Unicorn Trail

Author's Note: I will not be mentioning the "sat-phone attachment" anymore as I have discovered that such a device is cost-prohibitive for a hike through an otherwise first-world country. Since I would rather not try and deal with editing my existing chapter of this story, I will elect instead to simply declare the line about it retconned. I apologize for this, and hope you continue to enjoy this story.

"Damn, that was good!" I said, my mouth full of the last of my Honey Walnut Shrimp.

Alice just nodded and grunted, "Mm-hm!" as she swallowed the last of her Kung Pao Chicken, before taking a sip of her root beer at exactly the same time I took one of mine. We both burst out laughing.

"God, did we just have a moment?" Alice asked.

"I think we did," I responded.

Both of us smiled at each other and I laid my hand on top of hers. "What did you mean when you said you were 'taking the scenic route home?'", I asked, my voice barely loud enough to be heard over the general din of the airport.

"Hiking up the Appalachians," she said, her voice just as quiet. "Same as you, right?"

I nodded. "Yep."

Alice let out a long, slow whistle. "Damn. I've always thought that shit happens for a reason. I dunno about you, but I think this is one of those times." Even though Emily had told me that I had full permission to fool around on my trip, I had to be up-front about her to Alice. Taking a deep breath, I began to tell her everything, how we'd been seriously considering opening our relationship, possibly even seeking a third to create a polycule. And of course, I told her about how Emily and I met online, and how after many trials and tribulations, I blew a great deal of money to mount a rescue from her abusive situation in California.

"I didn't wanna go any further without saying anything," I concluded. "If this is too much for you, just say so. I'd understand if you never wanna see me again, and I'll even help you get another flight--"

Alice interrupted me by turning her hand over under mine and giving it a squeeze. "Does Emily know what a doofus you are sometimes?"

At that, I laugh out loud and it takes me a long moment before I am able to reply with, "Only all the fucking time!"

When we were both done cracking up--as that response set Alice on a laughing fit to rival mine--she asked if I could show her a picture of Emily. I immediately pulled out my phone and obliged. "She's cute. So why isn't she here with you?" The question wasn't accusatory, it sounded to me. So instead of getting defensive, I told Alice the truth, including the medical background necessary to understand why.

"Well, she sounds like a strong woman," Alice said. I didn't need to verbalize my agreement with that statement; I had taken every opportunity to say how much I admired Emily when I talked about her surgery and all the rest.

So I just squeezed Alice's hand and said, "I'm glad you see it too."

Both of us knew what was coming. The look in each other's eyes, the way we were slowly leaning forward. The first time our lips touched, we'd barely made contact, but it sent electricity through every nerve ending in my body. The soft sigh that escaped Alice's lips suggested she'd experienced a similar rush. Without needing to ask, we both kissed again, this time less tentatively. With Emily, I'd just started being comfortable with French kissing; now, I used that knowledge for Alice's benefit. It seemed to work, as she let out a soft moan into my mouth.

Her free hand rested on my cheek, apparently to reassure me that nothing was amiss as she broke off a moment later and said, "I gotta pee." Nodding, I told her where the nearest bathrooms were. But she still hesitated. "Can...can you come with me? We can find a family restroom or something." She seemed to be far less outgoing than she'd been so far; in fact, she seemed downright timid.

"Of course," I said immediately. "Thanks," she sighed.

As we made our way to the nearest non-gendered restroom, Alice confessed that this was the first time she'd ever been in an airport or flown. "Really?" I asked. "From the way you handled those TSA agents, I wouldn't have known." That sort of compliment might have caused Alice to laugh or at least give one of her signature eye-crinkling smiles a few moments ago, but this time she just squeezed my hand.

When we got to the restroom door, she hesitated again. "Okay, what's going on?", I asked Alice. "You're like a totally different person. Is everything all right?" Alice seemed to be on the verge of tears now, which caused me to pull her into a hug. "I'm sorry, I won't push it if you don't--"

She interrupted by putting her finger over my lips. "I'll explain after I'm done, but can you do me one favor? Go in first, flush the toilet, and don't stop until nothing's left in it." Puzzled, but nonetheless trusting that there was a good reason for this, I complied, slipping into the bathroom and peering into the toilet. Even though there wasn't a single speck on the pristine white porcelain, I pressed the flush button (it had a sensor, like most modern public toilets) and called out, "All clear!" Alice practically burst into the bathroom, dropped her fanny pack and unbuttoned her jeans, and when she couldn't seem to get them down, she asked me for help.

I was only too happy to oblige, and she didn't even try to hide herself as she plopped down on the toilet seat and let out a satisfied sigh as she emptied her bladder. But my ears were not the sensory organ my brain was most focused on at that moment. The act of pulling down her pants exposed a thick, luxurious brown bush to my eyes. It was a wonder my shorts didn't pop open, my boner was so sudden and so complete.

"Glad you like it," Alice said with a smirk, some of her previous personality returning. "Okay, you wanted me to explain. I grew up with the most ridiculously strict parents like, ever. So obviously, nothing happened with boys, at all. I'm twenty-five, by the way," she added, almost as an afterthought.

"Anyway, fast forward to my senior year of college. By then I'd found what I thought to be a decent guy, we started dating, thought he was the one, you know, all that pathetic, mushy crap. I was all set to lose my virginity to him after midterms. Now, I'd gone over to his house a bunch of times, so I got comfortable using his bathroom. But one day I just couldn't get this one turd to flush. But it wasn't a turd at all. It was a fucking camera, some kinda perverted gadget that he'd managed to stick to the toilet and he used it to record me...well, doing what I just did. Without my consent."

I had lost my erection fully by that point, and I looked genuinely shocked. "Well, it wasn't a turd, but

he

certainly sounded like he was. Wait, if the camera was disguised, how did you know?"

Shaking her head, Alice seemed to hesitate for just a moment before saying, "Because he showed me the video and threatened to send it to the entire school if I didn't put out before the end of the week."

I was so mad I thumped my fist onto the sink. "That asshole! I'm so sorry you had to lose your virginity that way."

Despite everything, Alice's face stretched into a shit-eating grin. "What?" I asked.

"Well, it turns out my aunt is an FBI agent in their Cyber Crimes division. I don't think we'll be hearing from my ex for the next 30 years or something, Did I mention she helped me escape my parents and bought me my first vibrator? Total embodiment of the cool aunt." The casual talk of vibrators had my shorts tight again, especially since Alice had chosen that time to wipe herself. The way she did so gave me a completely uncensored view of her sex.

Noticing my reaction, she blushed crimson and said, "You like what you see?" I nodded, mouth too dry to speak. "Good," she murmured, pulling up her jeans and flushing the toilet. "Don't worry. You'll be seeing a lot more of it soon enough. But not here. Not in the plane either, though I wouldn't mind joining the mile-high club..." She trailed off, shaking her head again, but without the glumness of the last time she'd done so. A grin stretched across Alice's face as she said, "For now...let's go wait for our flight, hmm?"

I saw no reason to argue. "Lead the way."