Chapter 16: Conversations

A thick fog wrapped the camp overnight and Neil lifted bales of hay from the pallet elevator in awe of the beauty of the mountains cloaked in a shawl of luminescant white. He paused at the upper doorway of the stable and looked across the paddocks before lifting another heavy bale with the bale hooks and dragging it to the huge stack. He barely made sure that his inattentiveness didn't result in a lopsided stack, but he had to move a whole pile after realizing that he'd put it in the wrong area of the floor. One distraction that hadn't arrived yet was Leah. Neil hadn't seen her the day before until the ride and had spent a quiet morning in the loft with only a few passing thoughts as to where she'd decided to spend her mornings rather than torturing him. When he lifted the last bale, however, he turned and saw her sitting on his stack.

Neil stood stupified, shirtless and covered with sweat and hay, staring at her. She was wearing short black cotton shorts and a white halter top with a loose line of floppy trim across the top. Leah sat crosslegged atop a short stack of bales, idly watching him work. Neil carried the last bale past her and set it neatly on the last stack for the week, then turned to talk to her.

When he turned, though, she had moved. She was barely two inches from him, leaning in and grinning.

"hello... Poppet" he said, backing into the stack in surprise.

"Neil." she said simply. Leah sniffed the air and grinned. "You're all sweaty" she said with a laugh and a twist of her nose.

"Yeah, well... uh, hard work and all" Neil couldn't believe the effect she had on him. Her hair was up in some sort of clip and she'd put on a tiny amount of makeup. There were traces of melon or some other fruit Neil couldn't identify around her, either a soap or shampoo. It sood out sharply compared to Neil's sweat and dirt.

She laughed and leaned forward. "I was considering ravishing you today... but you're all sweaty and stinky!"

Neil shrugged and glanced left for an exit.

"Of course, maybe we could both be all sweaty and stinky and sticky..." she teased.

Neil shifted left, but she was ready and countered. Neil could continue down the hay bales, but he'd run into one of the guard rails shortly. The rails stood on either side of long holes in the floor that allowed hay to be dropped into the high racks that stood between each pair of stalls. To Neil's right was the main stack, a huge pile of hay that he'd have to climb to escape. "Poppet... we've discussed us..."

Leah laughed. "You're fun, Neil. Perhaps I'll leave you alone... for a price."

"A price?"

"A kiss. Just one innocent kiss, on the lips, and I'll go down the ladder and you can... finish whatever it is you're doing up here."

"Leah... you know we..."

"The stable guys are all down loading the grain hoppers. One of the conveyors got stuck."

Neil struggled, fighting his inner demons. It was just one kiss, and she'd be on her way. One kiss that he'd been dreaming about since he'd met her. One kiss that could cost him his summer job. He was still debating when Leah leaned in and took her payment.

It was electric, her lips caressed his and pressed inward. He opened his mouth automatically and her tongue was there, dancing with his. Neil reached out, sliding his hand around her shoulder and pulling her towards him Her hands were on his chest, sliding up through the dust and grime and hay, then moving around to his back as she pressed into him. Neil's nose filled with the scent of her hair as he tried to breathe, his mouth occupied with her lips and tongue. He slid his left hand down to her waist, under her arm which was now around his neck, pulling him tightly. Neil had to lean downward because of her height which let him slide his hand down further, over the curve of her buttocks and under, cupping them. Leah moaned softly into his mouth, pushing him back against the sharp edges of the hay bales behind him.

Neil squeezed her buttocks and moved his right hand up to her head, then down her neck and side. He was on autopilot, the warning sirens in his mind were blaring somewhere, but it was soft chime behind the deafening bells of the Cathedral of Lust he'd built for Leah. He moved both hands under he ass and lifted, pulling her up and into his arms. Leah wrapped her legs around him and he stepped sideways, sitting heavily on a bale of hay on the floor. With her in his lap Neil drew his hands up under her shirt, rubbing her bare back and pulling her tight. His penis was squarely in her lap and her shifting was driving Neil crazy. Neil moved a hand back, coming around under her arm, then up to find one of her small breasts.

