Fire Down Below (7 page)

***

I woke up the next morning to the
sound of water running and wondered why on earth Ben was in the shower, instead
of having raunchy early morning sex with me, but then I remembered.

I’d agreed to go hiking with him
today.

Ugh.

I groaned and rolled over on my
side, grabbing a pillow to muffle out the sounds of his shower. Why did I ever agree
to go on a hike? He’d been clever enough to catch me during a weak moment,
post-coital glow and all, and so, yes, like an idiot, I’d agreed to go.

I had gone hiking with Ben one
other time and it was a complete and utter disaster, mostly because I’d been
hung-over. He’d shown up at my house early one Sunday morning and dragged me out
of bed in that stubborn relentless way of his and forced me to go on a trail
with him. I kept telling him—I have a hangover, I drank too much, I feel sick—but
he didn’t get it. Ben had never experienced a hangover in his entire freakishly
straight, disgustingly healthy life. He thought I was being lazy. Well, you can
guess what happened. About a third of the way into the hike I threw up, and let
me tell you, it was not pretty. Afterward I laid flat on the ground, staring at
the sky as I begged the clouds to stop spinning.

“You don’t look so good,” he said,
standing over me.

“No shit, you bastard! Why did you
drag me out here?” 

“Hey, don’t get pissed at me. Why
on earth would you drink so much that it’d make you sick?”

“I don’t know,” I moaned, “because
I’m stupid, because it seemed like a good idea at the time, because it was fun
until I woke up this morning and some Neanderthal asshole dragged me out of my
bed.”

“Here, sit up and have some
water.”

I sat up and gulped water as fast
I could and then handed it back it to him, laying my head down on the ground
again.

“Take me home Ben,” I said.
“Please.”

And that’s exactly what he did. He
carried me piggy back style all the way down to his jeep, which was pretty nice
of him, although I think he did it partly because he felt guilty.

And now here I am again, about to
go on another tortuous hike, although at least this time I’m not hung-over. I
heard the shower turn off and a few minutes later Ben came out of the bathroom
with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Good, you’re up. Why don’t you take
a shower while I make us some breakfast?”

“I have a better idea,’ I said
softly, letting the sheets slip down so my breasts spilled out. “Why don’t you
come back to bed for a little while?”

Ben stopped and stared at my open
invitation and I thought—yes, I’ve got him! But then he did something I’ve
never seen him do before. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. “No way,
Kate. Come on, you said you’d go today.”

I pulled the sheet back up and sighed
loudly. “Do I really have to?”

He came over and sat beside me.
“It’ll be fun—I promise. And it won’t be at all like last time. It feels great
to get outside early in the morning. Plus it’s really good for you too, you’ll
see. You might even like it.”

“I don’t like things that are good
for me.”

He chuckled. “Don’t you think
I’m
good for you?”

“Yeah,” I grumbled and leaned
against him in a resigned way. “I suppose you are.”

***

We started our hike and at first
it wasn’t so bad—definitely better than last time. Ben was right, in that it felt
good to be outside in the morning air. Walking through the woods, I thought the
light was amazing, and kept noticing how the sun dappled through the trees,
changing color. I’ve never been into painting nature scenes, but for the first
time I understood how someone might be drawn to it. There were a few times when
I found myself standing completely still, mesmerized by all the shades of green. 

The problem was that I kept losing
Ben. He’d wait for me, but then he’d get antsy and tell me he was going to walk
up a little further, but then he’d get so far ahead of me that I’d have to run to
catch up with him. I finally complained and told him to slow down.

“This isn’t a race, is it?”

“What?” He looked surprised. “Sorry.
I got so lost in my thoughts I didn’t even realize how fast I was going. I’ll
slow down.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged.
“Nothing. Everything.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell
me.”

He smiled, but didn’t say anything
further, remaining enigmatically silent.

We continued hiking for a couple
more hours, eventually leaving the woods behind us as we moved into a clearing
where the trail grew steeper. The sun was high above us now, and as we trudged
along I had to admit I was bored, not to mention tired of walking. I was
beginning to feel like I’d joined the army or something. So far we’d only taken
one short break where we’d sat on a fallen log, eating these energy bars that
tasted like a mixture of sawdust and dung. I tried talking to Ben as we walked,
hoping some conversation would liven things up, but it was too hard, since I
kept getting winded. At some point Ben must have sensed the mutinous feeling
building in me because he turned and asked how I was doing.

