The rays of morning sunlight finally penetrated the fabric walls of the tent and Bryce stirred on the mat, covering his eyes with an arm. A few more minutes he thought, just a few more minutes of sleep would have been a nice reprieve from sore muscles. Finally he relented to the inevitable and folded up the lightweight sleeping bag that had served as a blanket. Into its compression sack the bag went and he turned his attention towards the foam mat, deflated it and stuffed that away. Not wasting time was the name of the game and he liked to have sleeping materials packed away as well as his clothes back on before exiting the tent.

A small multi-fuel stove was lit and a fresh pot of water placed upon it, when the temperature was right a bit of instant coffee was poured inside and the mixture stirred. It was one of the few luxuries he allowed himself on the trail, many other hikers went without coffee but he enjoyed the morning ritual though the flavor could use major improvement. As he drank the coffee, Bryce kept himself busy with dismantling the tent and stowing it away then taking the shirt and pants off the small line strung between two trees, shaking them out and putting them on. He'd need to stop off at a stream later today and take a bandanna bath, those he usually reserved for areas where few cared to go, or at least the short distance hikers never went.

That really wasn't a bad idea, he knew of a spot not much more than half a day's trek away and it wouldn't take him terribly far out of his way. A little grin crossed his lips as he thought of the cold spring-fed stream that spilled over the rocks and had formed a small pool just perfect for soaking in. Sure the weather wasn't like summer would be but it was close enough in temps to make the water tolerable. His plan for the day decided the rest of the coffee was swallowed down, the cup rinsed out, and camp was finished with being packed up. He picked up the trekking poles and hit the trail, whistling lightly to himself, setting a quick pace to try and beat the rising temperatures.

Bryce had grown up hiking, his parents were such avid hikers that they had named him after their favorite national park, Bryce Canyon National Park. In a lot of ways he felt much more comfortable on the trails than he did around most people, a good and bad thing as far as he was concerned. The ability to just up and disappear was always nice but there were times when he got a little lonely, unfortunately most people just weren't as interested either that or they tended to be a bit elitist in his opinion. The last time he had a somewhat serious relationship had been with a writer from Backpacker magazine when she spent some time with him for an article on generations of outdoor enthusiasts. That had been fun for a while but she constantly had this need for the latest gear and seemed rather uppity when folks showed up with what she thought of as subpar equipment. That wasn't the way his parents had raised him and so the relationship had come to an end, about the only thing he really missed was her ability to suck a golf ball through a kinky hose.

Such is life and thankfully there was this nifty invention called an iPod Touch that he preloaded some of his favorite porn onto and charged with a roll up solar mat. The added weight was well worth it in his opinion, particularly lonely nights deep in the wilderness. He let his mind wander towards the summer hiring season, the parks service would be looking for the usual seasonal workers soon and he was debating where to put in an application this year. It wasn't much money but he usually got to draw one of the deep woods slots and being paid for doing what he did in his free time was a bonus. Perhaps this year he'd go for Rocky Mountain National Park, it had been a while since he spent some time out that way and since summer was promising to be hot the cooler nights would be very welcome.

As the sun rose higher into the sky the warmth was a welcome change from the slight chill of morning mist. The rays slowly burned away at the hanging moisture revealing the forest and the mountains that surrounded it. The scratched and slightly battered walking sticks were extended and Bryce wrapped his fingers around the duct taped handles and started down the path towards Whispering Falls.

About halfway through the morning he began to roll his shoulders, dealing with the pack digging in despite the well tightened hip belt. A pause in the hike was called for just to take out a small notebook and make a few notes about how long he'd been hiking, the approximate weight, the terrain covered, and that the pack was already starting to dig in. This wasn't looking like the pack would be getting a great review back to the manufacturer and it wasn't looking like he'd be enjoying the rest of this hike but considering that it paid the bills he was going to have to deal with it. Still you'd think that manufacturers would have figured out making the support system a primary thought. He sighed and adjusted it as best he could, mind already wandering to the thoughts of cool mountain water sapping away the strain of the pack.

It was taking him much longer to reach his goal than at first anticipated and so lunch had been postponed in order to have time to enjoy the falls. Winter hadn't been kind to the area this year and there had been a number of obstacles in his way. At each he'd stopped, taken co-ordinates and written down the location and the problem in a small notebook to let the park rangers know later. It was a trivial thing, usually a crew would be coming up by May time to clear the paths in preparation for the coming summer hikers but he liked to do it and it gave him something to keep his mind occupied. Some days he enjoyed being alone, today wasn't one of those days and so everything that kept him busy helped. Sadly though, these sort of days seemed to be coming more and more often, such was the life of a long distance hiker.

