Chapter 20

The next morning, I waited until Dad and Erin headed down to the clubhouse before getting out of bed. Dad was going to fix his famous banana pancakes, but I wanted to talk to Mom first.

“Mom?” I ventured hesitantly when I came out of the bathroom.

“Yes, honey?”

“Um ... can I go hiking this Saturday?”

She raised her eyebrows, clearly wanting more information.

“Gina and I were thinking about going hiking to the quarry on Saturday,” I said in a rush.

Mom arched one eyebrow at me, clearly realizing that we were Up To Something. “Just the two of you.”

I hesitated, then nodded.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Mom said.

My face fell. Every time I’d asked to go before, she’d said yes. Why was she saying no now? I began to get flustered, wondering what she knew. She stepped closer to me and her eyes softened.

“Oh, honey,” she said gently. “There’s something up between you two,” she said archly. “And I think I know exactly what it is that’s ‘up,’” she added, looking pointedly at my flaccid penis.

I blushed furiously.

“And Gina’s parents know something’s going on between you two,” she said. “We even talked about it last night, after the movie.”

Our parents were talking about us? I began to panic again.

“Lucky for you,” Mom said with a gentle laugh, “that Gina’s mom didn’t kiss you last night. Then she’d know something was up for sure.”

My jaw dropped and she chuckled. “How did you know?” I asked, stunned.

She laughed again, smiling at me and shaking her head. “You think I don’t know what it smells like?”

I was always amazed when my mom knew more than I thought she would. I guess I never gave her credit for being a really smart woman. That was a mistake I intended not to repeat. Ever.

“Just tell me one thing,” Mom said. “Tell me you didn’t pressure her. I don’t think you’d do something like that, but I also know a thing or two about young men,” she said, her eyes smiling.

She would, at that, I thought to myself ruefully. I quickly shook my head.

“Good,” she said, her relief obvious. “I knew you wouldn’t, but I wanted to be sure.”

I blushed and lowered my eyes.

“Did she enjoy it?”

My eyes snapped up and I froze, my jaw hanging open again.

In spite of her best efforts, Mom laughed at me – light, magical laughter. Then she saw my face and made an attempt to be serious.

I blushed even deeper, and could feel the heat in my face, neck, and ears. Finally, I closed my mouth.

“I take it she did,” Mom said, still laughing with her eyes.

I nodded helplessly and she smiled again.

“Well,” she said, finally quelling her laughter, “you just keep going down on her, and she’ll be a very, very happy young lady.”

At my stricken expression, Mom burst into laughter again. Why, I moaned to myself, did the most important women in my life have to tease me?

“But seriously,” she said, her eyes bright. “If you two want to go hiking by yourselves on Saturday, I’m sure Gina’s parents’ answer will be no. I wouldn’t let you go by yourselves either.”

“But Mom,” I said, beginning the age-old lament of denied children everywhere, “that’s not fair.”

“No,” she said seriously, “it’s not. And I’m not even the mother of a teenage daughter who is obviously very smitten with a young man.”

I looked at her again, half in shock, half in amazement.

She chuckled again. “Oh yes,” Mom said gently, “she’s head over heels, unless I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a fifteen-year-old girl.”

I blushed again and grinned like an idiot.

“But you still can’t go by yourselves.” She paused, to let that sink in. “You’re a creative young man,” she said with a wink, “you’ll think of something.”

I grinned again and began to furiously analyze what she’d said. How could I be creative enough to get what I, what we, wanted? I started thinking about the possibilities when Mom interrupted me with a laugh.

“Paul, you are incorrigible!”

I blushed, and smirked insouciantly.

“Now,” she said, “let’s go get some of your dad’s pancakes.”

“So that’s the problem,” I said, neatly summing things up for Gina.

We were sitting outside the clubhouse on the patio. I had found that I wasn’t hungry, and grabbed Gina as soon as she entered the clubhouse. Gina was deep in thought when the screen door opened and I looked up to see Kendall step outside.

