Over lunch we all agreed to rent a couple of canoes from the outfitter up the lake. We'd drive one of the cars up, and then paddle back and get the car at the end of the day. I called to reserve and I was disappointed to hear that they were closing at 5 PM today.
"But hey," the man told me, "you can return them after hours. We leave chains and locks and you just have to secure them and the jackets and pads when you drop them off, and there's a slot where you can slide in the paddles and bailers so they're inside the shack. Lots of people do it so they can paddle in the moonlight." That sounded quite appealing to me, and everyone agreed. So we went back to our campsite, made sure we took anything we might need out of our car, and headed out.
It was a perfect day for paddling, warm and calm, but when we got there we found out the outfitter had messed up. He'd only booked us one canoe.
"Fuck. Really?" I said. "There are six of us. Can't you do anything for us?"
"Well," he said, looking around and pulling on his beard, "I guess I can give you this one until 3:30. But you gotta have it back by then, it's booked for an eight-day interior trip. I won't charge you for it. Very sorry sir."
"By 3:30?" I looked at my watch - it was 12:45. I looked at the others. They shrugged. "OK," I said. It's better than nothing. Thanks for making an effort."
We spent the next couple of hours exploring the arms and narrows and reaches of the sprawling lake. It was a huge thrill for the boys, especially Tyrone, who'd never paddled before. We took turns in bow and stern positions, and taught the boys the basic paddle strokes. The time flew by, but we felt like we'd made the best of it. At 3:00 we dropped Emma and Natalie at the campground and started heading back down the lake to the outfitters. Being relied upon as bow paddlers was a big deal for the boys, and they worked their hearts out. When we dropped the one boat off, the outfitter let us hang on to the paddles, so on the way back we were a four-paddler voyageur canoe.
Dinner preparation was well under way as we arrived, and we were all in a happy and chatty mood after the day's activities. Jed and I took a bin out and gathered a shitload of firewood, then I started chopping and prepping under Emma's supervision while Richard and Tyrone entertained Jed and Natalie with countless pictures they'd taken of their sand castle city. We had a fine pasta and salad and consumed couple of bottles of cabernet while wieners and marshmallows on sticks made use of the fire. Tyrone brought out his iPad and the boys started watching a movie.
"Yo, guys," I said, "this is camping. None of that stuff here." They both looked up at me as though I was guilty of cat mutilation. "OK, OK, but look, if you want to watch that you have to do it in the tent, and keep the volume down. Some of us are here to enjoy nature." They scrambled off to their pup tent, giggling about their triumph.
Jed and Natalie finished cleaning up and we poured another round. Emma was sketching something, but she put it down to toast the day again. The sun had set, and everything went quiet as we listened to the peaceful chorus of crickets and the gentle lapping of waves on the shore, with a tiny din from some superhero movie mixed in for good measure. Jed began to yawn again, and before long he'd retired to his tent. It was getting dark, but Emma was furiously sketching under the lamp light.
"Shit," I said. "I forgot we have to take the canoe back and get the car. Jed, duty calls." Natalie went to their tent and came right back out.
"He's passed out."
"Hey, sailors!" I yelled into the pup tent. "Report for duty. We have a mission."
"What?," Richard yelled back.
"We have to take the canoe back, right now."
"Aw dad, we're halfway through Molten Man. He's about to spew lava on a streetcar!"
"Don't you guys wanna have a moonlight paddle? It's really neat." There was a long pause, and then they answered in unison: "No."
"I guess the three of us can handle it," I said turning back to Emma and Natalie.
"You guys go ahead," Emma said, not looking up from her sketch. I'd kind of like someone to be awake with the boys.
"Natalie? Don't you abandon me too - I need a bow paddler."
"Sure. It's a nice night. What the hell." What the hell indeed. Natalie was well aware that I could have paddled the canoe back solo, but she was trying hard not to sound too enthusiastic.
As we threw our vests and extra paddles into the canoe, I tossed in another small package.
"What's that?" asked Natalie.
"Just some fun," I said. We got in and pushed off, both knowing there was exactly a zero percent chance we'd go directly to the outfitter. It was a spectacular night for paddling. It was dead quiet, the water was a smooth as glass, and the moon's reflection gave everything a magical quality. We paddled in silence towards the outfitter for about ten minutes, then I took us into a secluded reach I'd scoped out earlier. We pulled up to a natural smooth rock ramp and dragged the boat ashore. We were in each other's arms before the paddles had hit the ground. I buried my face in Natalie's hair, which somehow looked even more sexy since she'd tied it back after showering. I bit her ear and she let out little yip and then moaned.
All afternoon and evening Natalie had been wearing a jean top open at the back and I'd been admiring her bare back, fighting for the whole day the temptation to put my hands on it. And now I just had to kiss it from top to bottom. I turned her around and drew my tongue slowly down the middle of her spine, brushing my hands along her sides as I went. I travelled back up, kissing and massaging her back with my lips. Her body shuddered and she pushed her ass back into me. I reached round and filled my hands with her delectable boobs, bouncing bralessly under the soft denim. She grabbed one of my hands and began to suck on my finger, then gently bit the web of my thumb. I reached up and unbuckled her shirt and pulled it off her shoulders. I'm pretty sure there aren't awards given just for shoulders, but if there were, Natalie would own the trophy permanently. I kissed them both one by one while I undid her jeans. Giggling, she reached backwards and pulled down my shorts and underwear in one motion.
"This penis. This big, long hard thing that brings only joy," she chanted as she fondled my dick behind her back. "Best of all, it's attached to the guy I love more than anything." She stroked me sensually. I got her pants off and bent to kiss her delectable ass. I bit her cheek playfully, eliciting a long purr. Then I spread her cheeks and teased her anus with my tongue; she moaned loudly and held one breast.