Rider Ch 02 Camping

Rider

2. Camping

Nyss

The folowing day found Nyss aching in surprising places. She hadn't realized just how much effort she'd put in at Hannah's house. If she worked with her much more, maybe she'd be able to take her up on the arm wrestling challenge.

For her part, Hannah seemed to have lost her prickly edge with Nyss. As if Nyss had broken through whatever shell the girl kept between herself and the outside world.

On Wednesday, they took another trip to Level Grind. Heather was there again. This time she was all smiles, the awkwardness of their first meeting firmly in the past.

Hannah unzipped her jacket to reveal another shirt and tie. Nyss was pretty sure she hadn't been wearing a tie the previous week when they were here. Had she dressed up for Nyss? Or was this her normal day off attire, and last week she was in a tank or tee because she was only delivering Faye's cash?

The blonde barista, Dylan, took a short break to bring Nyss an envelope, treating it with the security of a classified briefing. Inside was a set of coasters with different images. "This is the next series," she said. "Very hush-hush. Heather thought you might like to send them to your friends, but we won't have them here for another month or more."

Nyss asked for the story behind the coasters.

Dylan glanced over at Heather, then pointed to the table where the girls were sitting. When Heather nodded in acknowledgement, she took the chair between them. Her left arm, to Nyss's right, was adorned with a brilliantly-colored tattoo of leaves and berries which extended up into her uniform shirt. "It was my boyfriend's idea," she said, quietly. "The gaming theme was intended to appeal to students. He suggested art for the various shop items, but when it came to the coasters, students were walking off with them."

She grinned. "When he changed the design, we discovered that students were using the original series as collectibles, trading them for favors. So we started changing up the designs more often. It isn't cheap, but the advertising has been great. And a lot of people who wouldn't be regular customers now come by to sneak additional coasters."

"What kind of favors?" Nyss asked.

Dylan gave Nyss a wide-eyed look, then sniggered. "I neither know, nor do I wish to."

Nyss didn't take photos of the new coasters until the evening, back in her room. She shared the designs with her friends on Discord, then chatted for a while about what she was getting up to. Several of her friends were curious about Hannah, wondering when Nyss would make a move on her.

But even though Hannah was no longer actively hostile, and even blushed occasionally at Nyss's flirtatious comments, she'd never given any indication she'd like to be anything other than a friend, while Nyss was finding her own attraction to her new friend growing.

She helped at the house again on the following Sunday. Hannah had her putting in a lot more effort. Apparently she'd earned some level of trust. Her arms and thighs were aching when they rode back to Faye's place.

Nyss hopped off the bike, and was about to head inside, when Hannah stopped her. Her visor was raised, the light of an idea in her eyes.

"Hey, do you like camping?" she asked.

"God, the last time I went camping was... was with Doug, before he'd met Faye," Nyss said. "But yeah, I did."

"You want to head into the hills with me?" Hannah asked. "It's a good ride. We can stay overnight in the national park and head back in the morning. I'll take half a day off work."

"I could do that," Nyss said. "When?"

"Wednesday, next week, I think," Hannah said. "That gives us a week to be sure we have what we need, and the park will have more space than it would on Sunday."

"Shit. I'm usually in bad shape on Wednesday," Nyss said. "I play an online game with friends back home, usually until the wee hours." Then she shook her head. "Nah, it's not a problem. I can skip raid night."

"Let me guess," said Hannah. "You play a healer."

Nyss frowned at her. "Why would you think that?"

"The gamers I know at school," Hannah said. "The hot girls always play healers. They can pretend to dislike violence, and they're always the center of attention."

Nyss beamed. There was a lot to unpack in Hannah's assumptions about her, but she chose to respond to only one aspect. "So, I'm a hot girl, am I?"

Hannah's expression was chagrined, but she said, "It's not a compliment."

Nyss was getting a clearer sense of the shape of Hannah's distaste, and why she'd been caught up in it. It was to the girl's credit that she'd let their friendship continue to grow in spite of her preconceptions. Nyss was determined to show her that she had no reason for distrust. "No," she said, "I never main a healer. I'm stabby-stabby. Or grunty-grunty if they're short a tank."

"Oh, great," Hannah replied, acerbically. "I get to imagine you grunting. How exciting for me."

