>From the last chapter:

The sun was sinking fast. We had spent many hours at the pool, although it had seemed quite brief. Neither of us wanted to be caught on the trail at dark, so we kept the pace up. As I followed her, I found myself watching her butt, thinking of it soft and white under that denim. That immediately made me aware of the denim on my butt and between my legs. I was still wet from the water, from my own juice, and from the newly arising sweat. My breasts and nipples swelled under my shirt, still aching.

I figured I was a mess. I couldn't wait to get back to the cabin, away from that magical pool. I needed a cold shower, and Mandy's company to straighten me out. I wasn't sure what had happened to me today but I was ready to put it behind me. However, I had to admit, it was wonderful to be outdoors. I felt alive, healthy, and energized. I was looking forward to a weekend of nature....

....

When we got back to the cabin, Mandy was on the porch, looking as if she had just woken up. She smiled sheepishly, and asked we we had a good time. Tara and I answered "Yes!" simultaneously, then broke down giggling. Our faces glowed from the fast hike and the fresh air. "I'm hungry", I stated and led the way to the small cabin's kitchen. Tired and ravenous, we quickly decided to settle on spaghetti with veggie sauce, a quick and easy solution. As we each pitched in to make the meal, Tara and I told Mandy about the hike and the pool. I felt myself blush a bit as I described the manner in which Tara and I had drifted on our backs. Of course, I left out the fact about me staring at Tara's body, but I felt as if she was waiting for me to say something about it, smiling at me softly. Had she known?

After dinner, Mandy said she felt better, so we popped a bottle of wine, built a fire, and settled down to play Scrabble and chat. There had been many times in college when we had done just this, getting a buzz, gossip- ing, sharing stories about our lives, loves, and lusts. We used Scrabble to set the topic. You had to tell a story about the word you made. If you got caught in a lie, you had to guzzle your drink or do a dare. Although an innocent enough game, it had led to all kinds of drunkeness and antics in college. We thought it would be a fun way to get to know each other again now.

The game went along smoothly and the wine slowly disappeared. Mandy turned out to be energetic after her long nap and was telling all kinds of crazy stories with her Scrabble words. Tara and I had her slam a few glasses of wine, and dared her to do various things such as sing the American Anthem standing on her head, run around the cabin naked, and write down the names of the all the men she had slept with. Tara and I drank our share of wine during all the fun, laughing at Mandy's silliness. We found ourselves talking about our lives and how they had turned out in the years since college.

I made the word "b-o-r-e-d", and talked about how stale my relationship had become with my boyfriend, Mark. Tara made the word "a-h-e-a-d" and described how her career had taken off. Mandy made the word "s-a-n-d-y" and lied about taking a vacation in Maui. I made the word "q-u-e-e-r" and wondered aloud if Mark and I would 'ever' have sex again. Tara laughed, made the word "f-i-n-g-e-r", with a motion towards her crotch, then pointed at me. Mandy spelled the word "s-i-c-k", pointed at us and lied, saying she never masturbated.

As the fourth bottled of wine dissappeared into our glasses, Mandy began to slow down, walking in a stagger. She soon began to look green, and rushed to the bathroom, where we could hear her throwing up. She emerged from the bathroom, looking meager, and stated she was going to lay down for a few minutes. We laughed and told her we'd come find her in a few minutes. Tara and I conituned to chat and giggle. She listened while I shared my frustration about my relationship with Mark and all the things I tried to do to put sparks into it. I asked her if she was seeing anyone. She gave ame a smile and said no, she had just broken off a relationship. I asked for details, but since she looked uncomfortable, I let it drop.

As the fire burned down, we realized that Mandy had never returned. We soon found her passed out across the big bed in the only bedroom, snoring quietly. We pulled off her shoes and sweater and tucked her into bed under the quilt. We each kissed her goodnight on her forehead and giggled. "Dream of jerking yourself off on the beach in Maui," Tara whispered, and kissed her softly on the lips. She smirked and we quickly left the room, laughing. Tara was saying something about Mandy being repressed, but my mind was focused on the picture of her lips touching Mandy's. Tara didn't seem to think anything about it, but I realized she was drunk, and probably didn't realize what she had done. Still, I felt that strange sensation I had at the waterfall that day when I had caught myself looking at her body. I felt warm and flushed. My skin felt cool and sensitive. I quickly shook my head and focused on what Tara was saying.

