Out of Bounds

Rachel watched Isabel while Amanda was unstrapped and helped into the office. Once again, she admired Isabel's curves. She blushed a little when Isabel turned to look back and saw her watching. Isabel raised a hand and gave Rachel a little wave. After hesitating, Rachel waved back. Isabel turned and vanished from sight as she went to get on the next chair.

By the time Rachel got inside, the doctor who was volunteering that week had already finished checking Amanda out and was talking to her and Cheryl while starting to secure Amanda's arm.

"Well, I agree that the shoulder is separated but it's hard to tell how bad without an x-ray. The knee is going to need a MRI to see how bad it is. Since you've been able to bear a little weight on it, I'm guessing it's not torn. But in any case it means you need to get to a hospital," he said. He looked at Rachel and Cheryl. "If you are comfortable in transporting her, you can take her either to the closest hospital or go all the way home and pick one convenient there. It would save you an expensive ambulance ride."

While he finished getting her ready to be able to travel, the three of them talked it over. They all agreed that an ambulance didn't make any sense. Cheryl had her SUV here so there was enough room for Amanda to be as comfortable as possible. The only question was who should go. Rachel insisted that she should come along. She didn't want to leave her friend when she was hurting. Both Cheryl and Amanda were just as insistent that Rachel should stay.

"Rachel, you know this is the only vacation you are going to get this year. And we've already paid for everything. We have the hotel for another three nights, and we are past when we could cancel. You already bought your tickets. Why waste the money?" Cheryl said.

"And of all of us, you are the one who lives to ski. I don't want to ruin your vacation. I feel bad enough; don't put that on me," Amanda said looking at Rachel.

"Look, I'll go down with Amanda and stay with her tonight and maybe tomorrow but come back up early for the last full day and spend the last night," Cheryl suggested. "Especially since my leaving means you have no way to get home without me coming back."

"If I'm feeling okay, I might even come too and just hang out in the room and the bar," Amanda added. "Nothing like a helpless female to attract the guys!" She laughed and the others joined in.

Against her better judgment, Rachel allowed herself to be persuaded. Everything her friends said was true. She had spent her entire budget for vacation on this week. She hated the idea of losing it even though it still felt disloyal to her friend.

While the doctor finished taking care of Amanda, one of the guys from the patrol gave Cheryl a ride down to her SUV, that way Amanda wouldn't need to transfer from one car to another. When Cheryl got back, she had a sly smile on her face.

"That cute patrol guy wanted to know if I was interested in going out. I've got his number and am going to call him," Cheryl excitedly said. Both of the other women rolled their eyes and chuckled. Cheryl attracted guys like bears to honey. She never seemed to get serious but she always had a bunch on the line.

Cheryl's new admirer helped them to get Amanda out to her SUV. Rachel had to admit he was cute, but then pretty much every guy Cheryl went out with was. Her standards were high as far as looks go. Rachel shook her head, wishing that Cheryl's standards for their personality were as high. A lot of them were jerks. Not that it mattered too much. Cheryl dropped guys and replaced them with startling rapidity.

Before shutting the door, Rachel gave Amanda a big hug. "If you need me down there, just send someone to get me sooner. It's not a problem. In fact I can still come now..."

"Shut up!" Amanda said sweetly as she hugged Rachel back. "Don't worry about me. I'm sure it's nothing that weeks of intense painful physical therapy can't fix! Have fun and really, don't think about me." Rachel stepped back and waved as they drove off. They were going to stop for a moment at the lodge while Cheryl ran in to grab a few essential things but it didn't make sense for her to trudge over there and then back.

Checking her watch, Rachel realized that dealing with everything had taken a couple of hours. It was well into lunch time and she was hungry. Going inside, she grabbed a pre-made sandwich and got a glass of apple juice. The dining area was packed but she managed to find an empty seat at a table with an older couple. Wolfing her food, Rachel wanted to get back up on the mountain while most people were at lunch. She hated to miss the uncrowded slopes. Wiping her mouth and nodding at the couple, she was done in just a few minutes.

"Time to get some skiing in!" Rachel thought.

