It was a beautiful late summer day. The sky was clear and the bright sun still hung high in the crystal the sky.
Over the past few years it had become an annual tradition for five friends to get together for a camping trip in the Adirondack Mountains before the end of the summer.
As they grew older and had more responsibilities it became harder for the five of them to coordinate their schedules but despite the challenges they remained determined not to break with tradition.
Kate and Noah cruised along I-87 reminiscing about old times. They had been good friends since college and had helped each other through some difficult times over the years. Kate was a few years older than Noah, but he always seemed more mature.
The two of them rode in Noah's old beat up black Jeep Wrangler for the trip and their friend Jason was bringing their other friends and most of the gear up in his Suburban.
The Jeep didn't have much cargo room but they managed to stuff some camping gear into the back seat on top of their bags.
The wind rustled across the canvas top of the Jeep as Noah sped effortlessly through the light highway traffic.
Kate had always looked up to Noah. She didn't quite think of him like an older but she always admired his honesty and charm.
Noah was handsome with a generous stature. He stood about six feet tall and had an athlete's body. He was thin with a toned body. His muscles weren't huge but his abs, which he was most proud of, were rock solid.
His short brown hair blew across his head as the wind whipped through the open window.
Noah's big round eyes were an impossible shade of blue. He learned early in life that no girl could resist his deep blue eyes.
His nose wasn't quite symmetrical on his face as a result of a fight back in his college days.
He was at a college bar with friends when a drunken townie got a little too frisky with one of the waitresses.
He didn't know her was but he wasn't going to stand by and watch her be treated that way. A few punches were thrown and they all got dragged out by the bouncer before it ended. Noah walked away with a black-eye and a broken nose, the other guy wasn't so lucky.
The story became legendary around campus and that sense of honor was one of the things that drew women like Kate to him like moth to a flame.
His mouth was framed by a pair of soft full lips that could melt a girl's heart in one kiss. Noah hadn't spent much time in the sun during the summer and his fair skin barely showed a hint of color.
Noah had no intention of bringing it up but he had recently been through a nasty breakup with his girlfriend. They had dated for nearly three years and he was starting to think that she was the one.
It turned out that she thought he was the one too... one of many.
After finding out about his girlfriend with other men he moved out of their apartment and had been staying on a friends couch for the past two weeks.
Throughout this time he had spent less time taking care of himself which left him with a coarse stubble of dark hair across his face and neck from neglecting to shave
Between the summer sun beating down on them and the air conditioner in his Jeep which only offered up a pathetic trickle of cool air Noah's face glistened from a light sweat.
When Kate leaned towards him to change the radio station in the small car she couldn't help but notice his musky scent.
He smelled like raw man.
Noah wore a pair of khaki shorts that came halfway down his thighs and a plain white t-shirt that clung to his chest.
Kate was the type of girl that any guy would kill for. She was quite a bit shorter than Noah, standing 5'1", and had light blond hair what flowed halfway down her back.
Her skin had a rich golden hue from weeks of sunbathing in her backyard. The contrast between her light hair and her tanned skin accentuated her natural beauty.
While Noah was a serious person Kate was more of a free-spirit. She had a bright inviting smile and an infectious laugh.
One feature they both shared was full lips. Noah's could take a girl's breath away, but Kate had the type of soft full lips that men fantasized about. Her soft green eyes hid behind a pair of long full eyelashes.
Kate wasn't an athlete like Noah but spent enough time at the gym to give her a firm tight body. She was a thin woman with excellent curves. Her waist was small and dainty and her hips flared out just enough to give her a womanly figure.
Despite her height, Kate had long thin legs. Her legs were covered by tight black yoga pants that ended just below her knees leaving her calves bare down to her white running shoes.
Kate's chest was in perfect proportion to her delicate frame. Her breasts were the size of two small melons that gently bounced beneath her light blue sports bra with every bump on the road. The sports bra that Kate wore exposed several inches of her firm stomach and her small bellybutton stud.
"So Kate, I have to ask"
"Yeah"
"Why on earth are you dressed like you're about to go to the gym?"
Playfully she turned to Noah and said "What, don't you think I look good?"
Noah took his eyes off the road for a minute and turned to Kate. Their eyes caught each other briefly as he spoke.
"You know you look great in anything, but we are camping. Every year you never learn. I would think that by now you would bring jeans or something like that."
Blushing from the sudden attention on her body she looked down to avoid his beautiful blue eyes.
"I can't help it. I don't like to wear dumpy clothes. I can't help it if I have a good body, why should I hide it?"
"Yeah, whatever you want Princess."
He knew that Kate hated when he called her that. Kate turned away and crossed her arms across her chest. They drove the next few miles in silence as they wound through the foothills of the mountain.
Their silence was abruptly broken by the chirping of Kate's phone.
"Uh oh"
"What"
"It looks like they had some car problems back around Albany"
"That doesn't sound good"
"They think it will be fixed by tomorrow morning. I guess that means that you're stuck with me tonight."
"The horror"
Kate turned and playfully punched his arm.
"Hey! Any guy would be happy to spend the night alone with me in the wilderness"
"Keep dreaming, Kate."
Noah turned to her and gave her a little wink, letting her in on the joke.
"It's a good thing that we managed to fit that tent in the back. I hope we have something to eat in the cooler."
They turned off onto a dirt road that led to the campsite. Instead of camping at one of those places with dozens of campsites carved out of the trees with running water and bathrooms they stayed in an isolated spot that Noah had scouted out years earlier.
The black Jeep bounced along a rough trail that slowly narrowed to a path barely wide enough for the car. He pulled up next to the same familiar tree that he parked behind each year and cut the engine.
"Well, I guess it's up to the two of us to set up camp this year."
"Maybe I should supervise, you are the expert Noah."
"Yeah right! I hope you don't think you're going to get out to helping."
The door slammed shut as he hopped out of the Jeep.
Kate joined him at the back of the vehicle and helped him unload what little gear they had. The first order of business was to inventory their supplies.
In addition to their clothes, that they had one small two person tent, two sleeping bags, a blanket, and a cooler filled with beer, a package of hotdogs and a bottle of vodka.
"It's not much, but I think we will survive."
Looking up into his eye she said "My life is in your hands Noah"
"Don't be so melodramatic Kate. C'mon, let's get the tent set up."
They made their way to the clearing and after 20 minutes of struggling with the plastic poles and tent fabric that kept flapping in the breeze they managed to get the tent together.
"Home sweet home"
It was getting late in the day and the summer sun was slowly drifting down past the distant mountains. The temperature slipped from the low-eighties to the mid-seventies and a cool breeze blew through the trees from a nearby lake.
"I'm going to go collect some wood and start the fire, why don't you relax for a bit."
Kate replied with a wry smile "Now, that sounds like something I can do."
Within the hour Noah had managed to build a healthy fire and collect enough wood to last them through the night. They didn't have any chairs or good logs to sit on so Kate laid out their only blanket near the fire and they settled in for an early dinner of bun-less hotdogs and beer.
Kate and Noah were old friends but they had never spent much time together alone. They almost always hung out in a group or one of them would have a girl/boyfriend.
Their conversation flowed naturally but there was an underlying nervousness in the air that neither one of them could shake.
"So, how's it going with Sara? I hear you two are getting pretty serious."
Kate could tell from his reaction to her question that she hit a raw nerve.
"Why don't we crack open that bottle of vodka."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Noah reached into the cooler and pulled out the bottle. After taking a swig and offering it to Kate he said.
"It's ok. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
She took the bottle from him and winced at the harsh taste as it burned her throat.