Nyss heard her chuckling before she closed her visor.

~~~~~

Hannah

The ride to the mountains - well, the foothills - was much better with a passenger than when Hannah last made the ride alone. Especially with the helmet comms system that she'd put together, though the cost had broken this month's budget. It would be worth the expense if she and Nyss rode together often over summer. Nyss's excitement on this trip alone justified some of what she'd spent.

She was liking riding with Nyss. She was still having trouble believing that the stunning brunette with the hourglass figure enjoyed spending time with her. She felt at times that she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, when Nyss would turn on her, belittle her, or just start ignoring her, like attractive girls always did. She was becoming increasingly certain that Nyss wasn't like that, but it was hard to set her expectations aside, based as they were on experience.

Whatever Nyss's real feelings, there was no denying that Hannah had a super-hot woman holding onto her. It was fortunate that the Yamaha was such a smooth ride. She'd read enough about bike-induced orgasms to know they weren't an urban legend, but she didn't want to experience one, especially at high speed. And feeling Nyss against her was kind of arousing.

Her passenger's voice came through the headset.

Nyss: "I think I could try sitting a little more upright."

Nyss: "Not too much, because I think being close clues me in to how to move, when you're ready to corner."

Nyss: "I could hold your waist instead of having my arms so far around."

Hannah: "You could do that."

Nyss: "You'd miss me hugging you, though. Admit it."

Hannah: "I'm not answering that."

Nyss: "Are you not answering that because you want to hide how much you'd miss it, or because you don't want to hurt my feelings?"

Hannah: "I'm not answering that."

The elevation of the highway was steadily increasing. Hannah checked her mirrors, signaling well in advance of the slow truck ahead, then moved out to pass.

Nyss (moving her hand a fraction of an inch up Hannah's torso): "I guess I could just move my hug higher. Like, much higher."

Hannah: "And we could both die from my distracted riding."

Hannah: "Though it's not like you'd find anything there worth hugging."

Nyss: "That's crap and you know it."

Hannah: "Now. If our roles were reversed..."

Hannah: "There'd be

plenty

to hug."

Nyss: "Maybe, but you'd be too short to take advantage."

Hannah: "Mean. And untrue."

Hannah: "I'll have you know that I'm very tall for my height."

~~~~~

Nyss

The exit was close to the national park. The roads became twisty almost immediately, testing Nyss's hold on Hannah's waist. It was comfortable, and felt like she was constricting her friend less, but she continued to lean forward for the reasons she said. Also, because she liked to feel close to Hannah.

They eventually pulled up at the entrance station. Hannah bought the access pass and confirmed their camping space. Then they were rolling along the narrow park roads, coasting past turnoffs until the bike slowed to a stop at the numbered space.

Nyss helped Hannah to unload the cargo cases, then sorted the few items while Hannah made a couple of trips to locate fallen and dead branches, bringing back usable firewood in the empty cases.

The tent assembled easily. Hannah insisted it was a two person tent, but Nyss wasn't convinced that they'd both fit, so they stretched out their sleeping bags and lay on top of them to check. It was going to be a tight squeeze, but doable.

"I'm okay with spooned sleeping bags," Nyss said. "I guess this will work."

They brewed coffee. Later, they fried bacon on the tiny cook set, and finally built a fire from some of Hannah's found wood. "Did we bring s'mores?" Nyss asked.

Hannah sighed. "We didn't bring s'mores."

The sky wasn't completely dark, but already it was getting hard to see beyond the circle of firelight. Nyss had been sitting a couple of feet from Hannah, but after she refilled the coffee, she sat beside her, their arms brushing. Hannah didn't move away.

"I bet

Krys

would have brought s'mores," Nyss needled.

"Krys would have brought s'mores," Hannah agreed. "She'd also have brought a marquee, several bags of charcoal, a diesel generator, cots, and a fleet of pickup trucks to carry everything." She leaned closer, her shoulder touching Nyss's. Okay, maybe she

had

become more comfortable around Nyss.

"Point. I prefer this," Nyss said. "Even without s'mores." After a moment, she added, "Erin tells me that Krys helped Faye and her understand their feelings when they were confused about them. And everyone

has

to know you're gay, if you were dating Heather." She felt Hannah nod. "Isn't it unusual for a church to be so supportive of same-sex couples?"