Late that afternoon, Rachel made her way back to the lodge. Her muscles were feeling a little tired but not too bad. She had missed a fair amount of skiing in the middle of the day and that meant she still had a little reserve left.

After putting her gear away in the locker outside her room, Rachel went inside. It was a little early for her to normally eat but she hadn't had a lot at lunch and she had worked hard. They had rented a full apartment style condo that had a kitchen in it so they could save some money on food. Rachel went into the kitchen and looked around. She had bought some fresh bread yesterday to go with pasta. It would start to go stale soon so Rachel decided to do that.

Before starting to cook, Rachel took a shower. She considered taking a bath in the extra-large tub they had in the master bath, but her muscles weren't sore enough. After her friends had left, there was nothing to slow her down and she had skied much harder the rest of the day. Even though it was cold, she had worked up a sweat. Rachel just wanted to get clean.

When she came out, Rachel had on a robe with nothing underneath. She was by herself with the curtains drawn. It felt comfortable and she always liked being able to do without clothing when she could. Although she was hungry, Rachel took her time making dinner. Without her friends there, she didn't have a lot to do for the rest of the evening so there was no point in rushing.

As she moved around the room, Rachel could feel the slightly rough fabric of the robe brushing against her nipples. Although her breasts were small, she had long nipples that stuck out when she was excited. It was yet one more thing about her body that embarrassed her. They seemed to be extra sensitive, which meant they got excited a lot. Even though she did not really need to wear a bra all the time, Rachel usually did to help hide them.

Tonight however, there was no reason to be embarrassed. The feeling was very nice and it slowly made her whole body tingle. It had been a while since the last time Rachel had sex and she was hornier than she realized. While she was cutting up some vegetables for her green salad, Rachel started to press her hips against the counter without even knowing it. Before she could get too excited, however, the pasta was done and needed to be drained. Rachel pulled away from the counter to go over and pour the pot into a waiting strainer. She quickly served everything on her plate, put it on the table, and sat down to eat. Rachel was too hungry to think about much else now.

It was boring to eat alone, especially when Rachel had been looking forward to spending time with her two best friends. She didn't see them as much now that they were out of school. The two of them were living together and would have been happy to have Rachel there too. Unfortunately her job was in the complete opposite direction and rather than have a nasty commute, Rachel had moved in with someone else she knew from college. It worked but Rachel hadn't really known the other woman that well so they didn't really hang out that much. It was a place to live and that was about all.

After cleaning up, Rachel brought in her skis and got out her tuning kit. Using the iron she had for that purpose, she applied a new coat of wax. When that was done, she used an edger to hone the edges. It didn't look like there would be any snow tonight so there could be some icy patches. She wanted to be able to be able to really hold her turns. Finally both skis were done to her satisfaction and she put them back away.

With nothing else to do, Rachel went to the bedroom and looked at the things that she had brought. There were a number of games. The three of them loved to play games back in college and they were looking forward to having at least one game night. Rachel had also brought up a couple of books. She picked them up and looked back and forth between them. One was a spy novel and the other was a fantasy. She felt strangely ambivalent about both of them. Finally she put down the fantasy and took the other one out into the living room. Curling up on the sofa, she started to read it.

Half an hour later Rachel put it back down. Somehow reading wasn't doing it for her tonight. Rachel sighed. It wasn't just missing having Cheryl and Amanda there with her. They had planned to go out tonight and Rachel had been looking forward to it. She was not as wild as Cheryl, or even Amanda, but she had been in the mood for some light flirting. It was rare for her to go out on her own and most of the people she would normally do that with were a little bit too far away to make it easy. And Rachel hadn't gotten to know anyone that well at her new work. They were mostly older and married. Plus Rachel was more comfortable going out with people who really knew her.

Picking up the book again, Rachel tried to get into it. It wasn't a bad book but her mind was just elsewhere. She looked at the clock. Between showering, cooking and reading it was a little later than she guessed, but it still wasn't late. It was only 7:30 and Rachel definitely was not going to be ready to go to bed for a while. She read another page before she put the book down again.