"Old man," he chuckled to himself, Bryce had taken up calling himself that last year when he turned thirty. Well, it wasn't like he didn't occasionally feel a bit of soreness in the mornings and his joints weren't quite as good as they used to be due to so many miles of pounding hard trails. His parents just shook their heads when they heard him say that. A brief smile, they were making their way through Germany right now with the idea of ending in Poland. It seemed they never stopped exploring, Bryce hoped he had half their energy when he was in his fifties, and with any luck in a relationship as lasting as theirs. Yeah, now he was getting old thinking like that. Another chuckle to himself and shake of his head, the miles fading into the distance.

It was mid-afternoon by the time he finally reached Whispering Falls and quietly he chided himself for the slow pace before allowing the pack to be shrugged off his shoulders and eyes to drink in the sight. It was a small location, a couple of streams fed into the main branch not too far up, he'd actually hiked to the sources previously. The stream came to a rock outcrop and dropped down a few feet into a small pool about the length of a pickup truck before coming back into a stream and making its way down the mountain. There wasn't much sound produced due to the low drop and thus the name Whispering Falls. It was just large enough to be worth the trip out here but small enough that it was generally missed by thru hikers and most section hikers that didn't want to give up the extra day and a half worth of hiking. Not that he blamed them, finishing the AT was often a life’s goal for many of the thru-hikers with tight schedules fitting around college or careers.

After stretching his muscles back out, Bryce settled into setting up camp. First thing up was a four season two person tent from Mountain Hardware, a bit weighty but mountain weather was notoriously unpredictable and there was the old joke that a two person tent was really for one person and a fanny pack. He loved the new poles though, they made the setting up of the tent ever so much easier. Once the last guy line was tied down, he settled his pack into place, ran a string between a couple of trees to use as a clothesline, and figured he was more or less done as everything else would come out and go back as needed. He pulled off his t-shirt and threw it over the line, the pack had hugged a little much for his comfort and the back was drenched with sweat.

A couple of pats to his tummy as it reminded him he'd skipped lunch to make it here on time, noting he still had to get rid of some of the winter flab. A granola bar was going to have to make due for now, the water was calling his name. Bryce unzipped the sides of his pants and pulled them off, throwing those over the clothesline as well. He didn't anticipate anyone making their way out here this time of year and in the middle of the week, besides his boxer briefs were almost as good as a pair of shorts and they could use the rinse. The only thing left one were his boots, Bryce wasn't a huge fan of walking barefoot where people might leave garbage. If there was one thing he really loathed it was folks who carelessly littered, he tried to leave as little of a footprint as possible. Granted it was fairly impossible to leave no footprint, he tried to keep the impact minimal, just something he felt was right.

Once at the pool Bryce paused to untie his boots and slip them off, looked into the water to make sure he couldn't see anything problematic on the rocks and stepped his first toe in. Lips twisted to a little grin as he felt the warmth envelope his toes. A secret kept closely guarded by most who came to visit the falls was that there was a little bit of warm water that leaked in from a vent below the pool and diffused through the rocks. The water in the pool was usually only a bit above that of a warm bath but considering the chill in the air it was a welcome feeling. Hands were placed on the edge of the pool and slowly he lowered his body into the water, sighing as sore muscles felt the heat. He had let himself go a bit too much this past winter and it was telling, normally he'd not be so sore. Too many damned cookies he supposed, curse you Toll House.

Bryce ducked his head under the water for a moment, when he came back up he grabbed a small bottle of camp soap and proceeded to begin to wash up his hair. Almost time for the Spring fade cut he noted, winter time he allowed his hair to grow out but come warmer weather it was usually trimmed short. He made sure to soap and rinse out the couple of days of stubble on his face, then settled into a little indent in the rocks to lean back and close his eyes. This was worth the entire trip and in short order he drifted off into sleep.

The cracking of a couple small branches brought Bryce out of his peaceful nap. He didn't open his eyes at first, letting his ears figure out where the noise was coming from and if he could get an idea of whatever it was. The rhythmic stepping told him that what was approaching was a human, coming along the path he'd come in on. Just to take a little precaution he slipped lower into the water and rinsed his eyes off. Over the edge of the pool he peered at the person approaching, while it was uncommon for something to happen so deep in the woods it was better to be ready for anything. Every now and then a hiker had to deal with others who took advantage of the fact few hikers had more than a pocketknife. Bryce actually had a small can of pepper spray with him, partially to help try to ward off bears, but it was foolishly still in his pack. Damned rookie mistakes indeed.

A little breath of relief when he watched as the figure approached in a fairly normal fashion, not at all like they were trying to sneak up on someone. By now he presumed they would have seen the blaze orange material of his tent and figured out that they weren't alone. As such he allowed himself to slip a little back out of the water and resume his place upon the rock, waiting for the person to come into a clearer view. Their footsteps were fairly light so he was figuring a woman or a slimly built guy.

