Up in the Mountains Ch. 03

Welcome! This is the third installment of the story Up in the Mountains. I hope you will read the first two chapters in order to have the best experience. However, if you want to jump right in, here is a brief summary of the story so far. The narrator, Mark, met his new girlfriend on a trip to Italy, where they bonded over love of the outdoors. They both realized they wanted their relationship to continue. Mark turned down a position in a prestigious graduate program in order to follow Lindsey to Boston, where she has just accepted a new job.

Lindsey and I knew our time on vacation was not real life. We hiked in the mountains, we ate at restaurants, spent time with friends, and made memories. Our only irritation was a lack of privacy that got in the way of the intimacy we both craved. But even this merely pushed us to be more creative and led to gratifying experiences up in the mountains. Back in the real world, it wasn't going to be the same. She had a job to start, we had to relocate across the country, and I had just blown up my graduate school plans with no fall back.

We made the move to Boston shortly after our return to the States. Thankfully, one potential wrench in our plans resolved fairly painlessly. Lindsey had already signed a lease to share a three-bedroom apartment with two other young women. She reached out to both of them, explained the situation, and offered to pay half of the rent instead of one-third if they would allow me to live in Lindsey's room with her. They agreed, but on the understanding that it was an informal arrangement that could be ended by them without notice if it didn't work out.

My employment situation was more of an urgent problem. I had been expecting to receive a stipend in the fall as a teaching assistant and student loans would have covered my costs beyond that. I had also planned on a local summer job for some additional income. Now, I had to find work in a new city to support myself for the foreseeable future. I also needed to figure out the next step forward in my career. I still wanted to pursue archaeology as a profession and I didn't want to lose more than one academic year in the move.

The apartment we shared with the two other young women was one-half of a house that had been built in the early part of the 1900s and later divided in two. It lay along a quiet residential street in a commuter and university town just outside the city. While it was an old building with worn out wood floors, threadbare carpets, and fixtures scratched and dented from years of use, it was clean and cozy.

Lindsey's first day at work was an important occasion. She had landed her dream job in the field of environmental policy and I took it on myself to mark her achievement. I got our new roommates to join in greeting her with a cheer and a toast with some bottles of a local IPA when she came through the door after work. Megan and Kate, our roommates, were genuine in their good will but probably exaggerated their enthusiasm. That was fair enough, they had just met us a few days prior.

"Thank you!" Lindsey said after she plopped onto the couch next to me. "This is so sweet of you guys."

"How was it?" I asked. "Have you stopped global warming yet?"

"Not hardly," she replied and rolled her eyes. "I've learned that most of my job is going to be helping corporations get a permit from the state so they can pollute just a little bit."

"Well, I mean, they would probably pollute a lot more if you guys weren't there to stop them, right?" I asked.

"Probably," she shrugged and laughed. "But really, you have to start somewhere, I guess." She took another swig of beer and kicked her shoes off on the floor. "What about you? Have you kept the home fires burning while I was off hunting and gathering?"

"Well, I did organize this raucous party," I said gesturing around the four of us. Lindsey laughed. Megan and Kate traded looks and shrugged. Lindsey and I were probably not nearly as funny to other people as we were to each other. "I did some job hunting online and looked into the schools around town," I said. "It's too late to start anywhere this fall, but I need to figure out where I want to go and what I need to do to get in next year. I was able to make an appointment to do an informational interview with a program that looks good. I'll have a better idea where I stand after that."

"That's great!" Lindsey said. "I know you're going to get in wherever you want."

Her support was appreciated, but her confidence may have been misplaced. I found out where I stood at the interview a week later, and it was not reassuring. The admissions officer I met with was very helpful and friendly, but she told me very frankly that their program was probably out of reach for me based on my present record. I had good grades and test scores, but my undergrad degree was only a B.A. in history. While that might seem like a logical choice for a career in archaeology, I had not taken any advanced math or science classes, I had no laboratory work, and no field experience. She made some suggestions of coursework I might undertake to fill in the gaps in my application and politely ushered my out the door.

