After eating, Anna stood and stretched, audible pops coming from her joints as she paced for a moment.
"You know," she mused, "it's too lovely a day to just stay in the campsite. I'd like to get a hike in before they're trying to scare the crap out of us. Who's with me?"
"I'm in," Shanna chirped. The hearty meal was invigorating, and she was ready to burn off some of her nervous energy.
"A hike?" Jack moaned, "I came out here to relax, not get a workout."
Emily frowned at him. "Come on, it'll be fun. This place is huge. I want to see it. I heard there's some great views of the leaves changing in the valley off that way," she said as she waved an arm to the west.
"I'll get my camera," Paul volunteered as he fished around in his pack on the table. He looked at Katie, "You're coming aren't you."
"Uh, sure," Katie replied, just let me put on some fresh socks and my hiking boots.
"Hold on," Shanna said. "I'm gonna grab a sweat shirt."
Katie and Shanna headed into their tent and began to change. Shanna picked up her favorite, hooded sweatshirt she'd worn the night before. It was a generously cut polar fleece, and she always felt comfortable wearing it. She sat on the floor of the tent and slipped it over her head. It felt strangely tight over her chest as she pulled it down her body, and Shanna tugged it to stretch it further.
Meanwhile, Katie had slipped out of her moccasins and was pulling her damp sock off her left foot. The sock snagged as she pulled it off and both women heard a tearing noise as Katie pulled the garment free.
"Stupid old sock," Katie cursed. But then, with her foot exposed, Katie stared at her her toes. Shanna stopped tugging at her sweatshirt and followed Katie's gaze to her foot.
"I'd say you need a pedicure, babe," Shanna teased as she glanced at the nail on Katie's little toe. It extended more than half an inch from the end of her toe and curled downward in a hook like fashion.
Katie reached down and touched the sharp point, "Weird thing is," she said in an absentminded voice, "that I just got one last week."
"Well," Shanna said as she pulled a set of nail clippers out of her purse and tossed them to Katie, "I think you ought a demand a ten percent refund, 'cause it looks like they skipped that one. See ya' outside."
With that, Shanna rose and climbed out of the tent. Katie began to clip at her nail. It took much longer than usual for her to trim it as the nail seemed much thicker and tougher than it usually did, but she managed to hew it down to a point where it wouldn't hurt in her boots. Then she slipped on a pair of wool hiking socks, laced up her boots and joined the others at the path out of camp.
"Ready?" Anna asked to no one in particular, then she struck off down the trail. Jack and Emily were close behind, followed by Paul and Katie with Shanna bringing up the rear.
As they walked, Paul and Katie engaged in small talk, and Jack continued to flirt with Emily. Every once in while, Anna would spin around after one of Jack's crasser comments and stare him down with a furrowed brow. Jack would feign contrition until Anna turned back around and then sneer at from behind. More than once, Emily had to suppress her giggles at his antics.
Shanna was more than satisfied to wander at the back of the group. She divided her time watching the group as they walked in front of her and looking off into the forest at the multicolored, autumn leaves. More than once, she heard a rustle in the brush far from the path. Her head would turn quickly at the sound and she would instantly focus on some small creature like a squirrel or chipmunk scampering through the leaves. Other times, she found her eyes locked Anna's butt encased in tight jeans and her hips as they swayed suggestively as she walked. Shanna found her reaction to Anna's anatomy surprising, she'd never been interested in another woman before, yet she couldn't deny finding Anna attractive.
As they continued on, Shanna also found herself preoccupied by the friction that her recent hair growth was causing as she walked. More than once, she had to reach down and pull at her jeans to alleviate the condition. Then she noticed Anna attempting a similar move, although she tried to be discrete about it since she was at the head of the line. Then she saw Emily and Katie doing the same. She was about to pull Katie away from Paul to ask her about it when the group came to an incline in the trail.
"This must be the path to the ridge I heard about," Emily said.
"Race you to the top," Katie teased Paul.
"You're on," he replied and the pair took off.
Challenged, the other members of the group sped up the hill. Jack fell behind quickly and his gait slowed back to a walk as he puffed for air. Katie had easily outpaced Paul and was several yards ahead of him by the time she was halfway up the incline. Anna was past him as well, and Emily was right on his heels. Although she'd been the last in the line and got a late start, Shanna quickly gained on nearly the entire group. Far from being worn out, she felt wonderful as her lungs pulled in the crisp fall air. She passed Paul on one side as Emily giggled and passed him on the other. Again, Shanna found herself focused on Anna's backside as she pursued her.
Katie was at the top of the hill already, and Shanna could swear that she heard her friend howl in victory as she reached the summit. In fact, her ears twitched at the sound.
Shanna and Emily nearly caught up with Anna as she reached the crest of the hill and the trio pushed some branches aside and emerged at the top. Shanna was surprised that she was hardly winded by the vigorous climb as she was bathed in sunlight as she emerged from the woods.
Katie was standing there absolutely still, silently looking into the distance. Shanna looked too, and her heart began to pound in her chest, not from her exercise but from excitement, arousal and a hint of fear.
Shanna had seen this view before, not in the vivid color of daylight, and not in reality, but in the dream she had had the night before. Neither Anna nor Emily said a word as they also gazed at the scene before them.
As she stood on the on the rocky outcropping of her dreams, Shanna heard the trees rustle behind her. She turned, half expecting to be greeted by the cloaked women from the night before, but it was only Paul and Jack clambering to the top of the hill. Both were clearly worn out from the exertion of the climb. Jack huffed and puffed and leaned against Paul for support. Paul looked in a little better shape, but his chest still heaved as he tried to regain his composure. He placed his hands on his hips and threw his head back as he tried to calm his breathing.
"Oh, my God!" Jack finally exclaimed, "that was some friggin' workout." Anna glared at Jack again, but he was too busy wiping sweat from his brow with the front of his shirt to notice.
"Nice view," Jack said between his panting, his voice tinged with sarcasm. He approached Emily and threw his arms over her shoulders. It was as much to provide support for his weakened legs as it was a gesture of affection.
Paul stepped forward, and Katie hugged him softly. "Sorry about the race, I didn't mean to wear you out," she apologized.
"It's okay," Paul replied as he turned beside her and looked over the blanket of red, orange and yellow that the changing leaves had spread across the valley.
Shanna suddenly felt alone as her companions paired off. She looked at Anna and found her staring at her. Undeterred, Shanna moved toward Anna and slipped her right hand into Anna's left. She felt a friendly squeeze as their fingers laced together.
"So, where to next?" Jack snorted, ruining the moment for all.