"Lets get some sleep so we can do some more hiking tommorow!," she was saying. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked a bit uncomfortable. "I don't want to be nursing a hangover tommorow."

We climbed the narrow stairs into the loft and flipped over who got which bed. There was a double bed and a twin bed, side by side. I won the toss and got the double bed. Pouting happily, Tara stripped off her clothes down to a T-shirt and climbed into the little twin bed. Moving more slowly, I stole glimpses of her bare legs. As I peeled off my clothes, I realized the air was warm, but the beds had quilts on them. Indecisive about how much clothing to wear to bed, I glanced over at Tara, who beamed a smile at me. Her eyes sparkled as she asked, "Gonna put on a show for me?" Daringly, I threw my T-shirt at her, and jumped into bed in my underwear. Shivering, I rubbed my arms and legs under the sheets to warm myself up.

All of a sudden a huge weight landed on me as Tara pounced on top of me. I opened my mouth to scream and she quickly stuffed a piece of material in my mouth. Quick as a wink, she was off of me, clicked off light and was back in bed. Expecting my T-shirt, I pulled the cloth from my mouth. In the dim light, I held it up and realized it was the panties Tara had been wearing all day. "What the hell?" I exclaimed. Tara giggled and said, "Good night!", then turned over and snuggled down in her covers. Unsure of what to do, I laid her little painties down on my bed and snuggled in myself. Exhausted from the long day, I soon began to drift off to sleep.

I couldn't tell if I had been asleep or not, but I found myself awakened slowly. I sensed movement in the room. Opening my eyes, I could see Tara in the diml light of the room. She was kicking the covers off. She must have been too warm. I watched her quietly for a few moments, letting my eyes get heavy again. As I lay there I became aware of that there was something between my fingers in my hand under my chin. Carefully, slowly, I moved my fingers to figure out what it was. A slight scent met my nose. Startled, I realized it was Tara's panties I had in my hand. In my half-sleep, I must have grasped them again. I breathed in again, searching out the musty smell that was her. It was a gentle mixture of sweat and a smell that my mind indentified as the scent of female arousal, not unlike mine. I tried to displace that knowledge, but my mind instantly reviewed the sight I had had earlier that day at the waterfall, in the pool. Vividly, I remembered the soft shine of Tara's pubic hair, and the way her vulva had been so puffy and prominent. I willed my fingers to let go of the panites but they only seemed to grip them more tightly. I found myself wanting to raise them to my nose, to inhale her scent but I didn't want to move, to let her know I was awake.

My eyes were still on Tara, and she seemed to be restless. Slowly she raised herself on her elbows and peered over at me. As huddled under the covers as I was, she didn't seem to be able to tell that I was awake. She sat up in bed and wiped her temples, where her soft, fine hair started. She appeared to be slightly sweaty. She sat there for a few mintues, then hooked her fingers under the bottom of her t-shirt and drew it over her head. Taking a deep breath, she fanned her self with her hands for a minute.

I was riveted to the sight of her body. She was naked. Her panties were in my hand, all she had been wearing was the t-shirt. Now, she was wearing nothing. She sat cross legged on the bed. Her back was straight and she was slowly moving her head as if flexing her neck. Her hair softly swished as it moved across her back. She put her arms down on the bed behind her and leaned back on them. Her small breasts pushed straight out from her body. Amazingly, she looked down at them for a second, then glanced over at me. I couldn't breath, but she seemd to think that I was sleeping soundly. Slowly she sat back up, then ran her palms across her chest, massaging her breasts slowly and care- fully. I heard her sigh, and she leaned back on her hands again. As she gazed at her breasts, I could clearly see her nipples standing out as they had in the water that day. I remembered how much I had wanted to wet them.