Rachel knew what she really wanted to do but she was shy about doing it. The plan had been for the three of them to go to the lodge bar and hang out there. She still wanted to do that but the thought of being on her own stopped Rachel. Even if the objective was to meet people, Rachel was much more comfortable going in a group. It was often hard for her to talk to someone she hadn't met. She always felt tongue-tied. Tonight it was frustrating.

"Damn it," Rachel thought. "I'm not going to be satisfied with anything else, am I? I might as well go." She got up and went into the bedroom to go through the clothes she brought. The only advantage of the girls being gone was that she wouldn't have to sleep on the foldout sofa. Instead she would get the king bed in which Amanda and Cheryl were planning on sleeping. Rachel pulled out the clothes that she had been planning to wear. Cheryl had actually helped pick them out. They were all a little sexier than Rachel usually wore. It usually took Cheryl to break her out of her more conservative clothing. Without her there, Rachel didn't have the courage to wear them.

Instead Rachel pulled out some of her ski clothes. She had a nice patterned turtleneck that fit her nicely. It was tight enough that Rachel decided to go without her bra. She would also wear her fleece vest so that would give her a little covering. She pulled out a pair of jeans that fit almost like a second skin. "I don't have much of a body," Rachel thought. "I guess I should use the little I have to my advantage." Dropping her robe she put on a thong. If she didn't want bra lines, she might as well avoid any from panties.

Once she was dressed, Rachel went into the bathroom and put on some make up. She didn't like to use much but a little highlighting was good. Her eyes were one of her best features so she put on some purple eye shadow in addition to some eyeliner. For her lips, she used a fairly subtle shade of dark red. It was only a little more colorful than her lips already were. Her cheekbones looked great so she only used a tiny bit of blush. Looking at herself when she was done, Rachel was pleased. She looked nice without standing out too much. On her own, that was always her goal. She combed her hair and tried to make it look nice. When she took her shower, she had taken out the braid. Thinking about tomorrow, she frowned. She liked the braid when skiing. It kept her hair out of the way but looked nice. On her own, she could never get the braid right. She would probably just put it in pigtails or a low ponytail. Finally satisfied that she was ready, Rachel headed out of the bathroom.

Pulling on her vest, Rachel checked to make sure she had her little wallet with her. Without ID, she would never get in to a bar. She just looked too young.

It only took a few minutes to get to the bar. As she entered, the noise from the people hit her. It was a little intimidating. She almost backed out and went up to her room, but someone was coming up behind her and she forced herself to continue. The bouncer at the door spent longer checking her ID than normal but Rachel was used to that. Finally he let her pass. Once she was inside, Rachel looked around. It was pretty crowded. She wasn't sure she could find a table and she was too nervous to go up to the bar.

Rachel was still feeling uncertain whether she would stay when she saw a familiar face. It was Isabel at a table for two, although it looked like she was alone. Rachel hesitated. Going up to someone that she had only met twice was a little bolder than Rachel usually was. But the thought of at least having someone she had met was too strong. Plus Rachel found herself drawn to Isabel. Pushing her way through the crowd, she made her way over there.

"Well hello there," Isabel said with a big smile as she saw Rachel walk up. "Good to see you again! How is your friend doing?" she asked.

"I got a text from Cheryl a while ago. You were right, a grade 3 shoulder separation and a strained ACL and MCL. But they are pretty bad strains. She is going to have some rehab to do!" Rachel told her. "Um, are you alone? Do you mind if I join you?"

"I am and I would be pleased if you would," Isabel said. She watched as Rachel sat down. "A little bored on your own?"

"Yeah. It was supposed to be a girls trip. Now it's just me. I almost didn't come down. I am more of a group person when it comes to going out," Rachel told her.

"Well I am very glad you did. I like having someone to talk to as well," Isabel said. "It was looking like a lonely night until you showed up."

"Oh I doubt that. An attractive woman like you would get someone over here talking you up in no time," Rachel said. She meant it. With her ski jacket and pants off, Isabel looked even better. She had on a thermal shirt that was zipped down to expose her cleavage, almost showing her bra. The shirt fit her well and showed that she was quite fit but also emphasized her breasts. She must be at least a D cup, Rachel thought enviously. As she had been walking up to Isabel, she had noticed that Isabel was wearing a pair of tight stretch ski pants. They were too light to wear skiing in weather like this but were common for spring skiing. Rachel had a similar pair but wished that she looked like Isabel in them. They showed off Isabel's firm thighs and calves. Rachel couldn't really see Isabel's ass but she imagined that it must look very nice from what it looked like in more bulky ski pants.

