Chapter 4

Dan and I dated for several months until school finished for the summer. Our relationship was more erotic than romantic. Neither of us thought we were in love or that we would be. We enjoyed being together and doing things - not just sex. We did definitely enjoy the sex, however. Dan was a skillful lover and ready to try most things. He enjoyed both sides of oral as did I. We never tried anal but he did often tease my back door with his fingers and a couple of times with his tongue and I came to wonder if someday I might want to try things “the other way.”

Dan was a senior and had a job on the west coast after graduation, so we knew our relationship wouldn’t last beyond that. We both dated other people but after I started dating him, Dan was the only one I had sex - oral or otherwise - with. I don’t think he ever went to bed with anyone else either, but I’m not absolutely sure. We usually managed to find somewhere about once a week but not always. Anyway it was enough to remove my frustration.

Diane had become much more involved with Kevin and now thought that something more serious might develop. The two of us had become quite good friends and had no real hesitation in discussing our personal lives. I came to realize that despite what it may have sounded like, neither of us was really a “loose” woman. Yes, we slept with - or at least, fucked - men we weren’t married or even engaged to. But we never did so without getting to know the man and developing a relationship. No one night stands. No sex on a first, or even on a second date. We also both stayed away from heavy drinking and other substances. No interest along those lines at all, thank you.

We also found we had many things in common besides our outlook on sex. We both lived on the lake, we both loved outdoor sports like hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, and cross country skiing. As school neared its annual end, Diane brought up the idea of taking a camping trip. First she just mentioned that she wanted to do so to just relax for awhile. Then she suddenly said, “In fact, Kristen, why don’t we go camping together? We could take a week or so after school lets out and just relax.” Then she laughed and said, “You know, just ‘be at one with nature’.”

I laughed, too. “That sounds like it might be fun. It would just be better if we had a couple of guys to go with us.”

“You mean to take us?” she said with a totally innocent look.

I laughed again. “Or maybe we’d take them.”

She joined my laughter then turned a little more serious. “Seriously, I was thinking about going up to the Porcupine Mountains. You know, in the UP on Lake Superior.”

“Sure, I’ve been there before.”

“Well, we could go to the developed campground for a few days and maybe even go backpacking for a few more. How does that sound?”

“I’d like that. I’d have to figure out the logistics. Neither of us have a car here and I’m not sure I could take one from home for that long.”

She stopped and thought for a minute. “How about this. You said your parents are picking you up and driving you home. Right?” I nodded. “Well, there is a guy from Escanaba here with a car. He is going to give me a ride home. I’ll bet he’ll be happy to go a little out of the way and let you drop your stuff off at home. Then you could ride home with us and we could go over to the Porkies. We’ll find some way to get you home. At worst you could catch a bus.”

“He wouldn’t mind?”

“I very much doubt it.”

“My parents are supposed to take me home on the twenty-first. When are you going?”

“We wont be leaving until the twenty-fourth.”

“I could call my parents and say you’re bringing me home.”

“Yes. Then you could stay with me for a day or so before we could head over to the Porkies.”

“Your family won’t mind?”

“Certainly not. I’d like them to meet you anyway. Especially since we’ll be living together again next year.” Diane and I had decided to get an apartment together the next year and had found one which we would move into on the fifteenth of August.

“I love that idea. I’ll have to call my family to make sure they haven’t made any plans I can’t get out of, but that should work out fine.” Later I called and there was no problem. In fact they invited Diane and the guy who would be driving us to have lunch so they could meet her also. Diane’s ride, George, also had no problem so everything looked to be set.

Eric and I had been exchanging e-mails since we had arrived at school. Over Christmas we had gone out twice but it was more for friendship sake than romance. OK, there was a pretty nice goodnight kiss each time, but nothing beyond that. We were still friends - very good friends. We both knew our romantic involvement had ended in August and neither of us was upset over it. I told him about some of the men I had been dating. There was no one serious but I wasn’t sitting in the dorm every night by myself even if by then I hadn’t met anyone I was ready to sleep with yet. Eric told me about a girl he was dating - Amber - and that he thought they might become pretty serious. In one of his e-mails in early May he had said that he and Amber were going with each other exclusively and he thought it would probably become permanent. They were both going to be taking courses that summer and he didn’t expect to see me over the summer. I congratulated him on finding Amber and he wished me luck in the same vein.