“I’m tired,” I said. “Can’t we
take another break?”

“Do you see that bend in the trail
right up there?” He pointed to where the trail forked. One of the paths led
straight up a steep and rocky part of the hill we’d been climbing. “Right at
the top of that crag are some of the best views of the entire valley. Do you
think you could make it up there?”

I studied it. “It’s awfully
steep.”

“I know, but it’s not as bad as it
looks and it’s only a short climb. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“Okay, let’s do it.” I mean, what
else could I say? We’d come all this way and he’d obviously be disappointed if
I told him I’d just as soon stop now.

We climbed together with Ben giving
instructions and telling me where to put my hands and feet. I knew this was
small potatoes for him, but this was by the far the steepest thing I’d ever
attempted to climb in my life. I did everything he told me to and concentrated
on moving upward, never checking to see how much further I had to go, nor looking
down as I was too nervous about falling. Eventually we made it to the top and I
flopped down on the ground to catch my breath.

“You did very well, Kate. Are you
okay?”

I nodded. “I think I’ll live.”

“Come and see where we are.”

I took the hand he offered and stood
up. Standing on a flat grassy area, I had to admit he was right about the view—it
was spectacular and encompassed the whole valley.

“It’s incredible.”

Ben grinned. “It is, isn’t it?”

“And so peaceful.” I gazed around in
every direction. The hills were covered with a myriad of trees ranging in
colors from deep gold to brilliant green, not a single house or road in sight.
The only sounds were the occasional bird cry and the buzz of crickets.

“I used to come out here a lot.
It’s a great place to sit and think.”

I nodded. “That’s easy to imagine.
It’s really beautiful.”

Ben moved and stood behind me,
wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face in my hair. “You smell
good.”

“I smell awful—I’m totally
sweaty.”

“No, it’s lady sweat. I like it.”

“Lady sweat?” I started to laugh.

“Are you hungry?”

As soon as he asked me, I realized
I was ravenous. “God yes, what do we have to eat though?” All I could picture
were those horrible energy bars and I didn’t think I could manage another one
of those no matter how hungry I felt.

“I packed us a picnic lunch. Come
over here and I’ll show you.”

Ben sat down beside his backpack
and began pulling things out. I was amazed when I saw how much stuff he had packed.
I felt guilty because while he’d been carrying everything, I’d been treating my
backpack like some sort of purse. All I had in mine was a bottle of water, sun
block, and a tube of cherry flavored lip gloss.

“You should have given me some of
that stuff to carry.”

Ben shook his head. “Don’t worry,
I’m used to it, and I didn’t want you to be dragged down with a heavy pack.”

He unfolded a blanket and handed
it to me so I could spread it on the ground, while he began pulling out all
sorts of yummy things to eat. His pack had a pocket inside that kept food cold
and so we had ham and cheese sandwiches, a block of brie, crackers, grapes, and
two pieces of chocolate cake. He even brought a bottle of apple cider with wine
glasses for us to drink out of.

As I sat there watching him, I
felt moved by his thoughtfulness and glad that I’d agreed to come on this hike,
since it obviously meant so much to him.

“Thank you,” I said. “This is all
so sweet of you.”

“So you’re having fun?”

“I am.” I looked around at the
view and then all the delicious food. “This is really romantic.”

“Well, you know....” He was silent,
gazing out at the view in concentration. I couldn’t quite place the expression
on his face.

“What is it?”

Ben shook his head. “Nothing. It’s
your first hike, so I wanted it be special.”

“Yeah, but it’s not really my
first
hike. That last hike was my
first
time.”

He smiled at the double meaning. “I
know, but I wanted to make up for that. Besides they say the first time always
hurts right?”

“It sure does.”

“But not the second time?”

“No, the second time feels good.”

Ben handed me a glass of cider and
then put his glass up for a toast. “Here’s to your second hike then, Kate.”

***

After devouring the food, Ben and
I took our shoes off. We pushed everything aside and lay down together on the
blanket. We’d kept the grapes nearby and started playing around with them, feeding
them to each other by putting a grape between our teeth and then offering it.
As you can imagine this led to other things and pretty soon we were making out.
I figured that’s all we were going to do, but then I felt Ben try to open the
top button on my shorts and I immediately put my hand over his.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Taking your shorts off.” He
pushed my hand out of the way, but I put it right back where it was.  

