Best Intentions

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It involves elements of alcohol and questionable consent. All characters are at the legal age of 18 or older.

*

"Steph, did you remember to pack the tent, too?"

"Yes!" my girlfriend shouted back from downstairs. "I packed the tent, too! And the extra blankets, because I know how much you hate camping!" she added playfully.

Stephanie's loud words were followed by a brief silence throughout our house.

Ouch, she really had to call me out like that. I felt like I had to explain myself. She never held any grudges, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. I quickly climbed over a couple of traveling bags to leave our bedroom, and then approached the stairway so I wouldn't have to shout as loudly.

"I never said I hate camping," I pointed out. "It's just, you know... being away from home for almost a week, that's intimidating, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry," she replied as she approached the bottom of the stairway to look back up at me.

She was a stunning beauty. I was reminded of that each time I looked at her. Steph had long curly hair, and her hair was a natural deep orange shade. I had never even seen anything like it before I met her, I think she called it a

copper

color. It framed her beautiful soft face, and the many freckles which blemished her pale skin, but in a good way. She was beautiful, and I loved her.

"I appreciate that you're tagging along in the first place," she added. "So, considering that you're not a fan of camping, which just makes this gesture to join me even more...you know, special? Right? I'm not crazy, right, this just confirms that you're a good boy."

"A good boy? I'm not a dog, babe."

"There goes my opportunity to ask you

what's up, dog

. Fine," she purred playfully. "Anyway, I've set my parents up with a babysitter for the weekend as well. They won't be needing me this time. So we're all set and ready to enjoy our trip."

"Oh, hm. Yeah. I think we've got it all sorted. Let me give it another quick thought just to be sure," I said.

It was great to have a partner who shared the same wavelength. In our relationship, we pretty much always took care of each other's problems without even needing to bring it up first. She always knew what I wanted without me needing to say it. And I always knew what she wanted without her needing to say it.

This situation was the best example. I knew that packing the traveling bags was not something she enjoyed, so I took care of it myself. Steph in the meantime enjoyed talking to people, so she made a few phone calls and arranged a babysitter for her parents, to take care of her little sister because she couldn't do it herself this time. Then she called her parents to inform them, and talked to the babysitter again afterwards to finalize the whole thing.

It was something she did only reluctantly, considering how much she enjoyed visiting her family and helping to raise her siblings. It was fortunate that she was part of a big happy family, so there was never a lack of siblings which needed her babysitting services. She loved kids.

She had always been that way, a person who cared about others no matter if they were young or old. I would know that better than anyone, considering I knew her since high school. We were each other's first date, first kiss, first everything.

We were proper high school sweethearts.

That was almost ten years ago. I ended up finding a nice office job, which allowed Steph to continue studying, and she was about to finish college. In just a few more months, she would be able to use her degree to find a job that would pay better than anything I could ever hope to find. That had been our goal for many years already, since then, we would be able to afford proper vacations, and buy an apartment in the city center instead of living near the edge of the city.

We recently moved into her parent's old home, when they moved into a bigger house. We were incredibly lucky with how well everything turned out, all things considered. Still, we always knew that the ultimate goal was to live a little frugally, until Steph finished her degree. After that, anything would be possible. That dream was almost in reach now, after years of effort.

I would like to say that we grew up to be responsible adults.

That mature mindset was probably part of the reason why Steph enjoyed babysitting for her parents, since she knew we would never have any kids of our own. After all, I had a vasectomy a year prior, since we agreed that even though kids are fun, it simply wasn't something we would want in our future. It was too much of a responsibility, both financially and time-wise. For a young couple that worried about money and finishing college, the idea of bringing a new life into this world, even by accident, was just too much to worry about.

It was really a deep-seated paranoia. That much became clear when I took another look into the bags I packed. There was a good handful of condoms that we decided to bring along for our camping trip. Their main purpose in our case wasn't just to further prevent a pregnancy, but also because Steph hated the idea of having cum inside her.

