Back to the Land

Prologue: This is a romance and my first attempt at writing fiction. It started off as a story idea for Earth Day but writing it and deciding to post it held it up for a while. Many thanks primarily to Dinsmore and also Techsan for patience and expert help and advice with edits and writing. As per usual, the characters are invented and bear no intentional resemblance to actual persons alive or deceased. All intercourse is consensual and between individuals over the age of eighteen. This is a story based on the irresistible draw that can take you back to your roots and core values. It is a story of a first love, going back to the land, back to that first love and getting her back to the land. There is sex but you'll need to read a while to get there. Finally, if you ate today, thank a farmer.

Chapter 1 – Heading Home

Bill Martin had had quite enough. The city that had seduced him away from his farm background no longer played the siren song that once wooed him. Over the past few months, he had begun to notice the ugly, congested acres of pavement and concrete that contrasted with fond memories of expansive acres of corn and soybeans. It was a phone call from his parents that had tipped the scale. His thoughts of his downtown luxury condo and six figure income were fading with the skyline in his rearview mirror as he kept the hood of his car pointed toward the home farm. Even thinking of it that way felt right - home.

He was going home to phase in to the family farm business as his father was phasing out into retirement. Bill wasn't a nostalgic fool; he had listed his condo for almost double what he'd paid for it and the seven figure price tag would be carefully invested by his alter ego, the successful investment banker. He would not be destitute even if the farm business couldn't pay him at all.

As he drove, he reflected on the forces pulling him back to his roots. Growing up on the modest family dairy farm, he had felt the tug of the big city and the lure of money. He enjoyed the business side of the farm. Even as a teenager, he had showed an aptitude for managing money. His father involved him in the farm business decisions and their J.S. Martin & Sons operation had bought two neighboring farms, making their land base a substantial chunk of prime farmland. The "Sons" was an optimistic relic of the day newlywed "J.S." set up the business – Bill was an only child. Labor complications had left Bill's mother unable to bear any more children.

An enthusiastic career councilor in high school had suggested Bill explore his natural business acumen and that had been the beginning of his pilgrimage to the city. He had gone Ivy League with the farm bankrolling his studies.

He couldn't really drop all of his rural background so he chose upstate New York's version of Ivy League with the mix of agricultural and veterinary colleges along with the arts, sciences, law, medical and, of course, business. He followed his business degree with an MBA and was courted by a large Wall Street investment banking firm with a six figure salary long before he graduated.

He was the consummate bachelor. His salary allowed him to enjoy the upscale end of the city night life. He was often seen in the company of beautiful women which usually turned into brief flings. A few had tried to make it more permanent but as soon as they started to push, he drifted to the next dalliance.

That was how he found himself headed home to run the farm, still but not regretfully a bachelor. Perhaps he had sensed deep down this day would come and none of the ladies he met in the city would ever consider accompanying him on the one-way trip he was taking now. Cows – oooh, smelly. Where can I get my latté? What do you mean there are no boutiques? He could just hear it now; his most recent fling would be despondent within an hour without her lifestyle cues. As he drove, he thought about life in the country and the kids he grew up with. After eight years, would anyone he knew still be there?

Chapter 2 – Meeting the Girl Next Door

Bill's high school experiences were typical of most farm kids; he went to school in town and had little time for outside activities thanks to farm chores and homework. When he got his driver's license, things changed for the better. He no longer rode the bus and could come and go on his schedule. The farm had hired help to do the evening milking so he could stay in town after school. He hadn't done enough sports early on to make any varsity teams; as a senior, he hung out with the yearbook staff. He volunteered to help organize the class pictures, mostly because Julia was also helping with that.

Julia was a farmer's daughter from a cash crop operation near the Martin's place. She was shy and tended to look down, letting her long, dark hair fall around her face and curtain the view she showed the world. Bill thought she was the prettiest thing he had ever seen; her big brown eyes seemed to be pools that drew him in. Her cute, shy smile developed two little dimples if it really got to full volume.

