DINNER BY THE CAMPFIRE
A couple of hours later, after a much more pleasant, leisurely hike than the one coming into the valley, we returned to our camp at the bend of the river. As the site came into view, the first thing I noticed was Hannah. She was standing in the river topless. Her shirt was in her hands, and she seemed to be trying to wash it in the river. Even from a distance, it was immediately clear that she had absolutely spectacular breasts, natural and quite large for her size and slender build.
I looked over at Emily, who had clearly noticed as well; she smiled at me knowingly. Hannah noticed us approaching but showed no sign of embarrassment and seemed in no hurry to cover herself. She waved as she was wringing the water out of the tank top. Once she was done, she put the tight wet shirt back on and walked back toward the tents, where Mei appeared to be attempting to start a fire.
I’m a pro when it comes to starting and tending campfires, so I jogged ahead to see if I could help. When I got closer, I noticed that someone, presumably Hannah, had done a masterful job preparing the fish for dinner. The largest of the two she’d even gone to the trouble of fileting. I’ve cooked many a fish over a campfire in my time, but I’ve never seen anyone do as professional a job preparing them as she did.
Before long, Mei and I had the fire going. As we waited for the coals to form, we decided to put together some makeshift cocktails. I had brought an empty, collapsible water jug that I’d filled with fresh, cold river water and some iodine tablets for purification purposes. We mixed that with some vodka and crystal light to make what we called “river cocktails.” Mei hung a bluetooth speaker on a nearby tree branch and cranked up some tunes. We all sat around the fire pit on smooth, fallen logs that someone had put there years ago. I was sure they were the same logs that had been there back when we camped here in college.
By this point, the sun had gone beyond the nearby treeline, casting much-needed shade on most of the campsite, and a gentle breeze had picked up. It was still hot, but there was no humidity and overall it was much more pleasant. The cocktails and music helped too. This was the vibe I remembered so well, the reason I loved camping. Sitting outside, around a campfire, in a beautiful place, drinking and preparing food. It just couldn’t be beat.
Over the next few hours, we really got to know each other. Hannah and Mei were both very intelligent, interesting people, with great stories to tell. And Emily was her normal, charming, extroverted self, the kind of person who made everyone feel like they were her best friend. For my part, I picked my spots, doing my best to interject with some witty comments here and there and share a few of my best camping stories.
After a couple of drinks, Mei went to her tent and came back with a handful of gummies (the THC kind), which she offered to us. We’d been known to have edibles once in a while, but Emily hadn’t had any since our daughter was born. I waited for her to accept the invite before I did. I was pleasantly surprised when she did. Something about being high makes Emily much more amorous. For someone as extroverted as she is, she can still be pretty shy and self-conscious when it comes to sex. But when she’s a little stoned, those inhibitions go away; she’s much more engaged and assertive. The second she took the gummy, I knew we were going to have a really good time once we retired to our tent.
By that point, Hannah was well into her dinner preparation. On the kerosene burner, she was cooking the box of wild rice. In the fire pit, she was using a big stick to arrange the coals in a way that would allow her to cook the fish on the skillet without burning it or herself in the process. She’d coated the non-fileted fish in the flour and had the butter and lemons handy. When she eventually began to cook the fish, the smell was heavenly.
Before long, dinner was served. We each had an enormous helping of trout served on a bed of wild rice. But for the paper chinet plates we were eating off of, you would never have believed this was a dinner cooked out in the wilderness with minimal equipment. The presentation was incredible. And the fish could not have been tastier. We all sat in silence for a good while as we ate and appreciated the food.
Eventually, I spoke up and complemented Hannah on the incredible job she’d done. Emily made a point of saying that we now had to stop by her restaurant before we went home. Hannah, for her part, was clearly very appreciative of the compliments, and both of the women went out of their way to thank us for catching the fish in the first place.
“This is easily the best food we’ve had on this trip,” Hannah said, “a chef is only as good as the ingredients she has to work with.”
With that, we toasted each other with our 3rd or 4th river cocktail of the night.
THINGS HEAT UP
After dinner, the revelry continued. We were all in great spirits: full bellies, a little tipsy, a little stoned, and just enjoying a fun night in a beautiful place with great company. At several points, the ladies went together to the woods to find a spot to pee. For Emily, having to pee outside, with no bathroom or even outhouse, was a first. But she was taking it in stride. I was proud of her.
During one of their bathroom trips, I went to our tent and dug through my toiletry bag. Eventually I found what I was looking for. A tiny packet with a single dose of viagra. My buddy had given it to me a while back and I had been saving it for a special occasion. I knew I didn’t need to take it, but Emily clearly had high expectations for later and between the booze and the pot, I didn’t want to risk having a subpar performance. So I opened it, swallowed the pill, and returned to the campfire.
On her way back, Mei also swung by her tent. When she returned, she was holding more gummies. I was surprised when Emily immediately took one and popped it in her mouth. I’d never seen her take more than one and was curious what a two-gummy version of Emily would look like. Not to be left behind, I also took another. Mei took one as well, and I was pretty sure I saw Hannah take two.
Throughout the evening, Mei’s music had been playing in the background. It was a really eclectic playlist, a seemingly random hodgepodge of music from every genre, from hip hop to classic rock to country. But I liked almost all of it, and not long after that second gummy, I got to that level of stoned where listening to a good song is an almost mystical experience. I could tell everyone else was in that zone too, as the conversation slowed down and we all seemed to go through spells where we were totally absorbed in the music.
As the sun began to set and everything began to darken around us, the breeze coming off the river died and the air seemed to get noticeably more sticky and humid. I was once again sweaty, and I could tell others were too. Hannah was the first to do something about it. “I hope this doesn’t offend anyone,” she announced, “but this is my last semi-clean shirt; I just washed it in the river earlier and I don’t want to sweat through it again.” And with that, she stood up, somewhat unsteadily at first, and took off her tank top.
As her spectacular tits flopped into full view, the rest of us just sat there and stared, a little stunned. Sensing some awkwardness — for the first time all night — I stood up and said “I’m with you, Hannah, it’s too hot for this shit.” And with that, I ripped off my own shirt in one swift motion. That did the trick, as all three of the women started laughing hysterically.
When they eventually quieted down, Hannah turned to Mei and said, “so… are you just gonna let me be the only one with their tits hanging out?”
“What, I don’t count?” I said with fake indignation.