Not His Best Trait

All characters 18+. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

Category: Non-consent/Reluctance. Dark themes (check tags).

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"God, what an asshole," I muttered to my boyfriend as a red Ram TRX pickup truck roared into the trailhead at high speed. Its tires sent up a cloud of dust that billowed across the lot. Coughing, I waved my hand in front of my face in a futile attempt to clear the air.

The pickup parked at the end of the lot. A moment later a beautiful blonde woman bounded around the back heading straight for me. Her long legs ate up the ground between us, her lithe body the definition of statuesque.

"Tracy!" I said, surprised. I'd been on the lookout for her white Mini Cooper.

"Robbie!" my friend replied, using the nickname she'd chosen. She wrapped me in an exuberant hug that spun me half around.

"You remember my boyfriend, Ryan," I said, once free of Tracy's arms.

"Of course," Tracy replied.

"Hi, Tracy," Ryan said, shyly, cheeks coloring.

Tracy would have none of that and pulled Ryan to her. My friend's exuberance nearly toppled my boyfriend, who at 5'-9" was only an inch taller. Ryan's shy expression turned amused as he looked at me over Tracy's shoulders. I shrugged. Tracy had always been a little high-strung.

A shadow fell across our small group.

"Oh!" Tracy said, turning. "Robbie, I mean, Robin, sorry, this is Chad. Chad, this is Robbie's boyfriend, Ryan. I hope a last minute addition is okay. We started dating a couple weeks ago."

Chad stood in silhouette with the morning sun at his back, so my first impression was merely that he was a big guy. Then, he stepped to Tracy's side, and my eyes widened. Holy shit, this guy was hot. Tracy was a bombshell and had always dated attractive men, but this guy was in another league: a sharp, exquisite jawline, fine lips, blue-gray eyes like chips of granite. His brown hair was styled tight on the sides but shaggy up top. He was built so strongly I wondered if his truck was a close relative.

"Nice to meet you," Chad said, voice so rough and deep I felt my insides vibrate. He offered me his hand. I shook the huge mitt. It was calloused and rough against my soft palm; I thought for a moment Chad might be a lumberjack. Chad did the same with Ryan, and I marveled at the size difference between the two men. Three of Ryan's forearms could have fit inside Chad's bulging limb.

"Chad was in the Marines," Tracy said, perhaps having noticed my stare. She put her hand on Chad's upper arm, the gesture possessive. "We met at the gym."

There was a short silence as I processed Chad's beauty and Tracy's words. Ryan coughed.

"I'll get the sandwiches," he said, turning to lift the hatchback on his Honda Civic.

"Oh, right," I said. "We'll be just a minute."

"Take your time," Chad said, turning back to his truck. "I've gotta grab a couple things."

Tracy followed him back to the big red pickup. I joined Ryan at the Civic's trunk.

"Leave it to Tracy to drag along some random guy she met five minutes ago."

"Yeah," said Ryan, handing me a bag of trail mix.

"You okay?"

"Sure, yeah, just thought it would be the three of us."

I nodded, stuffing a sandwich into my hiking pack. Ryan didn't do well when plans changed, and I shared his disappointment: we hadn't seen Tracy in awhile.

"Of course his name is Chad," joked Ryan.

I snickered, then pulled my pack from the trunk with a groan. Hiking is fun, I told myself, heaving several pounds of water weight onto my back.

We joined Chad and Tracy at the start of the trail. Chad stood reading the trailhead placard, while Tracy perched on a sunlit rock in a pose I could only call, 'trying too hard.' It appeared that things between these two were still in the early stages. Chad carried a sizable backpack, which confused me until I noticed that Tracy was carrying nothing but her phone and a light jacket. Must be nice.

Ryan took up a position at the trail entrance and pulled a sheaf of paper from the top of his pack. The Tower Trail isn't long, he explained to our small group, just a five-mile round trip, but would probably take a good part of the day because of the trail's features. The trail started with some winding switchbacks through a forest of pine and fir.

Chad turned from the placard as Ryan went on. He regarded my boyfriend with a small, amused smile while folding his big arms, muscles bulging. Damn, he was gorgeous. It took some effort to shift my gaze from Chad back to Ryan, who was struggling to keep the trail guide he'd printed from blowing away in a gust of wind.

I managed to focus on the rest of Ryan's description: there was a big boulder field with some scrambling required. After that, the trail followed a ridge to its namesake, a prominent rock formation. When there were no follow-up questions, Ryan stowed his printouts and took the lead. I followed with Tracy while Chad took up the rear.

