Threading the Needle Ch. 06

Liz disentangled herself from Jana. Up until now, Jana was leaning with her back against Liz who had her arms around the beautiful woman. Walking over to the cooler, she stepped up and stood next to Weston. Before he let her talk, he made her take a big swig from his bottle of whiskey.

"Ah! That's good," Liz said. Like everyone else, she was already well on her way to being drunk. "None of you will be guides until you pass your initiation. Back in my day, no one could call themselves a guide until they fire walked! We were tougher then, weren't we Bear?"

"You bet your ass we were!" Bear boomed in his deep voice. "God damn Rodeo!" He looked over at a tall guide who joined a few years ago.

"That's right! God damn Rodeo!" Liz yelled and raised the bottle of whiskey before taking another gulp.

All the veteran guides including the one nicknamed Rodeo echoed her. "God damn Rodeo!"

"After he burned a big hole in his foot, Weston said we needed a new initiation," Liz explained to the trainee guides. "We thought long and hard and finally we came up with it." She jumped down from the cooler. Weston was more careful and just stepped down. Opening it, the trainees could see it was filled with cans of beer. Bear stepped in, grabbed a bunch of the cans, and began to hand them out around to the trainees.

"No, you dumbass," Bear told Don who started to open his. The warning came too late and the hiss of the can opening could be heard by anyone close. Bear slapped the can out of Don's hand and it flew out of the circle of firelight. The spray of beer hit a wide swath of guides, including Winnie and Rikki.

Lena grinned at them. "Missed me!" she told them. Both of them stuck their tongues out at her.

Once every trainee had a beer, Liz got back up on the cooler. "Trainee Bohdi, front and center!" Liz called out. Everyone laughed when she had to repeat herself. They were used to Bohdi spacing out. Bear grabbed the beer away from him and carefully made a hole in the side of the can, and then plugging it with his finger.

"Mouth right here, Trainee Bohdi," Bear told him as he handed the beer back. Bohdi carefully pressed his mouth down on the hole. "Suck, trainee!" Bear told him. Taking a few sucks, a little beer flowed into his mouth and created a vacuum. "Keep sucking," Bear said.

"On three," Liz yelled. As a group, everyone yelled.

"One!"

"Two!" Bear put his finger on the pop top.

"Three!" He opened the can and the sudden change in pressure did its work. In the matter of a few seconds, the entire can of beer shot down Bohdi's throat, aided by his continual sucking. It wasn't the first time he had shotgunned a beer. With a scream, Bohdi raised the empty can of beer over his head before crushing it in his hand, and then throwing it into the fire.

Everyone screamed in approval. Bear pounded him on the back. Smiling in his normal goofy way, Bohdi put both hands up in the air and turned in a slow victory circle. When he faced Weston again, the company owner reached out and shook his hand.

"Guides and trainees, I give you Virgin Guide Bohdi!" Weston bellowed. Everyone cheered again.

From her spot on the cooler, Liz called out again. "Trainee Julie!"

One by one, all of the trainees came forward for their initiation. Most handled it well. A few didn't. Jasper started the evening quickly. By the time it was his turn, he was pretty drunk. As soon as he finished shotgunning the beer, he turned away from the group and threw it all back up. Fortunately, he managed to miss everyone. While there was some call for making him do it again, Weston wouldn't do it.

"Anyone who is going to blow chunks, doesn't need another beer," Weston told them. Still that earned Jasper his river name. From that day on, every guide called him Chunks.

Lena didn't have any problems, unlike Winnie. As she was sucking on the beer can right before Bear opened it, someone yelled, "She sucks like a pro!" Winnie couldn't help it. She giggled at the exact moment that Bear opened the can. Beer not only shot down her throat, it also squirted out her nose. She gamely kept on trying to swallow the beer, but almost as much spilled on her as went down. After crushing the can in her hand and throwing it into the fire, she tried to glare at whoever said it. Her hysterical laughing somewhat negated the effect she was trying to achieve. In any case, she wasn't able to figure out who it was.

The last trainee was Rikki. She came forward when Liz called. Before she got there, Liz jumped down and Bear got into the cooler again. Taking the regular 12-ounce beer can, he handed her one that was twice as big. This time Weston was the one who got up on the cooler.

"Every year, one trainee stands out. That doesn't mean the others aren't good. It just means that one always excels. The trainers get together and name that trainee. This year there was no dissension," Weston said. Everyone was quiet for once. Among the trainees, they were all nodding. They knew Rikki was the best among them. It wasn't just her skill. Each one of them received some help or advice from her at some point. She wasn't only the best; she was their leader.