Julie had noticed the fabric, well who couldn't notice it considering the color and sighed a little to herself, oh well looks like the time where she had the pool just about all to herself was coming to an end. Thankfully she'd packed something to change into for the water, normally in the winter she skinny dipped since no one ever came out this way in the snow. All good things came to an end she supposed and the weather had been on a bit of a warm streak as of late. Still though, she could have used one more quite afternoon alone in the pool. Julie just hoped that whoever had gotten here ahead of her was at least mature enough to not gawk at her or make some sort of half assed pass in hopes of getting a little deep woods action. That happened more than she liked and some of them tended to be quite persistent about it.

Into the clearing she stepped, making her way towards the pond while looking around to see if she could spot the other person. Eyes laid upon the figure in the pool a few seconds before he called out a greeting to her. A moment was spent analyzing him and the situation, judging by the equipment she could see he was probably fairly serious about hiking and from his appearance didn't seem to be a well off college kid who spent too much time at REI with their mom’s credit card. The pack she didn’t recognize and considering how new it looked she would have expected it in the last Backpackers Gear Guide. Either way, there was some wear and tear on the rest of the equipment, like it had seen it’s fair share of mileage. Well, that was at least a relief she figured, and walked over towards the pool to drop her own fairly worn pack down. "Well I guess the secrets out about this place," she offered.

He just laughed at her comment, "Oh I've known about this place for a while, just don't get enough time to visit it often. Don't worry though, the secret is safe with me, I don't tell anyone about this place." He took note that she seemed to be in her mid-20's, maybe a little older, it was hard to tell as she seemed in pretty good shape. Her equipment looked like it had seen quite a bit of mileage but was still in rather good condition. She at least didn't appear to be new to this and by the tone seemed at least to have been here before so he guessed she'd been around the block a few times.

"Good, I'd hate to see it get crowded. Do you mind if I use your tent to get changed?" She was taking a bit of a chance asking, but for the most part hikers were fairly generous folks as far as she'd experienced and figured it wasn't much to ask. That and she'd jogged about halfway up the trail and really wanted to rinse off the sweat as soon as she could. When he told her he didn't mind, Julie offered a smile, picked up her pack and happily made her way towards the tent, being sure to take off the trail shoes before entering in it.

Bryce was a tiny bit surprised at the forwardness of her question, but had been ok it with, his pack and supplies were outside in his view and so there really wasn't much to be concerned over her using the tent. He let his eyes linger over the slick material of her pants pressing against her rear for a few moments when she turned to the tent. The view caused a bit of stirring down below and brought to mind the fact that he was sitting there in a pair of underwear and that while they looked like shorts they were still underwear and thus clung a bit to the frame. It really wouldn't do to be sporting a hard-on now and so he dunked himself back under the water in hopes the swelling would eventually go back down. When he came back to the surface and wiped the water from his eyes, Bryce found his efforts had been in vain. “Horny bastard,” he muttered to himself.

She made it a point to change quickly in the tent, not wanting to abuse the kindness. Out of her trail pants and shirt she went, opting to leave on the purple sports bra, panties went off and were replaced with a pair of shorts. Julie made sure to tie down the waist tie then closed up her pack and exited the tent. Over the clothesline went her pants and t-shirt, careful to use a spot not occupied by his clothing. She dropped her pack not too far from his, figuring they could both keep an eye on each other's belongings. She couldn't help but smile a little to herself, she'd caught a glimpse of the look on his face when he opened his eyes but he'd quickly hid it. There was something nice about that, obviously he liked how she looked but was polite enough to not stare or otherwise make her feel uncomfortable. She guessed him to be about her age, maybe a little older, it was hard to tell without seeing much of his body or with the little bit of conversation.

It took him a couple of seconds to regain his composure and rearrange his face to not feel like a young man seeing a pretty woman for the first time. Pretty though, wasn't the word for it, she was like a damned vision to him. He figured she couldn't be much taller than five feet, maybe less, with a light brown or dirty blonde hair, he wasn't sure due to the sweat darkening most of her hair. What really got his heart going was her body, toned didn't do her justice, ripped was probably a better word. It was very obvious she worked out and he could see the faint outline of a six-pack upon her stomach. Muscles were there, but not so large that she didn't appear feminine, and he marveled as they moved beneath her skin. What could he say, there was a fair bit of attraction to a woman who was dedicated enough to her body and her sports to look the way she did. In a tiny way it shamed him for the bit of flab on his body, but in a major way it had him in instant lust. As soon as he managed to shut his jaw, Bryce turned away and resettled himself into the niche, "I'm Bryce."

She crouched down and slowly began to slip into the water, taking her time to ease in. Once she finally was standing on a ledge, pale blue eyes turned towards him. He wasn't too shabby looking himself, she thought, maybe lose a couple of pounds but she did like the scruff and slightly long hair, just enough to grab. "Julie, but people tend to call me Valkyrie's Kiss." She reached back and undid the tie holding up her ponytail, fingers helping to shake loose the strands. Her head ducked under the water and she rinsed the water through her hair, trying to wash away the salt. While under the water she opened her eyes, just a habit of hers to look around and make sure that the pools were kept clean of human trash. As she looked around her eyes glanced past Bryce, noting the same underwear she'd seen displayed at a few outdoors stores and getting a little smile as she saw the outline of a very hard cock pressing against them. While she wasn't looking for any it was still nice to see that she'd had that effect on him, most guys didn't like girls with muscles, at least to the point where they had definition. When Julie finally resurfaced and wiped some of the water away from her head, she found a spot to settle into, leaning back to enjoy the water.

