Spires and fins of sandstone rock stood black against the orange horizon of sunset. Joe snapped pictures until the sky grew too dim, then he sat on a boulder and watched the stars appear over the backcountry of Arches National Park.
The desert air soon grew too cool for him to sit much longer wearing only a T-shirt and shorts. As he started to stand up, he heard a wooshing sound overhead. A gust of wind blew dust into his eyes. He squinted and saw a black shape occlude the stars, heading to his right and moving very fast. He wondered what it could be. A plane would have had lights, and if it had been in trouble he would hear a crash. He waited, but didn't hear anything more. Probably some secret military craft.
Joe tucked the digital camera into his backpack and pulled out a flashlight for the long hike back to his car. The trail was tricky enough to find during the day, he hoped he remembered it well enough from when he was here four years ago. It was a loop trail and the section he had walked in on was longer so he didn't want to go back that way.
About half an hour later he thought he heard the crunch of gravel some distance behind him. He stopped to listen. Nothing for several seconds, then he heard it again. But he saw no light. He shook his head. Who would be fool enough to try this trail without a flashlight? Probably some tourist who hadn't believed the warnings about how long the trail took to hike.
Or could it be an animal? He tried to recall what sorts of wildlife lived in Arches. Deer certainly, but he thought a hoofed animal would sound different and a predator, like a mountain lion or coyote, would be quieter. It was most likely a human.
Maybe he should wait up for the hiker. At least they could get lost together. He stood waiting in the dark and turned his flashlight off so he could look at the stars. The Milky Way stood out like a bright splash of milk across the sky. There were so many stars visible that Joe had trouble even picking out the Big Dipper.
After ten or fifteen minutes he realized he hadn't heard any more footsteps. He shrugged, figuring the hiker had given up for the night, or the noise had been something else. Turning his flashlight back on, he continued down the trail to his car.
He was relieved when he recognized some rock formations that marked the last section of the primitive trail. Soon he would be at the better-marked main trail of Devils Garden. Not paying as much attention to where he was walking as he should have been, Joe suddenly stepped down into a hole and fell forward, dropping his flashlight. Pain shot through his right leg as his shin cracked against a boulder.
"Shit." He sat up and gingerly felt his leg, hoping he hadn't broken the bone.
"Are you all right?" said a female voice, with a slight foreign accent Joe couldn't identify.
"Not sure," he answered. "I hit my leg pretty hard on a rock." This must be the hiker who had been behind him. He reached for the flashlight, not broken at least, and flashed the beam over her. She held up a hand to block the light from her eyes.
"Sorry," he said, and pointed the light down. He had glimpsed a nice-looking body stuffed into short shorts, a tight T-shirt, and hiking boots. She had long, golden-brown hair, but he hadn't been able to see her face with her hand in front of it. He wondered if it looked as good as the rest of her. Now he wished that he had waited for her longer.
She squatted next to him and gently pressed his shin. "I don't feel a break, but I think you should stay off that leg until you can get it checked out by a doctor. I'll help you back to your car."
He didn't think he needed to baby his leg that much, but couldn't pass up the chance to wrap an arm around her for a mile. "Thanks, I'd appreciate it. I'm Joe, by the way."
"Cailli."
She wasn't a large girl, only about five six, but he could feel firm muscle as he put an arm around her waist. It felt very good.
He tried not to lean too much of his weight on her, he was a good six inches taller, but his leg hurt more than he thought it would. Her breast bounced against his side as they walked, keeping his mind off the pain. When they reached his car, an old Toyota Celica, he sat against the hood and shrugged off his backpack. "Thanks for the help," he said, as he dug the car keys out of a side pocket. "I might have been stuck out there until a tourist found me in the morning. Are you camped here?"
"No, I was hoping I'd be able to hitch a ride into Moab."
"It's kind of late for traffic, especially at this end of the park. It's nearly twenty miles out to the highway."
"I didn't realize I was so far from this parking lot. I was hoping to get here before everyone left. I can't wait until morning since Senator Barimer is speaking at eight."
"Barimer?" He couldn't help saying the name venomously.
"You sound like you don't plan on voting for him."
"No way would I vote for that villain. I don't know how he ever became a presidential candidate. He must have the best PR people money can buy." He shuddered at the thought of Barimer as president of the United States and prayed it wouldn't happen.
"Do many people feel that way about him?"
"I don't know. Most who do are probably afraid to say anything against him in public. What about you, are you voting for him?"
"I'm not an American."
"Oh, where are you from?"
"No place you'd have heard of. I'll drive." She grabbed the keys from his hand and opened the doors. As she threw both of their packs into the backseat, he hopped into the passenger side.
He was pretty good at geography and was annoyed that she assumed he wouldn't have heard of her country. He took a good look at Cailli as she got into the driver's seat. She looked European, but also kind of exotic. Sort of Sophia Loren-like, but with a smaller mouth. And younger of course--about twenty he'd guess.
She gave him a mischievous-looking smile as she turned the key in the ignition, as if she knew he was checking her out and liked it. Or at least he hoped she did.
The car's interior light winked out and he sighed and tried to relax. His leg throbbed with painnow, but it was worth it--she probably wouldn't have noticed a rather ordinary-looking guy like him otherwise. He kept himself in good shape, working out in the gym whenever he could, and women did say he had nice brown eyes. Was Cailli interested in him? She looked like an actress or a model, though. Well, no, definitely not a model. They were usually much skinnier. Cailli had curves.
He glanced at her breasts, dimly lit by the instrument panel. They weren't too large, and the shape looked natural. Probably real. His cock stirred as he thought about what she would look like naked, taking his mind off his aching leg.
"I like dark-haired men," she said. "Are you a student?"
