Disclaimers: As usual, any and all characters in this story partaking in sexual stuff are 18 or older. Everything about this story is 100% fictional. If you think you know anyone named here, it's purely coincidental.
Note: This chapter takes the time I believe it needed to develop, so if you want something quick and fast, this isn't for you. Also, as I considered how to categorize this story, I chose first-time over taboo because to me it celebrates coming-of-age, innocence, and excitement of a first-time experiences above any other element. However, if taboo is not your thing, just wanted you to know.
Would love your comments/feedback on how this chapter made you feel!
"Where's your bathroom?" Steven asked.
"Round back," The store clerk said. "Here, you'll need the key."
He handed Steven this single key attached to the biggest spoon he had ever seen in his life. He wondered how much fecal matter covered every square inch of that thing.
He regretted not using the tree in the corner of the parking lot the second he opened the door. "Why do these BFE gas stations always have the worst bathrooms on the planet?" he thought to himself.
He had stopped here because he looked up that gas is cheaper in Wyoming than Utah and this was the last station before the Utah state line. As he ventured further into the bathroom, he cursed his constant bargain hunting brain. "If wasn't so cheap I wouldn't be having to use this disgusting place," he thought. "I bet the bathrooms in Utah are super clean."
As he drove away from only his second pitstop, an experience he'd sooner forget, and crossed the border into Utah for the first time in his life, he imagined the state as this big Mormon commune; everything white and gleaming, very conservative. A place where kids listened to their parents and didn't smoke, drink, or have sex. Uptight, controlled, and, in his mind, incredibly boring.
Thinking of the notion an entire region being conservative caused him to reflect back to his upbringing on the east coast. His parents were pretty free-thinking liberals, but his uncle and his family were very conservative. It was as you'd expect in a conservative religious family. His uncle was master of the house, their three daughters were home schooled, kept their hair long, and didn't really watch TV except sports. They went to church not only on Sunday's, but Wednesday's as well. "Who goes to church on Wednesday's?" he remembered being surprised by the very idea.
His parents, still wanting Steven to connect with his cousins, would send him for two weeks every summer to his uncle's and aunt's lake cabin. It was the summer after his senior year in high school that he learned from a conservative family member, very much to Steven's surprise, how to be open to new experiences.
To say it was a lake cabin made it sound like it was somehow a usual, run-of-the-mill lake cabin. Yeah it was a cabin on a lake, but it was the only cabin on that lake. In fact, it was probably the only cabin for miles. That's not to say it was an extravagant cabin. However, it was very remote, isolated, and unencumbered by nosey neighbors.
His uncle had built the cabin, literally himself, by hand, over several years. His uncle was a real estate developer and he had bought this massive piece of remote property years ago. It was his uncle's outlet and get away. Basically, they owned a lake and hundreds of acres around it.
The cabin had a simple layout - with only three main rooms and a bathroom. The main large room served as the living room, kitchen, and dining room. His uncle was an avid hunter, and as such, the living room was covered with his stuffed trophy heads. Steven didn't come from a hunting family, so the amount of death that hung above one while reclined on the couch used to weird him out.
The other two rooms were bedrooms. One bedroom was the master bedroom for his uncle and his wife and then the other room was big bunk room where all the kids slept. His uncle had added on an indoor bathroom a couple of years ago. Steven remembered that before that add on was complete he had to washin the lake and use an outhouse for a toilet. He didn't mind washing in the lake, but he hated the smell of the outhouse with the bugs buzzing around.
As far as access was concerned, there were no roads to the cabin. The only way to get there was on his uncle's seaplane. Steven loved getting to fly in it. It was so cool to take off and land on the water. And the view of the vast remote wilderness that was visible for as far as Steven could see when in the air made Steven feel like he was one of the last men on the planet or some explorer to a remote jungle.
As much as their lifestyle was different from his family's, Steven loved being at the lake. His uncle treated him like a man, even when he was growing up. His uncle always assumed he was capable of doing a particular task, allowing him to use power tools, work on big projects, and paid him for his work - not a lot, but still, better than nothing.
This summer's project was to build a new woodshed. The old one was decrepit and was listing heavily to one side. Steven didn't mind the hard labor, he enjoyed being at the lake and just considered it part of the deal. It was his summer ritual. Though they were all girls, he also really liked spending time with his three cousins, especially the eldest, Arcadia - or Arcady - as Steven called her.
Arcady was only a few months younger than him and they always got along so well. Even though they probably only saw each other 4 or 5 times a year, they always seemed to pick up right where they left off. Arcady loved hearing Steven's stories of what was going on in his life, of the way most teenagers lived. It made Steven feel cool, even though in reality he was a little reserved and didn't have that much more experience in life than she did.
His uncle was very strict with his own kids, which meant no dating for Arcadia. Because of this Steven's meager dating experiences seemed momentous to her. In fact, his uncle was so strict that he even still believed in corporal punishment. Steven remembered how odd it was when, just a couple years ago, his uncle spanked Arcady when he overheard her saying, "what the hell!?", to one of her sisters after she grabbed something out of her hand. No wonder she stayed away from boys.
His uncle's seaplane could seat 12. But his uncle had a really big load of lumber he needed to transport for the project. It was going to take two trips to take all the people and supplies. It was decided that the two oldest kids would go with him to help unload the lumber and then he'd make the 55 min flight back to get his wife, the other kids, and whatever else was left.
Steven was the bigger of the two, between him and his cousin Arcadia, so he got to sit in the co-pilot seat. He loved getting to watch the mechanics and process of flying up close. His uncle let him even take control of the plane for a couple of minutes. As they flew in for a landing, Steven saw the lonely cabin on the lake. He loved the idea of being so isolated from the rest of the world. In a weird way it was freeing to say goodbye to civilization and have space completely to yourself. He imagined that's why his uncle loved it too.
It was a crazy hot summer day. It had been in the 90s for over a week. When the plane taxied up to the dock, they got straight to work pulling lumber out of the plane and onto the dock. Steven was definitely working up a sweat unloading all this lumber right onto the dock.
"Go stack this wood out back behind the house and off the dock while I'm gone," his uncle commanded while pointing in the direction of the cabin. His uncle was used to ordering laborers around, so telling us two what to do was second nature for him. "Here's the Sat phone Arcady, in case you need it"
With that he pushed the plane off the doc, started the engine, and took off into the wind.
Arcady and I watched him take off, watched the plane disappear over the horizon, and soon even the noise of the plane was gone.
"Better get crackin' at this," Arcadia said. "He won't be happy if he gets back and the dock isn't clear.
It took us the better part of an hour to carry all of it behind the house and stack it neatly with the other wood that was already there from a previous trip. It gave us a chance to catch up on the year. We had just finished moving the last of the wood, had gotten some water to drink, and was sitting enjoying the afternoon sun in the Adirondacks on the dock when the Sat phone rang.
"Oh hi dad, everything ok?" she asked. "Oh, well can they fix it?" A pause. "I see." Another pause. "That long?" She looked at me an gave a quick smile.
"I guess it can't be bad if she is smiling," he thought.
"Yeah we'll be fine," she continued. "We have plenty of food." "Ok I'll call and check in with you later. Bye."
"What happened?" I asked after taking a sip of water.
"The plane's engine was running rough on the flight back. Dad had the mechanics there at the dock check it out. Something was wrong with it. There's some part he needs and shouldn't fly the plane until it's replaced, but it will take two days for it to arrive. So, we are on our own for a couple of days."