After Julie got settled in, Bryce finally decided to ask the question that had bugged him. "So, does the name Valkyrie's Kiss come from the trail?" He'd heard the name before and since it was a bit on the more unique side he was rather curious if she was the same person.

She quirked a brow, "Well yes, it does. I did the Appalachian Trail twice, once the summer before I went to college and the summer after I graduated. Perhaps you've been on a portion of it before?"

He had to hold back a laugh, "Aye, I've done it both ways. Always a nice way to clear my mind. I think we crossed paths once at a shelter in New Jersey..." Bryce paused as he watched her eyes begin to go wide.

"Y...yo...you're Bryce Calladon!" she blurted out, eyes wide as she recognized the face she'd seen in a couple of outdoors magazines but more remembered from being part of the Mountain Hardware athletic team. Her cheeks flushed a light red as she realized who she was sitting near and just sat in a bit of awe, a little embarrassed at such a fan reaction but still just surprised that he was here.

A sigh and a soft laugh escaped his lips, "Damn, of all the places to be recognized. Yeah...I'm him. An ex liked having someone to model the gear and yeah, guess a few folks now recognize me." He wasn't quite sure how to react, very few really ever recognized him especially since it seemed magazine photographers were quite liberal with the airbrushing these days. He swore that in one photo his biceps had grown twice their size, Bryce could only wish they'd get that big. Primarily competing in foot races and hiking competitions, his frame was generally more towards lean instead of bulky and that was rather advantageous in not having to consume as many calories so he didn't know why they insisted on airbrushing the larger muscles. In the end he chalked it up to ads folks just trying to sell more equipment and a part of society which helped make it easier to excuse himself to detach for long periods.

After getting over the initial shock, Julie settled a bit more into the water, well at least she knew who this was and his reputation preceded him. Generally thought of as a nice guy in most circles if a bit on the environmental side not that it was far from her own viewpoints. She'd gone to protests before and usually tried to make a couple of trail cleanups a year to help out with all the garbage people tended to leave behind. It always astounded her that people could talk about loving the outdoors for being so pristine and then litter the heck out of the same areas they said they loved. "Well I guess since you're obviously not a newbie you could answer this question. What the hell is with that pack you have? I've never seen it before."

Of all the questions she could ask that one really caught him off guard, he looked at her stunned for a few moments and smiled. "That? It's probably not likely to ever make it to production, at least if I have something to say about it. It's a prototype that well, doesn't exactly make the grade if you know what I mean. Part of the gig, get to be sent off to some cool locations also means having to deal with testing out gear whether it's really ready or not. That particular model has issues with the suspension so I don't foresee it going much further." It was about then he noticed her eyes, a deep emerald green. They were watching him as he talked, yet he didn't feel like it was fan worship but more like respect. He especially appreciated how she was keeping the conversation off of him.

They chatted until a chill ran down his spine and he noticed that the sun was setting, a light breeze having caused the chill. He motioned his chin towards the sun and turned to climb out, shedding off as much of the water as was possible. The temperature was dropping pretty quickly as the sun made its slow descent past the mountains. At least, he figured, he didn't have to worry about something showing off too much, it was a little too chilly for that. Her on the other hand, he could see the outline of her nipples quite plainly through her sports bra. When they got over to the tent he offered to let her get changed first.

Julie shook her head, "We're both adults, I'm sure you've seen a nude woman before. It would be better if we just got changed at the same time, don't need you coming down with something just to be chivalrous." With that she peeled the sports bra off, exposing a pair of the most pert breasts he'd ever seen before. They were on the smaller side but her well-toned chest muscles made them stand firm and tall.

He sighed at the sight, and it seemed that she made it a point to show them off for him before ducking into the tent with her pack. He just hoped it didn’t have anything to do with the magazine work, there had been one or two ladies who’d thought they would get famous through him. A shrug, when in Rome he figured and shucked his boxer briefs to put them on the tent and ducked inside. The fit was, well a bit tight considering the size of the tent and the first thing to greet him was a view of her rear. There was no helping it, by now he was fully erect but Bryce tried to ignore it and moved to the side in order to get dressed. The sound of a giggle caused him to look over at her.

She couldn't help but giggle a little at his embarrassment, Julie didn't mean to but it just came out.  It was one of those situations where life just seemed odd and yet perfect at the same time. Her eyes took their time to admire his shaft, he was rather well endowed but it was the shade that the blood turned the skin that caught her eyes, "Well I must say, that is the prettiest cock I've seen in quite some time." With that she turned back to pulling out the rest of a set of clothes and slipping into them.

