment to recollect herself, her left foot
on the pedal and her right anchored firmly on the ground.  She looked at
her watch and figured it had only taken eight minutes for her first scare,
and it had nothing to do with being seen...  this time.

   She looked down to see her chest moving up and down with each deep,
startled breath and her belly which had flexed taut as if bracing for
impact.  She figured that it was a good thing her reflexed were so good. 
This evening could have ended faster than she hoped, and not at all in a
good way.

   While she was looking down, she noticed that her vagina was almost
completely pressed against the bike seat and, consequently, concealed at
the moment.  She would not have noticed at all if she had not stopped after
running over the branch.  Lydia adjusted herself on the seat to expose her
sex once more to the night air.  Somewhat amused, she wondered if this
counted.

   One of the rules for this evening was to not cover up in anyway, not
even with her hands.  She figured there was no way around this possible
infraction, so it did not count.  Lydia continued on the path again, taking
advantage of her next rule which was to use the bike only on this path. 
The rest of the adventure would be on foot, starting at the park.  She
brought her hat, in part, to cover her hair in case she was seen and
identified that way.  However, the hat would stay behind when she was
actually getting the keys, which were the main centerpiece of her
adventure.

   The day prior, Lydia had hidden six keys around town for her to retrieve
during the night.  Lydia, of course, knew where they were.  The trick would
be getting to them while naked without being seen.  Not too hard to do in
the dead of night, she figured.  She had scouted the locations on various
occasions during the daytime, and her route was planned extensively.

   Part of the plan involved a safety net.  Lydia was trying to be daring
and risky, but not stupid.  She intentionally packed a dress in case she
was caught too far out of the plan and needed to stay out of jail.  She had
also packed a cell phone in case she found herself in real danger and
needed a way out.  She had thought about packing a spare house key in case
she could not get one of her destination keys but decided that would be
*too* safe.

   The six keys opened padlocks that sealed a container hidden near the
park.  Within that small box was the only key to Lydia's house that she
would be able to get until her parents came home.  Without it, she would be
stuck outside with nothing but her backpack.  The idea kind of thrilled
her, imagining being stuck outside naked for three days, but she knew in
her mind that getting her house key back would be far preferable.

   The most important rule of all was that she must be back at her house by
dawn.  She had timed out the entire route and, by leaving around 1:00am,
she estimated that she would be back about an hour before dawn.  Lydia
slightly quickened her pace on the bicycle at the thought of having finally
left the house almost 20 minutes behind schedule.

   Still plenty of wiggle room though, she thought to herself
half-reassured.

   Lydia found herself rather enjoying the trip so far on bike.  The breezy
air as she pedaled was refreshing against her bare skin.  Sometimes she
found biking to be a bit of a workout.  A chore, even.  But without the
constriction of clothes, it was really quite divine she thought.  Not a
hint of perspiration.  She did not mind breaking a sweat for fitness but
she preferred avoiding being sweaty otherwise.  For that reason alone,
Lydia decided that biking this way was the best.

   She had been pedaling for several minutes now and thinking about the
night ahead.  Slowing her pace, familiar landmarks were starting to come
into view.  In this part of town, two neighborhoods were situated right
next to the local public trail.  One was her own neighborhood where her
house was almost right next to the trail.  The other was the one coming up.
This neighborhood, closer to the park, was where her friend Kerri lived. 
The only difference was that Kerri's family lived one street over from
where the path to the trail was.  Lydia figured that it was close enough to
the trail to be relatively safe but far enough away to serve as a warm-up
challenge.

   Coasting into a final halt, Lydia dismounted her bike and parked it
against the backside of a tree a few feet off the trail.  It was unlikely
that anyone would come by and steal it at this hour, but she preferred to
err on the side of caution.  She could see the glow of new streetlamps, the
white fluorescent kind, through the trees where the neighborhood lied. 
Lydia started to get the familiar giddy feeling of excitement again.

   Nearby there was a smaller tree with branches that she could reach.  She
did not relish the idea of bugs getting into her backpack or her hat while
she was away, so she hung them on a branch.  She also removed her flats and
wedged them between the backpack and one of the straps.

   There.  Safe and out of sight.  Ready for me to come back and get it. 
Hopefully, this one will only take a few minutes.

