Appalachian Adventure Racing Camp
Copyright© 2025 by Canairs90s
Scene 23 — Cal
Back at the main lodge, Cal was feeling a bit more centered, if not necessarily happy. He had taken a pleasantly cool shower and changed into clean, comfortable clothes for the evening. He spent a few minutes on his phone, checking the news and sports scores, but decided what he really needed for a mental reset was to get lost in a book. Cal had always been an avid reader; he loved a good story. He liked to just read for what was next and follow the author’s plot to its conclusion. Since he’d been a teenager, stopping to read a book had always been the best way for him to mentally reset and give him perspective in difficult situations.
He had barely made it a chapter when he was interrupted by a knock at the door to his room. He shouted ‘come in’ hoping that Lindsey had finally come to her senses. Instead he was surprised to see Annie standing in his doorway. Her appearance was hard to look away from, despite the fact he’d briefly seen her naked earlier this afternoon. First, she appeared to be absolutely soaked, although that made no sense really since she wasn’t dripping or anything. She had rolled up the lower part of her top and rolled down the straps so that the garment was functionally a bandeau covering her small breasts and basically nothing else. She had rolled the waistline of her shorts down to below her hip bone and the spandex garment was barely covering her pubic area.
“Like what you see?” Annie asked, suggestively. “It’s oil since I can tell you’re wondering. Not sure if you can make it out but my shorts are filled with squishy food too. I know you secretly get the WAM thing so you know how I’m feeling, especially since you’re aware I’m not wearing any panties.
“Seems like you had a bit of a falling out with your teammate, I’m really sorry about that, I know you had something going with her for a minute. Wanted to let you know that Stef and I are going to be having some messy, naughty fun next door and that my offer to join in still stands. It can be our little secret,” she said with a flirty smile and wave before disappearing next door.
Cal was in shock. He had to admit Annie’s offer was a little enticing, but he just didn’t think he was in the right headspace for something like that right now. Plus, as angry as he was at Lindsey, getting involved with Annie felt like it would be the ultimate betrayal. No way they could come back if he did that. Besides, he laughed to himself, ‘are you really going to have your first WAM experience and your first threesome on the same day? With people you barely know to boot.’ That didn’t seem like the best idea.
Knowing from earlier experience things were about to get loud next door, and not interested in being an auditory voyeur, Cal decided the best plan was to head downstairs. He grabbed a spot on one of the porch swings outside and read a couple more chapters of his book before deciding it was about time to head back to the mess hall and see how things were going.
Cal walked up and tentatively grabbed a chair to sit next to Lindsey, who was sitting behind the judges - Laurie, Pierre, and the mystery woman from earlier. Cal still hadn’t caught her name. The group was watching on a pair of laptops as Bailey and Cara worked in the kitchen. It was pretty clear to Cal within a minute that the women from Team 4 were both confident in the kitchen and working together like a well-oiled machine.
“We certainly shouldn’t pre-judge or anything, but these two sure do look like they know what they’re doing in the kitchen, don’t they?” Laurie noted.
“Yeah, I agree, they sure look like they have done this a time or two. What’s their backstory anyway? How have they performed this weekend?” the mystery lady asked.
“Quite well, actually,” Pierre answered, “they are in second place coming in to this challenge. I think in a lot of ‘first timer’ competitions they’d probably be out front but they have to compete with these two maniacs,” he gestured at Lindsey and Cal affectionately. “They have scored points in every game but have yet to win one, I think to a large degree consistency is sometimes a better indicator of overall skill personally.”
“That makes sense to me, are they a couple?” the lady asked.
“Honestly, we’re not completely sure,” Laurie replied this time. “I think they probably are, but they put ‘very close friends’ on their entry form and who am I to judge? Just a guess, but I’m guessing they weren’t sure how accepting a competition like this might be for LGBTQ players so they didn’t want to say for sure. Kind of a bummer to me, you obviously know we’re extremely judgement-free here, but I guess we have to be fair, we’re not exactly in the most accepting region of America. I can understand their reticence.”
“How are things going?” Cal whispered to Lindsey. He hoped she would respond ... surely enough time had passed to cool down. She looked at him and just shook her head forlornly, despair in her eyes.
“Not good. Stefan and Annie beat us and this is not looking good at all,” Lindsey answered in a low voice.
That was bad news, Cal thought. But at least on the positive side Lindsey wasn’t being awful towards him. Small steps.
“Oh my, are they actually tidying up?” Pierre asked, drawing Cal’s attention back to the laptop screen. “That’s awesome, certainly a rarity in this competition.”
Cal glanced at Lindsey. They didn’t even have to exchange words; they had plenty of time to clean up but neither of them thought of it because they were so busy bickering. What a wasted opportunity.
Bailey and Cara emerged carrying hearty bowls of spaghetti with sauce and presented their dish as ‘Grandma’s spaghetti’. Apparently it was loosely based on a recipe passed down from one of Bailey’s grandparents. If the visual evidence wasn’t enough, Cal knew he and Lindsey were beaten as soon as he caught a whiff of the delicious seasoning wafting from the bowls. The judges quickly confirmed his expectations, telling the ladies how good their food was and declaring them comfortably into provisional first place. Laurie ate nearly her entire bowl before Pierre gently pointed out they still had another team to go.