Although her father cropped almost 2,000 acres, Julia dressed more like someone from a small organic farm: long denim skirts, loose blouses and baggy sweaters. The image fit; in a way, she really was an organic farmer. When she was little, Julia grew a small patch of sweet corn and, at various times, carrots, asparagus, potatoes, beets, radishes and other vegetable crops for a small roadside stand. She would sit at the end of the lane and sell her produce for spending money. By the time she was in high school, she had turned her little garden into a serious specialty market garden business growing organic vegetables. Maybe this was where the wholesome persona had come from; deep down she really believed in the natural approach. Bill thought about her more and more but had no clue how to make the first move.

Fate would come to his rescue. As they struggled on a beautiful fall day to organize one particular freshman class and get across the concept that everyone was supposed to have their picture taken, their photographer unexpectedly quit. Farm kids are resourceful and the pair decided they could do the pictures; after all how hard could it be? Armed with the yearbook office's camera, they muddled their way through setting up the backdrop and lighting.

At one point, Julia and Bill both grabbed for the same light stand and Bill felt a tingle as their fingers brushed. He figured Julia must have felt it too because their eyes met and his hand seemed frozen to hers.

"Hey, are you guys ready yet?" yelled one of the frosh. The couple jumped; the moment passed. The pair broke away to finish the set up.

The shoot passed quickly as they both concentrated on getting the uppity frosh captured on film and out the door. With the film safely off to the processors and the equipment put away, Bill screwed up his courage and asked her, "Hey, do you need a ride home? I live out your way and can drive you if you haven't got a ride..." His voice tailed off at the end as his courage faltered.

Julia replied softly, "I was going to call my Mom to get me but I'll call and tell her you'll give me a ride. She's old fashioned and will probably make you come in and meet her when we get there."

"No problem," Bill said. Julia went in search of a phone.

They walked out to the parking lot together. Bill opened the passenger door of the old pickup for Julia before getting in his side. They rode in silence, Julia realizing that she didn't need to give directions. Bill knew where he was going.

As they rolled into the lane, Julia said, "Uh, oh, there's Mom and she is looking a little too friendly."

Julia's mom came to Bill's side and opened the door before he could.

"Hi, I'm Louise Beck---Julia's mom---you must be Bill."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am!" he stammered as he slid out of the truck and shook her hand.

"Julia, why don't you invite Bill in for a soda?" Louise shot over her shoulder with a "won't take no for an answer" look as she walked towards the house.

In the farm kitchen, Bill and Julie shared a soda as Louise asked them about the yearbook work. When his drink was done, Bill rose and said his goodbyes.

As he was heading for the door, on a whim he asked, "Julia, would you like a ride to and from school instead of taking the bus? I can swing by your place in the mornings and drop you off after yearbook work in the afternoons?"

Julia looked to her mom who just nodded. "That would be great! I hate riding the bus with the little kids yelling and screaming. Pick me up at seven."

They began to spend an hour a day together in the truck. At first, their trips were quiet. By the time the autumn leaves began their spectral dance of reds, yellows and oranges, they were talking about all kinds of stuff as they drove along...what they had in common being farm kids... planning the yearbook stuff...gossiping about teachers and other students. Bill found out Julia was very proud of her organic produce business; she in turn found out that he was becoming the money management brains behind the dairy farm. They settled into a happy, platonic routine and became very comfortable with each other until fate again intervened with the camera.

Having become the class photographers, everyone on the yearbook staff assumed they had also become the school event photographers. The school football team was playing the neighboring town's team; pictures were needed of the great rivalry event. Not wanting to carry all their camera gear and ride the bus with the jocks, Bill and Julia had purposely missed the team bus and drove over together in the faithful truck. They worked hard moving around the field and getting good shots for the yearbook. When it was over, buoyed by their team's victory, they packed up their gear and headed home.

It was late fall; it was dark as they drove home from the game. In the nick of time, Bill saw the deer flash in the lights in the middle of road and slammed on the brakes. Julia awoke from her doze and screamed. They skidded past the startled deer and off into the ditch.

Once the old truck jerked to a stop, Bill asked if she was okay. Julia's sobs were all the reply he got.

He quickly unbuckled, thanking the seat belts for keeping them in place, slid over and wrapped his arms around the sobbing Julia before he realized what he had done. Julia leaned her head on his shoulder; her sobs abated and finally stopped.