   She checked her watch and saw that it was now 1:39am.  Lydia was fully
and completely naked for the first time tonight.  Surprisingly to Lydia, it
felt really good.  She shook her arms and legs to limber them back up after
biking.  She made sure one more time that everything she was leaving behind
was secure.  She grinned mischievously and set off in the direction of
Kerri's house where the first key of the evening awaited.



   The Keys Ch.  02

   Lydia sneaks into a neighborhood naked to get her first key.

   The path to the neighborhood where Lydia's friend lived was not marked
by any trail, not even an unofficial one.  Instead, Lydia had to step
carefully among small, waist-high foliage with twiggy branches that
scratched lightly against her skin.  It was not enough to leave any marks
but enough to warrant a slower passage through the trees.  At one point she
felt something crawl over her hair unexpectedly which caused her to squeal
in alarm.  She covered her mouth with both hands once she realized what she
had done.

   Looking up she discovered that the unknown presence that whisked over
the top of her head was nothing more than a low-hanging branch flush with
leaves.  Wide-eyed, she looked toward the neighborhood which was well in
view now.  What Lydia anticipated, she did not know.  Perhaps she expected
all the houses to suddenly light up and people come pouring out to see her
standing in the tree line naked in all her glory?

   Come on, Lydia.  Get a grip.

   Despite her rationalization that everyone should be asleep at this late
hour and, even if someone was awake, they would likely not have heard her
from so far away, she still maintained her position for a few more moments
just to be sure.  She could not, must not, get caught.  On the other hand,
she could not stay there either, so she finally stepped onto the grass of
the stranger's lawn, crossing the boundary between the forest and the
neighborhood.

   She could smell the dew on the grass and saw that the humidity in the
air had formed a filmy shroud of mist that hovered just over the glowing
luminescence of the streetlamps.  These streetlamps were brighter than the
ones in her own neighborhood, which Lydia felt would make this more
exciting but also riskier.  She continued through the gap between two
houses, passing by windows through which Lydia could feel probing eyes
gazing upon her increasingly luminated body.  She knew it was just her mind
playing tricks on her, but she still shivered at the thought of it.

   Lydia skirted the house on her left and paused before daring to step
beyond the shadows.  She quietly pressed herself against the outer wall of
the house to see what she could.  Peering around the corner and down the
street to her left, all was still and quiet.  Fortunately, she did not need
to go that way to get to Kerri's house.  It would have made for a long and
scary walk.

   To the right, she saw what she expected.  Across the street and one
house over, the street curved to its left and out of sight.  She knew that
one street over and five doors down was Kerri's house.  That was where she
needed to get.  Taking a deep breath, Lydia confidently strode out of the
shadows, across the front lawn, and onto the sidewalk.  Under the
streetlamps, it felt like entering a spotlight where everyone in the
neighborhood could see her plainly.  She sighed, expelling a cloud of
breath from her mouth into the humid air.

   I keep finding new ways to make myself feel more and more naked.

   Not wanting to linger too long under the streetlamps, she quickened her
pace across the street and noted the roughness of the asphalt against the
pads of her feet.  Lydia knew from experience that running barefoot upon
her heels was not only loud, causing a thud with every stride, but painful
as well.  By now, her heart was pounding inside her chest.  The people
might be inside their houses and sound asleep, but all Lydia could think of
was that she was naked out in the open surrounded by strangers she did not
know.  She squatted nervously behind a car which was parked on the opposite
side of the street from the tree line. Okay, just round the corner, two
lefts, and five doors down.  That's all I need to do.

   She got up again and whisked her way down the sidewalk in front of the
house on the corner and veered left toward the street where Kerri lived. 
There were only three houses to pass on this stretch.  Again, all was quiet
and still, albeit brighter than she had expected it would be.  In the
distance, Lydia heard a truck passing the neighborhood on the main road
several streets in front of her.  It was way too far away to be worried
about, but it made her uneasy to think that there were people still on the
road so late at night.

   Lydia passed the third house and stood at another crosswalk.  She
decided to tap the stop sign on the corner for good luck.  She had to do a
bit of a leap to reach it, but she managed.  It amused her to think of how
crazy this scene would undoubtedly look to an outsider.  A naked girl
jumping to touch a street sign in the middle of a neighborhood.  In her
fantasy only, she almost wanted it to happen.  Almost.

