by Jim Goforth
"You alright Corey?" said a voice to his right and he turned to look.
A combination of exultant joy and blissful relief hammered his chest with a double kick.
Sashaying alongside of him, looking as heavenly as ever in her tight short skirt and jacket was the delectable Desiree, gazing queryingly at him with those gorgeous eyes he could drown in.
"Y..yeah," he replied, a stammer cruelling his words. "Bit wet but not too bad I guess."
"I'm sorry you know," she said. "I didn't mean to..."
"That's alright," Corey said quickly, knowing she was attempting to apologize for laughing at him. "I guess it would have been pretty funny to see. I would have laughed if it had been anybody else."
"Even me?" She inquired and Corey saw mischief dancing in her eyes.
"Yeah...No! I mean no. I would have jumped in to help."
"Oh, so sweet."
"I would have laughed if Raven had gone ass up in the drink though." Corey carried on, his confidence buoyed immeasurably now. "I would have pissed myself laughing. Probably would have thrown those oars in after her."
As Desiree erupted in gales of laughter Corey realised, a fraction belatedly, that Raven herself was walking next to Desiree on the other side and clearly heard his comment.
Raven glared with a suitably dark scowl which encompassed Corey and Desiree both, and probably Lee as well, and then lengthened her stride, speeding up past Tim and Blaise to join Melissa and Rachel at the front of the group.
"Whoops," said Corey, hardly able to prevent a wicked grin from crawling onto his visage. "Didn't realise she was right there."
"Don't worry about it, she's had plenty of fun at your expense," Desiree said. "Payback's a bitch."
"I don't think she likes me very much."
"Don't take it to heart," Desiree reassured him. "She doesn't really like anybody. I doubt she likes your friends much better."
At this point in the conversation Lee decided he wanted to start speaking which slightly annoyed Corey somewhat. As soaked as he was, walking along just talking to Desiree made the burden of saturation a little easier to bear.
"So how the hell did you fall in the lake then Corey?" Was Lee's question.
"I caught my foot on the edge of the boat just trying to jump out and help Blaise get the damn thing up on the shore."
“Clumsy oaf," hooted Lee. "I suppose you lost the bourbon then?"
"Nope." Corey patted the zipped up pocket containing the alcohol flask and his jacket made a horrendous squelching noise, spitting out more wet droplets. "Luckily I had the foresight to stow it away and zip it up before I even got in the boat."
"The joints? How'd they fare?"
"Not so good I'd say. We smoked one in the boat so that one wasn't wasted, but the other one was in my pocket when I dove headfirst into the drink. Could probably salvage a few scraps, but that'd be it."
"Don't sweat it," Lee replied. "You're looking at the Prince of Pot here, the Mary Jane Mecca. One itty bitty joint gone begging is nothing, there's plenty more where that came from."
"Glad to hear it," said Corey. "I just wish I wasn't such a clumsy dumbass and maybe I wouldn't be in misery. I hate being wet when I don't have to be."
Both Lee and Desiree laughed in unison and then if Corey wasn't mistaken, he felt the light touch of somebody’s palm resting on the small of his back. He fervently hoped it wasn't Lee.
"Don't worry Corey," Spoke the angel tones of delicious Desiree. "We'll get you to camp; we'll have you dried out in no time. The gals will have a big bonfire blazing, we'll get your gear off and you'll be dry before you know it."
A blazing bonfire? That profound statement bolstered Corey Somerset’s spirits almost as much as the feel of Desiree’s cool hand on his body.
Unfortunately before he could respond with a comment emphasising his happiness at hearing about the likelihood of a god sent fire, somebody else chose to join in on the conversation.
The big eavesdropping ears of King Clown Tim Hayworth caught the tail end of Desiree's words to Corey and they literally pricked up with much interest.
Revolving around so that he was walking backwards, facing Corey, Desiree and Lee, Tim displayed a giant leering grin.