Tease...he thought but fairly enjoyed, it had been a long time since he'd been this turned on and it was a nice change of pace. Of course, fitting that member back into a pair of underwear wasn't much fun but it was worth having seen the hungry look on her face. There was just something about her though, the way they talked, about how it just felt personal between the two of them. It all really had a nice allure to it. He finished putting on a shirt and stepped out of the tent, glancing around for her and finding that she was in the midst of pulling out a tent. "Hey ummm, you know it's already getting dark. As you pointed out we're both adults, why don't you just sleep in my tent tonight? We can worry about your tent in the morning."

Julie paused to think about this, there was a small thought in the back of her head about how it might be crossing a line to actually sleep in the same tent. Then of course there was the thought that tents really weren't much of a barrier anyways and since the night was already promising to be rather chilly sharing a tent would combine their body heat within that tent, especially considering the size. Of course, she realized she would have to fight temptation but the offer made perfect logical sense. Oh, but spending time with him was really quite enjoyable and maybe she'd get to see that pretty cock of his again. Perhaps even cop a feel of it the next time. Ah but she was enjoying that game of teasing back and forth, he'd gotten her rather damp and she wondered if he'd caught a whiff of her scent yet. Either way her mind seemed already made up, "Sure, that does make the best sense, but only if I cook dinner!" A laugh, she was willing to bet they had the same thing and all that it would require was boiling water.

Sure enough, when he went to his pack he pulled out a dehydrated meal. She grinned at that and found her Kelly Kettle, a few small branches, and set about to boil some water. Her face beamed when she saw the approval at the Kelly Kettle. She set about lighting a fire in the bottom chamber and fed it a few small twigs. She loved that it relied on so little fuel to get a good boil going and that she didn't have to lug around any sort of fuel canister with it. By the look on Bryce's face, she was guessing he was of the same mindset even though she’d noted he was lugging a dual fuel stove. When the water came to a boil she filled both bags, hers was some chicken dish and his a stew of some sort. She laughed a little before proclaiming, "Dinner's ready! Now eat up cause you know I worked hard on this!"

He grinned, it was such a bad joke that it was hilarious. Actually he found the grin was pretty permanent around her, she was just so full of life. The problem with dehydrated food is it tended to get a bit on the bland side, so he pulled out a bottle of hot sauce and liberally doused his food with it then offered the bottle over to her. Over dinner they chatted about trails and parks they’d been to, her being less traveled and asking dozens of questions about the various international parks he’d been to. As dinner wrapped up out came mugs and a couple of packets of hot cocoa she had packed away. Graciously he accepted the offered beverage and settled up against a rock to look over the night sky.

Again they got caught up in conversation and it would be past midnight before one of them realized the time. Julie glanced at her watched, blinked, and muttered "Well that would explain why I feel so worn out. I think it's well past my bedtime." She put a hand behind her back and slowly pushed upwards, waiting for him to do the same. To the tent they went, laying out their respective sleeping bags and chuckling as both muttered about whoever made up the idea of it being a two person tent. She decided to forgo stripping any clothes off due to the temps and snuggled herself down into the sleeping bag. Just as she was getting ready to drift off, she felt his lips press against hers and him whisper a good night to her. Eyes flew open, just to see if he was that close and when she realized she hadn't dreamed it a smile crossed her lips and she leaned up to return the kiss. "Goodnight, sweet dreams.." Eyes drifted closed and off to sleep she faded.

As the sunlight woke her up, it took Julie a moment to remember where she was at and what all had gone on the previous night. She looked over and smiled as her eyes laid upon Bryce still passed out in his sleeping bag. Her hand drifted down, undid the top button of her pants and slipped within to find herself still damp. It didn't take much to turn the dampness into a soaping wetness as her fingers began to play upon her swollen clit. Her mind was focused on seeing his cock standing erect before her and the willpower he'd displayed in being able to just put it away without expectations. Next time, she promised herself, the next time he would get to sheathe that member within her as he deserved, not back into a fabric prison. Teeth bit down hard into her lower lip as her body shuddered with an orgasm. Fingers were withdrawn from her pants, she would only chance one orgasm for now. Besides, the poor boy probably had a massive case of blue balls thanks to her.

Out the tent she slid, strolling over to the pool to dip her hands in and wash off the bit of girly cum that was stuck to her fingers. The time alone was nice, it gave her the chance to really think about what was happening. Julie had never been one to believe in love at first sight or whirlwind romances and yet, she'd also never met anyone like Bryce. She loved the way he treated her as an equal even though when it came to many of the subjects they discussed he had to be the one with superior knowledge. He was a generally happy fellow and she just liked being around him. But the question was, if it was just lust or if she really did care for him more than that. The answer seemed rather elusive and yet not, it was just feeling more like she had to take the time to accept things as they were going not as she was used to them being.

Once her hands were washed, she set about boiling more water and pulled out a packet of instant coffee to brew herself a cup. With a little giggle shortly afterwards she heard rustling in the tent and hummed to herself the Folgers theme song.