"Rikki," Lena began to chant. Within seconds, the guide class joined her.

"Rikki!"

"Rikki!"

One by one, the rest of the guides picked up the chant.

"Rikki! Rikki! Rikki!" The sound of the entire camp rang out like thunder.

As the guides chanted around her, Rikki felt more and more embarrassed. It wasn't false modesty. She was the best. She just hated to be singled out. She could hear Winnie's voice ringing out above everyone else. She looked over at her friend and blushed even harder as she saw Winnie bouncing in time with the chant.

Finally, Weston held up his hands and the chanting gradually died away. "To honor her, we have an extra special can of beer for her," he told the group as he lifted it up for all to see. They all laughed when they saw it was a beer that was well known for being crappy. Fortunately, shotgunning a beer wasn't drinking in the classic sense. She was unlikely to taste any.

"Ready, trainee?" Bear asked her.

"Ready as I ever will be," Rikki responded.

He made a little insertion and handed her the can. Having watched everyone, Rikki sucked as hard as she could in order to create the greatest amount of vacuum. As Bear cracked open the can, she sucked one more time and just tried to open her throat. The rush of beer streamed down and into her stomach. Between the carbonation and the vacuum, almost all of it went down without needing any more help from her. At the end, she had to suck down a few more drinks.

To the cheers of the crowd, she thrust the empty can up in the air and crushed it. She threw it down into the fire and grinned triumphantly at her friends. She could feel the beer rolling in stomach. It was uncomfortable, almost to the point of pain. Rikki concentrated.

"Fuck, is she going to throw up," Liz wondered as she saw Rikki's face.

Instead, Rikki threw back her head and let out an enormous belch. It seemed to go on forever. When it finally ended, the crowd was silent, but only for a second. There had been some burps before, but Rikki bested all of them. Everyone burst out laughing, including Rikki.

It took Weston some time to regain order. When finally the ring of people was quiet, he looked around. "Trainee Marika, you are now Virgin Guide Rikki!" Once again, the guides cheered. Weston jumped down and gave her a hug. Bear followed Weston and in addition to his bear hug added a big wet kiss that was mostly on Rikki's cheek, but partially on her lips.

When Liz hugged her, Rikki felt her lips next to her ear. "I'm proud of you, Rikki. I'm even happier that you are here, sharing this with me," Liz whispered in her ear.

Returning the hug, Rikki answered. "Me too. Thanks for convincing me to do this," she told her friend. The hug she gave Liz as almost as big as the one Bear gave her. Sensing others gathering behind her, Rikki let go but not before giving Liz a little kiss in the cheek.

Lena and Winnie were the first ones in line to give her congratulatory hugs of their own. Every one of the rookies was waiting. When she was done, Lena and Winnie were back for another.

By now, Rikki was starting to feel the effect of downing another beer in ten seconds on top of the previous ones. She swayed a little as Lena hugged her again. Something about the way Lena's body rubbed against her reminded Rikki of the night in the tub. Lena's breasts pressed against her own and Rikki felt a tiny spark of arousal. She tried to keep a little distance between them.

"It's just the alcohol," Rikki told herself. When Lena pulled back, Winnie jumped in. She had the same impact on Rikki. Her body pressed against Rikki's as they hugged. The fire was big enough that Winnie no longer had on her coat. Not needing a bra, she went without that too. Just like with Lena, it brought back memories of how she came thinking about Winnie. As Winnie let go, Rikki sighed from relief. Between the beer and her imagination, she almost thought she felt Winnie's nipple getting erect.

"That's it," Rikki thought to herself. "No more alcohol tonight." She knew herself enough to realize that sometimes she was a horny drunk. Having gone another week without making love to Samuel wouldn't help her avoid getting excessively horny. "I need to sit down," she said aloud. Giggling, Lena and Winnie helped her over to a log. Rikki sat down on it and tried to steady herself.

"You're drunk, Rikki," Winnie said. The clipped way she bit off her words betrayed just how inebriated she was. Lena started giggling again and sat down with a bit of a thud. Between the drinking and the pot, she too was feeling no pain. She leaned against Rikki. A moment later, Winnie joined her on the log. She put her head on Lena's shoulder.