"You are so sweet, Rachel. You know how to flatter an old woman," Isabel said laughing. "I think the younger and more attractive women will get the attention here tonight. Women like you."

Rachel felt her face go red at Isabel's words. She wasn't used to praise. She tended to be the one somewhat overlooked when she went out with Cheryl and Amanda. Both of them had much better figures and were cute too. It was just as well; she often felt uncomfortable when guys hit on her. In any case, she meant what she said to Isabel.

"Isabel, stop saying that. You are as attractive as any woman here. You look way younger than you told me you are. And I wish I had a body like yours. You have a woman's body!" Rachel said with a tone of certainty.

"Well thank you," Isabel said. Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at Rachel.

The two of them started to talk. Rachel was interested in how Isabel had gotten into the Ski Patrol and how long she had been doing it. As they talked Rachel found her attention kept getting caught by Isabel's breasts. The way she had her shirt unzipped, they were very beautiful. The tops of them were quite exposed, showing off the curve deep into her cleavage. Even through her bra, Rachel could see that Isabel too had prominent nipples. Isabel had a long neck that still showed very little signs of her age. All that exposed skin was very alluring. Rachel tried not to get distracted but it was almost impossible.

Rachel hoped that she wasn't being too obvious. For the most part, Isabel didn't seem to notice. Although at the same time, it was almost as if she was showing them off. She would occasionally lean back, arching her back. It pulled her shirt tighter and exposed her breasts a little more. Her bra would peak out just a little. Once it happened while Rachel was speaking. All of a sudden she lost her train of thought and was stumbling over her words. She was too embarrassed to notice the tiny smile on Isabel's face.

Rachel was telling Isabel about how she was going to be alone for the next two days before Cheryl and maybe Amanda came back up. "I am going to miss them both but on the other hand, it means I can ski more and harder. I get almost twice as many runs in when I don't ski with them," she said with a smile.

Isabel looked thoughtful for a moment. Finally she spoke. "You know, I'm actually done with Patrol for the week. I'm not back on until Saturday. But I am staying up a couple more days to just ski. Usually I hook up with some of the other off duty people. Would you like to ski with me instead? I don't think I will slow you down."

"I would like that a lot!" Rachel said with a big smile. It wasn't that she liked skiing alone. She just didn't have many friends who could really push her. Plus to have it be someone like Isabel that she admired was awesome. She had already seen that she was a very good skier.

"So would I. It isn't often that I get to ski for fun with someone who is both a great skier and so enthusiastic. Honestly a lot of my friends from the Patrol are a little jaded. They have fun but the sheer joy isn't always there," Isabel said.

For a while they talked about tomorrow. Isabel told her to meet a half an hour before the lifts opened. They started uploading staff at that time including the Ski Patrol. Although she wasn't working, Isabel would still be able to go up at the same time and she could take Rachel along. It was a rare chance to get up on the slopes before anyone else.

As time went on, they shifted off the topic of skiing. Isabel was curious about Rachel and started to ask her questions. Although she was usually fairly private, Rachel found that she was comfortable in talking to Isabel. Slowly and without Rachel completely noticing it, the conversation took on a new tone. Later when she tried to think about it, Rachel couldn't tell if it started with Isabel or her. But a slightly flirtatious tone began to enter into how they were interacting. It was subtle to start but as time went on it became noticeable.

Rachel began to realize that when Isabel said something funny, she laughed just a little more than it truly deserved. She was also responding much more playfully than was normal. There had only been a few people with whom Rachel had felt like this before. Trying not to overthink it, Rachel just enjoyed it. Even though she was shy and didn't think that her body was very attractive, her face was exotically beautiful. She got her fair share of attention, but never from someone so mature. It was flattering that a woman as good looking as Isabel found her attractive.