Shortly afterwards his head popped out of the tent, "Is that coffee by any chance?" Oh good, she was a fellow coffee drinker! At least he wouldn't be the only one to indulge in that luxury. Out of the tent he scrambled under the pretense of not letting the water get any colder before he could mix himself up a cup of joe. Taking a seat beside Julie he caught a faint smell of something but couldn't quite place it. Either way he was more focused on just enjoying the morning and being able to share it with this lovely lady.

Originally he'd intended to only stay into the morning and then move on to the next location but upon finding out that Julie was staying the weekend here well, that was just a temptation too great to resist and so his plans changed to stay as well. At first she had debated putting up her tent, but after a little discussion they decided she might as well leave it packed away, the first night had gone well enough. He focused on setting out their clothes from the day before to dry in the sun while she got breakfast going and they debated what to do for the day. Spending time in the water was a given, but both agreed to do a little exploring of the area while they had the chance.

Exploring, she found out, turned more into a jog along the trails with him. A little gleefully, she found out how out of shape he'd allowed himself to get over the winter and set the pace for their run, making sure to be in front of him whenever possible. As they reached the camp, she turned and jogged backwards just to tease him that she was in better shape. Once back at camp, they set to stretching back out and cooling off their bodies. Julie was taking full of advantage of the situation to display her assets, grinning every time she got a good look at his face. She had figured him to be like so many of the others she’d met along the way, more arrogant and a bit full of themselves from their mini-celebrity. Instead, she was able to tease and torment him like she would a college student, and there was a certain enjoyable factor to that.

Oh what a tease, what a tease she had been the entire run. His lack of conditioning from winter had shown and not only that but he'd had to run most of that trail with a raging hard on from following and watching her ass. Julie had seemed to bounce and float over the ground, tauntingly hanging just ahead of him. Politely he took it though, partially because he was still trying to catch his breath when she began to strip off her sweaty clothes and grab the sports bra and shorts she'd worn in the stream the previous day. Once he felt most of his breath returned, off came his shirt and the rest of his clothes to be thrown with hers over the line. Into the tent he crawled, only looking up when he was all the way in.

She smiled at the look of shock on his face when he realized she was laid out in the middle of the tent floor, legs spread wide with nothing but a smile on her face. Her pussy was drenched and she could see the effect the run had on him, the head swollen almost lavender in color from blood flow. Her fingers came up to cup his chin and she guided him forwards till he was positioned over her. Head lifted up to allow her lips to embrace his while her free hand wrapped its fingers around his shaft, guiding the head to rub against her pussy lips. A soft whisper escaped her lips as she broke the kiss, "Take me, here and now. I want to feel you deep in me while you work out all the frustrations I built up in you during the run."

He didn't need another invite and thrust his hips forwards, feeling her slick walls begin to envelope his shaft. It was like a wave of relief just to feel her wrapped around him and as he pushed his cock within her, he paused just to savor the feeling. She was tight, he'd kind of expected that from her build, but it felt just perfect like a velvety smooth vice wrapped around his shaft. Bryce leaned forwards onto his forearms and buried his face within the side of her neck, breathing in her scent as his hips began the slow rise and fall. His tongue gently caressed her skin, not caring about the sweat covering it but more about the sweet sound of the moans escaping her lips.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked them at the ankle over his back, her arms coming around his upper torso to hold tight while her hips rose to meet his with each stroke. Damn she needed this, her body craved it. The feel of his cock was just about right, maybe a little too big for her but that was just pleasure in itself. His tongue seemed to know where each of her nerves was and sent goose bumps up and down her skin. It touched just the right spot and her body began to shudder as an orgasm ripped through her and clamped her pussy down on his cock.

As she shuddered into orgasm, he continued to thrust but when she gripped his shaft it became just too much for his poor, teased body. Several days worth of buildup was released at once, his cock driving as deep as it would go before twitching and releasing stream after stream within her. Bryce held her close to him as they both rode the wave of orgasm through, and then collapsed still entwined. His fingers reached up to slip through her hair and a soft kiss was given to her forehead.

She smiled to him as she felt the warmth within her signify that he too had cum. When Bryce settled down beside her she naturally curled up in his arms, feeling like everything was quite right with the world at that moment. It was a feeling she'd craved for a very long time now and having finally found it would be hard pressed to ever let it go. The feeling just warmed her whole being, enough so that she succumbed to post orgasm sleep and drifted off.

When Julie awoke, she found herself alone, one of the sleeping bags was unzipped and placed over her like a blanket. In a bit of a panic, she bolted up and out of the tent looking around for him. Ah, over in the pool would be where she found him and a sigh of relief slipped from her lips. She was about to come straight over when he reminded her that perhaps at least bringing clothes would be advisable as you never knew if someone would show up. This brought a little giggle to her lips, had it only been a day she mused.

