This Chapter is a little light on the sex - you need to really have read the other chapters to get an idea of what's going on - enjoy!
Liz woke early the next morning. For a brief moment she suffered from short term memory loss, having no clue as to where she was or what she was doing there. But as she became accustomed to the orange surroundings she grinned and slowly sat up, the sheet slipping off of her as she did so.
Artie was still fast asleep beside her, breathing gently. He very rarely snored, which Liz knew was a real blessing. Her father still to this day could be heard on the other side of the house when he was at full volume, like a saw gnawing through a large log.
As she gazed at her gorgeous husband, watching his body rise slightly with every breath, the groggy memory of their quiet fight during the night came back to her. She felt ashamed and a little guilty, but resolved not to feel too bad about it. This was what marriage was all about, a little give and take. Artie just had to accept the fact that she was never going to be as wild an animal in bed as Inga obviously was.
Liz carefully moved off of the bed and, as quietly as she could, dressed herself in yesterday's clothes, unzipped the flap and stepped out into the bright early morning sunshine. The air was fresh and clean, she could feel it in her lungs. So much better than city air; already she was wondering why the hell she had ever moved to Sechs City in the first place. Still, she thought, as she zipped the flap back up and caught sight of her peaceful husband, it hadn't been all bad.
The birds in the trees around them had been singing for quite a while now. It was a glorious sound, and Liz closed her eyes, breathing in and out heavily, listening to the music in the air. Why couldn't all sound be as sweet as this?
Her eyes opened and she looked over her shoulder at the expensive tent next to her own shabby one. It had been difficult to ignore the obvious sounds of lovemaking during the night; Liz could sympathise with Artie on that level. She would have been lying too if she had said she hadn't felt a small dampness down below hearing those sounds.
She'd seen a few pornos in her time, mainly through Inga's persuasion. Whether or not the orgasms the (mostly) beautiful women had been having in those had been real or not wasn't the point. Liz still felt that, if her parents had been so good as to be so quiet that you would never have thought they ever made love, she should carry on with that tradition. For her, sex was an intimate, loving act between two people. If Inga wanted to live the way she did that was her choice and Liz could have no say in that; she respected that, the same was she hoped Inga respected the way she lived.
Maybe she should say something? Or would that make things a little uncomfortable? With her knowledge of Inga's intended break up with Paul maybe it would make things a little too uncomfortable. It was probably best to leave it.
It was another hour at least before anybody else stirred from the two tents. First Paul, looking as exhilarated as Liz felt about waking up in the forest, then Inga, who didn't look half as excited. Though she was still a little groggy, Liz had to hand it to her friend; she still somehow looked amazing first thing in the morning.
"Morning, Liz," said Paul happily.
"Coff-ee," croaked Inga. "Coffee please."
Liz laughed. "Okay," she said, "good morning to you two too. Let's give your girlfriend some coffee or she may not last the morning, let alone the day, Paul."
The last of the small collection of logs was placed in the small stone ring and the fire was started for a kettle of water. As it began to boil, Artie emerged from the orange tent, scratching the small hairs that had popped up across his chin. He wandered over to Liz and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her loving on the neck.
"I'm sorry about last night," he whispered. "It was a little pathetic of me."
Liz smiled broadly and squeezed his arms. "We both were," she whispered back. "I'm sorry too."
"Hey, hey! Enough with the gross displays of public affection!" called Inga from over by the campfire.
"She can talk," murmured Artie quietly, causing Liz to giggle slightly.
After the much needed coffee and a quick breakfast of bacon sandwiches cooked over the fire, the four friends talked about their plans for the day. Inga wanted to chill out, claiming that her feet were still sore from their walk the previous day. Though Artie rolled his eyes at this, he admitted that he also felt like just a day of relaxing at the camp site would be perfect.
"Okay," said Paul, nodding. "Well, we can save the hiking up Peak One till tomorrow. Rest and relaxation it is. Although we are at some point going to have to get some more wood for the fire."
Artie stood up from his camping chair and brushed the bread crumps off his legs. "Well, why don't you and I go do that now and then it's out of the way?"
"Sounds like a plan," agreed Paul. "You girls be all right until we get back?"
Inga raised an eyebrow. "No, Paul, we're gonna hide in our tents from all the scary little creepy crawlies. We'll be fine, now go gather firewood like the cavemen you really are."
Paul laughed and grunted in response. "Come, Artie," he said gruffly. "We get wood. Make fire. Cook many things. Then bash pretty ladies on head and drag to cave."
Liz laughed out loud as Artie grunted in agreement. "Don't forget beer. Many bottles."
"Ugh!"
"Ugh!"
*****
The girl woke slowly, coming to in an aftermath of strange, haunting dreams and dark memories she wished would just leave her alone. She had slept in her clothes, too tired to remove any clothing when she had eventually settled down for the night. For one brief second as she regained her sense of where she was, she thought she could feel Freddie's naked body between her legs; smell his hair; taste the back of his neck with her lips. But then she opened her eyes wider and found herself licking the rough material of her rucksack.
She sighed and sat up as best as she could in the small tent, not wanting to stretch too much for fear she would bring the whole thing down on top of her. She thought it was a miracle that it had stayed standing all through the night. It had taken longer to put up then she thought it would have; Freddie was the better person at these things. Still, now as she crawled out through the small entrance and into the warm air of the morning, she had to admire her handiwork and was impressed with herself.
The morning air was full of birdsong and a light breeze whistling through the trees; apart from that, there was silence. It was so peaceful, almost hypnotically so. The girl loved this time of the day when she was put here in the middle of nature. It was like she was the only human left alive on the planet.
But she wasn't. She knew that there was always a danger of someone coming along and discovering her here. Her chances were better in the forest, she knew that, but could she play with her luck anymore than she already had?
She wished Freddie was here with her; he would have known exactly what they had to do. He would have made her feel safer, calmer, more focussed. In his own special ways of course: sometimes by looking deep into her brown hazelnut eyes and speaking softly to her; or sometimes by making stupid jokes about their situation just to make her laugh; or sometimes...sometimes he would take her in his arms and make love to her, beautiful, gorgeous, thrilling love that would leave her breathless and make her feel loved.
Just remembering it made her skin buzz and her pussy tingle. She smiled sneakily to herself before reaching back into the tent and pulling out the dirty sleeping bag she had been using.
She lay down upon it and closed her eyes, listening to the forest around her, as she gently stroked her hands across her young body. She imagined they were Freddie's hands caressing her, exploring her. They travelled up and under her white top, finding her bare breasts; small, round, perfect 34Cs. The nipples stood up as she teased them, hard and tingling. She sighed as she stroked them, imagining Freddie's tongue all over them, devouring them.
She raised a free hand and placed her middle finger in his mouth, sucking at it and gently nibbling the skin before the hand moved away from one set of lips and towards another. She unbuttoned the single button on the top of her shorts and without undoing the zip pushed the hand under the material and under the pair of white panties towards the increasing dampness.
The girl moaned as her fingers entered her, thrilling to the feel of flesh, any flesh, inside of her. Her thumb found the top of her mound, felt the small nub of her clit, sending volts of pleasure coursing through her body. She gasped at each one, a large smile on her lips as she felt the continuing satisfaction. It all felt so good, so fucking good...
*****
The two men set off down a path that Paul said would take them towards an area that had been designated for firewood. For a while they walked in silence, their minds on their mission rather than anything else.