Tara sat up again, and glanced over at me. I didn't move. She again looked at her tiny cones, and rubbed her nipples with her palms. Slowly her hands stroked down her sides, then onto her thighs. She rubbed them slowly, looking about the room restlessly, looking at me from time to time. With a slight pout she layed back on her bed. Her hands continued to play on her small body, drawing circles with her fingertips. With one hand she pulled a pillow under her neck, propping her head up, so she could look at herself. Her other hand slowly grazed her pubic hair, then tugged at the hairs impatiently. She licked her lips.

Afraid to move, my body trembled under the covers. I had no doubt of what I was witnessing and much as I tried not to be, I was aware of the reaction I was having to what was going on. I was huddled down under my quilt, watching Tara with half-closed eyes, afraid that if she would sense that I was awake she would stop caressing herself. I was aroused, and as much as it troubled me, I knew it was true. My breasts throbbed, and my panties were distictly damp, and very warm. My stomach ached a bit from the tension, and my legs ached to stretch and curl. To make me even more uncomfortable, I could still smell Tara scent on her panties in my hand, just inches from my nose. The night light from the windows was enough that I could make out the details of Tara's body, right down to her slender muscles under her soft skin. I waited and watched, feeling guilty with anticipation.

Tara began to squirm slightly on the bed. Her hands wandered her body, searching for the right place. She raised on her elbow and stared intensely at me, wondering, her hand on her blanket. She pulled it back up over her and setttled back down. I watched her hands slide beneath the blanket going between her thighs. She raised her hips to adjust her postion. I watched as a small tent formed where her hands worked at her sex. Her left hand seemed to occasionally roam the rest of her body. Her other hand made small movements steadily and insistently below her waist. I could clearly hear her breathing speed up, and to my wonder, small gasps. Her lips were open and her eyes closed.

Suddenly, her roaming hand shoved the quilt back off her body. Her right hand never left her clit. Clearly now, I could see her body. She was rubbing her clit with two fingers, rapidly with a rhythm. Her other hand tugged at a nipple, stretching it out from her ribs. Then as I watched in amazement. Her left hand slid below her body and seemed to grab and knead her ass. Her gasps were louder now, but it was clear she was doing her best to muffle herself. Her pelvis was now trapped between her small hands, One working her clit and the other her ass cheeks. Then, abruptly, Tara stopped. Turning slightly away from me, her left hand slide between her bottom cheeks. She had turned to accomadate herself, but indoing so had opened her actions up to my eyes. With deliberateness, her middle finger pushed at her asshole. Slowly, it sunk into her ass. As Tara pushed and strained, it stopped at the last knuckle. With a soft groan, I could tell that she had begun working on her clit again. Her ass moved back and forth against the finger, as if there were someone behind her thrusting into her. In a matter of seconds, Tara groaned aloud and her body straightened and tensed. Her legs stifffened and stretched, her ass clenched the finger she had lodged there and her head tossed once. She came-

And I came! Without warning. I had not moved since I awoke. I had not touched myself. But as I watched her finger her own ass to orgasm, I came, quietly, but with more intensity than I remember ever experiencing before. My crotch was drenched and sticky, my nipples burned, and my asshole itched. As I quivered in my bed, my eyes never left Tara. Her back was turned towards me, and she was unable to see the shakes that threatened to make me scream. My eyes exploded into sparks and my stomach convulsed.

As I began to subside, Tara slowly relaxed. I watched as she withdrew her finger from her asshole, trailing it across her ass, then lifting it to her nose. She breathed in deeply. Then did the same with the other hand, reveling in her own scents. She lay still for a bit and then looked quickly towards me, but my eyes had already begun to close, exhausted by the day, the orgasm, and shock at what I had just experienced. I moved for the first time, slowly lowering my hand and placing Tara's panties between my own thighs. As I felt sleep descend, I heard Tara whisper my name, "Jess?". But I was asleep....