Emerald Falls

Dear Readers, This is my first gay male story (and only second overall), so if you read it, please provide as much feedback as possible. It's obviously great if you loved it and want to give 5 stars, but it's also totally Ok if you hated it and want to give it a 1-star. Any and all feedback is helpful and greatly appreciated. Thank you!

--------------------------------

"Hey Matt, I am going camping next weekend at Emerald Falls State Park, along with Ramon and Mike. Do you want to join us?" asked Brian.

"Err, sure, I don't really have any plans next weekend." I stammered, without much thought. I didn't know why Brian was asking me in particular. We were all part of a social group, mostly single guys and girls, with more guys than girls. The group came together for events a couple of times a month. We had been to shooting ranges, horseback riding, hiking, and such.

I had broken up with my girlfriend almost two years ago, and it had taken me over a year to recover from that breakup. I had joined the group because I was ready to get back into the pool and wanted to find some chicks to date. Sadly, this had not panned out at all so far; there were only a couple of chicks in the group whom I felt like asking out, and both had been distinctly cold.

I had met Brian a few times during these events and he seemed like a really nice guy, although I did not consider him a friend by any means. I doubted that he considered me a friend either, so I couldn't figure out why he would ask me to camp out with a couple of his buddies. It was quite clear though that the three of them were pretty close. They usually hung out together during events, and I was almost certain that Ramon and Mike were a couple.

"Great, it will be fun. Have you camped there before?"

"No, I have never been there. And I haven't camped much before, so I don't have any camping gear, and probably don't even know what to bring." I replied.

"Don't worry, we are pretty experienced and our tents are big enough to easily accommodate two or three people at a time. We'll be hiking anyways, so bring what you would on a hike - hats, sunscreen and bug spray - and just add in a sleeping bag and a couple of changes of clothes. We'll take care of the rest."

"Ok, sounds like a plan." I said, again on autopilot, still quite unsure of what I was stepping into.

We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, and agreed to meet at the entrance parking lot at a specified time next Thursday evening. From there, we would drive to the campground, set up camp and then head out for a hike Friday morning. Brian and his mates had taken Friday off, and I had been tired enough at work that I wouldn't mind taking a day off myself.

I was a little distracted from that point on, but excited about the opportunity to have company for an extended period and spend an enjoyable weekend outdoors, throwing back some beers with a bunch of dudes. I drove up to the park and arrived a few minutes early. It had been a long drive, so I got out to stretch, taking in the evening air. It was still pretty hot, although the sun had already set.

Brian drove up a few minutes later in his large truck and parked next to me.

"Hey Brian," I said cheerfully.

"Hey Matt," he replied equally cheerfully. "Ready to go?"

"Aren't we waiting for Ramon and Mike?" I asked.

"They'll be along a little later tonight. Mike got stuck at work a little longer than expected, and he and Ramon were planning to drive together."

I had been curious about this all week, and couldn't hold it in any longer. "Are they dating? I am pretty sure Mike is gay." I blurted out, before I realized how rude that must have sounded.

I was about to throw out an apology about how I didn't mean to say it like that, but Brian didn't seem to mind and answered matter of factly, "Yes, they have been together for a couple of years now."

There wasn't anything else I could think of to say, so I simply nodded and said, "Ok, let's go. Want to lead the way?"

"Sure, follow me."

We drove several miles into the park, which was quite large by state park standards. I had done a little research before coming here, and it turned out that it was one of the less visited parks in the area. There were plenty of hiking trails, but only a couple with great scenic views, with both over four miles long and ranked up there on the difficulty scale. It was also a much longer drive from the city, and therefore, most people preferred weekend getaways at other parks in the area that offered lakes, sandy beaches or easier hikes.

It was almost dark by the time we got to the campsite. Brian hurriedly unloaded the tent from the back of his truck, and I only needed to be of minimal help with the tent poles. He was clearly a pro, and once the tent itself was assembled, he proceeded to drive the stakes into the ground with surprising ease, even though the ground was quite dry at this time of the year.

We unloaded the rest of our gear a little bit more leisurely. Or rather, Brian did most of his, since my possessions were paltry, consisting mainly of a sleeping bag, a hiking backpack and a small gym bag with changes of clothes and sundries.