"So, you met at the gym," I said to Tracy, opening a conversation.

"Yeah, Chad's a trainer. After he was done with one of his clients, I asked him to help me with my form. Goblet squat. But I didn't really need help, did I?" Tracy said with a coy laugh, tilting her head in Chad's direction.

"Not with that," Chad said with a wink.

Tracy spun with a practiced giggle, forcing Chad to stop short. I turned, wondering what the fuss was about. My friend put her hands on Chad's muscular chest and got to her tiptoes. I watched as the tall man slid a hand around her middle. God, his hands were big--one spanned Tracy's back. Chad tilted his head to capture Tracy's lips in a kiss.

I watched. They were both beautiful specimens, Tracy in her slim litheness, Chad in his tall, strapping muscularity. He had to lean down to kiss her--what was he, 6'-4", maybe taller? The kiss lingered and grew sultry. My breath caught. To be kissed like that by such a big, strong...no. Chad's stupid truck, the way he'd looked at Ryan, the whole gym bro thing...definitely an asshole. As the kiss continued, I rolled my eyes and turned to catch up with my boyfriend.

Several switchbacks later, Ryan called a halt. He croaked a demand for water while I wiped sweat from my cheek. I yanked a water bottle from its slot on Ryan's pack and handed it to him. He did the same for me. Tracy approached, a bounce still in her step. Figured. She wasn't carrying anything. I bet Chad was wishing he'd brought a second backpack.

A few moments later, he appeared in all his handsome, manly glory. To my dismay, he looked as lively as when we'd started. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

"What do you do again, Ryan?" Tracy asked.

"I work for Activision, a video game company," he replied, telling her the same thing he'd told her the last three times we'd hung out.

"They make 'Call of Duty,' right?" Chad said.

Ryan nodded and took a drink of water.

"Wow, bro, I love that game. Are you a designer?"

"I'm in sales."

Chad looked crestfallen. I had to admit, Ryan's job sounded boring. I felt a need to defend him before this huge former Marine. I struggled to find something, then remembered seeing a box for the game Chad had mentioned. Ryan was good at video games, at least it seemed that way to me.

"You like to play that game, though, don't you, honey?"

"Oh yeah, I play our games all the time."

Chad perked up. "What level do you play?"

"Mostly regular," Ryan replied. "Depends on the campaign. What about you?"

"I'm a veteran," said Chad, "so that's what I play."

Ryan's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Really?"

So much for impressing Chad. I tuned out the video game talk, putting my water bottle back and stepping aside to let the two men discuss. They wandered up the trail in conversation, Ryan's tone growing increasingly dazzled.

"What do you think?" Tracy asked once the two men were out of earshot.

"Seems nice."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not what I mean."

"You don't care about his personality?"

"Personality is not his best trait," Tracy said with a sly smile.

I laughed and followed Tracy as she started walking again. I'd met her after college in a Teach for America program. We'd both been naive 21 year-olds trying to figure out what to do with our lives. Teaching had not been a good fit for Tracy; she'd done better at her next job in a real estate office. Teaching had been a good fit for me, though. I was going on five years instructing third grade.

The trail grew steep, and Tracy and I focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Our hiking shoes stirred the fine dirt of the trail as we climbed, creating a low haze that drifted across the hillside. A black and white bird careened down from the treetops to alight on a limb nearby. It hopped toward the tree's trunk, and I noticed a red blaze on its head. We stopped to watch while it pecked, hunting for insects.

Chad and Ryan came back into view once we turned the corner on another switchback. I eyed Chad's tight ass in the near distance, the fabric shifting as his butt flexed with each step.

"Okay," I said, giving in. "He's super hot."

"You have no idea," Tracy said. "He's, like, a total warrior in bed, like he's trying to make my whole body explode like a grenade. Boom!" Tracy waved her arms.

"Sounds...great?"

"You have no idea," Tracy repeated. "Boom, boom, boom, orgasms. I hardly do anything. He just blows me up, you know?"

"Um--."

"I think it's because he was in the military, right? He needs time to be intense, a place to just, I don't know, take over, conquer and stuff. It works, you know. I need to find you a Marine."

I paused to see if Tracy had anything more to say. When it felt safe to speak, I offered: "Ryan and I are doing better."

"That's good, Robbie!" Tracy exclaimed. "Still hasn't proposed, though, has he?"