The combined weight of the two other women pressed down on Rikki and she fought to avoid tipping over. "I think you two are the drunk ones," she said, as she pushed back to make them straighten up a bit. They managed to find a steady equilibrium and rested there watching the group. Sawyer was trying to convince Weston that they should fire walk again, while Julie tried to pull him away. Without female companionship for once, Bear was leading some of the guides in song. His deep voice overwhelmed everyone else, but since he was good, no one seemed to mind.

Looking around the fire, Winnie saw Indigo sitting between Alex's legs, leaning against her. It was eerily like how Indigo and Liz were the other weekend. The difference was that they were just sitting there. Alex was holding Indigo's hands as they rested on her belly and Indigo's cheek nestled against Alex's neck. It was a little confusing to Winnie. She knew the history, but she didn't get how Indigo could look so content with Alex after what she had witnessed the other week. "Especially when Liz is here with some other woman," she thought.

Thinking about Liz made Winnie look around for her. It wasn't hard to find her. Winnie just looked in the same direction as Lena. Her friend was staring over at Liz, who was where the firelight was almost faded away. Standing together, Liz was kissing Jana. Winnie glanced at Lena's face. The longing to be the one with Liz was obvious. Shifting over to sit beside her, Winnie put her arm around Lena and gave her a little squeeze. Originally only intending to give her a short hug, Winnie changed her mind when she heard Lena sigh. If it made Lena feel better, Winnie was happy to do it.

Rikki shifted suddenly and then stood up. "I need to pee," she announced with certainty.

"You do that," Winnie said. She smiled as Rikki made a not quite straight path over towards the outhouse. She squeezed her arm around Lena. "She's drunker than we are!" she said.

"Yup," Lena said, not taking her eyes off Liz.

Winnie looked back over at Indigo. Alex was whispering in her ear. Indigo smiled and nodded her head. A few seconds later, she stood up and then helped Alex up. Hand in hand, they walked off in the direction of their tent. Winnie nudged Lena who looked over.

"I think they are off to make love," Winnie said. Lena looked at them. If Liz wasn't involved, she would have found either one of them interesting. As it was, Lena hadn't paid that much attention to them as a couple. She looked back and saw Jana press her body against Liz.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Winnie whispered. That caught Lena's attention and she looked back again.

"Sure. I won't tell anyone," Lena replied.

Winnie checked to make sure that no one was close. "I watched them," she said.

Lena smiled at her. "I know that," she said. "Rikki and I were still there when Liz and Indigo started to kiss. We left and you stayed."

"No," Winnie said with a little bit of exaggeration from being drunk. "Not them. I watched Alex and Indigo," she told Lena.

"What? When?" Lena asked. Her interest went up a little.

"At the bar after the first day of guide training," Winnie said. She watched as Indigo disappeared into the dark alongside Alex. "They were doing it in the restroom!"

"What? Fuck, that's kinky," Lena said. She too looked around. There was still no one close. She glanced at Winnie. She liked her, but Winnie was straight and from a conservative part of the country. "What did you think?" she finally asked.

"It was hot. I mean I've never seen anything like it, but...." Winnie trailed off.

Once again, Lena couldn't help repeating herself. "What?"

Winnie blushed. Even in the slowly dying down firelight, Lena could see it. As she spoke, Winnie got a slightly devilish look. "I know Indigo liked it, a lot!"

"Fuck, you saw her cum?" Lena asked. "What was Alex doing?"

"Yeah, she bit her hand to keep from crying out! Alex was... finger fucking her," Winnie said after a slight pause of hesitation. Talking about it with Lena was making it easier to say the words.

"You didn't tell me what you thought," Lena said. She had a devilish grin of her own.

Winnie blushed more furiously. She leaned forward so that she could whisper in Lena's ear. "I got excited," she confessed.

Sensing there was more, Lena pushed a little more. "Did you touch yourself?" Lena whispered back. For what seemed to be a very long time, Winnie didn't answer. Lena was starting to think she wouldn't when she heard the answer.

"Yes, but I didn't cum."

Winnie's admission was even more information than Lena expected. "Jesus! Where were you?" she asked.

The embarrassment Winnie felt in her confession came through in her voice. "The door didn't close all the way so I could see from the corridor," she said in the lowest of whispers.

Lena felt a growing arousal. The thought of cute little Winnie watching Indigo and Alex make love was hot. Especially if she was exposed if anyone else came around the corner. "Did you have your fingers down your pants?" Lena asked, pushing yet a little further.