Laurie issued the now familiar invitation to hang out and watch the rest of the competition, which Cara and Bailey eagerly accepted. Laurie and Pierre went into the building to do their cleanup and prep routine.
“Congrats, you two,” Cal said, “that was impressive. Guess it will all come down to tomorrow now.”
“Thanks,” Cara replied with a smile, “I think we had a bit of an advantage in this one because we love to cook, do it together all the time.”
“What do you mean it will all come down to tomorrow?” Bailey asked.
“I was just doing the math and realized how the guys do is kind of moot,” Cal explained. “We came in 3 points ahead of you gals, you’ve now made up two, so regardless of what they do we’ll either be tied or we’ll be up one. With tomorrow being worth double points it comes down to a head to head between us.”
Lindsey groaned and put her head in her hands. Apparently she hadn’t made that connection yet.
“You’re righttt,” Cara replied tentatively, “but you’re also assuming tomorrow’s scoring will be straightforward, has much about this camp struck you as straightforward?”
“Ha, you make a very good point,” Cal laughed, “I guess we will just have to see how it plays out.”
“Since this round doesn’t really matter, I’m going to head back to the lodge and wash off before dinner. Maybe rediscover my dignity while I’m at it,” Lindsey said glumly and rose from her chair.
“Careful, you might get propositioned,” Cal called to her. He thought his tone was light hearted.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Lindsey asked, acid in her tone.
“Uhh, just that Annie...” he stammered.
“You’re truly fucking disgusting!” Lindsey cut him off and then stalked off.
Cal exchanged shocked looks with Cara and Bailey.
“Um, was I out of line there? Please be honest with me,” Cal said.
“No, not at all,” Bailey reassured him. “I guess maybe that was a little bit off kilter, but we know Annie’s kind of out there. Wait, did she do that to you?”
“Yeah, she actually has twice now,” Cal answered.
“You didn’t, you know, accept, did you?” Cara asked.
“Oh gosh no,” Cal replied. He didn’t think it would be a good idea to mention he had been a little tempted.
“What’s going on with y’all anyway?” Bailey asked. She did seem to be a direct type. Both the teammates kind of were. “You two were like best buds at lunch today, we had a great time. And now Linds is like this dark cloud and you look like someone kicked your dog. What gives?”
Cal sighed and thought about how to answer. He figured it would be best to be mostly honest but maybe he’d leave out the part about their little tryst in the shower, that seemed like something maybe it was not right to share yet. Perhaps Cara and Bailey could give him some helpful advice.
“So I have, or maybe had, a little bit of a crush on Lindsey,” he began.
“We are truly shocked,” Cara interrupted, hand to her chest in a gesture of sarcastic surprise. Bailey giggled.
“Ok, ok, I’m sure that was a little obvious,” Cal continued, blushing slightly. “So you remember at lunch when she was worrying about not having enough clothes? Between that and how incredibly cute she looked in that yellow shirt I got it in my head she couldn’t get dirty in the last game. So I kind of faked that the strategy of just levering the tire off the rim wasn’t viable - what Team 1 ended up doing to win the round. She figured that out and yeah, it wasn’t pretty.”
He went on to explain some of the vitriol Lindsey had sent his way and how their attempt at cooking had unraveled and how Lindsey had ended up ruining the shirt in question anyway just to spite him.
“Jeeeez, dude, that sounds kind of insane,” Bailey said, clearly a little astounded at the turn things had taken. “I can see why you’re sitting here trying to figure out what hit you. I guess Lindsey is right ... you did kind of do the wrong thing by deciding she needed to be protected or whatever, but her response seems like a wild overreaction.”
“This is my Machiavellian side kicking in, but the other thing I have to point out is that even if you hadn’t worried about that it probably wouldn’t have changed the result,” Cara added. “If you had done that you would’ve been on the same strategy as Team 1. No offense or anything, but at that point I don’t see how you get a half full tire down to the creek, get the requisite weight in it and get it back faster than them. Those guys are idiots but they are very strong.
“I guess there’s some chance you beat us, but they barely got us. Honestly we considered both strategies at the start and just figured we’d do the opposite. When they started going after that thing we decided to try ours. We would have liked to have won, but it worked out ok. Point is: she was mad at you for basically nothing.”
“And let’s not forget, you still would have gotten third and a point if not for the safety penalty,” Bailey added. “Which as things stand now is kind of a big deal for the overall score.”
“Sorry, I feel like we’re being really harsh here, while I guess you sort of had the original sin, the reaction is absurd. Not to mention that some of the stuff she said to you is just fucked up. That’s not stuff you should really ever say to anybody, much lest a friend or teammate,” the blonde continued.
“Thank you guys,” Cal said, a little choked up with emotion, “I have felt awful about this whole thing, so I definitely appreciate your support.”
Without exchanging any words Bailey and Cara rose from their seats and surrounded Cal in a group hug. He had to do his best to not break down in tears, but he was a guy who had swallowed tough emotions his whole life so he bit his lip and embraced the two women, wordlessly thanking them for their kindness.