Leah's reaction was instantaneous, she leaned forward, intensifying her kiss and pulling his head into hers. Neil cupped her breast and ran his thumb across the front of it, brushing over a stiff nipple under her cotton shirt, causing Leah to wriggle in his lap. His other hand still had her ass and he squeezed it firmly. Her movements against his lap were maddening and he had visions of rolling around and dropping her down on the loose hay until she suddenly pulled back. A look of surprise was on her face and she clambered up and off his lap, backing up two steps and panting.

"That... that's..." she gasped. She managed to stand and looked down at her filthy shirt.

Neil sat in shock, his brain awash with lust and fear and confusion.

"Just a kiss... you were supposed to stop... " She said, picking up a bag near the ladder.

Neil stood, trying to explain but Leah was too fast. She pulled a t-shirt from her bag and put it on over her rumpled and dirty halter top. Before Neil could reach her, she was down the ladder and gone. He stood speachless at the top of the ladder, a throbbing erection in his pants and a storm in his mind.

Neil did his stint at breakfast on the quad, but never saw Leah. He rushed to get his gear together afterwards and was waiting in the stable when she arrived for their ride. She was wearing a similar shirt, red this time, and the same shorts. Neil wanted to talk to her, but she gave him an unreadable expression and stayed well within a circle of friends.

There were a few questions about Stephanie, but her close friends weren't talking and Neil finally announced that she'd gotten sick and had to go into town. That raised more questions, though. "I think she's allergic to something." Neil said, finding inspiration from some unknown muse. "Maybe she got stung, something she ate, who knows. But if it happens again she could be much worse, so they want to know what it is. She'll probably be back tomorrow." he announced firmly. This seemed to satisfy the group and Neil even got knowing and thankful glances from Stephanie's friends.

Neil managed to get beside Leah on the trail after the line spread out on the access road. They were heading East today, travelling out to circle a large farm. The owners had once had horses, although they were long gone now, and Mom had some sort of arrangement with them, giving the school permission to ride parts of the woods that adjoined the school's property. Once Neil managed to get next to Leah, though, he was a bit lost for words.

"Leah... I'm... sorry, I wasn't."

"You're supposed to be the strong one, not me." she complained.

Neil was confused. "Strong... what do... ?"

"You're supposed to give in to my advances, then back off."

"What do you mean, 'supposed to'?" Neil demanded. He was starting to feel like she was toying with him.

Leah looked up, a surprised look on her face. "Shit... I didn't mean it like... " She stopped, looking down at her saddle. "Maybe I... maybe I did, I don't know, Neil. I had this planned out, you know? You kiss me, then back off again. It was so exciting last time, knowing I had kind of gotten you to give in... but you were always strong enough to stop. I don't know if I can back down like that again"

Neil was stunned. He was still a little bothered by her idea of what he was "supposed to" do, but her scenario seemd so naieve and innocent that he had to grin. "So, I guess neither of us is strong enough." he said gently.

Leah nodded, not looking up from her saddle.

"I'm sorry Leah. I shouldn't have been so..."

"I shouldn't have cornered you in the loft." She admitted quickly. "It wasn't..."

"No, it wasn't." he said, cutting her off. "So now what?"

"We can't do that again, Neil. I'm sorry I've been teasing you, so sorry... but if I handn't let go when I did... I don't know when I would have stopped you. If... I would have..."

Neil felt another surge in his shorts and resisted it to little avail. He checked the line of horses ahead and sighed. "Poppet... Leah..." Neil's arousal faded, though when he saw fear and anguish on Leah's face. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Neil" she said, nearly in a sob.

"You didn't... what do you mean?"

"I didn't know it was like that for you... it hurt to back down, to run off... And I'm scared if it happens again, I won't... you know?"

"Leah... I" Neil started, but he hesitated.