"What was that I heard? Somebody else is going to get their gear off? I'm liking this little expedition more and more." He pointed a finger at Desiree. "Please, please tell me it's you."
"No fuckface," said Corey. "Actually it's me. Still interested?"
He really had the strong inclination to just belt Tim and be over with it, but the G-string wearing Blaise beat him to the punch, slogging Tim with an elbow, changing the leering expression to a grimace.
"Hey!" Blaise pouted. "I thought it was me you wanted to see."
"Why do all these chicks keep flogging me?" Tim complained.
"Answer me or I'll flog you again." Blaise threatened.
"Alright, keep your pants off. It is you I want to see, but you can't blame me for wanting to see a honey like her down to a G-string or less."
"Hey, I'm right here idiot," Desiree said. "Anyway why don't you watch where you're going instead of goggling at me?"
These sound words of advice came too little, too late.
As Tim walked backwards, rubbing his biceps, the heel of his left boot connected with some upraised object, a rock or a trailing tree root.
He flew over, arms wind milling and landed with a solid thump on his back amidst the earth and leaf debris littering the ground.
Plenty of hilarity immediately ensued, the majority of it courtesy of Tim's two friends, while Blaise predictably dissolved in a cavalcade of giggles.
Desiree meanwhile simply wore a rather smug look of satisfaction, an expression which conveyed an 'I told you so' message she didn't need to say.
The raucous outburst attracted the attention of the forerunners, Melissa and co. several lengths ahead of the rest of the bunch.
As one entity the trio of girls turned around, varying expressions decorating their faces.
"Hey!" Melissa thundered, advancing on the scene. "What the hell is going on?"
She halted and glowered down at Tim's prone figure spread eagled on the woods floor.
"What is this fool doing?" She wanted to know.
"Tripped over," Lee said. "Wasn't paying attention to where he was going."
Melissa nudged Tim in the ribs with a pointed boot tip.
He groaned and continued to gaze up at the star littered sky.
"Right agile surefooted lot you clowns are," she scoffed. "One falls in the lake, another trips over his own feet. Quite a circus."
Her eyes lanced into Lee, the black star tattoo around her eye creating quite an unnerving effect under the glint of moonlight.
"I really can't wait to see what you've got planned. Come on! Be a little more careful you idiots, stop fucking around, and stop making so much noise. Desi, Blaise you know better, don't encourage them."
Corey attempted to look suitably chastised though he didn’t have to try too hard to look intimidated. Melissa was something of an imposing character, with or without the sharp knife hanging on her belt.
Tim's misfortune made him feel a bit better about his own but by the same token he knew precisely what it was like to be the source of everybody’s laughter and jibes.
There had been a window of opportunity to laugh at Tim, he'd taken it and now the moment had successfully passed on by.
He extended an aiding hand towards Tim who took it, still moaning and muttering, hauling his carcass up off the earthen floor.
"None of you idiots have a clue where you are do you?" Melissa addressed the three lads. "So if you fuck around out here things can get real bad real quickly and you can find yourself in trouble quick smart."
"What sort of trouble?" Lee wanted to know.
"All sorts," Melissa responded vaguely, electing not to elaborate. "So just pay attention, be a whole lot more careful and a lot less noisy. Now let's carry on. Any one of you s
teps out of line again or falls over or fucking does anything stupid you're getting left behind."
Having said her piece she turned on her heel and marched off with Raven in tow. Blaise, Desiree and Rachel were quick to follow.
The trio consisting of Tim, Lee and Corey were last to trail off in pursuit.
Tim's back was an interesting collage composed of dirt, twigs, leaves and dry grass stems.
Halfheartedly he brushed at it, cursing his rotten luck this evening.
Not only did most of the girls within the group seem keen on brutally slugging him whenever the opportunity arose, now it appeared as if the elements were also rising up to take offence with him.
The boys started walking together, an eerie sort of quiescence having now descended over the entire congregation.
