Mom's Inner Mountain (rebooted)

Writer's Note: This is a mom-son story. I was inspired by my love of other mom-son camping and family vacation stories I've read on here. I'm excited to offer my take.

This is a recontextualized and edited version of my story Mom's Inner Mountain. As always, thank you for the helpful feedback.

Originally Published: April 2020.

Edited & Republished: June 2021. Enjoy!

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"Tripod?"

"Check."

"Telescope?"

"Check. That would stink, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, ha. And spare eyepiece?"

"Check!"

"Woo-hoo..." Miles dully cheered. "Are we all done now?"

"Yep! Thanks for your help, bud. Can you go tell your mom I need her backpack? We need a good start in the morning."

"Yeah," Miles nodded. He then tried his luck one last time. "Dad, are you sure that I have to go? It's just a bunch of your work friends. It's not even an official party, or a retreat... or anything. I don't get why I need to be there."

Ken recognized his son's frustrations. But he was the chief engineer at a nuclear plant, and he was dealing with his own set of circumstances. "Listen, I know you're not 'stoked' to go, and I get that. I get that spending four days in the mountains with my coworkers and their families is not your ideal holiday weekend. I get it. But you have to understand, this isn't some astronomy club field trip." Ken stated, "My boss is a member, making this the same as required work retreat. He insisted we make this a family event so it doesn't turn into a work outing. It's not like I can argue with him. And I'm not going to be the one whose family decided to ditch him. Besides, you love hiking and astronomy."

His dad was right. Miles loved studying stars and camping in the mountains. The problem was Miles was a single eighteen-year-old, so he also loved girls. And with summer break on the horizon, Miles was specifically interested in skimpily dressed girls, like the ones who would surely be at Tiffany's pool party -- a party he was now going to miss.

"Is there any way I can come up on Sunday?" the son pleaded.

The gray-haired father sighed. "Again with this? Miles, there will be other parties in your life. And no, you can't come up on Sunday. First of all, you'd miss the comet. Secondly -- call me an overprotective father -- but there's something I don't like about my son driving three hours to a roadside trailhead and then hiking alone for eight hours to the top of an unfamiliar mountain, all so he can stay home for two extra days and drink at a party."

"To be fair, with the right phrasing you can make anything sound like a bad idea."

Ken rolled his eyes. "This weekend is important to me. And my boss has made it abundantly clear it's important to him. And this is also important for our family -- this is our summer vacation. Just accept it and try to have a good time. Your mom hasn't wanted to go to my work events recently and she wasn't excited at first either, but now she's looking forward to it. I suggest you come around as well."

Fuck, Miles thought. He knew the case was closed, so he headed back into the house.

----

Up in his bedroom, the soon-to-be high-school-graduate stared into his full-length mirror. He let his mind drift, and he visualized an alternate reality -- one where his dad had said he could stay home. Miles matted his wavy, caramel hair around his ears, imagining how attractive he could have made himself look at Tiffany's pool party.

Miles's popularity had skyrocketed in his senior year. It wasn't because of a concerted effort to be popular, but rather because his body had filled out and he also managed to kick the game-tying forty-seven-yard field goal in the biggest football game of the year. After that, ending up naked in female classmates' bedrooms seemed to become a lot easier. For three years, Miles had been an AP-course nerd and the backup kicker. This year, he became a hot-bodied nerd who got invited to great parties. It was a good gig.

Didn't need to buy these, I guess... he thought, examining the expensive pair of red swim trunks wrapped around his waist. He had bought them a month ago in hopes of finally seducing one of the "top tier" popular girls. Miles knew it was stupid, but he had this cliche Hollywood dream of ending his high-school experience by having sex with one of the hot, popular girls. Maybe he was driven by how those girls had (understandably) ignored him for years and he wanted to prove he could finally land one. Or maybe he just liked the idea of Tiffany, Becky, or Laurel excitedly sucking his thick cock with their beautiful faces and riding him with their fully-developed bodies. Either way, the pool party had meant a lot to him. And now it was gone.

His dad assured him there would be other parties. Of course, there would be. But what other parties would involve him being surrounded by the most attractive girls in school, all of them dancing about in wet bikinis, as he strutted around in his new trunks and showed off the muscles he had been building for years?