Diane and I had decided to find an apartment together for the next year and had located one not too much of a walk from campus. We would be moving in August but had already put down a deposit. Since we would still be living together the next year I thought my parents might like to meet her and, of course, since I was going to stop over a day at her place before our camping trip, I’d get a chance to meet her parents also.

I had talked with my parents and told them that Diane and I were going on a camping trip to the Porkies and that she and a friend who lived near Escanaba - George something - would drive me back home to drop off my school stuff and pick up some camping gear. They suggested that the three of us stay overnight and that way they could meet my roommate. Diane and George were happy to accept. Diane thought it would be nice to meet my parents and George said that it would break up the long trip back to the UP. The drive over to my home would only take about four hours but then we would have to go partway back across the state to get to the bridge.

Anyway, Saturday, two days after my last final, found us heading west with the car stuffed with the belongings of all three of us. Diane had met George in one of her classes, but I never had before he arrived to pick us up. Diane had told me it was strictly for the ride - she had no other interest in him. He seemed a nice enough person and I soon saw that he was a competent driver, but I didn’t feel any particular attraction either.

Dinner went well and George was installed in a spare bedroom while Diane shared mine. Early the next morning I quickly loaded my camping gear into the car and we hit the road once more. I had told my parents we’d probably be gone a couple of weeks but we weren’t exactly sure how long. I’d call then and let them know how things were going. I also said that I might take a bus home to save Diane a long drive.

George dropped us at Diane’s house and as soon as we had our stuff out he left for his own home. Diane’s house wasn’t on the lake itself but, like mine, was only a short distance inland. Her parents were quite friendly to me and again dinner went quite well with them asking about my studies and so on. As I had done with her, Diane shared her room with me. We were taking a day to get everything ready for the trip. We needed to buy food and a couple of other things as well as get her gear together. We’d be taking the car she used so we also had to make sure it was ready. Doing all of this pretty well took us most of Monday. Her parents had some place they had to go that night so we just went to Chili’s for supper. When we finally got back home her parents had just arrived and we spent a half hour talking about the trip with them. They had frequently gone camping in the Porkies also, so they were familiar with everything. Finally about eleven everyone went to bed.

Tuesday we all sat down to breakfast about seven but by eight we were on our way. It’s less than two hundred miles from Escanaba to the Porcupine Mountains park so we made it there by about noon. We went to the visitor center and then picked out a campsite in the main campground on the shore of Lake Superior. We planned to stay in the developed campground for two or three days while we made day hikes and then maybe go backpacking for a few more.

We set up our tent and then had a quick lunch from some of the deli stuff we had brought in the cooler. The temperature was in the upper seventies and the sky completely clear. Waves on the lake were small, just providing a quiet lap, lap, lap as they struck against the shore. Diane and I were both dressed in cutoffs and short tees. The sun felt so good that we ended up spending most of the afternoon just lying in the sun, either by the tent or, for a little while, down on the beach.

About seven we fixed supper and cleaned up. At this time of year in Upper Michigan and with the sky clear, it stays light until after ten thirty at night. We were both feeling the release from the pressure of school and the excitement of the trip and with the light sky we weren’t in the least sleepy. We decided to take a walk along the shore and spent the next two hours just walking at the water’s edge, frequently stopping to talk.

While we were talking, Diane mentioned that Kevin had told her he was going to have a surprise for her, but didn’t say just what or just when. Kevin and Diane had been going out with each other since the end of last October. I knew they had been having sex for most of that time - it was easy to tell when Diane came back to the room with that wide grin on her face. Besides we had become close friends and didn’t mind talking about such things. She had also said their relationship was becoming a little more serious but they weren’t ready to get engaged yet or anything.