"We...hit a deer when...I was very little...it was terrible!" she sobbed.

Bill smoothed her hair with his hand and hugged her tightly. "It's okay! We slid right past the deer and didn't even touch it; everything is okay."

He soon realized it might not be okay. The truck had two wheels off deep in the soft ditch with no farmhouse lights in sight. He didn't tell her the potentially bad news. He held her until she calmed down. His face was buried in her hair; the soft, sweet smell of her shampoo filled his senses. He softly kissed the top of her head twice before either one realized what he had done. It seemed natural. Bill's body responded. He felt an uncomfortable tightness in the crotch of his jeans. Julia was oblivious. She turned slowly to look at him. Bill surprised both of them again by kissing her on the lips. It had been a soft, innocent kiss. Both felt the tingle; their gaze flew to each other's eyes.

"Wow!" breathed Bill, silently thanking the deer.

Bill kissed Julia again. She responded. Their passion surged as they crushed their lips together. Only the urge to breathe broke the kiss. They sat close, catching their breath knowing that something very powerful had been unleashed. The next kiss was less innocent...more probing...unquestionably sexual. His tongue caressed her lips; hers in turn probed inside...searching...wanting...needing.

"Strawberries...she tastes like strawberries...lip gloss...whatever. More..tastes sweet...more...want more." His brain was addled; had he said those words or thought them?

That turned the heat way up. Cautiously, Bill's tongue teased Julia's lips. With a small gasp, she opened her mouth and teased him back. Soon their tongues were probing, touching and tasting while they kissed like they'd done it for years. Bill's cock was aching in the tight confines of his jeans. The truck had stalled when they stopped and the cold reality of their situation seeped in with the growing chill. The windows were fogging up and Bill realized they needed to get back on the road and get home.

Bill was a practical farm kid. He started the truck and opened his door to get out.

"You drive, I'll push and let's get out of here."

Julia rocked the truck with the accelerator while Bill heaved on the front bumper. Slowly the truck moved back onto the road. Julia stopped when all four were back on the pavement. Bill got in to drive, breathing hard from the exertion---thankful that, after the effort, his breathing was the only thing hard. Julia slid over only as far as the middle of the seat and buckled up beside Bill.

"Thank you, deer, and thank you, old truck with a bench seat," Bill thought as they headed on their way.

His thoughts tightened his jeans once again, to his embarrassment. He put his arm around her shoulders; she leaned over onto his chest. Still sleepy, she gradually relaxed and slid down until her head was on Bill's leg very close to his painfully hard cock. He tensed up, willing her not to notice and she was soon fast asleep.

When he sensed her slow even breathing, he relaxed but that did nothing to reduce his discomfort and he wished he could rearrange things to make the rest of the trip bearable. As they slowed going in her laneway, Julia woke up and stretched; she kissed him quickly but passionately and slid over to her proper place by the door. As he stopped in the yard, Julia's mom came running to see why they were late. Julia told the story about missing the deer and being stuck.

Louise grabbed Julia and hugged her. "Thank goodness you're okay!" To Bill's chagrin Louise grabbed him in a hug, kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for your quick reflexes and for looking after my daughter."

Bill accurately figured that, with the theme of the moment, he could get away with hugging Julia goodbye. Wrapping his arms around her, he immediately noticed the firm tone of her body, her narrow waist and felt two very firm, very full tits pressed deliciously into his chest. His cock throbbed in his jeans as he realized her baggy clothing had been hiding a luscious form. He held the hug as long as he thought polite before reluctantly getting back in the truck.

With a last wave to the pair of women on the porch, he was on his way, eager to relieve the tightness in his jeans before falling asleep. At home, he told the deer story to his parents and was reminded by his Dad to wash the mud off the truck in the morning.

Upstairs in his bathroom, the memories of the smell of Julia's hair, the taste of her lips, their passionate kisses and her tits pressing so firmly into his chest were enough to fuel his fantasies. He slid his jeans and his boxers down and wrapped his fist around his throbbing cock.

With his eyes tightly shut, he inwardly relived the hug. He came hard after just a few strokes, blasting rope after pearly rope of cum at the sink. His knees felt weak and he gasped at the intensity of his relief. He had never cum that hard or that much before. He cleaned up and went to bed to relive the evening in his dreams.