Brian and his gang had chosen a good campsite, with two camping spots in close vicinity and a nice fire pit shared by the two. I was surprised to see that Brian had already brought firewood and lighter fluid with him, reinforcing his experience and my inexperience; I would never have thought of the fact that it would be hard to gather good firewood in almost complete darkness - even with a lamp or lantern to help - so there would have been no campfire the first night!

Once we had a good fire going, we popped open our beers and Brian started to cook some meat and beans. He had now taken his shirt off and was wearing only a thin sleeveless vest below. I couldn't help staring at his bare arms, thick and muscular as tree trunks. He might have caught me staring once, but didn't say anything.

"Sausage?" he asked. "You should try it." A pregnant pause, followed by "You eat meat, right? It's venison from last season's hunt."

"I'll try a little," I said. Again, I was slightly ashamed at my own camping inexperience, having brought along only energy bars, a small packet of spiced rice, a few cans of beans, and a case of beer.

He gave me one. I sliced it with a knife and started eating. It was actually quite delicious. "Thanks, that's good sausage," I said, taking a sip of my beer.

"I've got better inside," he said, and laughed, throwing back his own beer after he said it. I heard the double entendre and was glad he could not see me blush by the fireside.

We were both quite tired after a long workday and the drive, and didn't hang out for too long. As he had promised, it was very spacious. "Rest up," said Brian. "We are going to hike the Devil's Fall Trail tomorrow, which is the only trail leading to Emerald Falls. It'll feel a little hard but you seem fit enough and you'll see it's totally worth it. You're up for it, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I think I can handle it," I said. I was no stud, like Brian clearly was, but had done enough hikes and was in decent enough shape to feel confident that I could complete a state park hike. After all, it was not like we were trying to conquer El Capitan.

"Great! Best if we leave early in the morning to avoid the heat during the steepest part of the climb. Sleep tight." said Brian, and stripped down to his boxers. He smiled again. It was a perfectly normal smile, but it made me pretty uncomfortable. That double entendre from earlier in the day was still playing on my mind, and was trying all I could to not stare at his massive chest and muscular arms. I quickly changed into shorts and T-shirt, and unrolled my sleeping bag.

We exchanged looks just as we were slipping into our sleeping bags. My eyes went to his bare legs this time. They looked like a runner's - not as thick as his arms, but clearly powerful and muscular. But my eyes locked on the spot between them and I was slightly shocked to see a tent in his boxers. I stared for way too long, during which he had given me a good look-over too. He smiled again, this time a little crookedly. "Good night, Matt. Sweet dreams." This time, he could clearly have seen me blushing as he turned off the lamp inside the tent.

I had a hard time falling asleep, the sexual innuendo and his half-erection stuck in a seemingly perpetual loop in my head. After a few minutes, I was appalled as I felt my own erection coming on. I wasn't gay. Why was this happening to me? And what had I gotten myself into here? Thankfully, the day's weariness took over and I soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

I had not set an alarm, but somehow, I woke up right at daybreak. Brian was already up and dressed, so I was relieved that I would not have to relive the uncomfortable situation from last night. "Good Morning," he said, again with that unnerving smile. I hurriedly returned the pleasantries and dressed before he could stare at me for any length of time.

We grabbed a quick breakfast, filled our canteens with water, and I made sure there were enough energy bars in my backpack to make it through the hike.

"You ready to find nirvana at the falls?" laughed Brian. "Let's go check if our friends are up yet." I noticed the tent in the campsite next to us, which had been empty when we went to bed last night. Brian and I walked over to the other tent and lifted the flap.

He had told me last night about Ramon and Mike, but I was still shocked by the sight in the tent. The two of them were in the same sleeping bag, lying in each other's arms. Mike's lower body was still inside the bag, but Ramon's naked body was completely uncovered. He was not as muscular as Brian, but still very well-built.

However, my eyes were drawn to his cock. It was currently flaccid, and partly covered by his dense black mat of pubic hair. It was hard to tell its fully erect length, but the significant girth was evident. He was not circumcised, so the head wasn't visible either, but I could see a spot of leaked cum at the tip. Again, I stared for way too long, and again, I was shocked to find myself getting hard. Very hard this time.