I was disappointed but not discouraged. I found work in a local book store to help pay my share of the bills, and I registered for some evening and online classes in order to take care of the prerequisites I needed to beef up my math and science bona fides.

Between Lindsey's job, my job, and my classes, we didn't get to spend enough time together during the week. We made up for it by spending every weekend hiking all of the trails within a few hours' drive of the house. Sometimes we took epic hikes up to summits of the New Hampshire Whites. Sometimes we stuck to parks close to home. Once we caught the ferry to hike on Boston's windswept and sandy harbor islands, which have some lovely trails.

Whenever we were in the woods together, we continued the constant flirtation that had started only a few weeks earlier in Europe. It usually began with casual touching like an arm around the waist or a hand held along the way. A sweet kiss while enjoying a scenic spot sometimes turned into a deeper kiss or a hand slipped under clothing to explore smooth skin. No longer forced to sneak around, we could wait until we got back to our private room to release our built-up sexual tension after a day of flirting and teasing up in the mountains. The outdoors had always been an important part of both of our individual lives, but now it was an indispensable part of our life together.

Sometimes I resented the career setback I had inflicted on myself. Of course, Lindsey had certainly not insisted I be the one to make the sacrifice so that we could continue our relationship together. It was not her fault. I had done that myself, and I still knew that I wanted to be with her. Nevertheless, sometimes I let my frustrations get the better of me.

One evening, I came home later than usual from my bookstore job after staying late to help the owner with an inventory. It had been hard work, but the extra hours would help me continue to contribute my fair share. I was exhausted and irritable. Lindsey suggested we unwind with a beer. As we swigged from bottles of a tasty pale ale on the couch, Lindsey tried to lighten my mood with a joke at my expense. Unfortunately, this time she touched a raw nerve.

"I really don't know what you are so tired for lately," she teased. "It's not like you've been working a real job." It was exactly the kind of thing we would always say to each other in a joking way. I know she expected me to laugh about it and probably to agree sarcastically, but it was precisely the wrong thing to say at that moment. Lindsey's mischievous grin turned instantly to a look of concern and regret when she saw the glare that flashed across my face.

"It's not like I have a lot of options right now," I snapped. Lindsey's concerned expression changed to one of hurt.

"That's not my fault," she said. "I'm grateful for the choice you made to come here, it was a big sacrifice, but I didn't make you do that."

"Of course not," I said, crossing my arms. "But don't rub my face in it."

"You know that's not what I was trying to do," she shot back. "I understand you're frustrated, but don't take it out on me." We stared at each other defiantly for a few moments, but I was already starting to feel guilty for snapping at her. I lowered my eyes a trifle ashamedly.

"I am frustrated," I admitted softening my tone. "I wasn't too worried about getting into another school before, but now I am."

"I know," she said after a pause. As I looked up again, her blue eyes showed her concern and sympathy. "In fact, I am sorry. I shouldn't have teased you about work." I reached over to take her hand.

"I'm sorry too," I said. "I know you didn't mean anything by it. And being together with you is worth it." I leaned over to her and we shared a brief kiss. I knew she was right that it was not fair to direct my frustration at her. I was distracted the rest of the evening and our conversation died out after a few more minutes. Lindsey had work in the morning, so she decided to turn in before it got late. I gave her a long hug goodnight before she slipped off to bed

I truly didn't regret my choice, but the intensity of feeling that had bubbled to the surface didn't go away. I pulled out my laptop and started to do some research. Long into the night, I scoured academic forums, job postings, and university pages. I didn't really know exactly what I was looking for until I found it. An opportunity.