"I guess," Hannah said. "I mean, yes, but I don't really think of myself as part of "The Church"." Hannah's hand brushed her thigh as she moved it forward to make air quotes with her fingers. "I'm not really a believer. Krys is, obviously, and Heather was - is - but I'm there

because

they're welcoming and supportive, and because their ministry isn't to make the pastor rich, it's to help others. They provide funding for homeless shelters. They have food drives and serve holiday meals at food banks. Last year, Krys had me work with some of the men to make cabinets for a women's shelter. The church bought the materials, we did the work, and Krys had the shelter staff pick the cabinets up and install them. I helped with installation since the men weren't allowed."

"Isn't that what churches are supposed to do?" asked Nyss.

She felt the girl shrug. "The whole time Heather and I were together she was terrified of her parents finding out she was a lesbian. She was out

at our church

, but she was stressing out trying to think of a way to tell her parents without them shunning her, because her old church considers gay people to be subhuman, worse than sinners, since they

choose

to sin."

Nyss felt the anger in the girl's voice. She reached forward to give her knee a comforting squeeze.

"And they did find out," Hannah said. "When she wouldn't conform, they expelled her and cut off her funding. That was after our split, but it's why she now works at the coffee shop. She came through the ordeal, but it was hard on her. Her girlfriend called on Erin and Faye. And Krys. Everyone rallied behind her, and now she's in a stable, loving relationship, with a decent job, and defended from bigots. That's why I'm at the church. Not for Brother Bob's sermons."

Nyss felt Hannah's body shake as she chuckled at the last.

The girls talked, leaning comfortably against each other, as the sky became completely dark. There were no clouds, and the fire, which had seemed an extravagance at the start of the evening, now protected them from the chill of night. She slipped her arm around Hannah's shoulder, half expecting her to pull away, but to her surprise, the girl leaned her head against Nyss.

"You have a lot of friends at home?" Hannah asked.

"A few at home, a few at college," Nyss said.

"Are they all gamers?" Hannah asked.

"Most of them," Nyss replied. "Our guild is mostly real-life friends. We use Discord voice. Raiding is mostly an excuse to stay in touch with each other. Honestly, as a woman, I'm not a fan of gaming with internet strangers. Hearing my voice brings out the creeps, so if I'm not playing with my friends I just disconnect my mike."

"I'm sorry I screwed up your raid night last night," said Hannah. "Apologize to them for me."

"Join the channel and apologize yourself, if you like," Nyss said. "It's fine, though, We have people dropping all the time, especially over summer. And besides, I'm with a real-life friend, which is the point, right?"

"Uh, yeah," said Hannah.

She wished she felt close enough to Hannah to kiss her. She wanted to. She felt that it would violate the trust that Hannah had shown in bringing her to this isolated place, and if Hannah felt threatened, it would destroy the friendship they were building, and forever kill the chance of kissing her in the future. So she contented herself with the feel of her new friend's head on her shoulder.

When the fire burned low, Hannah sat up. "We should sleep. We'll have to leave early."

They took their toiletries to the camp bathrooms. When they returned, they stripped out of their leathers, turning their backs on each other by unspoken agreement. Hannah had a small LED light that she turned on while they struggled into their sleeping bags, and in spite of her best intentions, Nyss glimpsed a very attractive panty-clad ass as her friend tried to slide sideways into her bag. Then Hannah zipped the tent closed, doused the light, and rolled to the side, giving Nyss room to spoon against her.

After a minute, Nyss unzipped her own bag far enough to free her arm, wrapping it around Hannah's sleeping bag, closing the small distance between them. "Is this okay?" she asked.

She felt the girl beside her nod. A moment later, she heard Hannah's voice.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"Thanks for asking me, Hannah. I'm enjoying this," Nyss replied. A moment later, she added, "I hope we can stay in touch after I leave. Maybe you really should join the Discord."

There was no reply, but a few seconds later, there was the sound of a zipper. Nyss felt fingers against her own. They drew her hand upward. She felt lips touch her fingertips, then Hannah's fingers intertwined with hers, holding them close as they both drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~

Breakfast was bacon, then eggs fried bubbly and hard in the bacon grease. Hannah packed the small cooking kit away as Nyss rolled up the sleeping bags, then figured out how to fold the tent. There'd been another glimpse of her friend in tee shirt and panties - Nyss would swear on the Book of the Flying Spaghetti Monster that it was accidental, honest - and she was sure she'd felt Hannah's eyes on her at one point. But now they were safely clothed in their riding gear.