"I can't, Neil. I'll leave you alone, OK? I'll stop bugging you and you can... do whatever..."

She turned away and Neil was speechless. He didn't get what was happening exactly, but Leah was clearly bothered by his presense so he urged his horse forward and checked the line, moving to the front and riding silently beside Gail.

Neil came to lunch confused and aggitated. Leah had avoided him for the entire ride, even handing her horse to some friends when they returned to the stables and rushing off. Neil considered tracking her down and beating some kind of explanation out of her, but gave up and headed to lunch. They had freetime after lunch, then another short ride that he was no longer looking forward to.

Ruth sat beside him in a very different mood. Where he was sullen and agrivated, she seemed content.

"I talked to Harriet and Dave" she said.

Neil had a litany of sarcastic remarks prepared, but he managed to choke them back and grunted neutrally.

"I guess I'm not... happy that they've kind of hooked up, but we're on for a threesome tonight... so I guess I..." Harriet apparently caught Neil's mood and paused. "You're not upset we didn't invite... I mean, maybe Dave will be..."

Neil shook his head. The last thing he really needed was to get involved in Dave and Harriet's mess. "No, I'm on something completely different, Ruth. Don't worry about it."

Ruth grinned and nodded. "OK, because it should be kind of hot..."

She continued, but Neil had tuned her out. He was really not in the mood to listen to her describe the sex acts she hoped to perform, especially since Ruth seemed intent on listing every possible detail in lurid, graphic prose. She prattled on happily while Neil sulked, trying to reason out what had gone wrong. He'd started the summer with Mae, added Harriet and then Ruth, and had Leah on the side as a fun distraction. Now Mae was gone, although hopefully on better terms than he deserved, Harriet was with Dave and Leah had become a real problem, one that she seemed to finally understand. Ruth was fun, and they seemed to click on a physical level, but she was not going to be his girlfriend and didn't satisfy him on any emotional level. Even with that, she was now apparently so wrapped up in Dave and Harriet that he was now the third wheel, or fourth wheel, although that analogy stopped making sense and Neil chuckled sadly.

"You're not listening to me, are you?" Ruth was asking.

Neil shook his head. "Sorry. You're describing sex that I'm not having. Its interesting and all, but I'm really distracted, ok?"

Ruth shrugged and gave him a hug. "You need a girlfriend." she said.

Neil laughed. "I need fewer girls in my life deciding what's good for me." he said sadly, hugging her back. "Go play with Dave and Harriet. I'm fine"

Whether he was fine or not was debatable, Neil thought to himself. He found himself standing in a blistering hot shower, his mind whirling with thoughts of Leah. He'd included the baby oil in his shower kit for just such an eventuality, but was too mentally tired and distracted to do anything. His limp dick was not cooperating. Although he could manage stirrings in the equipment here and there the emotional baggage always came back. Wherever the monster was, he was tied down with chains thicker than Neil could break. Finally he returned to his room for the first half of the afternoon ready for a long nap.

Seeing Harriet sitting on his bed with a cheerless expression didn't improve his mood much.

"Neil... I wanted to talk to you..." she started.

She might as well have made a "Just be friends" sign and stuck it on a stick. Neil chuckled and set his kit on the dresser. "We can't have sex. You're dating Dave. Ruth is joining you two. You're sorry" he said flatly.

Ruth jerked slightly and hung her head. "I didn't mean to... I swear. It was all just... it all came back. After that first night, and as much as I wanted to not..."

Neil shrugged and sat on the other end of the bed. "Jesus, Harriet. Stop bitching... you're starting to sound like Ruth."

Harriet gave him a cold look, then chuckled. "Shit... is it that bad?"

Neil nodded and punched her playfully in the leg. "Man up, I'll live."

Harriet gave him a short hug and stood. "You still have Ruth, although we have dibs tonight."

"That's OK, I'm not really up for much tonight."