Which was ironic, considering her sex drive was easily twice as big as mine. I would be fine with having sex once or twice per week, while she would happily go at it every single day. It was probably the only part of our relationship where we weren't in perfect sync.

"Yeah, I think we're good to go."

"Do you want me to help you carry the bags downstairs,

honey

?" She spoke that last word particularly slowly and enthusiastically. I could hardly tell if she was being playful or simply showing her love for me. Maybe it was a bit of both. She was an amazing girl.

"Sure! Come and get your butt up here and help me out. If we are lucky, we should arrive at the National Park just before the sun comes up. We might even arrive before our friends do."

We were prepared.

Or, at least as prepared as a young couple could be.

This idea that she suggested was a mixture between a vacation, and an adventure. It was a hiking trip that would take multiple days to complete. It would be a mixture of walking through dense forest vegetation and hiking along some abandoned mountain tracks. We figured this was the perfect time to do something so daring. As long as we were still in the prime of our life.

We drove for at least an hour or two in order to get to our destination. The cityscape faded into the background, and made way for large open fields. Farmland. This early in the morning, it was just the right time to witness the world starting its day. It was fascinating, considering this wasn't a sight you could get anywhere in the city.

Steph and I made it a game, to keep ourselves entertained for the duration of the long car ride.

We would try to guess what unexpected thing we might see within the following minute. Sometimes we would see an acre of wheat, sometimes it was an open range with a bunch of cows, one time it was even a horse ranch. It was beginning to be a little intimidating to be so far from civilization. If anything happened, there would be no hospital around the corner. We were on our own.

It all came to a step when the forest encroached in the distance. It was a National Park, so it was protected, and all the more pretty and natural. We drove up along a steadily slimming trail, until we arrived at our destination. It was a large lake, surrounded by mountains. It was the beginning of our hiking trip.

We also spotted another car parked nearby.

"So they've arrived before us, huh," I mused. "I hope they're not mad at us, in case we made them wait."

"I'm sure it's fine. You're not chickening out, are you?

Are you

?" Steph joked playfully. She leaned towards the driver's seat, to poke my side with the tip of her finger and really dug it in.

"Ow, ow! It's okay. I would never dare to chicken out now that we are out here."

After parking the car in a slightly better spot, under the shade of a tree, we stepped outside and retrieved our gear from the trunk. Two large backpacks. They contained everything we needed, including the tent, sleeping bags, and plenty of water and snacks. The backpacks were surprisingly heavy with all that stuff inside. It was immediately clear this journey wouldn't be a simple walk in the park. It really was an adventure, the kind that could easily change a person.

Steph was especially caught off-guard. She could barely handle the weight.

"Ughh," she whined. "You didn't put stones in there just to mess with me, did you? I swear, I'm going to slap your butt if I discover you've added a bunch of stones. If there's... a prick in there, then... you're a prick."

I laughed but shook my head. We weren't that lucky. We really had to carry these things as they were. At least they would become lighter once we began eating and drinking some of the supplies.

"No stones, I promise."

The other car pulled up right next to us, and we were greeted by the expected sight of our neighbors stepping out of it.

Jacob Hill, and his wife, Julia Hill.

They were an older couple, in their forties. They had recently moved into our neighborhood, after the last of their kids had grown old enough to leave home. All in all, I believe they had three daughters, and all of them had reached adulthood and went on to explore life on their own.

We helped the couple to move into their new house, and quickly became friends that way. It was my girlfriend who eventually found out they were passionate hikers. That's where the idea came from for us to do this trip together. Because everybody would be far more safe if we went as group of four, instead of separately. I don't know if I had been okay with this idea if it had been just the two of us, risking our life in the middle of nowhere.

Julia approached us first, and immediately came to pull us in for a tight hug. She was a pretty lady, and in surprisingly good shape despite her age. Her brunette hair was tied into a ponytail, which made her look even more athletic in my eyes. Her occupation was an interesting one as well. She was a nurse. She rarely had the opportunity to take so many days off in a row.