When they were fully packed up, Hannah handed Nyss her helmet. "Hey," she said, "this evening, why don't you come up to my place? I have a grill. I'll make us something, and you can have your s'mores."

"S'mores! Yes! Text me your address so I can find my way," Nyss said, "since I never see anything but your butt when we're riding."

Hannah snorted a laugh. "You see everything."

"I would," Nyss allowed, "but that would mean not staring at a very nice ass. I'm sure I can find it, but I know Google can if I get lost."

Hannah checked her phone. "Okay. Remind me when we have service."

~~~~~

At the house, Nyss dismounted awkwardly. "I am going to soak for an hour," she said. "This is the first time I've needed to after a ride."

"Sore butt?" Hannah asked, grinning behind the raised visor.

"Yeah," Nyss agreed, ruefully. "Text me your address," she reminded Hannah, who took her phone out and did so immediately. "I'll see you this evening."

~~~~~

The text message at five thirty was unexpected.

Hannah: "Dinner is off. Sorry."

That was abrupt for her friend. She replied.

Nyss: "You okay?"

It was over five minutes before her phone pinged again. Nyss was getting worried. Perhaps she'd done something to upset her. Was it Nyss's comment that she had a nice ass?

Hannah: "Y"

That was too much. Nyss called Hannah's number. The phone rang for so long Nyss thought it was going to go to voicemail, but finally the line clicked. There was silence for a full ten seconds before Nyss heard her friend's voice.

"Hello?"

Nyss could tell from the single word that Hannah had been crying. Was

still

crying, if she was judging the depth and unsteadiness of her voice correctly.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" Nyss said. The endearment slipped out without her conscious intention, and if she could have taken it back, she would have, but there it was.

"Nothing," Hannah said, then cleared her throat. "It's nothing. Work stuff. I'll be fine."

"I want to see you," said Nyss.

"It's okay, really," Hannah replied. "I'll make up the grilling and s'mores another time, I promise."

"I still want to see you," Nyss said, then preempted Hannah's response. "No. I

am

coming to see you. Unless you tell me right now, absolutely, categorically not, I'll be there in half an hour."

"I...." Hannah seemed to be having trouble forming words. "I... oh, fine."

The line disconnected without ceremony. Nyss stared at the phone for a moment, then sought Faye to ask if she could take the car early.

~~~~~

Nyss arrived with Chinese takeout. Hannah was clearly in no mood to cook, and even if she wasn't ready to eat now, they could warm the food up later.

When she saw her friend's face, she immediately set her bags on the floor and wrapped her arms around her. "Oh, Hannah. What happened?"

The hug broke the last of Hannah's restraint, and she broke into wracking sobs. She was carrying a tissue which she used to dab at her face ineffectually. "Let's find somewhere to sit, honey," Nyss said, again mentally kicking herself for the word.

Hannah gestured to the living room. Still with her arm around her friend, Nyss led them to the room, spying a couch and box of tissues. She lowered Hannah onto the couch, taking her own seat beside the tissues so that she could hand them to the girl.

"What happened," she asked again, giving Hannah a couple of clean tissues.

"I... I don't think I can do this job," Hannah said, between sobs. "It's what I've always wanted, but I don't think I'm strong enough."

"Oh, Hannah, I think you're a very strong woman," Nyss said. "I don't think that's the problem. What is it?"

"We had a... a patient," Hannah said, then interrupted herself. "I'm going to try to tell you, because I think you'll understand, but I'm not sure I can, so be, you know..."

"I understand," Nyss said, softly.

"We had a client," Hannah tried again. "She brought in her cat. He was nineteen, and in pain. There was a tumor. The vet couldn't... couldn't..."

"Oh, honey, I know where this is going. I'm so sorry," Nyss said.

"No, it's worse," Hannah said. "The woman is in her eighties. Her Han was the only person in her life. He was everything to her. He was a k... kitten when she lost her husband. And we had to... we had to..."

"It's okay, Hannah, I know what you're saying," Nyss said.

"We did what we could," Hannah said, "and his owner was so understanding. I'm sure she knew when she brought him in that she wouldn't be taking him home again. She stayed with him as he went to sleep. He purred. They often do, you know? And she was crying. I managed to hold myself together until I got home, but now I can't... Now she's all alone. We took away her only companion."