Nerdcam Pt. 09

Note: Thanks to all the readers. The comments have been encouraging. It's good to know others are enjoying Anna and Jack's story.

*

"So... your dad mentioned 'moose spiders'..."

Anna was driving. Her brow furrowed for a moment, then she cracked a smile.

"Oh, he was just messing with you."

"Ah. Great."

"Some people call them that as a joke. They're just wood spiders or something. Mostly they hang out on the wharf for some reason." She expounded.

"Oh. Wonderful. Why is there a Klingon at camp?"

"No, wharf spelled w-h-a-r-f. It's like, a small pier. For launching boats or fishing off of." Anna explained.

"Huh. Learn something new every day."

"Score one for me on the random info game." Anna declared.

"Okay. As long as we're on the subject of questionable shit I've heard today. You grabbed toilet paper for the outhouse. Does that mean what I think it means?"

Anna glanced over.

"Have you never used an outhouse? You have been camping, right? Did you just, like, shit in the woods, or-?"

"We mostly camped at, you know, camp grounds. They had public restrooms."

"This will be kinda like that. 'Cept there's no running water." her cheery tone earned an unimpressed look from Jack.

"Well, it can't be too bad, if you're willing to deal with it."

"You get used to it. Sort of."

They rode a while in silence. Jack watched long stretches of forest pass by outside his window.

"What's that say?" Anna asked of an exit sign.

"Exit 59. Gas and food. By the way, does poor vision run in the family?"

"Do what?"

"Your mom wears glasses." he pointed out.

"Uh, yeah, on her side of the family. I can see fine right now, thanks. Anyway, I could always get contacts."

"Either way," Jack said, "Find the right glasses and it's a cute look."

"Are you saying my mom is cute?" Anna asked after a pause.

Jack gave her a calculating look, then shrugged.

"Isn't she?"

"Well, I guess, but-"

"Don't worry," Jack teased, "I'm only into slightly older women."

"Oh, fuck off!" Anna laughed. "Keep talking, smart guy. You won't be getting into this woman."

"When your dad said enjoy it while it lasts, I thought it was gonna last a little longer..."

"And never mind worrying about how cute my mom is. I don't wanna end up on one of those interviews on, like, Howard Stern or-"

"Jerry Springer?"

"Yeah, like that. Sat in between circus acts, listening to the host say, 'Now let's bring out Jack, who says he just likes slightly older women.'"

"I think that might still be too vanilla for the shock jock shows." Jack chuckled. "And my actual point was that I think you could totally pull off glasses."

"Mm. Maybe."

"And you run a book store, so you'd be sexy librarian adjacent, which-"

"Is this another one of your fetishes that you waited to tell me about?" Anna cast a suspicious glance his way.

"No, I was- Actually, maybe I'll start making up weird fetishes just to mess with you."

"Oh god, please don't." she managed to wince and smile at the same time. She reached a hand over to trail her nails along his stubbled jaw. "Stick to eating my ass and rubbing my feet."

Jack turned his head to take her thumb between his teeth for a moment.

"Yes, Dear. What I was going to say is, you'd be all set to cosplay any number of sexy librarian type characters. You could even do pictures at Shelf Indulgence."

"Huh. Hadn't thought of that."

"That country store, is that on the way to the camp?" Jack asked after a time.

"Uh, yeah. Probably pass there in about twenty minutes or so. Wanna stop?"

"Yeah. Thought we could check and see if they have anything for, like, souvenirs. Something to bring back for Nikki and Crystal."

"Oh, yeah. Good thinking."

*

The elderly woman behind the counter in the small store chatted them up while they looked around. She spoke at her own pace, which was slow, but made up for the lack of speed with extra volume. When Jack pointed this out to Anna in a whisper, she told him that the woman had been running the place since Anna's parents were young. She was something of a fixture. Jack smiled, seeing that visiting the place was a pleasant nostalgia trip for her.

In the end they paid and left with a brown paper bag containing a little glass bottle of authentic maple syrup, a flask shaped pint bottle of something called American Jugger's Apple Pie Moonshine, and several postcards. Among the post cards were four copies of a print featuring a little black and white image of the Junction Store below the legend; 'I grabbed some junk at the Junction.'

Jack had suggested they get the extra post cards so they could keep one, give one to Crys and Nikki, and then he could mail the others to Robert and Dan and Amy. It amused him to imagine how surprised they would be to actually hear from him -- via snail mail, no less.