“You can’t take them off in
public.”

Ben laughed. “In public? Do you
see anybody else out here? We’re the only people for miles. I’ve been up here
dozens of times and never seen a soul. Besides my family owns most of this land.”

“They do?”

“Yeah, they own about fifty acres.”

“So, no one will see us?”

“Trust me. I will be the only one
to see you naked. I hope
that’s
all right.”

I smiled. “That’s definitely all
right.”

I pushed him onto his back and sat
on him, while I pulled my shirt off over my head, figuring I’d give him a
little show. Ben’s hands immediately went up to cup my breasts, but I told him—not
yet—and so he tucked them behind his head and lay there watching me. I
unfastened my bra and then leaned forward a little so the straps slid slowly
down my arms, revealing something, but not everything. Then I took my bra off
completely and stretched my arms overhead, while I arched my back. I felt Ben’s
warm hands on me as he ran them over my breasts and down my stomach.

When I looked at him he was
grinning, but with an aroused expression.

“Now, this is more like it. Do
that back arching thing again.”

I laughed and did it again with my
arms behind my head, his hands still caressing me.

“Oh man...,” he breathed. “I
really like that, you look amazing.”

I was sitting on his lap and could
feel the erection that had grown beneath his shorts, so I began sliding back
and forth a little.

“I know what you want young lady.”

“Do you now?”

“Yes, I do.”

“So, can I have it?”

“Oh, yeah.”

I reached down and unfastened his cargo
style shorts as he lifted his hips, making it easier for me to pull them off. He
sat up and yanked his shirt overhead, while I stood and took my own shorts and
panties off. He still had his boxers on and as he pulled them down, I watched his
erection pop out, fairly obscene, it’s deep hue a stark contrast against the paleness
of the skin around it. Ben was tan everywhere except his mid-section, where his
skin faded to an almost ludicrous white.

“I want to get on top,” I told him
and he obligingly lay back down again.

Climbing over him, I took his cock
in my hand, slowly guiding it inside of me, but not all the way, and then I pulled
it back out and slid it over my clit before pushing it back inside again. I was
slippery wet, so it was easy to do and I kept doing it because it felt really
nice.

Ben’s hands were resting on my
hips. I could tell he was holding himself back, trying not to push upwards so I
could have my little fun. I kept at it for a while and soon we were both panting,
which was funny, since we were barely exerting ourselves. As I started getting really
aroused I decided I wanted more.

“Push it all the way in,” I told
him breathless.

Ben grinned and then tightening
his hands on my hips, pulled down hard, so he was deep inside me. I gasped at
the feel of him. We’d had sex so many times, but I swear every time I felt
surprised all over again by how good he felt.

We started to move with each other,
Ben’s hands on me, except I was controlling the pace, and after a while I felt that
familiar erotic sensation building and I began to come in waves, yelling like a
wild woman, wondering how far my voice would carry in the great outdoors.

I thought Ben would finish himself
beneath me, but instead he pulled me down onto him and then rolled us over so I
was on my back and he was on top of me. He pushed one of my legs up so my knee
was practically touching my shoulder, and began to really go for it, working
for the intensity he needed to climax.

“Oh God, Kate...,” he panted as he
moved faster and harder. “You feel so perfect.” Finally he let out a thunderous
groan and then collapsed, burying his face in my neck.

We lay still for a while and I
felt him grow soft inside of me as I lazily stroked his back with the tips of
my fingers. We were both hot and sweaty with the sun shining on us, but luckily
there was a breeze too.

As I gazed up at the blue sky and breathed
in the quiet grass-scented air, I began to think that maybe this hiking thing
wasn’t so bad after all. But then something horrible occurred to me and I let
out a loud cry.

Ben looked at me startled. “What’s
wrong?”

“I just thought of something
terrible.”

“What is it?”

“We have to hike...
back
,
don’t we?”

Ben stared at me like I was
completely nuts for a second and then started to laugh, his whole body shaking
against me as he laughed harder and harder. I started laughing too as I
realized how silly my question sounded.

“Yes, Kate,” he said finally, catching
his breath. “We have to hike the
whole
way back.”