Chapter 3 – Knowing the Neighbor Girl

Their new level of intimacy established a new pattern for the young couple. Each day as they cleared the end of the laneway, Julia would slide over, kiss Bill and buckle up in the middle of the seat. A block from school, she would kiss him and slide over to the door for their arrival. The ride home was the reverse; leave the school, slide to the middle, kiss, turn in the lane, kiss, slide over to the door. This carried on for a couple of weeks until one day, Bill had to slow and pull way to the left to pass a huge articulated tractor pulling a ten furrow plow on the road near Julia's place.

"Crap!" she said, "that's Dad's tractor!" as she slid as quickly as possible over to the door.

Before Bill could get out of the lane, he found it blocked by the massive machine and pulled over in the yard to let the tractor and implement pass. As he drew up, Julia's Dad hopped down from the cab and approached the apprehensive Bill. Both men realized they hadn't formally met.

"Howdy, son. You must be Bill. I'm Ralph," he said, shaking Bill's hand.

Stunned, Bill just stood there.

As he turned to get back in the tractor, Ralph said over his shoulder. "Mind you concentrate on your driving when she's sitting there next to you." With a whine from the turbo and a cloud of black smoke, the 400 HP behemoth disappeared behind the barn.

Julia didn't bother to slide away when driving up the lane; their secret was out, at least as far as her father was concerned. If he was okay with it, Mom would be too. She did slide over around the school to avoid the inevitable teasing of their classmates.

Their relationship continued this way through the fall. Their yearbook efforts kept them busy after school; they would often get together on the weekend to work on the yearbook or just hang out. With parents around, they didn't get to do much more than kiss and hug but that was plenty of fuel to keep Bill's fantasies running at full speed. He replayed his bathroom scene many times: fist wrapped tightly around his aching cock, picturing Julia, and reliving the feel of her ripe, womanly body.

They were both rather naïve, having led sheltered lives. They didn't find or try to take an opportunity to move their relationship to another level, content as they were with blistering sessions of passionate kisses and close, full body hugs.

Bill was pretty sure Julia could feel his raging hard-on through their clothes. More than once, he thought he felt her firm nipples boring holes in his chest. He thought she felt pretty darn good in his arms but no matter how hard he tried, he could not picture what she would look like without clothes. He fueled his sessions in the bathroom just by remembering the feeling of her firm breasts pressing against his chest, her nipples poking firmly and invitingly. He groaned as he wrapped his fist around his cock after every visit, reliving the warmth and passion of their embraces.

Their relationship flattened out in this mode for the rest of the school year. The prom snuck up on them. As yearbook staff, they were again expected to capture the key moments on film: the crowning of the king and queen, candid pictures of dancers, and plenty of shots of the cheerleaders and varsity teams all dressed up. In spite of their official role, Bill stammered his way through asking Julia to the prom. He needn't have worried; there was no other boy whose offer she would have accepted.

The day of the prom, he spent hours cleaning the faithful pickup so their clothes wouldn't carry that lingering aroma of barnyard. A wash, wax and a thorough detailing made the old girl the finest rural limo anyone could ask for. Even his Dad noticed the gleam in the old paint that Bill's elbow grease had achieved.

He teased his son. "That truck looks so good, I'll have to keep it for another twenty years."

Bill pulled in to pick Julia up; Louise invited him in. When he saw the style of Julia's dress and where he would have to put his hands to pin on her corsage, he completely lost his nerve. The lovely lavender gown displayed Julia's body to perfection. He could not stop staring at her classic hourglass shape. The dress hugged all sixty minutes of it.

Her gown was held up by spaghetti straps and her firm, full chest left only one choice for a spot to pin the corsage; over her left breast. Bill couldn't help himself. His eyes followed her necklace down the enticing valley between her breasts where a locket was cradled. Somewhere in the back of Bill's unconscious mind an album of mental snapshots was taken for more sessions in the bathroom and his tuxedo pants involuntarily began to tighten. As he reluctantly drew his eyes back up, Louise rescued him by pinning the corsage on Julia's dress for him.