   She turned down the street which led to her destination.  Lydia decided
to stay on the sidewalk for this part.  Afterall, there was not much
alternative.  She could either be naked in the street, naked on the
sidewalk, or naked on peoples' lawns.  Either way, there was not much cover
except the occasional waste bin or car parked in the driveway.  Besides,
nothing had happened so far, and the neighborhood seemed to be completely
asleep.

   Suddenly, Lydia was blinded by a radiant flash of light coming from her
left.  Lydia stumbled in surprise and fell on the grass which lay between
the sidewalk and the gutter.  With no time to scream or even gasp, she
scrambled once more to her feet and darted to the next yard behind the
first thing that she could reach.  Squatting and leaning with her back
against a truck, she bent down further to glimpse at who had just caught
her.

   God, I hope they didn't see me!

   From beneath the truck she could see the neighboring front lawn lit up
completely from the garage all the way to the sidewalk.  She listened and
watched for sounds of anyone approaching, but none came.  Regaining her
courage, she lifted herself from the ground and looked over the bed of the
truck to see that no one was in the lawn, at the door, or in the window. 
Rather, the sudden light that had startled her was a motion-sensor
floodlight.

   Lydia was equal parts relieved and frightened.  She forced herself to
chuckle softly at the ordeal and turned around to face Kerri's house which
was now in perfect view.  Lydia was halfway down the street from the corner
now.  She realized that despite having done a few very light naked
adventures in the past few weeks, she had never been so far from her
clothes before.  The idea carried mixed emotions, but she decided not to
dwell on it.  There would be lot of barriers broken this evening if all
went well.

   The final steps toward Kerri's house were uneventful.  Despite being
quite visible to herself in the lamplight, Lydia wondered if anyone would
actually be able to see her from a house window if they were not looking
closely.  Definitely not, if they were not looking at all, which Lydia
reasoned was most likely at this hour.  Nevertheless, she would remain
careful.  She was not out of the woods, or rather back in the woods, just
yet.

   Lydia passed into the shadows on the side of Kerri's house.  A fence
began part way in, and Lydia knew that the fence door to access the
backyard was on this side of the house.  More than that, she knew that if
she rounded the outside of the fence into Kerri's neighbor's backyard then
she could squeeze though a slight gap to access the pool area quietly.  The
only downside was being in full view of three other houses at the same
time. She decided that accepting the low risk of being seen was worth
avoiding the high risk of being heard by opening the gate.

   As she passed a window which was undoubtedly Kerri's, Lydia thought back
to when she first met Kerri in middle school.  They had met by running
track together and even though Lydia was one year older than Kerri they
remained good friends into high school and beyond.  Lydia was familiar with
every inch of this house because she visited so often, and Kerri could say
the same of Lydia's house.  Now that Lydia was 22 years old and going a
different college, they did not spend as much time together but made sure
to see each other at least once when they were both in town.

   That is why it was not too suspicious when Lydia wanted to visit Kerri
at her house the day before.  It was all too easy to slip into the backyard
during the visit and drop the first key into the pool near the deep end. 
While it would be the first key Lydia retrieved this evening, it was in
fact the last one that she had planted in preparation.  Lydia returned
indoors afterwards to spend time with Kerri for about a half hour more. 
Kerri had been none the wiser about Lydia's ulterior motive for visiting.

   As Lydia reached the gap in the back part of the fence, she wondered
what Kerri would think to see her like this, sneaking around in the night
and breaking into her back yard without a stitch of clothing.  Lydia pulled
back the wooden fence to place her left foot within the confines of the
yard, shuddering to think of what would happen if she were caught now by
her longtime friend.

   Lydia and Kerri were still pretty close after all this time, but somehow
Lydia did not think Kerri was ready to learn about her naked escapades. 
Lydia could only imagine how fun it would be to go on one with her friend.
Perhaps another time, Lydia hoped.

   One more thrust and Lydia was fully in the yard.  Just to be safe, she
kneeled behind a large, leafy plant to make sure that no one at Kerri's
house was enjoying a late-night swim like she was about to be.  The only
sound to be heard was the humming of the pool filter and the occasional
faint whirring of sparse traffic far in the distance.  The clouds shifted
and moonlight flooded into the yard to a degree that almost worried Lydia.
Despite this, she could not help but appreciate the rippling streams of
light that reflected onto the back of Kerri's house from the silvery
illumination above.

