My wife, son, daughter and I were tired. We had hiked all afternoon up the mountain, then set-up camp for the night. My son and I made ourselves a nice camp, well organized, as my wife and daughter prepared dinner. It might've been freeze-dried and instant food, but we all knew it was going to taste like manna from heaven after the long, hard 16 mile trek. And it did.
We had just finished eating and were relaxing in the relatively warm night air around the fire, feeling the ache in our muscles, when the rain came. It was a cloudburst and forced us to scramble getting our perishables into the large family-sized tent. The hard rain only lasted for ten minutes or so, but it was enough to soak us all to the bone. By the time we were in the tent and buttoned-up against the elements, the rain had died down to a soft pitter-pat on the tent. It was too late, though, to suit us. We were all cold, wet, and miserable.
"We need to get out of these wet things as soon as possible," my wife said, "or we're all going to catch our death of cold."
"No argument from me," I said and my son and daughter chimed-in with their agreement.
"Then let's get started" my wife said.
"Sure," I agreed. "Let me help you put up the divider."
My wife Claire and I unraveled the fabric divider and hung it across the middle of the tent. My son Danny collected his mom and sister's backpacks and put them on the other side and spread out the sleeping bags while we worked. My daughter Janelle pretty much just stood around and shivered while dripping a puddle on the floor near the door of the tent. I couldn't help but notice how her nipples stuck out underneath her wet T-shirt and bra. God, how she'd grown! She was a real looker: long blonde hair like silk, nicely rounded grown-up breasts, a tiny waist, and a tight perky round butt that just ached to be patted.
Once we had the divider up, the girls went underneath to their side and started to change while Danny and I stayed on our side and did the same.
"Do you mind if we have the lantern, guys?" my wife asked. "It's too dark over here to see what we're doing."
I picked it up and hoisted it over the divider and my wife took it.
"Thanks."
She set it down, but it must've been against the far wall of the tent 'cause the girls' shadows fell across the divider. I didn't notice at first. My son and I started to change out of our wet clothes. I did notice, though, that when we both got down to our underwear, he turned away from me. He wasn't normally shy in front of me and I wasn't shy in front of him either. Then I noticed the shadows on the divider and saw the outline of my wife and daughter. They were two naked beauties. It was like a soft-core porno flick of silhouettes just three feet from my son and I. As I stared, I felt myself starting to get hard and hurriedly turned my back to my son as he had done to me.
So...that's why the poor kid got shy all of a sudden, I thought. No shit, kid. I feel the same.
I quickly put it out of my mind and peeled my wet underwear off, then put on my jogging pants and a T-shirt. The dry clothing made me feel instantly warmer, but a chill was still deep in my bones.
"Hey, hon? Did you pack any liquor?" Usually, we would take along some brandy or whiskey. Liquid was difficult to haul in a pack, due to the weight, so we'd opt for the hard stuff...more punch for less weight. It was handy to have if we needed it for first aid, but usually it served as a nightcap and a little touch of civilization on our backpacking trips.
"Yeah, you read my mind" my wife replied. "It's in the outside pocket of your pack."
"Oh, thanks! Make me carry it, huh?"
"The only way to travel, my dear."
While I was chagrined at having been duped, I was grateful to my wife when I found four pints of whiskey tucked in around my socks and underwear.
"Wow. You weren't fooling around. Planning a party or something?" I asked when I found it.
"Well, they forecasted this rain and I thought it'd be nice if we got caught in it. Help warm us up a bit, you know?"
"Us? You mean the kids, too?"
My son, just pulling his T-shirt on over his head, looked at me with eyes as big as quarters.
"Well, I guess a little wouldn't hurt," my wife said. "Do you think?"
"Sure, Dad," Janelle quickly added. "Danny and I are just as cold as you and Mom. It's only fair."
I looked at my son and smiled. "OK. I guess we all deserve a little. It's been kind of a tough hike so far. But you two be careful," I said looking at Danny. "I don't want to be responsible for getting my own kids drunk. And I especially don't wanting anyone getting sick."
"We won't dad," Janelle whined from the other side of the divider.
I got a bottle out and buttoned up my pack. As I turned around, I saw the silhouette of my naked daughter. She was sticking out her chest and arching her back as she pulled her nightgown on over her head. I glanced over at Danny and noticed he was staring too, but at my wife's shadow. Then I noticed Claire's image bent over her backpack, her large, naked breasts shaking as she stuffed clothing down toward the bottom. God, poor kid, I thought. This must be torture. Then I became aware of my own growing erection and sat down before he noticed. My movement must've distracted him 'cause he quickly looked at me and half-laughed nervously as he sat down across from me.
"Quite a show, huh?" I whispered.
"No kidding," he said quickly and quietly. Then, self-conscious, he tried to cover himself. "I mean, well..., uh..." he said looking away.
I just patted him on the arm and opened the bottle of whiskey.
"Here," I told him. "You look like you need it, but just a little tiny sip."
He took a gingerly sip, then gasped.
"Wow. That burns."
"Warms your insides, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Danny said smiling. "That's pretty cool how it does that. Doesn't taste too good, though."
"Just remember that bad taste when you get older," I advised him, then took the bottle from him and swallowed deeply. God it felt good. The chill seemed to disappear and was replaced with a warm, cozy feeling.
Janelle came from underneath the divider to sit with us on our sleeping bags. I handed her the bottle and admonished her like I did Danny. She, too, felt warmed, but didn't quite like the taste. Soon, Claire took down the divider and we had more room to spread out. We were warmer now and fairly tired, so we took the opportunity to lay across our bags and talk as we drank our whiskey...enjoying the feel of our warm bed clothes and soft sleeping bags. The kids seemed pretty chatty, an extremely rare occurrence for teenagers, and Claire and I were loving it. I could tell just by looking in her eyes that we were kind of re-discovering our children...or perhaps getting to know them for the first time as the adults they were so quickly becoming. Either way, it was great and we were both enjoying their company.
Before we knew it, the bottle was empty and I relented to pleadings from everyone to break out another one. I think we were all enjoying the time and didn't want it to end. We were also just starting to get warm enough to forget how cold we were earlier. Then it seemed like no time when I got out the third bottle. We were all having a great time passing the whiskey around and talking about everything and anything. It was obvious the kids felt like adults and they seemed to be coming out of their shells. I also wondered if maybe they were getting drunk. Either way, though, it was great to have them be so open with us, a nice and welcome change, so neither Claire nor I wanted it to end. I guess that's why I don't even remember getting out the last bottle. Then again, I guess Claire and I were getting kind of lit too.
I eventually concluded that 'lit' wasn't the word for it. The whiskey seemed to hit me all at once and I realized suddenly that I was three sheets to the wind, practically knock-down drunk. As I watched Claire talking, I realized she was close to blitzed, but doing pretty good hiding it from the kids. Amazingly, though, I couldn't tell if our kids were drunk. Danny just jabbered away about school and Janelle talked non-stop about her girlfriends and the latest trends they were into. Then something Janelle said caught my attention.
"No Mom, I'm not that kind of pretty, I mean, the kind boys are really interested in."
"Of course you are," Claire replied. "You're a gorgeous girl. I'm sure all the boys find you attractive. You have beautiful blue eyes, lovely hair, and a terrific figure. Don't you think so Steve?"
Thankfully, I was listening.