Back on the road, it wasn't long before they turned off onto a narrower, two lane road. Then onto a dirt road. And not gravel, but actual dirt. There were no signs to indicate the road had a name or speed limit. There were, however, the occasional ruts and potholes. Too, the road soon became considerably narrower as it wove into the forested area surrounding the pond. A certain limit of speed suggested itself to anybody not willing to risk damaging their vehicle, jarring themselves half to death, and potentially colliding with any oncoming vehicles.

They passed over a short log bridge spanning a shallow creek at one point. While he wasn't overly concerned, Jack listened intently in case it might creak ominously as they passed over, but it proved quite stable. Letting his eyes wander, he enjoyed the passing view of the idyllic old growth forest. Pines, poplar, and pale birches stood spaced as if to avoid crowding each other. Amidst them the ground was uneven and blanketed with layers of leaf litter and pine needles. Thick, soft looking moss blanketed large stones and the deteriorating remains of stumps and fallen branches. It all put Jack in mind of the poets and writers who had immortalized loving descriptions of nature.

Jack might have failed to notice the turn onto the driveway in to the camp had it not been for the carved wooden sign nailed up on a birch, reading simply, 'Durand.' Thankfully Anna was driving, and knew to expect it. The driveway turned out to be a loop that let back onto the dirt road again some forty feet down. Anna slowed and parked halfway along the loop.

Immediately in evidence were the camp itself, two small outbuildings -- one of which Jack took for the outhouse, what with the crescent cutout in the door -- a hammock strung between two trees, a canoe resting upside down nearby, and a path of flatish stones leading down an uneven incline to the water's edge. A simple boardwalk -- the wharf -- extended thirty feet out into the water.

Jack exited the car and stood enjoying the fresh air and calm while Anna went and checked under the stones near the cabin door for the key. When she had unlocked the camp and propped the door open, the two lugged in the cooler and luggage. Again, Jack stood around, this time inspecting the décor and furnishings and picture magnets on the refrigerator while Anna checked around to see if there were any sprung mouse traps.

With that done, Anna gave Jack a tour, which was, per force, brief. There was the main room: along the left wall were the sink, cupboards, electric range, and refrigerator with television perched atop it. In the center of the room was a rectangular hardwood table surrounded by chairs. In the far wall were two doors flanking a woodstove. Along the left wall, opposite the cupboards was an old plaid couch.

One door led to a bedroom, the other a hall. On the hall was a door to a second bedroom, and at the end of the hall, a back door leading out onto a little landing with steps which led down to a cleared area between the camp and the water. In that cleared area were a stone and mortar fireplace and a set of red wooden picnic table and benches.

In the course of the tour Anna noted a few points of interest. A chest of drawers in one of the bedrooms held, along with some spare clothes, a collection of board games and similar diversions. Under one of the beds were foam noodles and life vests for use in or on the pond. An old steel box first aid kit mounted on a wall like a medicine cabinet. And so on.

With the tour done, they decided to fix themselves a late lunch of sandwiches and nice cold beer from the mountain of supplies Anna's folks had forced on them.

"So," Jack asked between bites, "Did you have an itinerary in mind?"

"Not really. We're here to relax and enjoy, right?"

"Now you mention it, I'm surprised you're still wearing pants."

"For now." Anna allowed. "And no real plans, but I was thinking we could take the canoe out. See the island. You can try fishing if you want, but I'll probably just bring a book."

"And you have some experience with canoes?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Never been out in a boat?"

"Never one that required paddles." Jack admitted.

"They're called oars." Anna smiled. "And don't worry. I'll show you how to row and steer while we're in toward shore. Long as you don't try to stand up or lean over the side, we'll be fine."

Jack regarded her thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Just a little surprised. I knew you grew up outside the big city, but I didn't realize you were such a country girl."

"I'm not, really. We would come stay out here for a week or so every summer when I was young. Picked up on things, but I'd probably still be considered 'city' by the locals." Anna explained.

Jack nodded. As he washed down his last bite, he remembered something.

"Mmp," he rose to set his empty bottle in the sink, "I had something else for you -- for your birthday. I thought it might be a good idea not to give it to you with half your family in the room."

Anna raised her eyebrows.

"Should I take my pants off now?" she smirked.