   Deciding to keep low, Lydia emerged from behind the plant and tip-toed
across the grass toward the concrete deck which surrounded the in-ground
pool.  To get lower, Lydia pressed herself fully onto the concrete.  She
immediately regretted doing so because of how frigid the surface was.  Not
wanting to be more visible than she had to be though, she stuck to her
prone position.  Every part of her body hardened and tensed from the cold.

   Part of her thought that this was silly.  After all, no one would be
awake at this hour...  probably.  Besides, even if they were, what were the
odds of them checking the back yard for intruders at this late hour,
especially if there was no sound to alert them?  Crawling carefully to
avoid abrasions, Lydia reached the side of the pool and peered into the
cerulean depths below.  Much to her disdain, her view of the pool bottom
was not as clear as she expected.

   Strictly speaking, this would not be the first time that Lydia was naked
in this particular pool, but rather the second.  Three years prior, Lydia
and Kerri had the house to themselves for an entire afternoon and, as a
joke, Lydia said it would be fun to go skinny dipping since they were
sunning on the pool deck anyway.

   "Who likes tan lines anyway, right?" Lydia had said with a smirk.

   "I'm down if you are," Kerri had replied without hesitation, much to
Lydia's surprise.

   "Well, I guess I can't back out now," Lydia said as she untied her
bikini top.

   Bare-chested, she got up and hooked her thumbs into the sides of her
bottoms before looking at Kerri to ask, "Are we doing this or not?"

   "Yeah, sure," Kerri had said looking at Lydia with a smile.  Kerri stood
up from her pool chair and pulled her top over her head and threaded her
jet-black hair through it.  Then, together, Lydia and Kerri pushed their
bottoms down to their ankles and stood there for a moment giggling.

   Kerri, now wearing only red-rimmed plastic sunglasses said, "Last one in
is a rotten egg!" and jumped feet first into the deep end of the pool with
Lydia not far behind her.

   Lydia smiled at the memory and, despite definitely not being a lesbian,
found that it turned her on a little bit.  Now, however, it was dark
outside and Lydia looked into the pool to see the bottom littered with tiny
key-sized leaves.  A late-evening wind had scattered leaves from one of the
neighbor's oak trees over Kerri's fence and into the pool.  Through the
rippling surface, Lydia could not distinguish between the leaves and the
key.  With no idea of where to even start, she would have to feel around
for it.

   She decided to stand up long enough to make her way to the stairs of the
pool which entered on the shallow end.  Closing her eyes and dipping her
toes in, Lydia expelled a long sigh through her nostrils and wrinkled her
nose.  She had expected the water to be a cold, but this was downright
freezing!  Lydia styled herself as a warm-weather girl so to put herself
into any water cooler than a bath required some will power.

   Step by step, Lydia made her way deeper into the pool.  First she
submerged her ankles and then her knees.  She knew she had to go slowly to
remain as quiet as possible, so plunging in and getting it over with was
out of the question.  With short, shallow breaths she continued into the
pool until she stood with her legs underwater and the ripples tickling her
most sensitive parts.  She clasped her hands over her mouth to stifle her
natural reaction to it.

   Oh my god, this is so cold!

   This was the first time tonight that she asked herself in an accusing
internal tone why she was doing this.  Holding her breath, she sank herself
further into the pool until she was waist-deep and past the stairs.  Now
all she had to do was crouch down and make her way to the deep end.

   The moment the water had reached her belly button, Lydia tensed her
tummy and held her breath.  She was afraid that if she did not then she
might cry out from the shock of the chilly water.  Bending her knees, she
submersed herself fully into the water right up to her neck.  Despite her
best efforts, the motion yielded a nearly imperceptible groan from her as
the chill in the water gathered most prevalently around her breasts and in
her armpits.

   Lydia closed her eyes and backed herself against the wall closest to
Kerri's house to remain at least somewhat hidden while she acclimated to
the water.  Taking little time for this, she side-stepped her way toward
the deep end of the pool in the direction of the yet unknown location of
the key.  She arrived at the five-foot-deep part of the pool and stood
completely up straight in the water.  Using her arms for balance, she waded
further still but had to start tip-toing to stay above water until she had
to exert effort to keep her chin above the surface.