“Hey y’all,” she said brightly. “I thought I saw you two out here.” Then she saw our faces. “What’s the matter?” she asked, sitting on the cinderblock wall opposite us.

Gina quickly outlined the problem for her, minus a few key details.

“Oh, that’s simple,” Kendall said.

Gina and I both stared at her and she laughed.

“You should see your faces,” she said, suddenly getting serious when she realized we weren’t laughing. “No, seriously, it’s simple. I’ll go with you.”

I wanted to swallow my own tongue. It’s not that I minded Kendall; in fact, I actually liked her. But Gina wanted to spend some time alone with me, and I desperately wanted to be alone with her as well. Having Kendall along as a third wheel would completely upset our plans.

“That’s a great idea!” Gina said suddenly.

I looked at her in shock. Was she mad?!

“Look,” Kendall said to me, explaining things slowly. I cringed, but she continued anyway. “Her parents’ll think that she and I will watch out for each other, and that you two won’t have the privacy to get into ... whatever.”

Whatever, as she put it, was exactly what I wanted to get into! And I couldn’t do that with Kendall tagging along.

“No, silly,” she said, reading my expression like a book, “I just wanna get out of here for a few hours. I can take my book, and my tanning oil, and lie out while you two go do ... whatever ... by yourselves.”

Slowly, like a glacier retreating, I began to see her logic. I swallowed hard and looked at her intently. “You’d do that?”

I looked at Gina. She was smiling at me and biting the inside of her lip. I knew she was probably just as nervous, and excited, as I certainly was.

I looked at Kendall. She looked at each of us and smiled. Then she nodded.

“Let’s go ask your mom,” Gina said, clutching my hand.

I was nearly dragged inside, trailed by a smug and almost-snickering Kendall.

“Mom?” I asked, stepping up to the table. “Dad?”

Gina still held my hand, and Kendall was behind us. We had all put on our best We’re-Not-Really-Up-To-Something faces. This was it. I was certain that my future with Gina rested upon the shoulders of my parents.

“What is it, sweet pea?” Mom asked, looking up at us.

“Gina, Kendall, and I wanted to go hiking this Saturday. To the quarry. Can we go?”

My father almost choked on his milk. He sputtered and coughed, nearly spilling the remainder of his glass. He quickly set it on the table and covered his mouth with his fist. Mom put her hand on his arm, looking concerned. When Dad recovered, he cleared his throat and looked at Mom. She nodded almost imperceptibly and he looked back to us.

“Make sure you get back on time this time,” he said somewhat ominously.

“So we can go?” I asked. My heart felt like it would burst.

He nodded gravely and I got serious.

“I’ll make sure we’re back on time, Dad.”

“Let’s go ask my folks,” Gina said, tugging on my arm. She nearly pulled me off my feet.

“Whoa!”

All three of us turned around and looked at my mom.

“Get some breakfast first,” she said to us. “You can ask your folks after you’ve eaten,” she said to Gina. “Now, why don’t you ladies have a seat while Paul and I fix you some pancakes.”

“Thank you, Beth,” Gina said politely. She and Kendall took a seat at the next table. Gina favored me with a brilliant, heart-wrenching smile, and then began chatting animatedly with Kendall.

I followed Mom to the kitchen counter. My father always made lots of pancakes when he cooked, enough for anyone in the camp to have some. Everyone loved them, and my father enjoyed folks enjoying his cooking. There were four plates stacked high with pancakes, covered in a clean dishtowel to keep them warm.

Mom and I set about fixing three plates of pancakes and sausage links, and then she leaned over to me.

“Paul, I said be creative,” she said quietly, her eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter. “But jeez.”

I think I blushed six shades of red.

