Maddy Was Different Pt. 01

"I love route finding on open faces, jam cracks, and chimneys. I get nervous about too much exposed friction, even though I'm pretty good at it. Rappelling gives me a terrific high, but belaying is a hassle, especially when you are stuck in the bushes or the fire ants."

"This might work. I hate chimneys, and love friction. My mother was a ballet dancer, and I pretend I am dancing out there, floating."

She pulled my ear, "As long as you don't come off."

We talked climbing for another half hour and I could feel the excitement welling up in Maddy.

"While the weather is still warm, what if we went to Tuolumne Meadows and practiced on some of the lesser domes. Can you free up next weekend?"

The idea was that we were going to use the light in the treehouse to do some studying, but it didn't work out that way. I had just arranged myself with a biology text when my new girlfriend was naked and climbing into my lap.

"I am so hyper about all this, I can't possibly study. Can we get it on?"

"After all the grief I gave you yesterday, you still want me?"

She leaned and whispered in my ear, "Will you please shut up and fuck."

It was better than last night. Slower but just as intense. She moved around, got on top and rode me. Pulled me back over and humped at me. Finally went into one climax after another, saying dirty things and asking for more. I was surprised when a truly major orgasm arrived and my expanded cock really did a job on her. This time there was a large towel under us, and a big neck jug for middle of the night problems. I was almost asleep when she said, "This is going to work out, I am so happy."

No Roy in the morning. She wiggled tighter into me. "We can't have sex, I have to save my strength for the rock."

I took one hand from her boob, raised the upper thigh and slipped inside like he always belonged there.

"Uhmm. A stealth attack. Keep doing that."

We rocked back and forth and she lost the quiet laziness. I was pushed back. Her mouth closed on me with a giant suck. Her breasts were soft and round and glorious in the morning light. I tweaked a nipple and she climbed on me. She was humming "Trouble" and bouncing on me with the beat. I sang the lyrics back at her. I pulled her down for a kiss and she turned us over. "Finish me, finish me, finish me..." Her voice died out as we came.

More mopping. "I thought I told you not to mess in me."

"You did no such thing. Are we supposed to have been using protection?"

"What a guy thing to say! You fuck a girl twice, sending her god knows where, and then you ask! I'm calling my mom about the shotgun."

We rolled around, wrestling and hitting. Wow, was I stuck on this girl.

It was a long drive to the Yosemite High Country and the Friday traffic was always bad. I suggested the treehouse and a 3 am departure on Saturday. Seditious thoughts about living with this woman were in my head. Even both of our room and board contributions wouldn't rent a place in Silicon Valley.

She wanted to drive, full of energy and excitement. Woke us up just before the alarm time and said, "I always do that. Set the alarm and my body does the rest." A stiff thing was against her thigh and she moved away fast. "No goo this morning. Not on a climbing day." Her voice was tough and feisty. The trunk was packed with our gear, and a stop on El Camino provided caffeine and a crisp donut.

"You are the most determined person I have ever met. Where does that come from?"

"My grandparents on my father's side immigrated after the war. Young and in love and alienated from their parents. Couldn't find work over there. Had cousins in Chicago that gave them a start. My dad died in a work accident when I was two. My mom went back to school and my grandparents raised me. Talk about a work ethic. My grandfather used to walk me to school and help with homework. I never had a chance to be anything except determined. Does that bother you?"

I reached over and caressed the side of her face. "The rock can be very demanding. Most of the time, the only thing holding you back is yourself."

"So climbing with you is going to liberate the real me?"

"Maybe liberate the real both of us. Do you like wrestling with me?"

"Yes. God yes. Everything comes tumbling out. Sex and school and men and just wanting to let loose!"

I took her hand off the wheel and kissed it. "You are different. I've never been around a woman like you. I haven't even known you a week, but..."

"Yes. I can feel it. Makes me want to crawl on you, bounce on you, get that hot thing in me."

"Hmm. He likes the hot place you have for him."

"Stop being sappy. Take a nap and you can drive when we get to the park."

She pulled over at the entrance station. It was getting light but we had thirty miles to go. The sun would be on the rock when we got to the Tuolumne domes.

