Constructive criticism appreciated. I understand this story is largely self-indulgent and won't be for everyone. All characters in sexual situations or described sexually are 18 or older. Thanks to HeyAll for his formatting and grammar suggestions.
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"Hey, bro!" Michael called to Billie as he trotted up a gravel and dirt driveway to the little old log cabin he'd be staying in for the weekend with friends Billie and Matt.
To some it'd be strange to hear Michael call Billie "bro" since she wasn't a boy, but to Michael and the gang she was just one of the guys. A makeshift basketball hoop was set up on an old post at roughly the appropriate height for a basketball hoop. Like most things inside and outside the cabin, the hoop setup was quite rustic.
Billie was taking shots at the basket with an old basketball while waiting for Michael and Jim to arrive. She drained a 20-foot shot before turning in Michael's direction and smiling in greeting, the ball bouncing off a piece of gravel into a group of pine trees.
"Hey, man! Want help bringing anything into the cabin?" she called.
"I think I'm okay, just the one duffel bag, but thanks," he responded, mirroring her smile.
Michael and Billie had known each other most of their lives, being close in age at 20 and 19, respectively, as well as living on the same street in a small northern Midwest town as far back as infanthood. They had walked to school together, practiced sports together at the neighborhood park's basketball court, and even often got in trouble together.
Billie headed to the group of tall pine trees for the ball, pushing branches and walking on cracking twigs in the process. Crashing back out through the branches, she pulled some pine needles from her fiery red hair, twisting her face in annoyance.
Usually described more as pretty than beautiful (not that she liked either description), she had a thin face with striking green eyes, semi-prominent eyebrows that match her red hair, a small sunburned nose, often-flushed cheeks with a dimple on one side, sunburned ears, and a cute chin cleft--although most never dared to describe her as "cute" to her face.
Michael had once suggested actress Sadie Sink as her closest celebrity doppelganger, and Billie didn't appreciate the comparison. She just wanted to be one of the guys, and to be fair, that's how Michael and the rest of her friends saw her. She had always hung out with the guys, seeming to never get along with any girls for any significant amount of time, and that was fine with her.
Raised by a single father, she had always had more traditionally masculine attributes, whether that be her interest in sports, her mannerisms, or how she often dressed in comfortable loose gym shorts and t-shirts in the summer. She sure as shit wouldn't be caught dead in a dress and avoided clothing that would show off her figure, not that she had much figure to show off, being flat chested and having little in the way of flesh on her butt or hips. She preferred it that way, but that didn't stop her from getting into fights with students in school who made fun of her lack of feminine body proportions.
Satisfied she had removed the majority of pine needles, she passed the ball to Michael while he was approaching the cabin with his bag. It was a hard pass that Michael barely saw coming in time to bring up his shoulder as a protective reflex. The ball rebounded off his arm, compressed air echoing inside the ball at the impact. Michael half-grimaced, half-smiled at the unexpected attack as he dropped his bad and rubbed his reddening shoulder.
"Hey, maybe wait until I'm ready and don't have a bag in my arms," he complained.
"Nah, you should always be ready for a pass from your teammate, bro," Billie retorted with a wicked grin.
Michael gave Billie a playful glare while giving his shoulder a few more rubs.
Billie had always been the harder worker when it came to practicing sports. Hell, she was more athletic too and was toned from consistent exercise.
Michael wasn't in terrible shape himself. He wasn't bulging with muscles and didn't have a six-pack, but he got plenty of exercise trying to keep up with Billie over the years. He kept his dark brown hair at a couple of inches, unstyled, and often a bit messy. His pleasantly warm brown eyes and the easy smile he often wore could be described as inviting and friendly.
"Oh, by the way," she said as her mischievous grin transitioned to scrunching up her face in disappointment, "Matt called to say he can't make it tonight since he has a stomach bug, so I guess it'll just be the two of us, unless you want to go back home and come back up here a different weekend."
"Well that's a bummer, although I suppose we shouldn't be surprised; Matt's immune system always seems to be reacting to something," Michael sighed. "I'm up for still staying the weekend though."
After all, Billie was just one of the guys, so it wouldn't be weird for it to be only the two of them in the cabin. Billie's dad might take exception if it were anyone else, but he knew there was no way Michael and Billie would ever get up to any funny business, not the least of which because his daughter seemed to be asexual, having never displayed any romantic interest in anyone.
Michael picked his bag back up, walked several steps up the small porch to the front door, and opened the door to reveal the inside of the small one-room cabin. The cabin was so simple that it had no electricity or plumbing, relying on lanterns and the fireplace for light and boiled water from the lake for consumable water.
Three hours north of their town, Billie's father had bought it as a vacation spot. It was the most he could spend on a vacation property, but what it lacked in amenities it more than made up for in the beauty of its natural surroundings. It had a sparkling lake bountiful with fish and an untamed forest for miles, far from the noise and light pollution of the nearest town.
There was a bunk bed and cot on one side of the room. A basic wooden table with chairs stood in the middle. A simple old mirror hung on the wall opposite the bunk bed, above a roughly made dresser. Michael dropped his bag on the bottom bunk before heading back outside.
Billie held the ball and had been lining up a far shot, but Michael snuck up and snatched the ball out of her hands and went for an easy layup before passing the ball back to Billie. Billie, equal parts annoyed and amused, measuredly dribbled the ball towards Michael before suddenly feinting to her left and then driving hard to the right. She dashed around Michael easily and moved under the basket for a reverse layup, the ball rolling in perfectly.
"Maybe you shouldn't defend so tightly on someone who's so much faster than you, dummy," Billie chuckled.
They continued playing until early evening, at which point they put on their swimsuits to rinse off their sweat in the crystal clear water of the very cold but refreshing lake. After drying off, they cooked hotdogs over the firepit outside. Billie put down six hotdogs loaded with condiments in record time.