“Whoa, are you all okay?” Laurie asked. Apparently she had returned from setup but hadn’t heard the conversation.
“Oh yeah, just discussing how much of a cunt Lindsey is,” the mystery lady replied calmly.
“Pardon me, but who in the fuck are you anyway, ma’am?” Bailey inquired, aggressively.
Laurie looked horrified. Cal cringed a little at Bailey’s harsh question, knowing how friendly the woman had been earlier. But at least maybe he could learn her name without it being too awkward now.
“Well nice to meet you too, Bailey, my name is Gloria,” the woman said. Her expression betrayed no anger or hostility as far as Cal could tell. “My husband and friends are past champions and are staying at the guest lodge this week. Sometimes the guests are invited to judge or observe challenges, which is why I was a judge of your fine cuisine. Nice to know that the sharpness of your cooking skills matches the sharpness of your tongue.”
“Oh, uh, I’m sorry,” Bailey said in a quiet voice, clearly embarrassed by her outburst at the camp’s equivalent of a celebrity.
“Don’t be sorry,” Gloria said, “in my world people, but particularly women, need to have backbones of steel to succeed. I understand you were sticking up for someone you consider a friend and would expect no less.”
Bailey nodded her thanks at Gloria’s words.
“And here comes Team 1,” Pierre refocused everyone’s attention as Tommy and Dillon walked up to the mess hall. “Gentlemen, you know the rules, the kitchen is set for you, any questions?”
“No, thank you, we’re excited to get started,” Dillon answered.
“Alright then, the clock is ticking, good luck!” said Laurie.
Even these idiots were getting into the swing of things Cal observed as the guys hustled into the building. They probably did gain some confidence from winning the last game. Bailey and Cara had retaken their seats next to him behind the three judges.
“Alright, so give me the scouting report on these two,” Gloria asked Laurie and Pierre.
“Eh, you know the type,” Pierre answered, “thought this was a purely physical competition. Didn’t realize strategy and teamwork are equally important and have struggled accordingly. Seems like we have at least one team like this every new player session. To their credit, they do seem to be learning at least a little bit and they did win our tractor challenge.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you, what hell is this ‘tractor challenge’ you all did anyway?” Gloria said. “I’ve never heard of that one and you guys know I’ve been through my fair share of these.”
“Ha, that’s the understatement of the weekend,” Laurie said. “So we legitimately needed to change out the tires on the tractors for new ones and add ballast, so we made it into a challenge for the teams. Not sure it was all that successful, at the very least we need to revisit the rules because now we’ve got some tires with beet juice some with water, some with a mixture. Not really sure what the freezing point for them will be, which is obviously not ideal with how cold it gets up here in winter.”
“Wait, hold on,” Cara inserted herself in the conversation, “I have so many questions. First, is this analyzing the teams and talking shop the norm?”
“Oh heck yeah,” Laurie answered, “we told Lindsey this earlier but honestly it’s our favorite part of this whole thing along with seeing all the strategies y’all come up with.”
“Second question, this is for you, Gloria, you sound like you’ve been doing this for years, is that allowed?” Cara continued.
“For sure, I love this place, we compete every year,” Gloria replied.
“She’s being modest,” Laurie pointed out, “Gloria and her husband hold the record for most consecutive years winning a competition, this was their 15th year. They’ve won in all kinds of different formats too, it’s quite remarkable. Usually they don’t even have to compete twice to earn a week.”
“You can compete more than once a year?” Bailey asked.
“Well yeah,” Pierre said, “we are at some level trying to be a profitable business, why would we turn away customers?”
This all made sense, Cal thought to himself, he had just not considered it.
“Alright, now what I really want to know is, what was the scouting report on us?” Cara queried.
“Oh, I was here for this,” Cal exclaimed, “they said you are doing really well and would be winning a lot of weeks.”
“We may be winning or at least tied for it in,” Bailey glanced at the clock, “22 minutes.”
“Touche,” Cal admitted.
“Not to distract from this lovely discussion,” Pierre said, drawing everyone’s attention, “but I think these two are attempting one of the more audacious things I’ve ever seen in this kitchen - they are trying to make a pizza in 30 minutes from scratch! Clearly I massively undersold them earlier.”
“There’s no way that’s possible!” Bailey exclaimed, “I’ve made dough from scratch before, no way it will rise in time.”
“And that, my friends, is the beauty of this game,” Laurie said, a big smile on her face, “we see something new almost every week. Will they pull it off? No idea, but love to see something new tried.”
Conversation devolved into a discussion of the probability of the guys pulling it off and then migrated towards some of the other strategies that Gloria, Laurie and Pierre had been impressed with so far this weekend. Cal realized that Bailey and Cara definitely knew their way around a kitchen from how they talked about making dough and then the process of making the actual pizza. He was also fascinated by the analysis of the strategies. He could suddenly see where he and Lindsey had been brilliant and monumentally stupid. It reminded him of playing pub trivia and feeling stupid when the answers were revealed and you found out which questions you were close to figuring out.
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