Of course, the monster managed to scratch and claw his way back to center stage once Neil was out on the trail. He'd sent Leah to lead with Rachel, one of the new girls who showed promise. While this saved him from any need or opportunity to ride next to her in the back, it did allow him to watch her bounce in the saddle from behind, something that he found very difficult to avoid doing. Instead he rode in the back with Gail, who gave him an odd look when he slowed beside her.

"You stalking me?" she asked, setting her hand on her hip for effect.

"What?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with me. A girl gets to thinking you're interested" she joked.

Neil actually blushed and Gail laughed. "Sorry, I'm... just"

"Avoiding Jennifer" she said wisely.

"Shit... " Neil said without thinking.

Gail laughed. "Well, my interrogation skills are more impressive than I thought." Neil started to object but she cut him off. "Oh drop it. Jennifer's my friend, you think she doesn't brag about her hot counselor boyfriend?"

"If she does, I'll be an ex-counselor"

"Not like that. She's quiet as a mouse about it around anyone except me and Carrey."

"And then?"

"And then we can't shut her up. I know something happened this morning, she's been... Well, care to fill me in?"

"No" Neil said quickly.

"Mmm. Well, perhaps I'll put my big brain to it and come up with..."

"Gail, look... Leah... Jennifer... has been teasing me for a week now. She pushed me a little this moring and I... pushed back."

Gail gave him a thoughtful look, then laughed. "Good. Serves her right." Neil's shocked look caused her to grin. "Seriously, she's been impossible to live with. She's been bragging about how she's got you all wrapped around her finger and now she's seeing it from the other side."

"... wrapped around her finger?"

"Its a girl thing, don't take it that way." Gail said, placating him. "She's had a big head for too long, I think you've just pricked it."

"She's going to get me fired."

"I think she'll be a little easier to live with, for both of us."

Neil glanced at Gail and smiled, but he got something else out of her smile back. She was holding something back and it didn't seem like it had anything to do with Leah. "How about you, Gail, got a counselor wrapped around your finger?"

Gail shook her head. "No... not me."

"Really? Got one you'd like to?"

"Well... maybe, but I'm smart enough to know the rules about these things."

"Yeah, no going after your friend's boyfriend."

Gail laughed and kicked at him. "I think somebody else's head is a bit too big."

"Me? How can my head be too big? I'm a stud! The herculean pinnacle of male beefcake." Gail's laugh improved Neil's mood dramatically.

Neil moved up, quietly checking his riders. It was relaxing, travelling through the oak and pine trees, smelling the needles. The flies were normally thin in the mountains, the afternoon heat was just enough to draw a sweat without being uncomfortable and the filtered sunlight made for a pleasant show as the horses trod contentedly along the trail.

Neil reached the front just before they passed the large red trail post that marked the end of the school's property. The trail continued past without pause and there was no other marker to indicate that they were now on private property. Neil tried to remember the name of the farm, but it was nearly abandoned and he had no real reason to have noted it. The trails split just past the marker. One followed the property line of the farm and headed back towards a natural lake. The trail was challenging and the lake was surrounded by a bog. Neil had only gone that way once. The other path headed toward a large pasture, circling along the outer edge toward the abandoned stables. Neil took that route, they'd circle the pasture and double back. On a longer ride he might have gone all the way out to the road and returned that way, but it was a long way and they'd be gone until after dinner.

At the stables Neil had them wait in a large paddock while the rest of the team arrived. He announced that they would be returning and set Gail as leader. She headed out along the line of horses and they followed dutifully. There were a few gasps of surprise when the riders spotted the huge barns and glimpsed the massive manor house in the distance. Soon enough, though, they were back on the trail home.

For the ride back, Neil stayed at the back of the line, avoiding Leah and organizing his thoughts. When he looked up, though, Leah was just ahead of him, glancing back. He sent Liz, his current tail rider forward to take the lead from Gail and waited while Leah dropped back to ride next to him.

"Neil, I'm sorry I ran out on you... and I'm sorry I kind of lost it earlier"

Neil tried to shrug indifferently but it came off as petulant and he spoke before she got upset. "Leah... I know you're attracted to me... and I enjoyed you flirting... to a point"

She nodded. "But I went too far."

