Among tall trees
on an unseasonably warm day.

Just warm enough
just quiet enough
absolutely private enough
to go naked.

Which is a good thing
because naked it is.

Legs still wet
from dancing through a stream,
skin just moist
from climbing
halfway up the hill.

Tall trees.
Soft leaves underfoot.
Birds in the canopy overhead.
Leaf-filtered sunlight dapple our bodies.

And nothing else,
no one else,
but you and I.

A solemn silence,
broken by giggles.
First you.
Then me.

“Let’s play hide and seek,
I’ll count first…”
And you turn.
Lean over.
Cross your arms against warm, rough bark,
rest your forehead upon them,
shift your weight from foot to foot,
and pause…

Solemn silence,
broken by wind in the treetops far above,
broken by dancing circles of light on your back,
broken by sunlight caught in your hair,
broken by a tiny shadow shifting across your ass,
broken by a tiny whine of a single mosquito,
broken by a reflexive slap,
a murmured non-apology,
a gentle rub,
a makeup kiss,

Then the story becomes too jumbled to recount,
and too memorable to forget.

Solemn silence,
broken by our catching breath..