For Steph and myself, this was just a simple vacation. But for Julia, this was probably a rare opportunity to really unwind and relax.

"It's so good to see you two, how was the drive?" she asked with a warm smile. "I'm so glad this worked out so nicely. And I love your outfit, Steph!" the woman remarked with a widening grin.

I could barely contain a chuckle. It was true, Steph had bought an entire new set of clothes just for this occasion. Heavy duty boots, hiking pants, and a jacket with more pockets than any sane person should possess. She looked like she was prepared to spend a year in the jungle. She was truly ready for this trip, and her preparations would probably pay off. The air up in the mountains could easily swing back and forth between hot and cold.

Jacob parked the car and stepped out as well. Seeing him stand up was an immediate reminder that he used to work in construction. He was a man of imposing stature. Bulky and hefty were the words coming to mind. If anything happened to one of us, he could singlehandedly carry the person back home on his shoulders, while using his spare hand to fight off a wild bear or two.

They owned a cabin somewhere as well. Which suited a person like him without a doubt. He had the figure of a proper lumberjack. He had let himself go in the past few years and gained some weight, but he still wasn't someone I would want to pick a fight with.

Considering how much more spare-time he had compared to his wife, I could only assume that he worked hard enough to retire early. A physical job would certainly take quite the toll on the body, so I couldn't even blame him for going into an early retirement.

"You guys are a little late," he pointed out. "That's alright, though. How do you like the air up here? It's great, isn't it? Good fresh mountain air. You simply don't have that down in the city." His voice was intimidatingly deep, but polite at the same time. It always caught me a little off-guard.

"Yeah. It's really nice," I said. "The view is also amazing, I can't wait to take a closer look. Should we get going?"

"Would you look at that, he's showing initiative!" Jacob commented. "That's my boy. Yes, we should get going." He retrieved their backpacks from their car, though unlike Steph and me, he didn't even struggle to lift them. "Ah, don't worry about that," he said when he noticed us staring. "They will get much easier to carry in no time. Give it a day or two, and you will barely even feel the weight anymore."

The four of us took a brief look at our maps, and made some vague plans for where we planned to go, and when to return. The plan was to get nice and deep into the woods, then to track up along one of the beautiful mountains, and then returning back to the cars. In total, it should take us three days to get to our destination and then another three to get back to where we came from.

Our first destination was the slender path along the lake. We walked in pairs. My girlfriend went slightly ahead together with Jacob, while Julia and me were slacking behind and chatting.

It was unexpected how quickly the time passed while talking with her about mundane things. Before I knew it, the sun was already high up and it was the middle of the day. Even the temperature had changed slightly, and it was a few degrees warmer. I also learned that Julia's daughters went to private schools, which confirmed my suspicions that Jacob must have done really well for himself. The only reason why Julia still worked as nurse despite their wealth, was because she enjoyed helping others.

"So, mmmh?" Julia interrupted a brief moment of silence as she looked at me.

"Hm?"

"When are you going to propose to your girlfriend? She's such a cutie. Pretty smart, too! She's the perfect partner, isn't she? It's such a waste to continue calling her a girlfriend, when she could be a wife. She is a darling. What are you two waiting for?"

"Ahh, wow that's a loaded question. Where did that come from? I, uh... yes! She's perfect, of course. Marriage though? That's a huge deal. How would I even know if we are ready?"

"You just know it. There's no signal. It's a feeling. For example, how did you feel when you were with previous girlfriends, and how does that compare to now?"

"Previous girlfriends?" I said. "Honestly, I never had any other girlfriends. Steph never had any other boyfriends, either... it's... it's something I actually mentioned once to her, since it worried me."

I fell silent. If I hadn't stopped myself there, I would have accidentally told her something that nobody else knew about us.