Friday night, Gina spent hours in the kitchen with her mother. The two of them made meatloaf—from which they could make meatloaf sandwiches—coleslaw, and fruit salad. Kendall offered to help, and the two of them made sugar cookies. I tried to stay close, but Gina finally shooed me out of the clubhouse.

Driven from the clubhouse, I headed up to our cabin to make sure everything was ready. I’d borrowed an old army pack from Susan—Manfred and his two backpacks were obviously not available—and had packed a pair of blankets and my towel. I could pack the girls’ towels in the morning before we left, and then pack the picnic lunch on top of that. The pack would be heavily loaded, but I was looking forward to the trip more than I was worried about the weight.

I could hardly wait to go to sleep that night. Mom smiled knowingly at me before turning out the light. I only grinned in reply, and then, of course, blushed.

Somehow, I managed to get a good night’s rest. I woke up early and quietly climbed down the ladder. When I emerged from the bathroom, Mom was smiling at me from bed. She quietly extracted herself from my father’s embrace and stood up. Her hair was tousled and her eyes were still sleepy, but she looked pleased nonetheless.

I smiled in return as I picked up my laden pack and quietly opened the cabin door. Mom came out onto the porch with me, pulling the cabin door closed after her.

I slung the pack over one shoulder and turned to her.

“Oh, to be young again,” she said wistfully.

“Mom, I—”

“Shhh,” she said. “I know.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, honey. I’m glad you’re going. I was a bit surprised that you came up with a solution as quickly as you did, and with whom. But I’m happy for you.”

I blushed again. How could she make me do that?!

“Paul?” she asked, her voice low and serious.

I looked at her and she held my eyes.

“Paul, if you two decide to ... um ... well. If you two decide to...” She looked at me helplessly, her expression full of concern and love.

I felt my face flush and my ears grew hot. “We’re not, Mom. Not yet.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“She’s not ready,” I said quietly. “And I’m not going to put pressure on her.”

“Her family’s leaving tomorrow, right?”

I nodded, feeling my heart twist. On one hand, I couldn’t believe that I was having this conversation with my mom. On the other, I was nearly stricken dumb thinking about not seeing Gina for a year.

“It’ll be next summer before you see her again,” Mom said softly. “You’re not going to...”

I shook my head. “She’s not ready. And it’s ... important,” I said quietly.

Mom suddenly had to blink back tears. She hugged me tightly. I wrapped my free arm around her and shifted the pack so I could do the same with the other arm. I had no idea what had gotten her emotional, and I fervently hoped it wasn’t something I’d said.

She stepped back and wiped her eyes, smiling at me. “You’ll be careful?” she asked.

I nodded.

She stood on tiptoes and kissed my cheek.

I turned and headed for the clubhouse, my thoughts awhirl. I’d never had a conversation like that before, and I was stunned. I was thinking about it all the way down the hill, replaying it in my head. Did I just have a conversation with my mom about taking Gina’s virginity? With a shake of my head, I realized I had.

When I got to the clubhouse, I was greeted by Gina’s beaming smile. I banished all thoughts of strange conversations as she ran to me. I hurriedly set the pack on the pool table and caught her in my arms, lifting her easily and swinging her around. She squealed in delight and pressed her lips against mine.

When we broke our kiss and I set her down, I looked up and saw Kendall trying to be inconspicuous. I grinned shyly at her and she blushed.

“You two really are a cute couple,” Kendall said, picking up her rolled towel.

Gina and I both grinned.

I released Gina and picked up my pack. Gina tugged me toward the kitchen area and I eagerly followed. She had our picnic lunch laid out on one of the tables. In addition to that, she had egg sandwiches already prepared for breakfast.

“How long have you been up?” I asked incredulously, looking at the breakfast sandwiches and neatly packed picnic lunch.

Gina smiled shyly. “About an hour and a half,” she said softly.

“Wow,” I said, whistling quietly at all she had done. “Thanks.”

She grinned at me and I knew I was the luckiest guy in the world.

