It was the weekend right after my high school graduation. My two brothers and I had planned to celebrate by taking a long weekend and roughing it in the mountains. They both took Friday off of work and we spent the morning packing all of our gear. We'd spent quite a bit of our childhood in the gorgeous forests behind our house, so this trip was nothing new to us. Just maybe a little more special than the rest.
Cash tosses me a thick sleeping bag and I pack it away in the back of his truck. I'm almost out of room to stuff in anything else, so I motion for him to throw the next one to Cody, who's packing the back seat of his own truck. I watch them toss our tents and the rest of our crap into the back, smiling slightly, thinking about how much we all need this trip. Cody's pyscho ex-girlfriend just broke up with him (again), so it'll be good for him to get away from town for a few days. Cash has been restless as hell lately, annoying all of us. Our father definitely needs a break from all of us too. For me, this was my last get away before a summer of long work days and then heading to college in the late fall.
I'd spent most of my life taking care of Cody, Cash and my father. My mother died a few years after I was born, the brutal Wyoming winters causing her to wreck and be stranded for 16 hours. By the time they found her, it was too late. I don't remember her well, just what I've been told and the few pictures I have of her. Of course I missed having a mother figure around, but I'm incredibly thankful for the boys as well. I could completely fend for myself out in the wild because of them, and have never had a problem standing up for myself. Even if I ended up on the losing end of a fight, I'd have two burly boys standing behind me to scare everyone away.
Cody broke me out of my thinking spell, yelling across the yard, "You ready yet?"
He brushes blond locks out of his green eyes, shielding the sun with his hand. I roll my eyes and nod, running inside to give Daddy one last hug and kiss. He makes me promise to keep the boys in line, like I've had time to do anything else my entire life. I run out the door, grabbing Cash's keys off the work bench and tossing them to him as I climb into the passenger seat of his old Chevy. Cody's pickup rumbles to life and rolls out the driveway, with us right behind him.
About forty-five minutes later, we pull up to our usual spot. Most people drive to the end of trails here and then hike in, but we weren't feeling that ambitious this weekend, so we parked just outside the mowed campsite. I had a feeling the boys would want to make a beer run back to town later anyways, even though they promised Daddy they wouldn't.
By the time we've each made several trips back and forth and have finally gotten everything unloaded from the pickups, it's nearing what I would imagine to be 5 o'clock. We've always had a "no phone" rule, not that it mattered much anyways, as we had little to no service this far out. They stayed in the truck in case of emergencies only. The sun was sinking behind the trees though, the cool of the evening settling over us quickly.
Cash combs through the forest for logs and dry sticks as Cody sets up our tents and I dig through the cooler, pulling out the hotdogs and condiments. I set aside a bag of marshmallows too, feeling the child in me shaking with excitement. Once our survivalist Cash has the fire roaring, I feed the hotdogs onto sticks and hand one to each of the boys. We kick back in our lawn chairs, feet propped up close to the cackling logs. It was still fairly warm out tonight, which was rare for Wyoming, even in the dead of the summer. I was already making plans to sneak out and swim after the boys went to sleep.
All those hotdogs must've made them thirsty because not much later they asked if I wanted something to drink, then their trucks roared to life as they headed back into town. Cody was the only one old enough to buy beer, having just turned 21 over the long winter. Cash followed closely behind at 20, and I trailed in at almost 19. Momma and Daddy didn't waste any time with us, always having the dream of us being close growing up. I'm sure if she hadn't passed that we would have had a large family.
I take the opportunity while the boys are gone to lay out our sleeping bags in our tents. The boys have always shared a larger tent, while I have a little cheap one. It's never staked far from theirs and I'd spent countless nights lulled to sleep by their whispers and giggles as kids. The fire is dying down so I grab a couple more logs and toss them in, watching the sparks fly up. I know they'll be gone for a while longer, and probably already be a little tipsy when they get back, so I cut a path through the woods to the small pond we alway fish in.