I had managed to find two different guys I had felt comfortable enough to sleep with, although as I have said, we never did really sleep. One of them lived in a dorm so our few times were limited to a blanket in one of the heavily wooded areas of the campus. The other one, Dan, was a junior and lived in an apartment off campus. We still used the great outdoors sometimes but when his other apartment mates were gone, it was nice to have someplace inside during the winter. OK, we were friends and I was comfortable enough to go to bed with him, but neither of us looked at this as anything permanent. I’ve heard the term “fuck buddies” used around campus but I don’t think that really described it either. It was more than that but a lot less than love. I wouldn’t even say we actually “made love,” but we definitely did fuck.

With Eric I had found that I loved sex. Loved it in every way we tried, and we tried quite a few. During those two months last summer, Eric and I managed probably five or six times a week. Now it had been more than four weeks since the last time Dan and I had done anything and I was feeling the lack. While I could pleasure myself, it wasn’t the same, and I’ll admit I was just a little jealous of Diane and Kevin. Not seriously, but more of just a little envy. It wasn’t helped any when, after we finally settled into our tent that night, Diane started talking about Kevin and even chose to describe a few of the things they had done. She wasn’t trying to tease or anything. I’m sure it was just that she was missing him - and the sex - as much as I was missing such activities.

Wednesday dawned with a mostly overcast sky and a very red sunrise. Well, I wasn’t planning on going sailing (“Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.”) Still we made sure we took some rain gear when we packed our daypacks. After breakfast we packed a trail lunch and headed over to a trail leading to Lake of the Clouds and spent the day exploring this part of the park. There were some light showers during the day, but mostly they were just misty light rain. We arrived back at camp about six and, fortunately, the rain had stopped by then so we could fix supper.

Again we finished cleanup and about nine thirty we were just sitting outside the tent talking. We were just chatting, me facing out towards the campsite road and Diane facing me, when I saw a man walking down the loop past our site. He was wearing a hooded nylon jacket even though it wasn’t raining at the moment so I could see nothing of his face. Then, when he was up to our site he turned towards us and said, “Hi. Haven’t I seen you two before?”

Diane spun around and let out with a squeal. “Kevin!”

“That’s me,” he replied as he pulled the hood off revealing a wide smile. Before he could say anything else Diane was up and into his arms, locked into a hard kiss.

When they finally broke apart she managed to get out, “What are you doing here?”

He smiled again. “Well, I did promise you a surprise. Look, Diane, I knew about your trip here. I decided to surprise you. A friend of mine from school and I had planned to make a trip here, also. I figured I could maybe surprise you and we might spend a little time together.” Then he turned to me and said, “I don’t mean to spoil your trip or anything, Kristen. I hope it won’t.”

Before I could answer Diane asked, “Where are you guys staying?”

“We’re camped at site 74. Down the road here.”

“Is your friend over there, then?” I asked.

“Not right now. He had to run into town for something. You can probably meet him tomorrow.” He turned back towards Diane. “You, too, Diane. You’ve never met him either.”

Diane was staring at Kevin and I could see that right then she had no interest in meeting his friend or anyone else. In fact I was sure she was wishing that I had gone into town also. I smiled at her and thought that she would undoubtedly do the same for me and moved over close enough to whisper in her ear, “I’m going for a walk. You can have the tent. I’ll be gone at least three hours. Is that enough?”

She smiled and whispered back, “Yes. And thank you, Kristen.”

I turned back towards Kevin and said, “I’m going for a long walk down on the beach. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”

Kevin grinned at me. I’m sure he knew exactly what was going on. “OK. And Kristen?” I turned back and looked at him. “Thanks.” I just smiled and nodded and turned towards the path over to the lakeshore.