Into the pool she slid, leaving her clothes along the side since there really wasn't a point anymore and it was obviously to someone's delight. Once she'd gotten the chance to rinse off a few kicks of muscular legs propelled her body over towards where Bryce was settled in. She twisted her body with the last stroke and landed her rear into his lap, settling herself against his form with a sigh of content. As she laid her head upon his shoulder it just felt right, like she belonged there.

As she sat there, something under her rear began to feel stiffer and longer than it had been. With a little grin of glee, Julie slipped underneath of the water. Her lips pressed up against the head of his member and parted along the skin, taking him in while trying to avoid letting much water into her mouth. Softly she suckled the head while the tip of her tongue worked along the shaft until she couldn't resist the urge to breathe anymore and surfaced with a grin. "If you want me to continue I'd suggest climbing up where I can breathe."

He hadn't needed her to even say that, as she let go of his member Bryce had already started climbing out to take a seat upon the edge of the water. While there was a little chill in the air it wasn't long before her warm mouth was heating the one area that mattered. A moan slipped from his lips as she worked her way down till her lips pressed to the root of his cock. Her tongue never ceased caressing the underside of his shaft, not as she was taking him in nor as she began to slowly bob her head upon him. As his cock became lubricated her fingers wrapped around it and began to pump him in rhythm. All the while her eyes were locked on his, watching each breath, each moan, each groan.

She liked giving head, it wasn't her favorite but there was a time and a place when sucking a cock was the best thing. She figured it was most likely due to the feeling of control over a man's pleasure and knowing she could play him to cum just about when she wanted so long as she hit all the right notes. Him being on the larger side made this more difficult but it was a challenge she had readily accepted knowing her reward would be a full mouth of creamy goodness. The thought of the incentive hurried her bobbing, craving to feel him fill her mouth with cum.

Bryce wasn't going to be able to hold out for very long, he hadn't cum much in the few days before meeting her and had been on edge since meeting her. The sight of her eyes locked onto his while her lips rolled up and down his shaft was just too much. He noted a small nod and took that as his permission to let go, still he let a whisper come out, "Gonna...cum..."

It felt like only a second or two after the words were whispered, just enough time to get only the head to be in her mouth before her tongue was coated by the first spurt of cum. She quickly swallowed, trying to get as much down as she could but still a little leaked out of the corners of her lips. Once she felt he was finished releasing her throat muscles swallowed down the last of the cum in her mouth and she released his cock. Her tongue went to work cleaning up the last traces of it, being sure to get every last succulent drop. As she finished her hand went to his torso and gently pushed him onto his back. Once he'd laid down, Julie climbed out of the water and curled up against him, retaking that comfortable spot she’d had before drifting off to sleep. "I could really get used to this..."

“As could I,” he replied with a grin, looking up at the starlit night sky. Granted they were on the East Coast so not all of the stars could be seen, but there were a lot more than one saw in the suburbs. Bryce had taken in some star viewing classes offered at a community college planetarium, they’d helped a lot with navigation. Well that and he just liked being able to spend nights watching the stars, knowing where to find the constellations and where to find the planets.

“Hey there’s Betelgeuse!” Julie pointed out the second brightest star of Orion, “I love the star just because of the movie. Well that and it’s always one of the easier ones to find. Dad used to take me out to the mountains just so that he would be sure that I actually got to see stars and could find ones to navigate by.”

He nodded slowly, “My parent’s favorite place to teach star navigation was Zion national park. They just enjoyed seeing them all from the skies in Utah. Have you ever been out that way?”

“No, never made it past the Mississippi River. I’ve always dreamed of it, and one day I’ll make my way out to the Rockies. Would love to get the chance to hear elk bugle and maybe even see some sheep climbing in the mountains. Maybe even get to do some trout fishing in Yellowstone if I could swing the permits. Do you go fishing much?”

“When I can, if I plan to be gone a long period of time I’ve usually got a take apart rod for some panfish. Always will say that the bluegill have a heck of a lot of fight so long as you bring light enough equipment. The one thing that worries me though are poisonous snakes. Most don’t want to bother you, but there’s a few like copperheads, that are just so aggressive.”

Julie nodded at that, “Yeah, copperheads can be very aggressive. I’ve never been chased by one but I’ve heard of other people having the misfortune. Makes me wary to think of ever going to Australia, seems they have a lot of snakes that can kill an adult in minutes.”

Bryce chuckled a little at that, “Helps to have a good guide. Got to do a little hiking there for a few days some time ago. Wonderful people, very laid back, which seems to be the opposite of the majority of the wildlife there. Beautiful place to spend time in, someday I may get lucky enough to go back.” Noticing that the cool night breeze was raising goose bumps upon her skin, he rose to his feet. “It might be a good time to retire for the night, don’t you think?”