A university in the United Kingdom was recruiting students to assist with a dig during the early fall in Northern England. Intriguingly, the advert called for experience with climbing. I had worked in the student center in college at the rock wall and I had some certifications. In the fine print, there was a notice that this position was not paid work, but academic credit was possible. Surely, I thought, a foreigner would not be eligible for this golden opportunity. Still, it would never hurt to ask. Stifling a yawn, I tapped out an email to the point of contact listed and attached a resume. I hoped rather than believed that I would hear anything back from them. Rubbing my eyes from the strain of staring at my laptop until long after midnight, I tiptoed to the room I shared with Lindsey and slipped silently into bed so as not to wake her.

I was shocked to find a reply waiting for me when I woke up the next morning. As it turned out, they were having a very difficult time recruiting archaeologists with rope skills. They were planning a dig on a site where important archaeology had already been eroded off the side of a hill. Unfortunately, it was just too dangerous to explore without a team with climbing experience.

I didn't mention this opportunity to Lindsey right away. I could imagine she would not be a fan of the plan and I didn't want to upset her unless it was a real prospect. Over the course of the next few days, I exchanged a handful of emails with the leaders of the dig. They were more than willing to offer me academic credit with tuition waived if I joined the team working on the collapsing hillside. Because it was schoolwork instead of employment, a visa would be easy to obtain. This was the sort of chance I had been looking for.

I decided to wait until the weekend to bring it up. While we took a long walk along the seashore on Saturday morning, I casually mentioned I had found an exciting professional opportunity for the fall semester.

"See," she said, "I knew that something would come along!"

"You were right," I said, "I only needed to be a bit flexible with my search."

"Flexible? How so?" Her enthusiasm had already turned to wariness.

"Well, it requires some travel and time away," I said. "It's a job for a few months on a dig in England for credit."

Lindsey stopped in her tracks. "What?" she said feeling hurt. "You want to leave me?"

"No," I quickly explained, "it's not like that. It's just a temporary gig. I'll get a bit of field experience, some credit, and hopefully a good reference. I'll be a much stronger candidate for a program here in town afterward." We started walking again while Lindsey thought that over. This was already going poorly. She crossed her arms in front of her as we picked our way down the beach.

"What was the point of dropping your graduate program to come live with me only to take on a program in another country a few months later?"

"It's different," I said. "If I had gone to school out west, it would have meant either breaking off the relationship or years of distance. I'm still planning to go to school here in Boston and be with you. I want to be with you."

"Then why are you leaving? What's the difference?"

"It's only a few months. Maybe you can come see me partway through or I can come back for a visit and it will only be a few weeks at a time. The difference is the intent. We make this decision together as a couple for our long-term future together. It's not just about me. It's about what we want to do together for the rest of our lives." Lindsey smiled at that and uncrossed her arms.

"I do see the difference," she said softly. It was the first time either of us had suggested we would spend our lives together. Given how spontaneously our relationship had come about on a vacation, it had initially felt like we were just seeing how far things would go. I was making my intentions clear. If we were committed to each other, this was just a short interlude. I wasn't running away. Lindsey took my hand as we continued down the trail. "Let's talk it through over a beer when we get off the beach," she said. Later that day, with a couple beers at a bar by the water in a charming little seaside town outside the city, I made my case and we agreed I should take the job. I sent an email to the U.K. program that evening.

As the day of my flight to England approached, we decided to spend a few days camping and hiking in the mountains in order to have some quality time together before the separation. We reserved a camping site and planned some epic day hikes for maximum relaxation. We drove out after work on a Friday night and set up our large tent in the campground. Our site was a grassy clearing shielded from the road and other campsites by thick trees. We both approved of the quiet privacy it would afford.

We enjoyed a few pleasant late-summer days of hiking in the national forest, but we saved the best trail for the last day. We woke up well before first light and drove to the trailhead down dark country roads. The headlights lit up the near trees like a green tunnel and we could see no further into the forest. At the empty parking lot, we whispered to each other in the dark as we got ready. It seemed it would a transgression to disturb the sleeping woodland with chatter. The only sound was the crunch of our boots as we set off in a fresh smelling pine wood with our headlamps lancing the darkness to illuminate the way. We climbed up the side of a ridge for nearly an hour in the darkness. With the dim emergence of first light, we switched off and stowed our headlamps but kept tramping on up the trail in silence.