The stars are out bright tonight, the moon almost full. It illuminates the pond and the trees surrounding it, a peacefulness falling over everything. The crickets and the bullfrogs make quite a bit of noise, but nothing out of the ordinary out here. I plop myself down on a bigger stone next to the water, dipping my toes in. It isn't as chilly as I expected it to be, but we've also had some really warm days lately, even up this high in elevation. Feeling brave, I glance around before pulling off my loose t-shirt. I have a simple lace bralette under it, never being girly enough to wear actual push up bras unless it was for a formal occasion. I pause, then start shoving my daisy dukes down over my wide hips. I shrug, telling myself to live a little. Biting my lip, I check out my surroundings once more before shimmying out of my matching lace underwear and then the bralette. I giggle like a little kid, the feeling of being naked in the wilderness is exhilarating.
I pile my clothes on the dead tree sticking partway out of the water, and use it to feel my way deeper into the pond. Goosebumps raise on my skin as the cold water practically seeps into my bones. I figure I have a good 20 minutes before the boys get back, and I'll hear their trucks coming anyways. I glide deeper out, the water now just brushing my nipples. They stand at attention, little droplets of water clinging to them, glowing in the moonlight. I've always been busty, something that I had a hard time with when I was younger. I didn't like being ahead of the other girls my age, and didn't have anyone to talk to about bras or how it drew boys attention. However, in the last couple years I'd grown to love them. I'd discovered the internet and realized that large breasts weren't the end of my life, and that mine hung nicely. At a D cup, they were easy enough to find cute bras for and gave me the perfect amount of cleavage when I wanted to tease the boys.
The rest of my body, however, I was still learning to love. Wearing shorts had just become a new thing for me, finally gaining the confidence to show off my thunder thighs. My lower half was definitely a little heavier than my top, and I'd always been insecure about it. It was yet another thing that drew unwanted attention, and my brothers had spent plenty of time fending off assholes that stared a little too long.
I'd been spacing off and losing myself in the cool of the water when an engine startled me. The boys were back already. I waded just a tad deeper, so that everything was underwater and waited for them to come looking for me. I'm sure they already had an idea of where I was at if I wasn't back at camp. Sure enough, the pickup doors slammed shut and their hearty laughs broke through the peacefulness of the night. Their words weren't slurred yet, but it was getting close. Sticks broke and leaves rustled as they made their way down the path, disturbing literally everything that had been still just five minutes before. I see them break through the tree line and scan the water for my protruding head, Cash wobbling a little too close to the edge of the pond. He holds a beer can in his hand, the whiteness of his smile glowing.
Cody reaches out to snag Cash by the shirt collar and tug him back, bumping him into his muscled chest. Both boys are well defined from working on the ranch for the last few years, with biceps enough to make every girl (and some guys) drool. I can see those green eyes of his are glassy, which happens after a few drinks. He has our momma's eyes, almost identical from what I can tell from the pictures. Cash and I have light blue eyes , with a dark circle around the outside and flecks of gold strewn through them. While my hair was blonde like Codys, Cash and our father had dark brown hair, though Daddies was starting to gray.
"Ayyeeee Cece, water cold?" Cash throws an arm around his brothers shoulder, hanging onto him. He giggles like a child and takes a swig, "We have some of your favorites back at camp! Graduation present."
That got me excited, they both knew I loved apple ale but rarely bought it for me. I laughed and started heading towards shore before gasping and remembering that I was naked. Cody tilts his head at me questioningly and then busts out in laugher when he glances over to my clothes hanging from the tree.
"Hmm little sis must've felt wild tonight." he grins as he grabs Cash by the shoulders and turns him towards my clothes. A wicked smile crosses his face as he catches on to what's happening, and he swiftly snatches them up.
Holding them up like a trophy, he shakes them at me. "Welllllll gotta come get your booze if you want someee. Better make it quick!" He giggles again as he dashes back into the trees, stumbling slightly and then catching himself.
"Cody, stop him!" I screech at my usually level-headed brother.