Miles had even been jerking off almost every night to the "unintentionally" slutty selfies the popular girls had posted from back when they were out bikini shopping for the party -- the ones in dressing room mirrors where their asses and breasts were spilling out of the skimpy swimwear.

What a time to be alive.

The young man studied the faint outline of his package in the mirror. Miles knew the red trunks were flattering when he had bought them. He didn't have a monster cock, but he was above average, and he wanted the girls to notice.

"Hello?" The door swung open.

Miles jolted. "Knock?!"

"Sorry, the door was cracked open, and the light was on," Hannah explained in her melodic, tinted voice. She saw her son's red cheeks, his shirtless body in front of the mirror, and his even redder swimwear. The mother slyly grinned, "Awwww, did I catch you playing America's Next Top Model?"

"No." Miles loved his mom's sense of humor, but not as much right now.

"Are you sure? I think I have some beautiful hats and scarves you can try on. The runway judges might appreciate this purple scarf I have."

"No. Thank you, though." Miles tried his best not to crack a smile.

"No? Oh, that's right," Hannah sarcastically gestured, "I guess this is just the swimsuit part of the competition."

Miles was unable to hold it, and he burst out laughing. Hannah joined in and laughed with him, as they often did.

As soon as Miles could breathe again, he asked his mom, "So, anyway, did you need anything?"

"Yes, actually. Your father asked me to find out if you were all set to go tomorrow."

"Uggh!" Miles groaned. "He literally watched me put my bags in the car."

"I know, I know," Hannah raised her hand in an understanding and calming way. "Listen, you know how he gets before trips. And, apparently, this is an important one for him," Hannah breathed. "There's the comet, the families bonding together, the getting-away-from-technology angle, and all that other good stuff. Just please try to be a good sport -- if not for yourself, then for me. He's going to end up chatting with his friends and boss the whole time. So, if you're miserable the whole trip, then I'll have nobody to talk to. And I've already met his friends' wives enough times to know I won't be talking to them," Hannah chuckled.

"Okay, okay," Miles nodded. "Dad said you were looking forward to going, though."

Neither confirming nor denying her son's statement, Hannah announced, "Okay. Well, I'll tell him you're all set."

When his mom left his doorway, Miles at least felt a sense of purpose in going now. He and his mom had always been close, and he liked knowing he could save her from four days of boredom. He figured, The worst-case scenario is that we're miserable together.

1 *****

"Next stop: Crawford Notch!"

"Alright." "Wooh, we're finally doin' it." Miles and Hannah tried to match Ken's enthusiasm, but that was a tough ask at five o'clock on a Thursday morning.

The drive to the White Mountain National Forest was three hours, and Miles naively counted on being able to sleep the entire car ride. Hannah was up in the passenger seat playing Words with Friends on her smartphone, which was her favorite boredom activity. Miles smirked.

Once when his mom needed his help to adjust a game setting, Miles stumbled onto her friends list. A vast majority of her opponents were male. Naturally, Miles inspected her profile photo. It was clear why virtually all of her online friends had dicks. The image showed her from the waist up. Her straight, caramel hair was brushed behind her ears. She was in a tight, red sweater. Only a few inches of cleavage from her large breasts were showing. And her wide smile was simple, shining brightly next to her tanned skin.

The photo was casual -- not provocative by any measure -- but Miles knew it was enough for men online. Through the years, Miles had witnessed countless men hit on his mom. Even in a photo online, he recognized the humor and liveliness exuding through her eyes.

After he saw her friends list, Miles secretly read the messages from his mom's opponents. Many of them were flirty, but, fortunately, his mom never engaged in anything more than harmless repartee. For example, the "most damning" exchange was when some jerky guy said, "It's okay, you don't need to say anything... I know you're impressed by how big my word was ;)," Hannah replied, "It is impressive, but I've seen much bigger ;)"

Those chats didn't bother Miles. He knew better. He knew his mom's flirty nature was nothing more than her playing with the hand society had dealt her. Men at grocery stores gawked at her, men online sent her messages, and cowardly guys made lustful comments to her in passing. While Miles obviously didn't see her in the same carnal light, he understood what other men saw.