"Obviously, any time we're alone together, but that's not what I meant." Jack opened his luggage and dug out a sketchbook.

"Ooh," Anna wiped her hands on a napkin, "More art?"

"Different art." Jack took her now empty paper plate and set the sketchbook in it's place.

Anna gave him a curious look, then flipped open the book. On the first page, her own likeness looked back at her with a dubious expression, eyebrows raised.

"Cute." she turned the page, blinked, "Oh."

Here she was depicted from a very bare chest up. Her breasts were thrust forth and framed by her arms. In her posture and expression he had managed to capture a distinctly seductive look. And he had remembered her little heart tattoo. While she admired the work, Jack moved around to rest his hands on the back of her chair and look over her shoulder.

"Nice." she acknowledged quietly before turning to the next page.

Which earned a suggestive murmur. In a very Jack display of simultaneous boasting and self deprecation, he had drawn himself in the process of pulling his shirt off over his head -- his head still trapped in the shirt. He had given his abs a bit more definition than they boasted in reality, but she wasn't about to complain.

"Great job capturing your best features." she observed.

"Thought you'd like that." he agreed. "And I see my smartass-ness is still rubbing off."

Anna nodded and turned the page again. The last few drawings were increasingly not of a family friendly variety. One of Anna in a pinup style, frontal and completely nude. Another, which got a laugh, of her fresh out of the shower -- the only towel hanging from and obscuring something at crotch level. And the last...

"Oh, wow. That's... Kinda hot."

It was a view she had seen before, though not from a side angle. The drawing captured herself and Jack, face to face -- or the space between them, anyway -- where their cocks stood pressed together. He had even included the birthmark of which he was so fond.

"Okay, yeah... I'm really glad you didn't accidentally give me these ones back at the house."

"Yeah, your mom probably would've been a little less... complimentary." Jack agreed.

Anna half turned and tipped her head back.

"Nice work. Thanks, Nerd." she said before reaching up to pull him down for a kiss.

"Oh," Anna said when they ended the kiss, "I have something for you, too, but... I think I'll wait and give it to you later."

"There's nobody else here." Jack pointed out.

"Yeah, it's not like that." she smiled. "Trust me. You can remind me tonight If I forget."

"Hm. Alright, Sexy. Gonna teach me the ancient art of canoeing now?"

"Yup. Ummm... Grab one of the plastic grocery bags from that bottom drawer. Throw some drinks and snacks in there. I'll get the life jackets and my book." Anna replied.

"Life jackets?"

"Yeah. You don't have to wear it, unless you want to. The seats in the canoe aren't exactly soft, so I sit on mine." Anna explained.

"Ah. Gotcha."

Between the two of them, they managed to lug the canoe down to the wharf and ease it down into the water. Jack moved rather gingerly getting in and settling himself. While Anna gave him a quick rundown of how to handle an oar and steer from where he sat in the stern -- the rear -- seat, he gradually became accustomed to the balance and equilibrium of the craft.

After coasting slowly along near the shore for a few minutes, Anna suggested they cut away and head straight out toward the rough center of the pond. As they drew close to the rocky little island there -- with one scraggly tree, it was like something out of a children's story -- Anna further suggested that Jack listen for scraping. He was about to ask why she would say a thing like that when he noticed that there were stones under the surface, the depth being hard to judge, but close enough that he could see them.

"Uh, this is exciting, but... Is there a reason we're visiting the island? There's barely room on there for both of us to sit down." Jack asked.

"Oh, yeah, no, we don't have to get out. It's all rocks anyway. Easy to roll an ankle."

"And you're already so good at that."

"Yeah, yeah." Anna thrust her oar out over the nose of the canoe to fetch up against a nearby rock and halt their approach. "It's kind of another tradition. In the summer back when I was a kid, there were always other families up here. I'd hang out with their kids some. We'd get together to watch fireworks on the fourth. Or somebody's parents would take us out to fish at night."

Jack wondered if this were going to come back around to explain the island visit, but held his tongue and listened.

"And any time my grandparents were up with us, gramps would paddle us out here to touch the island. That's how he always put it. Said it was good luck." She cast a smile over her shoulder. "Every time we came out he'd tell me a story about why it was good luck. It was a different story every time."