This was a sore spot. Ryan and I had been dating for three years. Things were good between us, but lately the relationship lacked direction. We were trying; relationships took work.

"No. But I think he's going to. Things have been more, I don't know, connected."

"That's good."

Tracy's tone rankled me. It wasn't patronizing precisely, but there was a knowing color to her voice. She wasn't Ryan's biggest fan.

"We're going on date nights. I feel like we're growing closer."

"That's good."

Ugh. There it was again. I considered confronting her, but then the trees crowding the trail opened up to the boulder field. Huge hunks of granite covered the side of a broad ridge. They were piled haphazardly, as if a giant kindergartner had stood at the top of the ridge and dumped her blocks down the side.

"We have to go through that?" Tracy asked.

"It's not supposed to be too bad," Ryan replied. "There's a little scrambling, but the trail guide said it isn't too hard."

"Looks like fun," Chad said, taking the lead.

Tracy sighed and followed.

I squeezed Ryan's shoulder and smiled as I passed. He was a nice guy: caring and attentive with a solid set of values. He had a good, stable job, too. There wasn't a lot of "spark" between us anymore, but building a life with someone couldn't be all fireworks.

The trail narrowed as we approached the boulder field. The huge blocks of rock reared up from the earth, some towering over thirty feet or more, massive and imposing, hemming in the trail. The air grew cooler as we navigated between the boulders near the base of the ridge.

Pebbles and smaller bits of rock littered the ground at the base of the boulders. Walking the trail became a slog, our feet crunching through deep gravel. The piles of rock grew more disorderly as we trudged. Chunks perched on others, some leaning out over the trail.

We clambered around one giant rock and into a relatively flat clearing. I put my arms out, absorbing the sun shining into the open space between rocks. The trail appeared to dead end at a large, smooth-faced boulder that tilted against another huge hunk of rock, forming a narrow gap.

"There's a cairn over there," Chad said, pointing to three small stones balanced in a squat tower. The cairn stood atop a smaller boulder propped into the narrow gap like a madeleine cookie set between two leaning jugs of milk.

"Guess we're scrambling," Ryan said.

Tracy peered at me, dubious.

"It'll be fine," I said, though I felt how she looked.

The smaller rock was still big, at least ten feet tall. Though the boulder's face wasn't vertical, leaning as it was between the two larger rocks, its knobby surface was still steep. I looked around for another way forward, but all possible paths looked similar. We would have to scale some chunk of rock to make any further headway.

Chad inspected the smaller boulder for a few seconds. Without a word, he grabbed one edge, swung a leg up to catch a small, wedge-shaped protuberance, and pulled himself easily onto the boulder's face. With surprising grace for such a large man, he clambered to the top of the boulder as if climbing a stepladder. In a matter of seconds he was standing upright next to the cairn.

"It's not that bad," Chad said. "Come on, Trace, I'll help you."

Tracy approached the boulder with some trepidation, but with Chad's direction she put the flexibility and balance she'd learned as a dancer and gymnast to good use. She was soon at the top. The two beautiful people looked down on us.

"Okay," I said, "guess it's my turn."

Ryan stepped forward with me. "I'll spot you."

"Use the edge as your first handhold," Chad directed. "There are a couple options for footholds to your left."

I put my hand on the warm stone. The edge of the boulder was rough but not sharp, and I could grip its shape. The footholds were another story. Unlike the rest of the group, I was short, a mere 5'-1". One foothold was nearly at my waist. The other wasn't much lower. I got a foot on the lower one, but I couldn't get any leverage to stand.

"It's too high," I complained.

"I'll give you a boost," Ryan offered. He stepped to my left and presented his clasped hands as a stirrup.

I took a steadying breath. Ryan and I liked to be outside, but no one would call us athletic. Buying hiking shoes and backpacks had been my idea--a way to get Ryan away from his video games and me away from the refrigerator. After a few months of effort, I'd lost six pounds through diet and exercise. I felt good in my body. But I wasn't a gymnast, and Ryan wasn't a weight lifter.

"Come on," my boyfriend encouraged. "You can do it."

I put my dusty shoe in Ryan's stirrup and pulled with my arm while pushing with my leg. To my surprise, I got off the ground.

"Now get her foot on the hold," called Chad.

With a grunt, Ryan hefted my foot, pushing my toe against the rock. I found the knobby projection and used my other two limbs like walking sticks to balance.

"Okay," I said, "now what?"

"You've got a toehold for your right foot just below your knee," said Chad. "Put your foot there, press up, and you'll find a big jug with your left hand."