Walking along in silence, a disappointed Corey ruminated on how quickly Desiree left his side to walk with the other girls after Melissa roundly berated everybody.
Still, it wasn't all bad; wandering behind the trio of delectable females gave him ample time to view three lovely backsides.
Though it was Blaise who showed off the most to see, her buttocks virtually bare on display in nothing but her tight little G-string, it was the wonderfully shapely ass of Desiree in her short black skirt which transfixed Corey and captivated his utmost attention.
He could barely tear his eyes away from her butt as it moved fluidly with each step she took, the hem of her skirt just covering her cheeks, tantalising and teasing.
In Corey's mind he transposed the G-string of Blaise onto the backside of Desiree, trying to envision his dream woman wearing one underneath that tiny skirt.
His eyes were so fixated on her wonderful behind that if she suddenly stopped her forward motion he would probably keep walking and run right into the back of her.
That would set Raven's nasty tongue wagging for certain, and wary of being the next to do something stupid and incur the furious wrath of Melissa, Corey reluctantly made himself look elsewhere, though nowhere else was quite as interesting as the asses of the three girls walking before them.
He supposed it was probably a sensible notion to pay at least some attention to their surroundings, where they were going or where they'd come from.
He couldn't speak for his two male companions-though he suspected they were similarly clueless-but Melissa was spot on the money with her deduction that the boys didn't know where they were.
Corey didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of even guessing where they were.
He knew vaguely that the inlet feeding from the lake down which they'd travelled was off to his right, the lake itself some distance behind them and the picnic area where he and his mates first encountered the wild girls was even further away.
He supposed if it was absolutely necessary he had an inkling he could find his way back there and hence to the highway, but he wouldn't have liked to do it without a boat.
He certainly hoped the ladies were going to be kind enough to ferry the lads back to the highway side of the lake otherwise the three of them were in quite a bit of bother.
All was quiet now as the troupe walked through the woods, the only sounds being that of feet crunching in fallen leaves and grass, the swishing of clothing and the cries of occasional night birds, none of which Corey recognised.
Visibility was relatively clear even at this time of night due to the fact that the moon was almost full and very bright, casting plenty of illumination, but where tall stands of trees clumped together creating clusters of dark stretching shadows it wasn't so easy to see.
Corey was amazed by the ability of the lead girls to pick their way through the woods without any light but that shone by the moon.
True it was easy to see everything ghostly and white where no shadows fell, but when they did happen to move into shaded areas Corey could hardly see a foot in front of him.
He gazed at the pale globes of Blaise's naked buttocks, spectrally white in the moonlight, eying the tiny dragon on her cheek.
A ludicrous notion that the miniscule creature was mouthing 'wrong way, go back,' entered his head and he tried to shut it out immediately.
Naturally the women appeared to know exactly where they were headed, but as for he, Lee and Tim they couldn't have had any less idea.
For all any of them knew the girls could be luring them right into the jaws of some nasty trap.
Corey liked to think that wasn't the case and wished somebody-anybody-though preferably Desiree would start talking again.
At least with someone’s chatter in his ear the pessimistic Corey wasn't prone to wander off on morbid thought tangents, creating traps, monsters and disastrous outcomes where they weren't necessary.
Presently he became aware that Melissa and company had halted the procession once more and he was surprised to realise that the inlet was right next to them, albeit several metres down.
He hadn't realised that they'd been walking up an incline, but apparently they had been for they were standing on a cliff like edge, a distance above the bank and the water.
He swiftly acknowledged why they all stopped too; no more ground could be made by walking straight ahead the way they had been.
Another towering cliff stretched up behind Melissa, a great impenetrable wall of rock stretching as far as the eye could see, extending away from the river and back down through the woods.
He'd assumed the ladies knew full well where they were going up until this point where it appeared they'd totally lost their bearings, leading the whole party to a giant dead end barrier of granite and earth.
Then he realised that there was a way past the cliff face.