   At this point, the real challenge of this stop at Kerri's house began --
finding the key.  The oak leaves would make it difficult.  She had hoped to
spot it more easily now that she was approximately right above it, but no
such luck.  She knew that the key was probably nearer to the house on the
deep end because that is where she had tossed it in earlier.  With one hand
on the side of the pool, she stretched her leg and elongated her ankle to
perform a wide sweep of the pool bottom with the tips of her toes.  Just
leaves so far.

   Disappointed, she let go of the pool edge and treaded water.  At this
point, she could no longer feel the bottom and stay afloat.  Being only
5'4" tall, she would have to dive and search.  How desperately she wished
she had paid closer attention to exactly where the key sank.  This was
certainly not going well for her.  Lydia closed her eyes once more and took
a deep breath before allowing herself to be overtaken completely by the
water, trying to be as quiet as she possibly could.

   Lydia figured she had an adequate lung capacity given how much she ran
for fitness, but she discovered that holding one's breath underwater is not
quite the same.  She reached the bottom and blindly patted the bottom of
the pool searching for the tell-tale hardness of a metallic key.  She
lacked the ability to open her eyes underwater, a skill that she sorely
missed in this moment.  She simply had to feel her way through leaf after
leaf getting increasingly concerned about being unable to find it as the
pressure upon her lungs filled the entirety of her chest.

   Before she knew it, her time was up.  Carefully, slowly as she could
bear, Lydia gently kicked off the surface and rose her head above the
surface of the pool.  Rather than gasping for air, she took a long, slow
breath and softly paddled her way back to the pool edge.  She had forgotten
the slight difficulty of catching her breath while in the water.  She took
a few moments to scan the bottom of the pool with greater scrutiny.  She
did not have all night to search for this key.  Then a horrible thought
came to her.

   What if Kerri or one of her family spotted the key earlier in the day
and removed it?  The dread of such a possibility was enough to steal away
her breath once more.  How could she overlook such a potentiality?  Why had
she not hidden it in one of the plants that lined the back fence in the
yard?  What if...  but then she became stern with herself.

   No!  No, this key is here, and I am going to find it.  I have no choice.

   Just then, she spotted something promising near the middle of the deep
end.  It was either an irregularly shaped leaf, or just maybe it was the
key she needed to get.  In her excitement, Lydia slipped below the surface
again and dove in the direction of what she hoped was the key.  She pressed
her hands against the course texture of the pool floor and started feeling
her way across the area.  A few seconds later, her hand brushed over a
hard, prickling, flat object.

   It must be the key!

   She retraced her hand backward and clutched the object in her hand,
feeling the jagged edge to confirm that it was her prize.  Basking in a
wave of relief, Lydia swam under the water toward where she knew the stairs
of the pool were.  By this point, she was feeling a blend of excitement and
reprieve along with the breathlessness of remaining submerged for nearly
too long.  In her exuberance, she gripped the guide rail by the stairs and
breached the surface to place one foot on the bottom step of the pool
stairs.  Only then did she hear the crashing sound of her fatal error.

   It was too late to do anything.  Lydia had stood up too fast and was
pinned in place with terror.  Not only had she caused a raucous splash upon
standing, but the water cascaded off her and back into the pool before
settling into a concert of steady drips pouring forth over every inch of
her naked body.

   Lydia thought frantically that it might not have been so bad as the
water around her waist fizzed and settle back to a relative calm.  Perhaps
it only seemed loud to her.  She wiped the residual water from her eyes to
gain a blurry view of her surroundings.  She stood with hips halfway still
in the water and one hand on the rail.

   Her soaked skin glistened in the moonlight and her dark, brown hair
clung to her neck as she twisted her head toward the house.  In half a
heartbeat, she saw the light turn on in window near the deep-end side of
the pool.  Lydia stared wide-eyed in horror as two of the blinds split
open, presumably from someone trying to investigate the noise.  It must be
one of Kerri's parents, Lydia thought.

   More carefully, Lydia turned back toward the stairs and started
climbing. It was no use though.  The water fell from her body with every
step resulting in what felt like an excruciating series of thunderous
crashes.  Key in hand, she sprung from the pool and trotted off the
concrete into the grass on the side of the house.  At least there she would
be hidden.  She dared not risk approaching the gap in the fence that she
had entered the yard from because she would almost certainly be seen there.
Instead, she gingerly approached the fence door which led to the front
yard. Lydia unlatched the door and it creaked open toward her.