It was a rather intimate piece of information that I almost shared with her, but then again, I trusted her. If there was anyone old and wise enough to understand my thoughts, then it was probably her. I took a deep breath before I continued telling Julia what was on my mind.

"I mean, most couples eventually feel curious about what life would be like with someone else, right? Every experience and every relationship is different. So if it were a bad experience to be with someone, then it would make you value it so much more when you are in a relationship that you are happy in, like in ours."

"Yes, I agree."

"So I once mentioned to her that, if she wanted to meet other people for a while, then I would be okay with that. Kind of like putting our relationship on hold for a few months, so we get to experience life a little more. Or perhaps trying an open relationship. Instead of settling down with the very first person we fell in love with. Of course we are happy. But how could I know if I'm the person she's the happiest with? Someone else might be a better match for her, or maybe not, we have no way of knowing since we never tried."

"Yes, of course."

"Well, she didn't like that idea. She pretty much said that she loves me, that she's loyal, and that she doesn't need to sleep with someone else in order to know that she likes me. She said that she has no interest in experimenting just for the sake of it," I explained. Most of what I mentioned wasn't even something that Steph said all at once, they were just little things that were mentioned here and there, since I brought up that topic more than once.

"But you have doubts?"

"Yeah, well, isn't that normal? Whenever I see a pretty girl, I sometimes fantasize about... you know, having sex with her. I assumed that's normal, even for people who are in a happy relationship. So, in a sense...can she really be sure that she loves me, if she never tried being with someone else? I guess it's too much of a philosophical question, maybe."

"No, no," she replied sweetly. "I think that if it bothers you, then it's something worth keeping in mind for the future. So basically, what you're saying is that you would like to see her with another man?" Julia moved a little closer, and we continued walking pretty much side by side while I contemplated the answer.

"Well, it's not that I

want

to see her with another man. But, I think it's a necessity, if that makes sense? So that she has a better idea of what she likes, or dislikes. If I eat an apple and enjoy it, then I know I like apples. But I wouldn't know if I might prefer strawberries... since I only eat apples. So I would have to try apples, and then strawberries, and then I would know which I prefer."

"I see, yes." She then directed her gaze forward again, and seemed to give the situation just as much thought as I did. At the same time, she obviously noticed Jacob and Steph who were still walking just a few steps ahead of us.

"Ohh," she purred. "How about those two, then? They would make for a good match, and she could benefit from having an older, trustworthy and more experienced partner for the sake of your experiment."

"What, with your husband?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes! Why not? We've done our share of experimentation over the course of over twenty years of marriage. I think it can be a beautiful thing to share things you love, including your partner."

"I uhmm..." was all I could mumble. The situation had caught me off-guard, I didn't expect an opportunity like this to jump into my lap out of nowhere. I didn't think I would ever get such an opportunity. But here it was.

"I don't know if she would even be interested. She's never really shown an interest in older guys, and I think Jacob is even older than her own father. That's a noteworthy age difference, isn't it?" While I contemplated the options, I reached around for my backpack to grab the water bottle I kept attached to it. A few sips of water helped to clear my thoughts.

"Sure," Julia said. "But I don't think it's his age that she will be thinking about when she's naked, on her back, and with his dick wedged into the comforts of her vagina, no? It's just a matter of getting her to spread those beautiful legs in the first place, isn't it? Once those gates are wide open, I don't think she will particularly care how that situation came to be. She will be rather distracted, I believe."

I immediately began coughing and choking on the water I just swallowed.

"Uh...well," I mumbled as I slowly regained my composure. "I mean, yeah, probably. But how would you even get her to that point? She's got a high sex drive and she knows she would have my permission to experiment... but that's still a big step no matter how horny she might be. She's never been with another guy."

"Let me worry about that," she answered mysteriously.

As such, I acknowledged her eagerness to help and dropped the topic for the time being. It sounded like I had gained a new partner in crime for my curiosity. Maybe something would happen, maybe not.