CHAPTER 6
On the side of the river approximately a metre or so above where they currently stood, Corey could see a precarious looking path no more than a metre wide extending along the river side of the cliff, vanishing around a corner.
He gazed up at it in consternation, trying to imagine walking that tight rope track without twisting an ankle on a loose rock and plunging back down into the swirling waters below.
"Fuck!" Tim marveled eloquently. "Don't you go falling in again Corey."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Corey muttered, all too clearly witnessing in his mind himself doing a graceless somersault off the path, missing the water entirely and breaking his neck on the bank.
"Okay people," Melissa said. "The only way, obviously, is this track up here."
She indicated the perilous path marching above the river along the cliff with a pointed finger for the benefit of the men, though the three of them had already come to that conclusion.
Lee, who wasn't fond of heights at the best of times, looked to be going a little green around the gills.
To avoid eying the miniscule path until absolutely necessary he eyed the miniscule G-string of Blaise instead, fervently wishing he wasn't here.
"Its single file, no pushing or crowding, and absolutely no fucking around. When we get off the path there's a bridge to cross, same rules apply. After we're all across the bridge we can stop worrying about broken necks. But that doesn't mean it's free reign to start fucking around again-Tim and Corey-so Keep that in mind. Okay, we all ready?"
"No," Lee said very quietly so probably only Corey heard him. "Not now. Not ever. A fucking bridge for God sakes. My night is looking bright."
"Don't worry." Corey tried to reassure him. "I won't let you fall."
"Raven!" Melissa barked. "You're first, then you Rachel. You guys go next; the rest of us will follow. Guys, take your time, be careful but don't stop moving. Try not to look down either. It isn't that far down, but all the same if you don't like heights much you look down and you'll freeze. We don't want anybody stopping while the rest of us are still coming along the path."
Listening to Melissa speak and paying her undivided attention Corey didn't see Raven disappear, but when he next glanced up towards the path Rachel was scrambling up the rocks.
With Rachel up on the track picking
her way along it, it was time for the boys.
Corey felt somewhat faint. He didn't quite fear heights like Lee, but he didn't especially love them either.
The pair of them both turned sets of eyes to Tim.
"You up Tim?" Corey asked.
Pinned like a deer in the headlights between his two mates, big Tim didn't really have a choice, or a chance, to weasel out.
"Well I guess so," he shrugged, clearly not as fazed as either Lee or Corey.
He strode up to the cliff face and hoisted himself up, crawling in an ungainly fashion up onto the path.
Watching him straighten and then slowly begin to walk foot after foot, Corey was glad the moonlight afforded them plenty of illumination.
Trying to navigate that thin rocky stretch in utter dark would have been a certain suicide mission.
"Lee, you go next," Corey prodded his stupefied friend. "I'll follow and make sure you don't take a tumble."
"Great. I wasn't even thinking about taking a tumble until you put the notion in my head."
"Don't think about it," Melissa said sharply. "You'll be fine. If it's any consolation I've never seen anybody ever take a tumble."
"Come on up boys!" Tim's voice rang out from above. "It's a walk in the park."
"Yeah, sure and I'm an astronaut," Lee muttered. "Walk in the park, my ass."
Still, Corey had to commend his height fearing pals courage.
Wasting no more time Lee whispered something under his breath and scaled the cliff to the path.
"You're next baby," said Desiree and squeezed Corey's shoulder, the feel of her touch igniting his nerve endings, sending delicious shivers of adrenaline coursing through his body.
'Yeah I can do this,' Corey resolutely swore to himself, buzzing internally with a warm glow.
The delightful Desiree had called him ‘baby’; hell this WAS going to be a walk in the park. He could do anything with this surge of exhilaration flowing in his veins.
Up he went, ignoring the wet heavy folds of clothing around his form attempting to drag him down to earth.
The sodden material felt as though it added an extra ten unwanted kilos to him, but by the same token, with the feel of Desiree's hand and the sound of her words fresh in his brain, he also felt as though he were light-headedly walking on the moon.