We stood at the top of the mountain, staring down at what seemed like a million miles of trees. There was no civilization as far as my eyes could see. I took a deep breath of truly fresh air and turned back around to look at my brother.
"Any sign of them?" I asked.
Blake, my older brother, shook his head. "It doesn't look like anyone's been up here in ages. Maybe I should call them."
Confused, I shook my head again. "Would your cell phone work up here?"
"I don't see why not." Blake pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. While he stood with the phone against his ear I kept looking down at the forests. It was a shame that there were so few left, but at least this place would be here for me for a while.
Blake began to talk on the phone, and I tried to hear some of his conversation. My brother and I had hiked all day to get to the top of this mountain, and we were supposed to have met two of our mutual friends once we arrived. We had met them here almost every summer as far back as I could remember, as soon as our parents started letting us go out alone. Now, three years after High School, this was the only time the four of us really got to spend any time together. But Casey and Kyle weren't anywhere to be seen.
I heard the phone click off, and I looked back at my brother. He was standing still, a look of disappointment on his handsome face.
"Well, Paige," he said, looking up at the sky. "I guess they didn't plan far enough ahead. They're going to a wedding this weekend instead."
"Who's getting married?" I asked, trying to mask my disappointment.
"I don't know, some relative of theirs. Should we start back down?" Blake looked at the sky again. It was beginning to turn dark colors, the sun beginning to set. "We can't get down there before dark, but it will take less time going downhill than it did coming up."
I looked back out over the trees, my eyes scanning them for the road. I couldn't see it. Four hours from now we could be back near the car, but right now it felt like it was a hundred years away.
"I don't want to go back home," I muttered, kicking the ground. "I've been looking forward to this trip for weeks. I slaved through the whole year just waiting for this trip, and now I have to go home without even going swimming?"
Blake sighed, kicking the ground near his own feet. "I don't know, Paige. I sort of want to stay, too, but we don't have any supplies. I brought some food, but that's it. Casey promised to bring an extra sleeping bag for you, so I only have one, and Kyle was supposed to bring the tent and the cookware and all the stuff he usually brings."
I nodded. "I didn't even bring any food."
We stood in silence for a while, brooding. I hadn't thought about not having any camping supplies. Unfortunately, I never really thought about packing, and all I had in my bag was a number of changes of clothing. Even on the top of a mountain I would be the height of fashion.
"Let's stay anyways," Blake said, his deep voice breaking the silence.
"What?" I asked, turning around to face him.
"Let's stay. Maybe just for one night, but let's stay. You have a sleeping bag, right?"
I nodded, watching my brother begin to pace.
"We could share it, open it up and use it like a blanket. It doesn't get too cold this time of year, we should be okay. Let's stay." Blake nodded his head once, as if his decision was final.
"Okay," I agreed impulsively. "What's the harm? No one is expecting us home anyways."
Blake shot me his best smile, his white teeth sparkling through his lips. His whole face was alight with pleasure.
"Cool," he said. "Now, first manner of business, let's find our campsite."
For the last three years Blake, Casey, Kyle and I had used a spot next to the lake, not very much of a walk from where we usually met on the mountain top.
"To the water?" I asked, starting down the hill before Blake could respond.
"To the water!" he shouted, running after me. We both broke into full runs, racing through the trees and over the growth to get to the water first. Sweat broke out on my forehead almost right away. I had been hot all afternoon, climbing up the mountain with a bulky backpack on my back. My breasts bounced as I ran towards the lake, and I shrieked with mock horror as I saw Blake pass me and reach the water's edge.
"Made it!" he shouted, jumping up with joy. "Beat you, little sister. What do you think of that?"
"I think you're a cheater," I said, laughing. "I was going to beat you, but you cheated and won."
"How do you propose I cheated?" Blake said, breathing heavily and smiling at me.
"Well, you cheated," I laughed back. "Race you to the bridge!" and I took of running again.
This time I caught Blake by surprise and outran him, reaching the log that passed across a small part of the lake before he could catch up to me. Laughing hysterically, I jumped up on the log. Unsteadily, I began to walk across it, my arms spread out to the sides and my feet carefully finding footholds on the slippery wood. Looking over my shoulder just in time to see Blake drop his backpack on the ground and bound up the log after me, I shrieked and walked another couple of steps forward.
The log rocked as Blake jumped up after me, his quick, steady feet making their way towards me. I hurried up, trying to get to the opposite side of the log before he reached me, but I failed, and soon I felt Blake's arms wrapped around my waist.
"Too slow, little girl," he said, lifting me up off of the log.
"Quit it!" I shrieked, my laughter changing to a more serious note as my feet left the somewhat steady ground. "You're going to drop me!"
"I won't drop you," Blake protested, taking another step forward with me in his arms.
Panicking, I began to squirm, trying to force my way out of his grip.
"Stop! Please, Blake!" I pleaded, kicking my legs. My arms were flailing, my legs striking out at whatever I could reach. His grip on me tightened as he tried to keep his balance, but at that moment he stepped on a particularly slippery part of the wood and shrieked back at me.
We tumbled off the bridge and into the water with a big, cold splash.
The water was freezing, and I began to kick my legs frantically, trying to reach the shore. It wasn't too far away, and soon I was pulling myself up out of the chilly water.
Blake followed quickly, coming out of the water himself. His whole large body was drenched, his clothes hanging off of his big frame in a comical way, with his wet hair falling in his face. He blew a strand of it out of his eyes and looked at me, also wet. I looked down at myself. My small breasts were pushing against the wet fabric, hardly hidden at all. Crossing my arms, I tried to cover the small mounds from my brother's view.
"Now what?" I asked, beginning to shiver. "We don't have anything to make a fire with, how are we going to warm up?"
Blake walked over to his backpack, which he had stripped off before following me to the log.
"We can use my sleeping bag," he said, pulling it out. His arms were shaking and I couldn't believe how cold I was.
"Okay," I said. "Unroll it and let's climb in."
Blake knelt down and began to clear a place on the ground for the bag. The last bit of sunlight disappeared behind the mountains and darkness engulfed the waterfront. I stood, shaking, my arms wrapped around my icy body, as my brother finally stood up rubbed his arms briskly.
"We have to take our clothes off," he noted, looking up at the sky. "It's no good to climb in the bag with wet clothes on. We can hang them up on branches and they'll be dry tomorrow."
I nodded, barely able to move my head due to my chattering teeth.
"Okay," I agreed. "But don't look."
"Don't be silly," Blake laughed at me. "I've seen you naked a million times. Now, strip!"
I began to peel my cold clothes off my body, hanging them carefully over a bush in front of me. Finally, I stood nude, my whole body taut with cold, hidden mostly behind the underbrush. My nipples seemed to have swelled to twice their usual size, stealing all the loose skin from my breasts to push forward sharply, as though clinging for some protection from the cold.
In the dim light I could see my brother, also naked, hanging his clothes in a like manner on a low tree branch not far from where I stood. I stopped my curiosity from seeking the spot between his legs, chanting to myself that it was sick to even have had the fleeting thought. My experience with naked men was little, mostly my brother and my father, but not them for years. At school I hadn't been involved in many relationships, but I had had a few one-night stands in the last three years.
"Don't be shy," Blake teased, crouching down next to the sleeping bag and pulling back the flap. "I'm getting in right away. Our bodies should help keep us warm, too, which is a plus."
"Yeah," I chattered, coming out carefully from behind the bush. I seemed all too aware of each little thing prickling my body, leaves brushing against my flesh, sticks poking the bare soles of my feet. I walked slowly over to the sleeping bag.
