Author's note:
I wrote 90% of this story in Spring of 2020 with the obvious inspiration from real-world events. It was sitting in my unfinished pile for almost nine months since I couldn't figure out the ending. I finally wrapped it up the past week. Hopefully you'll enjoy!
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Virginia was beautiful this time of the year. It had been two months since Jacob and Ariel had started their through-hike.
It was also empty. Due to a very mild winter they had elected to start earlier, and try to beat the crowd. It was both a boon and a curse. After so many years apart they had a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with nobody else to talk to.
The issue was, sometimes you wanted someone else to talk to. Thus, they were glad to have met Liz and Buzz a week earlier. The girls, both experienced winter hikers, had started earlier and were going a bit slower than Jacob and Ariel, but having company was absolutely worth shaving a bit of time from their finish time. Besides, their bodies ached and a slower pace would let them recover a bit.
Liz was very talkative. At 27 she was two years older than Jacob or Ariel and once they all settled in their emergent roles she was also the undisputed social butterfly and the person others looked to for making decisions.
Buzz was not quite Liz's opposite, but it was clear she was more the quiet, introspective type. Jacob thought she was fun and interesting to talk to, but she rarely initiated contact, and Jacob wasn't sure if he should keep pushing or back off.
"Oh, don't worry about that," Liz said one morning when Jacob brought it up. They had been hiking in pairs for the past few days, with Liz and Jacob as the first pair and Ariel and Buzz as the second one. Sun was already high in the sky, but it wasn't particularly warm. At least there wasn't snow here.
"She's just a bit slow to warm up to people. Once you get past that she's the best friend anyone could hope. Just takes time. I guarantee she likes it whenever you talk to her."
She rubbed her chin before continuing.
"Oh, but just so there's no misunderstanding, she's not really a dating type. So depending on what you're after, don't have that sort of expectations."
"Nothing like that!" Jacob exclaimed. "I was just worried she'd think I'm rude or invasive. Or trying to hit on her. I'd just like to know her better. Ariel I know, and you I feel I'm starting to know, but her...I don't know what she's like."
"Yeah, I thought so. You seem like a genuine, respectful guy. Which is also why I wanted to give you heads up. You guys, Ariel and you, are cool, so if I can avoid any awkwardness that might cause our group to split I'm glad to do it. So you guys aren't...?"
"Dating? Nah, nothing like that. We've known each other for way too long for that. She feels like a cousin or something like that."
"Cousin? Oh, that's right. You guys aren't from the South. It makes sense now."
"Very funny," Jacob said but couldn't hide his smile. "So what's your story?"
"Nothing special, honestly. Went to college. Found a boyfriend. Graduated and started a job. Broke up and found another boyfriend. Broke up, called up Buzz and started on the AT to forget that asshole."
"What'd he do? Do I even want to know?"
"The usual. Slept with a friend of mine."
Her pace slowed, and she turned her face away.
"I'd rather not talk about it. Still a sore topic."
"Sorry. If it's any consolation the same thing happened to me in college."
"Life sucks."
"Yeah, and then you meet new cool people."
###
This would be a special day. After several days in the wilderness it was finally time for civilization again. In this case what qualified as a civilization was a small town where the main attractions for locals were a lumberyard and a gas station. However, the town also had a cabin rental business, the highlight of any through-hikers' week.
The town and the cabins were not too far from the trail and since it was still early they just walked there instead of hitching a ride or calling a taxi.
The man behind the desk in the office area was old and gruffy, but his eyes were kind. His name tag said "Doug".
"Uh hi. We'd like a cabin for a night," Liz said to the man.
"Uh huh. How big? We have...let's see...well, looks like we only have one size available. You're the only ones here so you get to pick, but really, they're all the same."
"Are they enough for four people? Or is it better to take two?"
"Sure one is enough. It's a bit tight but if the other two are the same size and shape as you two then you should be fine for one night."
"Awesome. How about we just take the closest one, then."
Ariel and Buzz arrived about an hour later.
"Finally! I can literally not get this pack out of my back soon enough," Ariel declared as she collapsed against the wall without taking the pack off.
Buzz dropped hers, much more carefully, and gave out a sigh. "It's really nice. Cozy and functional."
"You mean 'small' and 'bare', don't you?" Liz jested.
"Well...that is also accurate," Buzz answered.
The cabin had a grand total of one room, plus a tiny chemical toilet. There was a small table in the corner with four stools, and a separate foldable counter for cooking with a hot plate that was included in the rental price.
Functionally the cabin was a solid-walled tent with a few extra features. Still, it was warm and waterproof, which meant it was pure luxury for people who'd been cold and miserable for the past week.
Buzz started to change into her dry clothing, which finally gave Ariel the kick to wiggle her arms free from pack straps and start digging for her own clothes.
Jacob didn't even notice when Buzz pulled her shirt off. He was too focused on whether his rook should move forward or capture Liz's knight. There wasn't a lot of privacy on the trail and he'd already seen the girls in underwear more times than he could remember. There had been a few times when he'd seen more than that, especially with Ariel, but he didn't want to think about that in a place with no privacy to retire to his own thoughts.
Ariel followed Buzz, though unlike her, she always turned her back to the rest of the groups despite wearing a sports bra. Nothing wrong with that. Jacob also tried to turn away whenever exposing his underwear, especially if he was developing a semi.
After the newcomers had changed and hung their damp clothes to dry they proceeded to spread the sleeping pads on the floor and then shamelessly enjoy the best part of cabin life: resting. The rest of the afternoon was spent napping, browsing the internet, playing chess with Jacob's tiny magnet board, and even a few card games, though those tended to get too competitive so everyone tried to avoid them.
"Okay, you lazy bums. It's time for dinner!" Ariel said after she lost her third chess game in row to Buzz.
"What's for food, mom?" Jacob asked.
"Let's see. We have...granola bars or granola bars! Oops. Should have gotten resupply before collapsing here."
"Toss me a raspberry one?" said Liz. "We can do resupply tomorrow morning."