Bubbly. Miles had heard several men use that word to describe his mom over the years. He always saw it as a reference to her often energetic, enthusiastic, and playful nature. But he was only partly right.

Men used "bubbly" because of how perfectly it described Hannah's entire sex appeal -- not merely her personality. Hannah was forty-two, but her moisturized skin made her look thirty-five. She had a bright face with round cheeks. Her almond-shaped, green eyes were addictingly expressive. Her lips were full, her nose was soft, and her smile was contagious. Those features reeled men in, but what knocked them out was her athletic, well-maintained, thickset, 5' 4" body. Her breasts and butt were enticingly larger than they should have been for her size -- the main contributor to her being called "bubbly."

Upon seeing Hannah, men often envisioned her seductively stripping naked for them and sitting on their laps. They imagined feeling and watching her round, smooth features bouncing in their hands while she playfully kissed their lips and teased them, moaning slightly from the sensation of her guiding their hard cocks into the folds of her wet, warm pussy lips. She would then stare into their souls with her deep, green eyes and beg them to pound her as hard as they could until she told them to cum deep inside of her.

But, rather than explain their fantasies to friends in public settings, men would sometimes simply remark, "She's bubbly."

2 *****

"BEAUTIFUL!!!"

Miles jolted awake from his dad's loud voice. He was dazed and stared through the car window, guessing he had been out for an hour. His dad had to be commenting on the luscious trees, the running river, and the granite walls of the steep gorge. But no, his dad was thrilled by the number of available parking spaces at the small trailhead.

The family stepped out of their SUV and into the crisp mountain air. The aroma of pine needles, decaying leaves, fresh earth, and dewy grass filled their nostrils. Despite their early start, they were all reinvigorated under the bright morning sky.

"Howdy, there! Another Star Gamma!"

Miles cringed at the voice of his dad's happy-go-lucky coworker, Aiden. The name of their astronomy club sounded even worse out loud than it did on paper. He then surveyed the parking lot to find two more of his dad's coworkers, who had somehow arrived even earlier than they did.

"Hey, Aiden and Katherine. How are you doing, Rick?" Ken greeted everyone. "You all know Hannah, and this is Miles." The families finished introductions and engaged in small talk.

One of Ken's single coworkers announced, "It looks like we're still missing six Star Gammas. Plus Sebastian."

Miles turned to his mom and muttered, "They aren't 'missing.' We're an hour early. We're the ones in the middle of the forest with barely any Internet or cell service. If anything, we're missing."

Hannah snorted. She covered her mouth to prevent an outburst and then playfully smacked her son on the chest. She held her finger to her lips telling him to stop.

----

Soon enough, more cars arrived. Some were just locals out for a morning hike, but others were Ken's coworkers. At 9 a.m. sharp, all of the employees were there and accounted for.

Hannah inspected the hiking group. Out of the eight employees, seven of them were male, which was to be expected for Ken's industry. There was one female in the club, who was always trying hard to come across as "one of the guys." Not that I can blame her, Hannah thought. She counted four women in total, and she was thankful to see three other wives roped into the trip by their husbands. Not immodestly, but realistically, Hannah knew their presence would help save her from four days of incessant, light harassment.

Miles wasn't as thankful. He realized only two other couples brought their children. One husband and wife had a pair of cute, little ones. And the other couple was carrying a toddler in a specialized baby carrier.

"At least you can hang out with the other kids," Hannah nudged her son.

Miles sighed then gestured at the other women, who were all using baby talk to address the toddler in the carrier. "At least you can hang out with the other wives."

The mom and son grinned at each other.

----

As Ken's Timex ticked closer to 9:30, the astronomy club was getting antsy. "It's been half an hour. Where the hell is he?"

"I know. This is ridiculous. If he isn't here in five minutes, I say we go without him."

"I say we go now! He can catch up if he wants."

"We should've never let him join. He doesn't take it seriously. He just wanted to be in with the 'cool group' at the plant."

As Miles listened in on the employees' uproar over their boss, he couldn't help but marvel at how a single, overweight, middle-aged man, who read gauges for a living, had just insisted he was cool for being in an unsanctioned company astronomy club. Miles had no problem with nerds being cool -- he preferred it that way -- but still...

