Into Submission

  She stood barefoot in a simple, short, white dress on the edge of the large mud hole.  As she looked at it, she felt the hem of her dress play against her knees as the breeze lightly blew.

  From behind, he said, "It's just right; not too wet, not too dry."  She turned to look at him and was about to speak, when he placed his palm in the middle of her chest, then pushed.  She cried out as she flew backward and landed with a splat in the cool mud.

  The mud was a couple of inches deep, and the back of her dress was coated; however, she did manage to keep her hair clean.  She looked up to see him holding a camera to his face, and she heard the click as he snapped a shot.  Her face of surprise changed to anger.  She heard a few more clicks as she got to her feet and stood looking at him.  She started toward him.  He smiled and continued snapping off shots.

  As she was about to step out of the mud onto the grass, he lowered the camera.  She reached out to take the camera from him, but he held it back over his shoulder, and put his free hand in her face.  As she moved her hands to remove his, he pushed her again.  She stumbled backward two steps before her foot slipped out from under her causing her to fall into the mud once again.

  She felt her head as well as her body hit with a splat.  That time her hair had definitely gotten muddy.  She heard more clicking.  She gritted her teeth and sat up.  The back of her dress was heavy, and mud eased smoothly between her fingers and toes as she raised to her feet.

  After her first step, she slipped to her knees, but quickly regained her stance when she saw him grin from behind the clicking camera.  Her face was even more furious as she awkwardly stormed toward him.  She reached the edge of the mud hole and managed to get one foot on the grass because he took a step back before lowering the camera once more.  He quickly grabbed her by one arm and turned her around hard.  Before she realized what he was going to do, she felt his hand push into the middle of her back, then she was soaring through the air and landed face first in the mud.

  She could see nothing, but she clearly heard the clicking.  She pushed up with her arms, raising her face and torso.  She paused to breath through her mouth and to make sure she had no mud in her nose.  All passages clear, she pushed up to her knees and scraped the globs from on and around her eyelids.

  She looked down at her dress.  Only a few white spots remained.  She was almost completely coated with mud.  She then noticed that she heard no clicking.  She looked over her shoulder to see him putting a fresh roll of film in his camera.  She looked at herself again, then at the mud she was in.  She pushed her hand into it and pulled out a fist full.

  She turned around, still on her knees, and looked at him until he closed his camera an looked at her.  When his eyes met hers, she yelled and hurled the wet handful at him.  He snapped off one shot before barely dodging the flying mud, then acting as if nothing happen, he went back to looking through the camera.  She huffed and quickly threw another handful at him.

  Her aim was off, and he just flinched a little.  She growled, leaped to her feet, and ran toward him.   Seeing that she was going to try to tackle him, he lowered the camera and readied himself.  As she came toward him, he turned a shoulder to her and took a step back.  Her foot landed firm on the grass, then he lunged, slamming into her.  The force of the blow almost knocked the wind out of her, and she felt dizzy as she fell back to the mud and slid about a foot on her side.

  Behind the slight ringing in her ears, she could hear the camera clicking.  She lay there a moment until her head cleared.  Remembering that she had slid, she was grateful that the mud had no rocks or other hard objects in it.  She pushed herself up slowly and sat, still a little sore from the impact.  Her face gave up its anger; it submitted.  It almost begged as she crawled toward him with heavy breath.

  He still snapped picture after picture.  She would hear a click, she'd move a foot or so closer, then another click.  She stopped at the edge of the mud hole and looked up into the large, black eye of the camera.  He lowered the camera and looked at her.

  "Stay there," he said with a stern face and voice.  She made no movement, only watched him bend over and pick up a water hose that had been laying beside his feet.  The hose had a trigger adaptation on the end which he pointed at her.

  Her face did beg just before a spray of water shot out at her.  She closed her eyes, put up her hands, and turned her head.  The water was cold for a moment then the spray stopped.  She opened her eyes to look at him, then another pray came.  She felt the stronger center of the wide spray move fast over her body and hair then end suddenly with a swipe across her face.

  She heard the hose hit the ground and then the click of the camera.  She sat tensed until the chill had left the water that soaked her and had washed away most of the mud.  She didn't feel as heavy as when the mud was caked on.  She looked up at him, sure that she must look truly pathetic.

  "Stand up," he said roughly.  She did as he told, shivering slightly.  Arms and shoulders limp, she waited.

  "Walk out of the mud," he said.  Her second step met the grass, and again she waited. He lowered the camera and placed it in a large bag on the ground.  He then walked to her, put his face close to hers, and said, "Now...," but she interrupted by grabbing the front of his shirt, and in a burst of strength, turned and threw him into the mud hole.  She grinned as he soared, landed with his own splat, and slid almost two feet on his side.

  When he stopped and looked surprised at her, he saw her leap into the air toward him.  On his back, he yelled, eyes wide as she came down.  They both grunted as she landed on top of him.  She put her hands in the mud on either side of him and pushed up until he looked at her.  When he turned his face to hers and opened his eyes, he saw her looking at him and smiling.  She lowered her head to his and kissed him on the lips, then raised again.

  "So, how did I do," she asked.  He rested his hands on her hips.

  "You were great.  These will be some of our best pictures."

  "Yeah, I think they will, but that first shove you gave me wasn't in our plans."

  "I just wanted to help get the mood started.  I only wish I could have gotten a shot of you flying through the air at me.  You know, from this view."

  "Yeah, that would have been a great picture."

  "I'll get the camera, and you get ready to jump again."

  "Not just yet," she said, then kissed him again and started pulling up his shirt.