She nodded a bit, taking his offered hand and standing up. “It’s probably a good idea, need to hike out of here tomorrow. Unfortunately the real world and bills tell me I need to return to them by tomorrow night.” A soft sigh slipped from her lips as she remembered what needed to be done at home and work, “but we still have tonight and the hike out so let’s enjoy that.” With that, she took his hand, guiding him off to the tent to curl under the unzipped sleeping bags and enjoy feeling him against her as she slept.

Morning came too soon, the sun warming the inside of the tent and lighting it enough to wake Julie. She stirred slowly, careful to not wake him, and slipped out of the tent. The morning chill was fading with the warmth of the sun, holding promise for another decent day before the land would slip back into the last grasp of winter. Water was run through her filter system to get the kettle full for another morning’s cup of coffee. The falls beckoned her to enter for one last dip but she refrained, knowing that she had a long walk ahead of her and not wanting to deal with heavy, wet clothes.

The morning’s coffee was consumed under an air of the inevitable, chat was light, and unlike the night before full more of reality than of dreams. Quietly they took down the tent, shook out the dirt, and repacked it. Once everything had been stowed away within their packs, they hefted the loads onto their shoulders, took one last look at the falls, and began the walk back to the trailhead.

The pair took their time, walking down the path and taking in the sights of Spring beginning to color the area. Several fruit trees had burst into blossom and by the time they were a third of the way down the trail, their jovial nature had returned. Adamantly they chatted on all manner of topics, from the changing seasons and gear they liked, to places they would like to visit.

Lunch was a quick meal of tuna pouches and Julies homemade trail mix. Bryce would have preferred to have spent a little longer lounging in the area that they’d stopped to have their meal at but she seemed a bit anxious to keep pressing on. This partly concerned him, he’d been taking a shine to Julie and now his head began to fill with all sorts of concerns about why she would be so in a rush to leave. Slowly he grew more quiet, nodding his head more as answers as the question gnawed away at him, wondering if perhaps she had a boyfriend at home and was feeling guilty about her weekend escape.

Julie had noted his decreasing chatter and that he was slowly pulling inside of a shell. Internally she sighed, the weekend had been fun and she’d had her hopes of perhaps carrying their budding relationship beyond the woods. Her attentions though, had been drawn by a flower they’d seen growing along the trail which had reminded her of a paper she needed to write for one of her classes. The whole reason she’d come out to the trail was to clear her mind and let it focus on the paper. As they were walking back, the fact that the weekend was ending had snapped her attention back to the paper. Once she realized that her mind had switched to the paper, Julie realized that she was walking unnaturally fast.

Realizing her chance to nudge him a little and get a touch better idea of his feelings, Julie elbowed him in the side, not hard enough to hurt but enough that he would feel it, “What, did you think I was hurrying up to get rid of you? Silly, I just was thinking of a paper I need to write for class. Hmmm, I dunno though, if you’re hurt that easily…” she grinned at him.

He rubbed his side lightly at the elbowing, snapped for a moment out the self-pity state that had been cultivating in his mind. “A paper? You’re in college? And well…you started acting weird.”

Julie just smiled and chuckled a little at that, “Oh, guess we got so wrapped up in other things we never discussed things like that. Ah well, plenty of time for that later. But for now, yes, I’m a grad student working in forestry. Wasn’t really sure yet what I wanted to do with the degree so grad school seemed like a nice choice. At the least the grants I got pay the bills and I still get to see and do some really cool things.” She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek, “and no, I don’t have a boyfriend waiting for me at home.”

Bryce blushed as she kissed his cheek, he couldn’t help it, “Ah well that’s good then. So uh, does grad school keep you busy?”

She smiled at the blush, it was cute on him, “Not so busy that I couldn’t have someone in my life. Just means that I have to work a bit around an odd schedule. It does mean though, that I know where some unmarked trails are. Maybe if you’re a good boy I’ll show you them sometime. “A wolfish grin spread on her face, it was fun to mess with him, “though if you want to get on those we’re going to have to get you to a gym.”

“And so it begins,” he teased back to her, “nag, nag, nag. Next thing I know you’re going to be telling me to go vegetarian or maybe even vegan.”

A look of mock disgust crossed her face, “You mean you aren’t already!? OH MY GOD! Well you’ll just have to get used to the idea of a raw vegan diet mister!” Julie barely held the serious face as she watched his reaction and then doubled over in laughter, “Oh geeze what did you peg me for? No, no, no, nothing will ever replace my love for a nice, juice medium rare porterhouse smothered in sautéed onions and mushrooms.”

Bryce wasn’t sure which made him happier at this point, that she was going along with this or that he wasn’t going to be forced to give up the occasional Five Guys burger.

By the time they got back to the trailhead, the pair had made plans for Friday night and exchanged cell numbers, her chuckling at little at his old, pre-paid phone. He took a few minutes to admire her raised Jeep TJ then got into his old Forester and watched her drive off. A sigh escaped his lips as the fun of the weekend had ended and now his thoughts turned to the report he had to write up for the pack. At least though, he was going to get to look forwards to the weekend and for more than just enjoying Spring.