Thinking back on it now I should have seen the signs, but in my defence I was but an innocent and naive girl from the countryside, with no experience of that sort of thing, and from the moment I had met her I had been rather in awe of Professor Barker. Tall, strikingly attractive and intelligent to boot, she was everything I aspired to be and I think there was more than a little bit of hero worship going on – I had worked and studied for years to get a place in her department and now my life's dream was coming true.
At the age of twenty four I was the youngest post-grad on her team and Elspeth Barker had taken me under her wing, having plucked me from a shortlist of applicants, all male apart from me, to join her expedition to the jungles of Peru to investigate a recently discovered Inca site. Although I was new to the team and the youngest member, the Professor made me her number two, given my depth of knowledge I already had, and the fact that I could speak fluent Spanish and bits of some of the local dialects – I had really studied for this.
So, after months of preparation and background work we flew out, and after another day of travelling via short-haul plane and truck we made it to our campsite, which had already been set up for us by the locals we'd hired as labour. In a large clearing in the forest were a huddle of old but sturdy looking tents, laid out for work, a kitchen, ablutions, and sleeping. Given that in our group of ten the Professor and I were the only women it made sense that we shared a tent, albeit a larger one with more room than the others.
"Well, this is our home for the next six months Sam," the prof said as we put our heavy packs down on the camp beds in the bedroom half of the tent.
"Looks nice and cosy Professor," I said.
"Please, call me Elli, no need to be so formal out here," she smiled at me as we started unpacking and sorting our things out, "we are going to be living together after all."
"OK Elli," I smiled, "I guess we are."
"Right, let's get changed into more suitable attire shall we?" she said as she started to strip off, and after a pause I followed suit, both of us soon down to our underwear. I couldn't help but admire the professor's body – she was slim and firm, the body of an athlete rather than an academician, with small boobs and a pert bottom. I'm built a little larger than her but not by much, and I smiled as I realised we had much the same taste in underwear – we both wore lightweight cotton bras and skimpy thongs. I was trying not to stare at her but she noticed and smiled warmly at me.
"I hope you're not shy," she said as her eyes ran up and down my body, "we're going to be seeing rather a lot of each other in here I fancy."
"No, I'm not shy," I smiled at her, standing directly in front of her, "I'm proud of my body."
"And so you should be!" she smiled, "you're very attractive."
"Thank you, so are you," I blushed, turning away to pick up my shorts. As we put on shorts, t-shirts and sturdy boots I found myself thinking strange thoughts, things I'd never entertained before about naked women. I put them from my mind as we finished dressing, and Elli led me out of the back of the main part of our tent.
"Look, we've got our own little bathroom Sam," she said, indicating another little tent directly out the back of ours, with a toilet cubicle, basin and bath with shower, "nice not to have to share with the men."
There wasn't too much we could do that first day, although we did all hike up the trail to the site itself, vast stone walls and buildings looming out of the heavy undergrowth, a lot of it still buried but enough cleared for us to make a start. Back down in camp dinner was just about ready for us, so we all sat around the long table in the open-sided dining tent, excitedly discussing what we might find up there in the ruins.
Finally it was time to retire, and back in our tent the professor stripped back down to her undies, to cool down, and she encouraged me to do the same.
"Come on Sam, you'll feel cooler and more comfortable," she smiled at me as she perched on the edge of her bed, "it gets quite warm in here."
"I am a bit hot," I said as I sat down to remove my boots and socks, aware that she was watching my every move, "as long as the guys don't barge in!"
"More fool them!" she chuckled, "they'll see something they can never have!"
I had thought that I was being silly, but as I pulled my t-shirt off I realised that Elli was looking at me the way a guy would, checking me out as I stood up to pull my shorts down. The thought made my tummy flutter, as did the one that followed it – I liked it, I liked her attention, the way she looked at me as I stood there almost naked in front of her.
"Does that feel better?" she asked me as she continued to study me.
"Yes, much better," I said, sitting on the edge of my bed opposite her.
"Sam, tell me off if you want, but I have a handy tip for you," she said, leaning forward.
"Please, do tell," I replied, intrigued.
"I can't help but notice that you've got quite a bush down there," the prof said, looking down at my thong, "I find in this climate it's much more comfortable if you shave it all off."
"Ooh, thanks for the advice," I replied shyly, "I guess I should then, but I've never done that before."