It was much darker this night than the previous one, largely because of the cloud cover. There was still enough light to see and I had a small flashlight with me in case I needed it later. I made my way out of the campsite to the shore and noticed that fog had started to form. Not too surprising with the rain and warm air that had moved in. The lake was still quite cool in June and when the moist air met the cold water, fog was the inevitable result.

The gray mist was forming off shore over the water but was fast sliding towards the land. In the distance I heard a fog horn begin its lonesome call. I felt a shiver go up and down my spine. I loved weather like this. I was sort of glad I had let Diane and Kevin have the tent to themselves for a while even though a quick image of the two of them naked and locked together flashed through my mind. If I couldn’t have that, a walk in the fog by the lakeshore was probably the next best thing.

I continued on down the shore away from the campground. I was soon beyond the lights of the developed area and the only illumination was from the small amount of left over sun light and perhaps a little moon glow as well. Whatever, my eyes had adapted enough that I could see fairly well. The waves were quite small so avoiding the splash wasn’t difficult.

I think I walked for maybe forty minutes and then I came to some large rocks at the water’s edge. These were the size of a small cottage and I climbed up to sit on one some eight feet off the ground. Here I was in shadow, leaning back into a corner formed by two stones, and I just rested, my eyes closed, listening to the waves and the distant fog horn.

I sat there for some time - probably about twenty or thirty minutes - and then decided to move elsewhere. I started to climb down, my face towards the rock, my back towards the path along the shore. Just as my foot reached the beach I thought I heard a sound from the direction of the campground. I started to look around when a deep voice called, “Hi.”

I let out a small squeak and the voice immediately said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just didn’t want you to turn around and suddenly see me. I thought that might scare you more. I suppose I guessed wrong.”

It was a pleasant sounding voice and by the time he had finished that little speech I was calming somewhat. “No, that’s quite all right. I was just startled and overreacted. Sorry.”

“Well, I’m sorry I startled you, then. By the way, I’m Don Houston.”

“Hi. I’m Kristen Blake. I’m up here with my roommate for a break from school.”

“Really? I’m also here with a friend of mine from school, although he’s not my roommate. I’ll be a sophomore at State this fall.”

“You, too? I go to State also and I’ll be a sophomore this fall, too. Biology major.”

“I’m an ECE major myself. Were you at State all this year? I would have thought I’d have noticed you.”

“Yes, the whole year. But there are twenty thousand other girls on campus, so I doubt you would have noticed me.”

I saw his eyes sweep up and down as he looked at me. “No, I’m definitely sure I would have noticed you.”

I felt my face grow slightly warm at this comment but managed to say, “I doubt it, but thank you.”

He laughed. A nice laugh that for some reason sounded rather sexy. “No, while there’s not a lot of light right now there is enough that I can tell I would definitely have noticed.” Then he changed the subject. “What are you doing out here now, anyway? There’s not a lot to see with all the fog.”

“I love the fog! I just wanted to come out here, just let it roll all around me, and listen to the fog horn over there.”

I could see him smile. “Then we both must think alike. I love fog, too. It’s relaxing to just let it flow all around you. Not just the sight, but the smell and taste and the way is it feels on your skin. Not to mention the way it smothers all the sounds.”

Now it was my turn to smile. “Yes! I’ve always loved fog for as long as I can remember. Same reasons.” Then I hesitated a little bit. “Besides, I expect my roommate and her boyfriend might be using the tent. She didn’t even know he was up here and he stopped by and surprised her. I thought it politic to go for a walk and let them have the tent for awhile.”

I could see Don was staring at me rather intensely. Slowly he said, “Is your roommate’s name Diane by any chance.”

My mouth dropped open then after a second or so, I managed to say, “Yes. And is your friend, by any chance, named Kevin.”

He laughed. “Yes! He said he was going to surprise his girlfriend and I went into town so he could have our tent if he wanted. I came back earlier than I expected and decided to go for a walk in case they were, er, occupied.”

I joined his laughter. “I told Diane I’d be gone for at least three hours, so I’m sure they are busy in our tent.”