She folded into the car blanket I gave her and I drove along the winding road, planning the climb. It was a dangerous hour, with deer, bears and coyotes out looking for breakfast. I concentrated on driving but was thinking maybe the two of us could role play on the climb. Give ourselves tough names and bad mouth the other for not paying attention. Worth a try. I was working on that thought when another intruded. The strong body was under me, twisting and turning and flexing up. Her hand was holding me, jerking and pulling and hurting him. I reached down and twisted the stiff nipples. She cried out and suddenly I was in her, all the way in her, and the noise shifted to moans and little cries for more...

Shit. That had to stop. If I couldn't put those away, I was going to fall right off the rock on my head. She stirred and looked out the window. We were passing the long high lake where the road runs along the water. The first dome was ahead, with sun on the very top. It was a mystical sight.

She sat up quickly and excitedly said, "Which one are we climbing?"

"The route on the one ahead will be in the shade for awhile. If we go up around the corner, there will be morning sun for us on the next one."

"Yes, sun sounds good." She found the water, took a slug and handed it to me. "Want food?"

"I'll wait and have a bar when we start. Ready to do the first pitch?"

Her look was sharp. "Come on! No teasing."

"I'm serious. It's a nice jam to a ledge with a tree for the belay."

Her face wasn't happy, but when I parked where she could see the route out of the talus, things improved. "Matt, that's awful smooth about halfway."

"You said you wanted jams. Here, take a look through the binoculars."

"That's a hell of a tiny ledge. What's the loop doing above?"

"There is a neat pendulum. You'll like it."

"Damn. Should have known you'd kill me the first time out."

We double checked each other's harness, clipped on our racks, and moved out. The jam started easy and steepened so that she was straining hard as she reached the ledge. I watched, and she didn't grab the tree, just clipped in and called, "Belay off." I was impressed.

As I got to the ledge, my first impulse was to kiss her, but I stifled. The next pitch was a crack system with good hand and footholds, but it ended in nothing, just below a bolt.

She scanned the rock and said, with a semi-anxious look, "That's a belay bolt?"

"Yes, the friction pitch is to the left, ending in that rounded ledge below the loop."

She was confident on the cracks, moving as well as many of my men partners. When I came up behind her, clipping into the same bolt, she heard me sniffing. "I know, I smell something awful."

It was female adrenalin sweat and all her. I said, "There would be something wrong if you didn't have that adrenalin smell out here in the middle of nowhere. I already told you I like the way you smell."

She smiled, "Asshole."

With that encouragement, I danced out on the friction, full of myself. She gave me loose rope, as I requested. The stance at the loop was solid, which was good, because you needed a good launch for the pendulum. I clipped in extra carefully and turned to face her.

"Do not worry about coming off. I'm bombproof and you are plenty good enough for it."

She was, and the smile on her face when she got to me was wide. "God damn, you are fun to climb with. Don't get us killed right away, ok?"

I had to stifle another kiss, and asked if she had done pendulums before. "Only a couple of dumb practice ones."

"We are going to belay you through the loop. That way, if you don't make it the first time, the belay will help you back to this ledge. Make sure you have enough rope to make it to me."

I did a couple of practice runs to show her the technique, and then went for it. There was a big flake handhold at the end. And another belay bolt. Some of these routes had been cleaned by the free freaks, which did not make friends and influence people among the climbers. There had been a bolt war in Tuolumne until the park service intervened and told both parties to knock it off.

She made it on the first try and let out a loud whoop that echoed around.

"What a rush! Whew!"

One more easy pitch and we were walking off and down to the car. I said, "Let's take a break and sit in the meadow."

She lay on my leg and munched an apple. I held her other hand, "I've been meaning..."

"I know."

"You know?"

"I could tell. Intuition or something. Up there, we are two different people. Just climbers, just rock, just concentration."

Silence. I bit into my own apple. She looked up, eyes questioning.

"You are too damn smart for me, Maddy." I squeezed the hand.

"Let's not talk smart. You just gave me the thrill of my life. I could live on that. What else are we going to do?"

"It's not very exciting to walk off these dome routes into the dirt. We could try that peak up there in the sun, it's the name peak for the whole range here. It's almost a walkup, but the altitude gain will expand your lungs and there is a nice chimney on the back side for you to lead."

The meadow grass was warm, and the view of Cathedral Peak was amazing in the cloudless sky.