"No!" Winnie replied. She couldn't avoid protesting in a louder voice. Looking around again, she dropped back into a whisper. "What do you think I am? I just pressed my hand between my legs," she said. As she said it, Winnie realized she was splitting hairs. Either way she was caressing her pussy in a public place.

Lena nudged her. Even in the dim light, Winnie's shamefaced smile was easy to see. "You aren't quite as innocent as I thought." Lena giggled as Winnie put her hands over her face.

"I can't believe I did that," Winnie said.

Lena looked at her for a few seconds, clearly thinking. "That's why you stayed in camp that one night, isn't it? When Rikki and I went for a walk, you wanted to see how far Indigo and Liz would go?" She laughed a little harder. "Fuck, Winnie! You are becoming a little voyeur."

Winnie dropped her hands and looked back at her friend. "Maybe," she said softly. "I don't know. It was exciting, both times. I guess maybe a little." She looked over at Liz who was whispering in Jana's ear. The two of them started to walk away. Surprisingly, they were headed away from camp and Liz's tent.

Seeing Winnie get distracted, Lena looked in the same direction. Without knowing it, she frowned. Once again, she felt a flare of jealousy. As much as she wanted to ignore Liz, she couldn't. She leaned close to Winnie again. "Do you want to follow them?" she asked.

Winnie knew her answer. Of course, she wanted to. Watching others over the last couple of weeks was among the most exciting things she had done. It wasn't that they were lesbians. Winnie thought it probably would have been just as exciting if it was Bear with one of his conquests. She blushed at that thought. Still, two women made it more forbidden and she knew that added to the excitement. It was the forbidden nature, rather than anything else, she tried to reassure herself. Part of her hesitated to go with Lena. "If we watch together, would something happen between us?" she wondered.

In some ways, that thought made Winnie want to go even more. She wasn't sure how she would respond if Lena initiated something. Part of her wanted to find out, both whether Lena would try as well as how she would respond. She nodded. "Okay," she said.

Lena didn't know what she expected when she asked. Winnie was surprising her tonight. A part of her wished Winnie said no. Watching Liz would feel a bit like torture, but she couldn't resist any more than Winnie could. Nodding, she began to follow the path Liz took. She felt Winnie following along behind her. As the trees got taller and closed in more, it grew even darker. Lena slowed down to avoid a stump that appeared out of the gloom and Winnie bumped into her. They both made tiny cries of surprise.

"Shhh!" Lena said.

"Shhh, yourself," Winnie replied, giggling a little.

Lena couldn't avoid giggling too. "Put your hand on my shoulder," she told Winnie. "That way you can tell better where I'm going." She felt Winnie's hand touch her and she started to walk again.

A minute or two later, they both could hear something ahead of them. Lena slowed down even more and tried to walk as carefully as possible. The sounds grew louder. In the dim light, she could see that the path widened into a small clearing. The two women crept up behind a tree and peaked out. There was just enough light to see Liz and Jana.

There was a rock just to one side of the clearing. Leaning back against it, Jana's pants were now down around her ankles. Winnie guessed her panties were there too from the way she was pressing her hips into Liz's face. Jana's hands were in Liz's hair. Down on her knees, Liz tilted her head back and let Jana straddle her. The slurping sound Liz made was easier to hear than it was to see.

"Oh, fuck," Jana said. She made no attempt to remain quiet. They were far enough from camp that no one could hear them back there. "Oh fuck, oh fuck," she said again. Her hands pulled harder, trying to force Liz even deeper into her pussy.

Licking furiously, Liz felt Jana's body shaking as she touched different spots. Slowly, Liz changed her ministrations. Playing with Jana's hard clit, she waited until she felt the frequency of her shaking change. Instantly, she left it alone and began to lap at her slit. She was careful to stay away from touching it again. It drove Jana wild to feel Liz almost touch her clit, only to retreat. Still, slowly she felt the edge coming back. She ground her hips down onto Liz's eager tongue.

"Jesus, you do that good. You have me so hot," Jana cried out. "I'm so close!"

She instantly regretted saying that. Liz switched again. Now she was kissing along Jana's thighs. They were light and tender, not at all what Jana wanted.

"No! I want to cum! Fuck, Liz, make me cum," Jana begged. It didn't matter. Liz had her own schedule. Gradually she began to work her way back to Jana's pussy. She began to grasp her pussy lips with her mouth and pulled on them. As she stretched them, Jana moaned. While she had calmed down a little from the slower pace, it took almost no effort to bring her back to close to the brink.