   Lydia froze, trembling, water droplets still trickling down her breasts
and between her legs as she saw the back-porch light come on from behind
her.  Then, from around the corner, she heard the sliding glass back door
of the house screech open.  Two footsteps, that was all Lydia heard.  That
and her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

   "Is someone there?" a gruff, annoyed, sleepy voice called into the
night. Lydia recognized the voice of Kerri's dad.

   Lydia held the fence door in position to prevent it from creaking and
carefully sidled around it to the front.  The hardest part was squeezing
and her breasts through the space between the door and the fence without
moving it too much.  Then she had to get creative with her hips to move her
way through the opening.  She made it though and looked toward Kerri's
window to ensure that there was no light there too.  Thankfully, it seemed
that Kerri's dad was the only one roused by the commotion Lydia had caused.

   "Must be an animal, I guess.  Need to get that fence fixed," Lydia heard
the groggy voice murmur.  A sleepy yawn followed.

   Phew...

   Lydia sighed softly.  It was over.  She shut the gate with an
affirmative *click* and then turned toward the street.

   "What was that?  Who's there?" the voice, suddenly alert, called out in
alarm.

   Without thinking, Lydia sprinted away from the fence toward the sidewalk
and into the full light of the streetlamps with reckless abandon.  Not even
waiting to check that the street was clear of people or traffic, Lydia
raced at full speed down the sidewalk bounding past the houses and cars. 
She did not look back, so she would have to wait until she saw Kerri again
to know if she had been seen or, even worse, recognized.  The floodlight on
the second house burst into life once more as she passed.  This time,
however, she heard the booming bark of a dog within that must have heard
her thudding down the sidewalk.

   Lydia was single-minded though and nearly did not even notice these
things.  With long strides and arms swinging, she rounded the "lucky" stop
sign on the corner and headed toward the street adjacent to the trail.  Now
out of view of Kerri's house, Lydia looked behind to see yet another
heart-wrenching sight.  Every one of her steps leading away from Kerri's
house was marked with a wet footprint and scattered droplets.  This far
away, they were of course quite faint.  But Lydia could easily envision the
clarity with which Kerri's dad would be able to see them on the sidewalk
outside his house and follow them straight to her.

   She let out a hushed moan in dismay and kept running.  Her breasts,
usually secured by a bra, flailed wildly as she went.  Her saving grace for
this relatively small issue was that she had B-cup-sized breasts that,
while sizeable enough for her liking, did not weigh her down the way a
larger cup size might.  In retrospect, she could not believe that this, of
all things, was what she was thinking about as she streaked through Kerri's
neighborhood completely bare, dripping wet, and trying to escape unseen.

   Lydia rounded the next corner and crossed the street diagonally to reach
the gap between two houses that she had used to enter the neighborhood just
a short time ago.  She was panting and out of breath, and still quite damp
with pool water.  She figured that her body would be dry in no time, but
her hair would take just a little bit longer.  It still clung to her neck
and now strands from her bangs, freed from the hair tie, now laid about her
forehead.  What a disheveled sight she must be, she thought to herself.

   From the obscurity of the shadows between the two silent houses, she
took one last look behind her to see if her fears would be realized.  Would
she see Kerri's dad lumbering down the street after her?  Perhaps the beams
of two headlights as a car drove after her in search of a naked interloper?
None of these things happened, however.  Lydia had made it.

   She moved toward the tree line where the trail waited for her just
beyond and carefully stepped into the forest.  Lydia took a deep breath as
she went tried to calm herself down.  The air turned to mist as it fled
between her lips.  She lightly massaged her breasts and wiped lingering
water droplets from her front, her back, and off her legs.

   Lydia contemplated what she had just been through as she wrung her hair
to get what water out that she could.  She had the first key.  This was the
first real triumph of the night.  The rest of the night would go more
smoothly.  It had to be better than what she had just done.  It just had to
be.

   Either way, though, she would have to face it.  There was no choice. 
The only way to access her house key was in that box hidden near the park.
And the only way to access that box was to get the five remaining keys that
she had scattered around town.  She spat the faint taste of chlorine water
from her mouth, positioned the key in her hand in such a way as to allow
her to put her hair back in order.  Clothed only by branches and scattered
leaves, Lydia pressed onward into the forest leaving the bright streetlamps
of Kerri's neighborhood behind.