She bounded to her feet and shouted, "Let's do it!"

Pacing up the long talus slope, breath coming in deep heaves, she was less excited. "You are just getting me all out of breath so you can ravish me on top."

"No sex talk while climbing." I was puffing hard myself.

We came out of the trees near the base of the southeast buttress. Gloriously white and laced with cracks and ledges. "If you are feeling good, we can traverse around without the rope."

"Go for it."

With only a few careful moves, we were on the south face, with some dirty rock above and then a roped pitch. I led to an alcove. As she came over the top, I said, "Keep going, I have you on belay and the chimney starts about fifteen feet above you. It opens at the top and you can belay me from there."

She had a great time in the chimney, laughing and cursing. Following her, I didn't like it at all, and complained in the tight spots. If you were feeling really strong, maybe it went as a giant layback. I wasn't going to find out today. She was wedged in the top, taking in the rope and still pink from the exertion.

"That wrecked all my girl parts. Are your balls in one piece?"

I reached for her boob and she batted me away. A careful scramble and we were on top of a narrow summit block with a fantastic view. My arm was around her, naming the peaks. Off in the distance was the west wall of Conness.

"There's a terrific climb on the west side of Conness. The top had a geological survey hut on it years ago. It's a hike from the south, but the west is a thousand feet sheer."

She licked my ear and said, "We're not doing it this afternoon?

"You are pretty pumped, aren't you?"

"Shit yes, I can hardly stand it. What now?"

"With the high pressure settled in, we could climb the rest of the week without running out of possibilities. If we were bumming, that is, not studying."

She hugged me and sighed. "Yeah, studying."

"All the facilities here are closed for the season and it will freeze tonight. We could go to the Valley, find a real shower and live it up in the Mountain Room for dinner. My treat. Tomorrow, we could get up early and do a couple of short hard climbs and head home before the rush."

"Daddy, I don't want to go down." The voice was tiny and laughing. If we were supposed to be different on the rock, it wasn't working.

Edging over to the talus thirty feet below on the north side, we found our way down to the trail.

She was bouncing along, full of overconfidence, I thought. Had to find something to make her humble again on the rock, tomorrow.

Still full of energy, she drove to the Valley, both of us glorying in the granite and pine tree vistas. I said, "We can go to Camp 4 or we can check Curry Village for a tent cabin."

She looked at me slyly and said, "You're not getting any if we are on the ground."

"There's no sex on a climbing trip."

"Ok, I warned you. Might as well forget the fancy dinner too, We can get pork and beans at the store."

I blinked, "You are one tough customer, Madelaine McCarthy."

"You knew that when you made the mistake of giving me a ride to campus."

"And telling you I liked your smell."

The cute young woman across the counter at Curry smiled at us. I said, "Um, we were going to camp but my girlfriend said we should ask about a tent cabin."

Maddy was hanging on my shoulder and said, "Hi, I'm Maddy."

Grinning, the clerk said, "I'm Melissa. What you really said was no loving unless there is a mattress involved."

We all laughed. She said, "I'm down to the dregs on inventory but I have one here not too far from the showers. She sniffed and said, "I smell like that too, when my boyfriend and I have been climbing."

Maddy reached across and squeezed the girl's hand. "He's terrible. Keeps saying he likes me that way."

"Did you bring a dress?"

"Yes."

"Wait till he sees you in the dress, all clean with some perfume, and your new sneakers. He'll do anything."

We walked out with Maddy giving me a hip bump. "Anything."

"I thought this trip had something to do with climbing."

"Let's go sit in the meadow and talk."

We took a couple of pillows and a big towel from the car. She fixed her head on my thigh with the floppy hat covering her face. Neither of us said anything for a while, soaking up mountain air and sunshine.

"We can't sleep in the treehouse forever."

"And peeing into the air."

Her arm twisted around and tried to beat on me. I grabbed it and kissed the fingers.

"Be careful. You may need those one of these times. How did I do today?"

I tongued her palm and she shivered. "Stop it. This is a serious discussion about housing."

"I've been thinking about that."

She turned over and looked at me. "Climbing or housing?"

"Both. Come here and give me a kiss."

"Right out in the open?"

I just looked at her and she hitched herself slowly forward until our lips touched.

Her head went on my chest and she said in a very low voice, "You are making me all soft and squishy. I won't be any good for climbing."