The egg sandwiches were still warm, so we ate them first, hastily washing them down with orange juice. Then, we set about packing our towels and the picnic lunch in the old army pack. It was a tight fit, but I finally closed the flap over everything and cinched the pack shut.

I hefted it with a groan and heard the Cokes settle into place with a clink. The pack was easily twice as heavy as the one I’d carried when the four of us had last hiked to the quarry. Since it was only me carrying everything, however, it would have to do. I settled the pack on my shoulders and we walked through the screen door onto the dew-covered lawn, heading down the hill toward the lake.

Kendall actually wore good quality hiking boots, and kept up with the pace I set. Since I was carrying so much, and not used to it, I set a little slower pace than usual. Gina was a little anxious, but she realized that I was the one carrying all our stuff, so she was quiet about it. With the slower pace, she and Kendall chatted amiably about the quarry and its environs.

We reached the tumbled-down rim wall a little more than two hours after setting out. I had worn my watch—despite the fact that I was so unused to wearing it that it chafed—and saw that it was only a little after nine o’clock. As long as we were back at the camp by six o’clock, we were fine. I decided that we’d better leave by half past three, just to be sure.

As Gina and I unpacked the army pack, Kendall simply marveled at the surroundings. I once again dunked the Cokes in the cold water in the lee of the flattop rock while Gina put our lunch in the shade. Kendall turned and helped pull blankets and towels out of the pack, then sat down to unlace her boots. Gina and I quickly joined her.

Kendall stood and stretched when she had her shoes and socks off. I covertly watched her, making sure that Gina didn’t notice. For such a big girl, Kendall was actually very slender. Her height and large breasts always made me think she was bigger, but her legs were long and lean, and her stomach was as flat as Stacy’s. With a graceful arch, she dived into the water and Gina turned to grin at me.

“She has such a beautiful body,” Gina said, keeping her voice low.

“Not as beautiful as you,” I said, playfully reaching for her.

She giggled and smacked my hand away. “I wish I were that tall,” she said wistfully.

“I don’t!”

She looked at me and blinked.

“If you were that tall,” I continued, nodding at the older girl, floating on her back in the lake, “then I don’t think we’d ... fit.”

“You mean you like me because I’m short?” she asked, biting her inner lip.

“No,” I said, desperately trying not to sound exasperated. “I like you because you’re smart, beautiful, and sexy.”

She grinned shyly and looked down.

“And short,” I added.

Her eyes flew open and she gaped at me. I couldn’t help but laugh at her expression. She realized I was teasing her, mostly, and laughed as well.

I quickly stood up and extended my hand to help her up. She reluctantly took it and stood gracefully. I pulled her close and put my arms around her. She resisted for a moment, then realized that I wasn’t going to let her go.

I put my lips next to her ear. She stopped squirming when I kissed her tenderly.

“Let’s go for a quick swim, to cool off and be polite,” I said quietly.

She nodded hesitantly.

“Then, we can walk up to the top of the falls. We can spread our blanket out...” Her resistance was weakening. “And I can take my time,” I said, running my hand down her spine, since I no longer needed to hold her against me. “I can explore a few of the many,” I murmured, kissing her neck, then down the line of her shoulder, “many things that I like about you.”

Her breathing had quickened and she shuddered in my embrace, all resistance vanished.

“Would you like that?”

She whimpered and nodded, melting against me.

“Now,” I said softly, kissing her neck. “Are you ready to take a quick dip before we go?”

She nodded hesitantly and I slowly released her. She smiled shyly up at me and I almost relented. Much as I wanted to, however, I knew we’d hurt Kendall’s feelings if we simply took off and headed for the top of the falls.

So Gina and I walked, hand in hand, to the edge of the boulder. I watched her beautiful body arc into the water, raising a slight splash, and followed her.

Kendall lifted her head out of the water as she heard us dive in, and we quickly swam out to her.