I hurriedly withdrew from the tent opening as Brian stepped away too. "Looks like our lovebirds aren't going to catch the worm," he said, laughing again. But his eyes immediately looked down at my crotch, and his smile stretched from ear to ear. My underwear was tight enough and my hiking pants a comfortable fit, so I fervently hoped that they not given away my erection.

"The trailhead is only a half mile from here, so let's make a move," he said, thankfully saving me from further embarrassment. I was just glad to get start moving and hopefully get my mind off male anatomy.

The first part of the trail was mostly flat, and we made quick progress for the first half hour or so. But then it started getting steeper, and by the time we were on the back half of it, my progress was quite a bit slower. Brian, on the other hand, hardly seemed to notice. On several occasions, I found him patiently waiting for me a fair distance ahead on the trail.

I was really enjoying the hike though. There were photo ops galore, and the views from those vista points were fantastic. Miles of woods, interspersed with bushy flatlands, stretched away far into the distance. Certain points also afforded a full view of the river meandering away through the greens. I guessed that the falls plunged down to that river below, and Brian confirmed this when I asked. He also seemed pleased that I was enjoying my time on the trail.

The final part of the trail was both steep and rocky, and the day was rapidly getting hotter. I found myself out of breath at a few points, but Brian still kept climbing like a mountain goat, waiting ahead very patiently for me to catch up to him. I also had to enlist his assistance once to climb a particularly large rock. He simply reached out a powerful hand and easily pulled me up, making me wonder exactly how much muscle he had on him to summon strength like that.

We had not passed any hikers on our way up, but when we were on our last stretch of trail, we ran into a young couple coming down. Both of them were wearing shorts, t-shirts and hats. The girl's hair was wet, and so was her t-shirt, which stuck to her skin and afforded a view of her bra through it. Brian cheerfully greeted them and they stopped to talk to us for a moment.

"How's the water today?" asked Brian astutely; he had noticed the wet hair and clothes too.

"Very refreshing. Right, Kat?" replied the guy with a big grin on his face.

The girl looked a little embarrassed, and simply replied "Yeah, very nice." with a sheepish smile.

"Cool, it looks like you both enjoyed a nice shower under the fall. Definitely sounds nice!" Brian replied with a big smile of his own.

The girl's face turned slightly red, but neither she nor the guy seemed to get angry at Brian's overt suggestiveness about their private activities in a public place. Both of them simply smiled and the guy said, "You only live once, eh? Cheers, see you later."

"Cheers. Enjoy the rest of your day too!" Brian gave them a thumbs up and a wink, and quickly added just as they were about to head off, "Come on Matt, we have our own rendezvous to keep, don't we?"

I had no idea what to make of that, so I just kept quiet as we started climbing the final part of the trail. But my mind started racing in a dozen different directions. What had Brian meant by that remark? Was he just finishing up the sexual innuendo he had engaged in with that couple? Was he joking with me? Did he actually mean that we should shower naked under the falls too? Separately or together? And surely he didn't mean...?

All these thoughts suddenly vanished as a last steep bend on the trail brought us in view of the falls. They were truly breathtaking. A wide cascade rushed from the top to a broad rock ledge about thirty feet below it, and a second cascade plummeted at least a hundred feet down from the ledge to the bottom of a gorge. The roar of the water was very loud, even though we were not quite there yet. "Wow!" was all I could manage to say out loud, as Brian kept climbing.

Another minute or two of climbing brought us to a flat plateau, dotted with huge, flat pieces of rock, which looked like a sculpture someone might have put in the middle of a dense urban jungle. It was also a lot more beautiful, and just irregular enough to conclude that it was decidedly a product of nature's powerful forces. On the other side of the rocks, a short pathway climbed up to the broad watery ledge I had seen on my first view of the falls.

Brian led us to one of the nearer rocks, took off his backpack and placed it gently on the rock. It was only then that he spoke his first words since my last exclamation of wonder.

"Quite something, isn't it?"