I ran my fingers through her hair and said, "I'm not worried. For a first time out on Yosemite rock, that was a fantastic performance this morning. You looked great."

She hitched herself back for another kiss, long and wet. "Were you serious about housing?"

"I've been searching high and low for Irish coed housing with enormous student subsidies available."

"Do we ask for help from the parents?"

"I don't think so. Selfish. Not fair."

"And we don't work either, supposed to be studying."

"So we have to break up and go back to being dorm hermits."

Maddy was rubbing herself on my thigh. "That's been ruled out too. Melissa would not allow it." She giggled and wormed around on top of me.

"What about one of these live in babysitter things? We could spell each other for classes. Do chores and stuff. Maybe even cook. Do you like to cook?"

"I do. Are we going for a run to get rid of some of your excess energy?"

"I thought I was supposed to save up for later. Now that you've got me a mattress."

"Why is teasing with you so much fun? I never had fun teasing with a girl before."

"I told you I was different."

"Yes, different. A little voice is telling me not to let you get away."

I got another kiss for that. "I'm not very far away."

"Hmmm." More sun and dozing. I worked on her shoulders gently. She asked, "Aren't we supposed to be on the rock?"

I had a sudden idea and pulled us up. "Let's put these away, I have an idea you will like. It's funny. We don't need a rope but bring some water in your daypack, I'll carry it."

I jogged us across the meadow to the trail along the base of the rock and went toward the falls until I saw the faint track angling upwards. After a hundred yards of brush and hassle, she asked, "I'm supposed to be liking this? What about snakes?"

"You lucked out, too high for snakes."

Another alcove. I pointed, "Creep out there around the corner and up. I'll be right behind."

After twenty feet, "You're insane, this is exposed."

"That's what she said, keep going."

Another fifty feet and we were walking out into the sun on a gently sloping mossy bench facing the upper Yosemite falls, which were dry this time of year. I sat down.

She got down next to me and said, "Not bad. What's funny?"

"My freshman spring, the club was here and one of the seniors grabbed me and said to come with him. No explanation. We went over to Curry from Camp 4, and he disappeared and returned with a big girl. I mean 5-10 and 165. Big tits to go with. I was introduced to Sheila but he headed over here immediately. In the spring, everything is wet with spray from the falls, and damn slippery. He put a rope on her with just a waist loop and told me to stay close behind if she slipped. I couldn't hear much, but she was muttering and it sounded like sex threats. The footing was terrible and I was more worried about me than her. Anyway, we get up here, the sun is out, but the spray is chilly, and she takes everything off. I mean everything. She looked at us, but my friend said we were not getting naked even if she was. She has a towel and lies down on it. Hands him a tube of lotion and says it goes everywhere. He puts a bunch on his fingers and hands it to me. Says Sheila likes guys to get her lotioned up all over. He does her legs and her pussy. I do her arms and her chest and belly. Her eyes are closed but she says thanks a lot. We lie there for an hour, and the spray is fantastic. Even washes the lotion off her. The senior says to look carefully across at the falls trail.

"There are people over there with binoculars. Her eyes are still closed and she says, "How is the audience?" He says at least a dozen. After another half hour, the sun is going off and she says time to go. Gets her skimpy clothes back on, completely commando, and we go down. At the top of the talus is a ranger. A young one. Before he can get a word out, she steps right up into his face and says, "I hope you are not about to question my First Amendment rights to free expression, because you look like a decent guy. I am a law student, and if you give me a citation or try to arrest me, you will be truly sorry when you find yourself personally named, along with the Superintendent, and the Director of the National Park Service, as a defendant in a First Amendment lawsuit. Think about it. Regardless of whether I win or lose at the Supreme Court, you will never work again in a national park. Your picture will be in the national news and there are other places that will not hire you either. She looked at his badge and said, 'Am I making myself clear, Roger?' "

"Her face was about six inches from him, and her big chest was even closer. He stared at her for a long time and finally said, 'Shit,' and turned around and left. After he was out of sight, she high fived us and said it was the third time she was successful. Turned out she was a raging feminist determined to fix sex equality about nudity. Said if guys could go around bare ass without getting arrested, so could she. Yosemite was the third park she had tried that routine in, and it worked every time."