"You went back one too many times." Neil admitted. "I'm only human, Poppet... and a guy. If you offer me... cake enough times, sooner or later I'm going to take you up on it."

Leah laughed. "So I'm cake?"

"Devil's food"

Leah tried to appear insulted but failed. "I'll be good"

"I doubt it"

"I WILL. I swear. No more teasing."

"Mmm. As much as I enjoy your... offers, I think that would be a very good idea."

"Gail says you have a big head"

"And how would Gail know about how big I am?"

Leah looked shocked and blushed. "You... You're not allowed to tease me either."

"I never agreed to that."

"Fair's fair!"

"Oho! Now we're discussing what's fair? I don't think you've been very fair in the last week."

Leah gave him a dirty look and stuck out her tongue.

"Offering?" It was worth it to see her shocked look. Leah pulled her tongue in and blushed, muttering something about "fair".

Harriet, Dave and Ruth left dinner early with a set of conspiratorial glances that would have fit right into a cheesy spy movie. Neil waved them off and sat with Harry, who was chatting up Cynthia and an older female that Neil vaguely recognized as being part of the facilities group.

"Ah, young Neil. This is Maria, and I think you know Cynthia."

Neil nodded and shook hands with Maria. She was a tan woman with dark hair and bright black eyes. She was older than Neil, but not as old as Harry, possibly in her late thirties. Neil appreciated her charms when she stood, she was well proportioned and well endowed. Her camp shirt strained to hold back her ample breasts. Neil caught some sort of glance between Cynthia and Harry, but missed the connection.

"Ah, Harry has told me about YOU, Neil" Maria said with a note of scandal. She had a hispanic accent, faint but just enough to border on exotic.

"Me? Really..." Neil said, looking over to Harry for clues.

Harry gave him a weak shrug. "You've a reputation, son. You're a womanizer and you killed that Rothcrest lad."

Maria laughed. "Well, aside from the question of homocide, Harry has mentioned that you're quite the camp cassinova."

"Not me, my lover merit badge is in the shop" Neil joked. Cynthia laughed, but Harry and Maria just gave him curious glances. "Besides, what gives you the..."

"Ruth has a big mouth" Cynthia whispered, grinning.

Neil blushed. "Well, I'm honored."

Harry laughed and elbowed him. "Ah modesty."

Maria grinned. "Well. I'm sorry to hear about your lover badge"

Harry laughed and Neil got the impression that there was some sort of inside joke he was missing. Cynthia rolled her eyes and gathered up her plate. "I'll see you all later" she said, standing and chuckling.

Harry stood and watched her leave. "Ah, there goes a Nubian princess."

Neil tried to remember what 'nubian' meant and turned back to see Maria standing. "I'm going to get some tea" she announced.

Harry nodded and sat, wrapping his arm around Neil. "Neil my boy, I think I need to help you along here."

"What?"

"Maria is... shall we say... a wild sort. Prone to episodes of lascivious acts." Neil gave him a blank look and Harry laughed. "Sorry, waxing poetic. You see, Maria and I have been... well, friendly in the past. She's a wonder, but I'm getting on in years and I simply can't keep up. Now, she's been on me to either step up or send in a hero to fight in my stead. Do you follow?"

Neil was putting things together, but the fact that Harry was pimping him out was muddling his thought process. "Are you serious?" he asked in shock.

"Deadly. Listen, I know you're a good lad and Ruth has... well, cemented your reputation among a few of the counselors. I've been trying to work this out, but you've been surrounded by your clique of lady friends and this episode with Derrick and all. Then today, you're here and I believe Maria would be very grateful if you'd, well... justify your reputation."

"Jesus Harry, this is really..."

"Oh please, Neil. You're a grown man, I'm a grown man, she's a fiesty latin lady who takes pity on an old Brit from time to time. You've got youth, stamina and..."