"Extraordinary indeed," I agreed.

"Well, I am going to wash off all this sweat we worked up on that climb. Ever take a shower under a waterfall? It's amazing. I assume your legs are feeling pretty heavy right now, but once you get under there, you'll be as good as new immediately."

"No," I admitted, hoping that it really would be as good as he was making it out to be.

"Well, here's your chance then. This is one of the best places to do that."

"Ok, well what the hell, ditch the thought of just washing my face and hands and filling my canteen, eh?" I said, trying to muster the same easy confidence with which Brian seemed to speak, at least on the outside, even though I was nowhere as confident inside.

"Yup," he said, as I turned away from him, wearily took off my own backpack and placed it on the rock. I took a long swig of water from my canteen, which was nearly empty from the climb. My parched throat immediately felt better; the sun had started beating down now and things were getting hot. A shower under the cool water of the fall actually sounded pretty good. I had taken off my pants when I realized that I had a change of clothes in my backpack, but no towel.

"Hey Brian, do you happen to have a..." I never finished my sentence as I turned back to face him. My jaw dropped a long way from my mouth when I saw him standing stark naked, again patiently waiting for me with a slight smile on his face.

"A what?" he asked, with a completely innocent expression on his face.

"I... I..."

"Yes?"

"I meant... I was just..."

"What's the matter? You never seen another guy naked with his cock out?"

"Yes, but I mean no..." I was still in shock, fumbling around for words. Brian's mention of cock instinctively made me glance at his. He was well hung and circumcised. I guessed his cock was a fair bit greater than average length and perhaps average girth, certainly thinner than I had seen on Ramon earlier in the morning.

The re-entrance of Ramon's cock into my thoughts shocked me further. Why had I thought of that? Why was I evaluating the size of Brian's cock? Why was I still staring at it, and why could I not make myself look away? Why was I thinking the word "cock" rather than "penis" or "dick"? My brain simply could not process or keep up with sexual thoughts that flowed in a torrent just like that waterfall near us.

"Like what you see?" Brian's chiding voice jolted me back to reality.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." I fumbled again and shifted my gaze up at his face.

"Hey, it's just us two guys here, so you might as well give me your honest assessment."

My mouth was still slightly agape, but that remark from him drew my eyes back to his cock. I simply was unable to stop myself, and his voice almost hypnotically leading me to do as he had asked. The torrent of sexual thoughts refused to go away, and in that state of mind, I had to admit Brian's cock was beautiful. I saw beauty in the perfect proportions of its shaft and its head, in its pale, slightly pinkish color that matched his sweat soaked skin, and in musculature that matched his stud-like build.

"It's a beautiful cock," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Thanks. And yes, you certainly seem to fancy it," he said with a mischievous smile.

I was about to ask him what he meant by that, when I realized that I was already hard, just like I had been last night in the tent with him. And this time, standing in my underwear in a wide open space in broad daylight, there was no hiding it.

"No, it's not like that, I mean..." I protested.

"It's ok man, it's just us two guys here alone. Just like a gym shower, you know? Don't tell me you never looked at guys in there and never admired their bodies - chest, arms, legs, abs, whatever. We are just talking about cock here. It's a body part too, right?"

I had no reasonable response or argument to that, so I tried to relax a little and change the subject. "Are you gay?" I asked.

"No, but I like sex with men as much as I like sex with women. Different equipment, different pleasures, you know." he laughed.

I threw my head back to laugh with him when I understood the import of his statement, and a swarm of butterflies suddenly took residence in my stomach. I could not figure out exactly when this situation had gone from a question of seeing another guy's cock to showering naked or not, and then all the way to having gay sex!

He didn't give me the time to process this further. He had stepped behind me while I was about to laugh, and was gently lifting my arms to help me out of my t-shirt. "You might as well strip off too, wouldn't you want your shower to feel just like it does at home, just in one hell of a more awesome setting?" he cooed in my ear.

I had frozen at his touch, but his hypnotic voice once again made me yield to him. He had me naked within seconds, and then stepped back in front of me to give my body a thorough examination with his eyes. "You aren't bad-looking yourself, Matt. Including your cock."