He made it sound so easy. Turning, I found the knob for my foot. It was tiny.

"It's too small."

"It doesn't have to be big," Chad said. "Your shoe will grip. Keep your weight against the rock."

I moved my right foot. My backpack, laden with water, food, and a couple layers, lurched to the left, throwing me off balance. I dropped my foot and clung to the wall, legs shaking.

"Oh god," I cried. "I'm gonna fall."

"No, you're not," Chad said, his voice calm and confident. "Push with that leg and reach."

"I can't."

"Here," Ryan said. "I'll support your backpack."

I felt him push on the backpack, lightening the load on my shoulders.

"It's not enough," I said. "I want to go down."

"No," Chad said, his tone final, assertive. "Your only way is up."

I frowned--no one talked to me like that.

"Fuck you," I retorted, though I regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth.

Chad gave a short laugh. He didn't seem offended in the slightest.

"I could give you a lift," Ryan suggested. I felt his hand on my ass cheek. "Tell me when you're going to stand on that leg."

"Okay," I said, taking a long breath. I had to try. I repositioned my foot. "Here goes."

I tried to stand on my right leg while Ryan pushed from below, his hand sinking into the flesh of my butt. I got about halfway up when my leg gave out. I sagged back to my original position. I wasn't strong enough, and neither was Ryan.

"Alright," Chad sighed. "Let's try this."

The big ex-Marine scrambled down the rock with enviable ease, using hand and footholds I couldn't even see, until he was above and off to my left.

"I'll take your backpack."

"I can't take it off here," I said with a note of panic.

"Calm down," Chad said, reaching down. "I've got the top loop. Lean to your left to free your right arm, then do the same the other direction."

There was a terrifying moment as I let go with my right hand, but I found that my forehead could serve as a prop against the rock. Once my arms were free Chad hefted my backpack with one arm and tossed it to the top of the boulder. He pivoted, repositioning his feet and putting his hips against the rock in a half-crouch.

"Now grab my hand," Chad said. "I'll pull you up."

"I'm scared."

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't let you fall."

I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he was joking, but Chad merely eyed me, sure of his abilities.

"Okay," I said.

I reached up with my left hand, expecting Chad to grab it. Instead, his hand wrapped around my wrist, grip much stronger than I'd expected. He uncoiled, hauling me up about four feet and putting my outstretched hand on a thick ridge of rock. I was so surprised by this impressive display of strength that I didn't think. I grabbed the ridge with both hands, and, scrabbling with my toes against the rock, used friction and momentum to gain the top of the boulder.

Breath quick from adrenaline, I slumped on my butt against one of the leaning boulders as Chad climbed up after me.

"There you go," he said with a smirk. "You did it."

"I think you did most of the work."

"You were amazing," Tracy gushed. "I can't believe how strong you are."

She pressed her body against Chad's. He went in for another kiss, the big hand that had gripped my wrist now wrapping one of Tracy's pert butt cheeks. A couple minutes later a grunting, sweating Ryan joined us, having climbed the boulder with no assistance from Chad; he'd been too busy making out with Tracy.

We passed through the shadowy gap between the two giant boulders back into the sun. There was no longer anything resembling a trail. Cairns guided us from boulder to boulder as we ascended the ridge, hopping from one rock to the next. I tried not to dwell on my growing exhaustion. Hiking is fun, I told myself, as I struggled for the seventeenth time to launch my body against gravity.

Our next serious obstacle was a four-foot tall terrace of rock bisecting a section of the boulder field. The cairns told us to climb on top and walk along the terrace before entering another area of boulder hopping. Chad didn't go first this time. He helped Tracy boost herself to the top. I came next. He wordlessly removed my backpack, handing it to Ryan. Then, he slid in front of me, his muscular chest brushing my breasts. He looked down, jawline sharp enough to cut a steak, mouth a classic archer's bow. His face was so handsome I forgot to breathe.

I swallowed hard and lifted my chest to push my tits against his sculpted torso. It was a silly, juvenile move, but this was the one part of my body that outmatched the svelte Tracy. How about these, big boy?

With a small smile, Chad gripped my waist.

"Ready?"

He didn't wait for an answer. I yelped as he lifted me, turning to place my butt on the terrace. As I blinked away my shock, he put a hand next to me and vaulted to the top, not giving me a second glance. I stood, dusting off the back of my hiking shorts, and watched as he strolled along the terrace after Tracy.