Suddenly, Miles found himself revisiting a recurring suspicion. Ever since he had gotten in shape, kicked that field goal, and started going to parties on weekends, his dad had been brisker with him. It was a weird, mature, adult revelation, but Miles suspected his dad was unsympathetic about him missing the pool party because he was starting to resent him. He resented him falling in with the popular crowd. Miles knew his dad had been an outcast in high school and college. And, like Miles used to, his dad probably always justified his invisibility by thinking, Well, at least I'm smart, and they're not. Maybe Miles's surge into popularity was proof to his dad that he could have had both brains and popularity. Or worse yet, his dad still hated the popular kids for excluding him, and he now saw him as one of them.

Regardless, Miles couldn't control it. And he knew he had done nothing wrong. He turned his attention back to the group of employees, and it seemed they reached a verdict. "If he's not here in five minutes, we're starting the hike," Ken declared. "And no matter what time he gets here, we are kicking him out of the club on Tuesday. It doesn't matter if he's our boss -- we have to stand up for ourselves." His coworkers and their spouses nodded proudly in agreement.

Hannah, though, just sighed and walked over to a rock and sat down. She casually applied suntan lotion to her already-tanned thighs, almost as if she planned on sitting there for some time.

Twenty more minutes passed, and the leaders of the employee "coup" restated how they were serious about leaving their boss behind. Ten more minutes passed, and finally, a black Range Rover pulled into the gravel parking lot.

"How are you doing, everyone! Sorry about the time. I had to take an important work call before I left for the weekend." The boss closed the door and removed his black sunglasses. Sebastian was the son of Argentinian immigrants, and it was noticeable by his darker complexion and subtle accent. He seemed like an athletic and capable forty-year-old, one who appreciated the finer things in life. Stubble was etched into his defined jaw.

"Hello, Sebastian," the employees greeted their plant manager.

Miles was amazed at how quickly everyone backed down, some even literally shuffling backward. He looked over at his mom, who had predicted the outcome. But even she was sitting more rigidly.

"Aiden, Thomas, Rick, Ken, Ashley," the boss continued to rattle off the names of his employees to say hello on a personal level. He then acknowledged the family members. "Miles, your dad tells me you're becoming quite the space-junky yourself."

"Yes, sir. I'd like to think so," Miles charmingly replied. He had never called anyone "sir" in his life, but it came out, like an instinct to build a rapport with the intriguing Sebastian.

"And... Hannah?" He pointed, doubting himself over her name. Hannah offered a closed-mouth grin and waved her hand. "It's nice to see you again. You're really busy with your charity work now, Ken tells us, so you have a hard time making it to events. I'm glad you were able to make it to this one, though." The boss held his eyes at Hannah and then turned to the rest of the group. "It's nice to see all of you here. What could be a better way to bring together our 'work family' and our 'home families' than escaping the distractions of modern life and exploring space?"

Miles immediately pegged Sebastian as a smooth operator. He wasn't sure if his little speech was scripted, but he delivered it well. Miles also found it ironic that Sebastian had no "home family."

"Thank god," Hannah raised her eyebrows at her son, "we can finally get started."

The group broke apart as the adults went to their cars to grab their packs and gear. Fortunately, everyone had hiked and camped in the mountains before. One inexperienced or incapable person could easily hold up the entire group and create a nightmarish journey.

The hiking packs were loaded with food, clothes, mini propane stoves, water bottles, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tents, and various other essentials. The astronomy club members each also had an encased telescope attached to their packs.

As Ken stood near his work friends to discuss the best way to carry their telescopes, Hannah and Miles were left to inspect each other's zippers and straps. It was already clear they were going to be relying on each other for company over the next four days.

"Let's hit the trail!" Sebastian prompted.

3 *****

The trail was serene. After crossing a wooden bridge over the river gorge, they began their hike on a flat path through tall grass. Aside from their small talk and breathing, there was nothing but the sound of chirping birds.

Miles's shoulders fell. He loved being in the mountains. The weight of his green backpack, which stood tall behind his head, was not difficult to manage. He was in the best shape of his life, and the buckled straps shared the burden through his strong upper body.