Still laughing, he said, “Then my tent must be empty.” He added - very obviously teasing - “Maybe we should go back and put my tent to use.”

I laughed again also and teased right back. “Well, I suppose we could always play cards or something.”

“Strip poker?” he asked with a wide smile.

I managed to reply, “Noooo. I don’t think so.” But I again felt my face grow a little warm. This guy definitely attracted me, although I couldn’t say exactly why.

As our laughter subsided I said, “Kevin said I’d probably meet you tomorrow. Seems he was off by a little bit.”

“Well, I certainly don’t mind meeting you a little early.”

I smiled and shook my head. “It definitely doesn’t bother me.”

For a few long seconds we just stood and then Don suddenly said, “Look, neither of us is going back just now. Want to walk a little more? Maybe stop and get to know each other a little?”

I felt a wide smile cross my face. “I think I’d like that. Have somewhere in mind?”

“Just a little farther down the shore. I believe I remember a nice place to sit and watch the waves.” He gave a short laugh as he looked around at the now thick blanket of fog. “I guess tonight we can just sit and listen to the waves.”

“That sounds good to me. I love sitting in the fog, just letting it flow all around me.”

“Then we already have something in common. I grew up along a river and I’ve always loved it when the fog rose. Waves are still something new to me, but I’m coming to love them also.”

“What about fog horns?” I asked.

“You mean that deep tone from over that way?” He waved his arm in the general direction and I nodded. “I’ve only heard them a couple of times but I can’t think of a better sound to go with a night like this.” Then he gave a short laugh. “I suppose I’d appreciate them even more if I were on a boat out in this.”

“Yes, they do have very practical uses, but I just love the sound.”

We had started on down the shore, just walking very slowly, side by side. I suddenly bumped a small rock with my toe and very slightly stumbled forwards, but Don caught my hand to steady me. Then he continued to hold it and I had no urge to pull away myself. We continued walking, now holding hands. I don’t know just what it was about him, but I was definitely finding myself attracted to Don.

For the next twenty minutes we continued to slowly walk, talking about our backgrounds. I found that Don was from western Pennsylvania, a small river town, as he had said. We found we had a lot more in common than just the fog. We both loved outdoor activities. I might have guessed about camping but Don also enjoyed backpacking and cross country skiing. Not surprisingly, he also had spent a lot of time in canoes and kayaks. He had never tried snowshoeing but had SCUBA dived, a sport I wanted to try some day. He had even done a little technical climbing.

We came to the spot Don had mentioned and found a nice bench-like rock shelf against a small cliff face. Someone had even dragged a piece of drift wood over to make a foot rest in front of it.

We sat down, side by side, and it seemed so natural that I almost didn’t notice when Don put his arm around my shoulders. We continued to talk, the conversation becoming a little more personal. I told him how I had had a steady boyfriend, Eric, in high school and he, in turn, told me he had gone pretty steadily with a girl, Sue, then also. We did discover that neither of us was particularly attached at the moment.

I also quickly discovered that Don was pretty bright - not surprising in an engineering major - and he got the idea that I was also a serious student. Since we were both science majors of some kind, we spoke a similar language which let us get a picture of each other a little more rapidly than we might have otherwise.

We continued to talk and get to know each other. At one point Don glanced at his watch and found we had been sitting there for an hour and a half. “Really? It couldn’t have been that long, could it?”

“Sure doesn’t seem like it,” he replied. “I guess we get along pretty well, eh, Kristen?”

“It does seem that way,” I said. Then I added, “I wouldn’t mind staying a few more hours but I expect Diane and Kevin might begin to wonder about us.”

“Probably right. I wouldn’t mind staying here either but I suppose we should be starting back.” We stood and dusted the sand from the back of our pants. “Kristen, I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of hours.”

I turned to face him. “Me, too, Don.”

For several seconds we stood just facing each other, holding hands. Then Don quietly said, “Kristen, would you be offended if I kissed you?”

I felt my pulse pick up a little. “Not at all, Don. But I might if you don’t.”