We timed our ascent perfectly. We reached a rocky summit with a clear view to the east only moments before the glowing red sky burst into a brilliant sunrise. The sun rose slowly over rolling green hills that stretched far away into the hazy horizon. As we sat on the rocks to enjoy the scene, Lindsey snuggled into my shoulder under my arm. Only now, with the emergence of the sun, did we break our silence.

"That's wonderful," Lindsey sighed, "It was worth the early start to see that red sunrise."

"Navigators used to say 'red sky in morning, sailors take warning,' so maybe we'll have bad weather later," I wondered out loud.

"Yeah, okay," she teased. "But the red sky is more likely caused by the smoke from the bad fire season out west this year. Let's let the environmentalist predict the weather instead of the historian."

"Nerd," I said, drawing out the syllable. She gave me a playful punch in the thigh before she rose to continue the trek.

"OK, Popeye the Sailor," she said, "let's go." I gave her a tap on the butt as she walked away and she faked a glare over her shoulder.

We continued along the ridge a few miles until the trail turned to descend back under the trees and down a draw in a series of sharp switchbacks. At the bottom of the draw, the trail crossed a stream in several places as it tumbled downhill. The heat and humidity were picking up as the sun crept higher into the sky. Even in the shaded woods, it was uncomfortable and we were sweating through our shirts. At the bottom of a short bubbling waterfall, the stream emptied into a wide and deep pool carved into the rock. Where the trail passed the pool, there was an inviting ledge of small rocks that sloped down into the clear water. It almost looked like it was purpose made for a swimming hole.

We didn't have bathing suits, so we stripped down to our underwear to take a dip. We hadn't seen anyone on the trail yet that day, so we felt we would have privacy. The water was cool and refreshing on such a hot summer day. We waded in to cool off and splashed some of the water at each other. Lindsey looked great in a sports bra and hiking underwear with golden blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes sparkled with laughter as we joked around in the water. Splashing turned to gentle wrestling. I tripped her up so she fell back into the water with a larger splash, but she came up grinning.

I was turning to walk back to our clothes when I heard Lindsey coming up behind me. Expecting revenge, I allowed her to get her arms around me from behind in order for her to have an advantage. She had other ideas. One of her hands slipped beneath the waistband of my boxers to find my cock. She wrapped her other arm around me to hold her sporty figure against me. Her round breasts in their wet bra were pressed against my back. I sighed as she stroked me hard inside my boxers. With that encouragement, it didn't take much effort.

"It wasn't so nice of you to trip me up she," she purred into my ear.

"Maybe not," I answered between sighs, "but then why are you being nice to me now?"

"Maybe I'm not," she said as she planted a small kiss on the back of my neck and slipped her hand back out my boxers. She giggled at me as she splashed lightly back onto the rocks where our clothes waited.

"Oh, now that is just mean spirited," I complained. I trudged after her and gave her another light smack on the butt, eliciting another giggle. We got dressed feeling refreshed from the water and not minding the damp of our underwear because it was slightly cooling. Lindsey winked at me as she slipped her hiking shorts back over her hips and buttoned them up. Then she seemed to deliberately bend over in front of me as she adjusted her gear.

Seeing her firm ass displayed for me, I had an image in my mind of sliding my cock into her from behind until her ass was pressed against my groin. Not for the first time in our short relationship, I marveled at her ability to turn me on and build my desire all day. Just because I recognized what she was doing now didn't mean that it didn't work anymore. I knew that it would lead to an intense encounter later and I was hungry for it.

Soon we were plodding along the trail again following the stream down the ridge. Reaching the valley floor, we laughed and talked along the easy miles through the woods. Above us, dark clouds were starting to roll in. Seeing the change in the sky, we quickened our pace in order to reach our car before the storm. We were tired and sore from the long miles when were finally able to slump into our car seats.