Jack returned her smile. He swiveled his head slowly, gazing out over the still waters to the wooded shoreline. Glanced up at the cloudless sky. Breathed deep of the cool, clear air. Aside from the occasional annoyance of a hungry mosquito, it really was a beautiful, peaceful place.

"So," he said, voice a bit distant, "does that mean we should get lucky now?"

"Probably, but not right now. I'm not dressed for swimming."

She pushed off with her oar and they backed away from the island, turned, and set off again. When they were slowly gliding off to the East, Anna handed Jack her oar and carefully slid down into the bottom of the craft. She wedged her life vest against her seat and leaned back on it, retrieving her book from the bag they had brought along.

"I'll just hold these, shall I?" he asked, laying both oars across his lap.

"Thank you, dear." Anna replied, wiggling a bit, then opening her book.

Jack rolled his eyes.

"Alright, you read for a while, then we can trade. I brought one of my sketchbooks."

"Oh, nice. Lot of pretty scenery. And I bet if you did a nice one of the camp, they'd frame it." Anna suggested, briefly looking up from her book.

So they glided along, Jack dipping an oar from time to time when they had become still. Eventually they traded off, and he did several sketches of patches of the bank with trees and stones and undergrowth. And the few other camps they passed. And, naturally, of his unwitting better half.

"Okay, now lean back and turn your head."

"Hm?" Anna blinked, then caught on, "Oh, stop. We're not out here so you can draw me."

"Never a bad time to capture beauty." Jack smiled.

"Pfft. Eat me."

"Bend over."

"Hmph," she tossed her hair in a haughty gesture, "Don't make offers if you're not gonna follow through."

Jack slowly closed his sketchbook and tucked it, with his pencil, into their bag. Seeing his expression, Anna lifted one of the oars and tapped him lightly alongside the shoulder with the dripping end.

"Stop, stop. There's no way." she laughed.

"Oh, who's chickening out now?"

"I'm not- We can't just -- in the boat. I mean, it'd be exciting... Until we end up in the water." she shifted to look along the nearest shoreline.

Jack, meanwhile, leaned forward and dipped a hand over the side to test the water.

"Yeah, that's still pretty cold." he observed.

"Yeah, 'cause that would be the only issue with dumping our stuff and ourselves into the pond, fully dressed, a hundred feet from shore." Anna's tone was dry. "However..."

"However?"

"See that point where it's just rocks at the end? Looks like there's a small clearing in the woods there."

Jack gave her a questioning look.

"Unless you're not in the mood after all." she made it sound like a challenge.

"Mm. Don't complain when that sexy ass is sore on the way back." Jack countered, holding out a hand.

Anna handed him one of the oars.

"Promises, promises." she laughed.

Shortly they coasted up alongside the rocky point Anna had suggested. Jack inexpertly disembarked, waved his arms when he very nearly tripped, then turned to lend Anna a chivalrous hand. Together they dragged the canoe in enough to ensure it didn't drift off while they were occupied.

"Hey, grab the life vests. For padding." Anna said before they began picking their way through the undergrowth to the clearing.

"Woulda brought a blanket or something if I'd known..."

With the vests under an arm, he followed, nearly plowing into Anna when she stopped suddenly.

"Shit. Stop."

The undergrowth of the little clearing concealed the fact that it was essentially one big puddle. Which fact Anna discovered when her left shoe sank with a squish, shipping cold water, before she hastily lifted her foot again.

"So much for not getting wet." Jack commented.

Anna sighed, leaned back against him, and shook excess water from her shoe. Turning to face him, she gave him a look from under her brow.

"Thanks. Got anything useful to say?"

"Mm... If it started storming right now, we'd be in a classic 80s adventure movie. Er, actually, considering we were stopping to screw..."

"Oh, yeah -- a slasher." she looked around at the woods, then down to her sodden shoe. "Very Friday the thirteenth. Except we haven't actually had sex yet, so..."

They began to trudge back to where the canoe was beached. This time it was Jack who halted abruptly.

"What about that?" he nodded down along the shoreline.

"What about what?"

"That huge-ass boulder. We've got the vests for padding."

The stone in question sat at the water's edge, surrounded by clumps of spiny grass. About six feet by four by almost four feet high, it was roughly rectangular in shape. It's upper surface was irregular, but generally flat-ish, and partially covered in thick, soft moss.

Anna considered for a moment. She shrugged.

"I guess, as long as we're being adventurous..." she said, giving him an impish smile.