We moved to bring our lips slowly together and soon they were pressed warmly and firmly. For probably twenty seconds we held them like that before we separated slightly. Then almost in a whisper I breathed, “Again,” and we once again closed the gap, this time pressing more tightly and holding the kiss longer as our arms went around each other. I felt myself wrapped in his arms, both of us cloaked in the thick fog, the sound of gentle waves and the distant fog horn in the background. I suddenly felt I’d like this to continue for much, much longer. It was another fifteen minutes before we finally pulled back and, still holding hands, started slowly back down the shore.

The trip back to the campground took a little longer than it might have because we stopped several times for a little more kissing. When I thought about it I was surprised at how natural this seemed. I mean this wasn’t even a first date. Not really a date at all. But it felt as if I had known Don for quite a while already.

At last the lights of the campground began to show through the thick fog. We stopped for one more kiss and suddenly I said, “Hey. Want to have a little fun with Diane and Kevin?”

“Sure. Just what did you have in mind?”

“Well, let’s not mention that we met tonight. When they introduce us tomorrow, instead of shaking hands, let’s ...” I stopped and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a nice, hard kiss, even opening my lips.

Don returned the kiss just as strongly and when we pulled apart he took a deep breath and said, “I certainly won’t object to that. Even if it doesn’t surprise them it will still make me very happy.”

His laugh joined mine as I breathlessly replied, “Me, too.” We moved on a little farther and then with one more quick kiss, separated and each headed towards our own tent.

I stopped at the rest room and then moved on to our campsite. I could see Diane had the little LED lantern on inside and I guessed she was still awake. I was sure Kevin had left but just in case I called out before opening the flap and netting and moving inside, hopefully before any extra bugs could make it in.

It was still pretty warm out and Diane was lying on top of her sleeping bag, dressed in a night shirt. Well, a nightshirt and a wide grin. “Hi,” I said. “Have a good time?”

“Definitely! Kristen, thanks for giving us the time.”

“That’s all right. I love being out in weather like this. You know I love the fog as well as the sound of the waves.”

“I know, but thanks anyway. I’d be happy to do the same for you some time.”

“I know you would.” I was digging out my own night shirt and in a few more seconds had shed my shorts and tee and slipped into it. Then I asked, “Are we going to be doing something with Kevin and his friend tomorrow?”

“He suggested we could meet for lunch and maybe go on a short hike.” Then she looked a little concerned. “That is, if you want to. Look, Kristen, I know you didn’t plan on anyone but me for this trip. I don’t want to force you into anything.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. If his friend is anything like Kevin, I’m sure I won’t mind. Did he tell you anything about him? I mean he’s not a six foot six motorcycle thug or anything, is he?”

Diane laughed. “I can’t imagine he’d be anything like that but we really didn’t spend a lot of time talking about his friend.”

“From the smile on your face I would guess you didn’t spend a lot of time talking at all. Probably busy doing other things.”

She actually blushed a little. “I guess we didn’t get around to a lot of general conversation.”

I laughed. “Seriously, I’m happy for you, Diane. Now if I can just find someone ...”

She smiled and we finally turned off the lamp and settled down for the night.

It had been fairly late when we had settled down but we were both awake by seven. A quick trip down to the showers and then breakfast. As we were cleaning up I casually asked, “When and where are we supposed to meet?”

“Oh, sorry I didn’t say. Kevin said they would come down here about eleven and then we could either have lunch here or go to one of the picnic areas. Got a preference?”

“Not really.” Then after a second I added, “If you don’t care, one of the picnic areas along the shore might be nice. Be a little more away from people.”

“Yeah, I agree.” We looked over what we had in the way of food and decided there were still enough hotdogs and chips left. There was also still some fresh fruit and vegetables. If the guys didn’t care, that would work.

Once we had everything cleaned up there were still a couple of hours. We got water bottles from the cooler and then just sat at the table talking.

“You definitely look a little more relaxed this morning, Diane.”

“I feel more relaxed.”