We generally goofed off for a few minutes, simply enjoying the cool of the lake after the heat and sweat of the hike. Gina’s eyes were smoldering every time she looked at me, however, and I could tell she was very anxious to head up to the falls. Kendall could tell too, and smiled at us.

“You two have somewhere to go?” she asked. “Somewhere private, I mean?”

Gina blushed furiously, her complexion darkening further with her embarrassment. I only grinned, and nodded sheepishly.

“Go on then,” Kendall said. “I’ll be fine here. I might eat your lunch if you’re not back by then, but I’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure?” Gina asked.

Kendall nodded and Gina wasted no time. She tugged my arm and began swimming toward the flattop rock. With a helpless grin at Kendall, who only shrugged and grinned in turn, I quickly swam after Gina.

Gina practically raced me to the top of the falls. I took my time, enjoying her building desire. I began to see the appeal of teasing someone, to prolong the anticipation and the eventual enjoyment. Susan’s antics suddenly made much more sense to me as I walked nonchalantly into the clearing by the pool at the top of the falls.

Gina already had the blanket laid out and was kneeling in the center of it, her feet tucked under her body. She was biting the inside of her lip, and when I saw her, I couldn’t help but grin.

She looked at me, eyes going wide, and I could see her start to panic. With a flip of my chin, I motioned for her to stand up. She was breathing quicker, but not because of her desire, and I moved toward her, smiling reassuringly.

I set the pack down and wrapped my arms around her; she looked up at me, blinking back tears. I nearly melted when her large, dark eyes filled with moisture. I held her close and brushed her hair with my hand. She sobbed against me and I merely held her, feeling her hot tears washing down my chest.

When she calmed down a little, I pulled back and lifted her chin. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her face was streaked with tears. She sniffled pathetically and pouted.

“What’s the matter?” I asked gently.

She drew a ragged breath and began to tear up again. “I wanted it to be perfect,” she sobbed. “And now I’ve ruined everything.”

“What makes you think that?”

She sobbed again and blinked at me, fresh tears running down her cheeks. “I wanted to make you happy, and now I’m all weepy, and you don’t want to have anything to do with me,” she said through her tears.

“What makes you think I don’t want to have anything to do with you?” I asked, genuinely incredulous.

“Because you’re not hard,” she sobbed.

I was stunned. And then I laughed.

She looked up at me, confusion and hurt marring her beautiful face.

My heart wrenched and I smiled at her. I decided that I’d better explain, right away.

“Gina, I couldn’t be happier. I’m here with the girl I love, we’ve got all day in a beautiful spot. I’m hoping to show her ... to show you ... just how much I love you.”

“You are,” she said in a small voice.

I nodded quickly, reassuringly. “I want to have everything to do with you. I don’t want to ever let you go,” I said, looking into her tear-filled eyes.

“Really?”

I nodded. “And I’m not hard because I’m worried about you more than anything else.”

“You are?” Sniffle.

“Mmm hmm. We don’t have to rush anything. I’m the luckiest guy in the world just to be with you,” I said earnestly.

“You really think so?”

I nodded firmly. “I do.”

“I love you so much,” she said softly, and pressed her face against my chest. It was still wet from her tears, but so was her cheek, and she didn’t seem to mind.

I held her close, stroking her hair.

Suddenly, she laughed; a short, rueful laugh.

“Hmm?” I asked.

She pulled back and looked at me. Her eyes were mostly dry, but still red, and she sniffled. “I wanted to suck you too. I promised you. And now I’ve gone and ruined that too.” She sniffled again and looked miserable.

I chuckled and she looked up at me, her eyes threatening to tear up again. I quickly explained. “You haven’t ruined anything,” I said. “Besides,” I hastily added, “you can’t be stuffed up all day.”

At that, she grinned; then sniffled. She smiled shyly at me and I kissed her softly.

“I love you,” I said, holding her close once again.

She clutched me tightly and took a shuddering breath.

“Because you’re short.”