The Wild, Part Six

“I know I said I’m in no rush to get back, but it’s nice to be closer to home.”

Michelle smiled at her girlfriend, put her arm around her waist to pull her closer. Glancing over her shoulder at the way they had come, she asked, “How far do you think we’ve gone, so far?”

“I don’t know,” Samantha said, shrugging, “maybe fifteen miles. We’ve been walking for about four hours.”

“Do you think fifteen miles is enough for one day?” Michelle asked, her hand slipping off Samantha’s hip and onto her buttock.

Laughing, Samantha said, “There’s nowhere to camp on this stretch of river. We’ll stop at the first camp-able site we find.”

“Sounds good,” Michelle said, smiling at her. She slipped her hand into Samantha’s back pocket, kept it there as they walked. Samantha didn’t seem to mind.

Blue chuffed her agreement, walking at Michelle’s side. Michelle looked at the wolf and had to shake her head. The crazy wolf had been walking with them all day, seemed content to go wherever they were headed.

Laughing, Samantha said, “Blue is looking for some scraps.”

Right on cue, the wolf licked her chops. Smiling, Michelle thought the wolf understood more than she should. Blue had a lot more going on behind her beautiful blue eyes than the average wild animal.

To the wolf, Michelle said, “We caught dinner last time. Maybe it’s your turn, this time. What do you think?”

Blue grinned at her, her tongue lolling out. Michelle wasn’t sure wolves could look amused, but Blue sure did.

“You think that’s funny, huh?” Michelle said, smiling at the wolf.

“Yeah, she does,” Samantha said, laughing.

They came to a bend in the river. Rounding it, Michelle saw the bank widened some, giving them room to set up their tent. Looking around, she spotted a bit of ground not littered with jagged rock, started to call Samantha’s attention to it, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Turning fully toward, she blinked in surprise.

“Is that…” Michelle said, letting go of Samantha. She moved closer, squinting her eyes.

“What do you see?” Samantha asked, looking after her.

“I think there is a building there,” Michelle said, still walking.

As she got closer, she was sure of it. Nestled between a bunch of pine trees, surrounded by overgrown brush, it was hard to see. If not for the hard right angles of the walls breaking up the flow of the flora around it, the cabin would have been impossible to spot.

“There’s a cabin,” Michelle said, turning back to Samantha.

“Way out here?” Samantha asked, moving to her side.

“Could be a hunter’s cabin,” Michelle said, looking back at the building, “it looks abandoned, though.”

“Do you think it is safe?” Samantha asked.

“We’d have to get closer to be sure, but it looks okay,” Michelle said, smiling at her.

“Let’s check it out,” Samantha said, starting toward the cabin, “come on, Blue.”

Michelle followed her girlfriend and the wolf, picking her way through the tall grass. It wasn’t until she was right on top of the cabin that she realized it had a porch. Mother Nature had grown up around the simple log rail, completely obscuring it.

The boards creaked as she stepped onto the porch, but seemed solid. When she tried the door, it protested like it hadn’t been opened in years, which supported her theory that the cabin had been abandoned.

Inside, she looked around. It was a single room, the floor plan wide open. In one corner there was a wood-burning stove that appeared to pull double duty as a heating source and a cooking stove. A folding table and a couple of metal chairs were set up next to it. The wall next to the stove was what appeared to be a pantry stocked with canned goods in old mason jars. There was a closet at the end of the pantry, the only closed off space in the whole cabin.

Along another wall was a couple of twin size beds. They were dusty, but Michelle thought they could be usable with a little bit of elbow grease. If nothing else, she and Samantha could spread the sleeping bag over one of them.

The one feature of the room that caught Samantha’s eyes was a large tub, with what looked like an old hand-operated water pump attached. Walking over to it, ran her hand over the formed metal basin. She was grinning when she looked back at Michelle, her thoughts clear in that playful uptick of the corners of her mouth.

There was a rack in one corner with a bunch of traps of varying sizes hanging from it. Moving closer, Michelle inspected them. They were rusted and in bad repair, but they gave her an idea about what this place was.

“I think this is an old trapper shack,” Michelle said, getting Samantha’s attention, “see.”

“I’d be careful with those,” Samantha said, crinkling up her nose, “I think you need a tetanus shot just standing there.”

Laughing, Michelle said, “You might be right.”

Samantha looked around the cabin, then back at Michelle, asked, “What do you think?”

“We could drag the mattresses outside, beat the dust off them,” Michelle said, looking around, “maybe clean up a bit… It’d probably be better than the tent.”

“I think so, too,” Samantha said.

“Well, if we are sleeping here tonight,” Michelle said, pulling Samantha into her arms, “we’ve got some work to do.”

Samantha kissed her, said, “We better get to it, then.”

Pulling the mattresses off one of the beds, they dragged it outside and propped it up against the railing. Michelle found a stick near one of the trees, used it to beat the dust off the mattress. Blue watched from the porch steps, her ears twitching each time the stick hit the mattress. The wolf sneezed once, twice, then shook her head and sauntered to the other end of the porch. Yawning, she stretched out on her side to watch Michelle work.

She had intended to do the other mattress, but just getting this one clean was becoming a workout. Smiling, she thought, Samantha and I’ll just have to share this one. It’ll be cozy.

From inside the house, Samantha called, “I found some blankets!”

“How clean are they?” Michelle asked.

“They were in the cabinet. I think if we shake them out, we can use them,” Samantha said, appearing in the doorway. Seeing Michelle, she laughed, “I think I could say the same thing about you.”

Looking down at herself, Michelle shook her head. Half the dust from the mattress was now on her. She smiled at Samantha said, “Let’s get this place livable, then we can figure out how to do some laundry.”

“I found a broom,” Samantha said, looking back into the cabin, “I’m going to try to do something about the dust.”

“Sounds good,” Michelle said, picking her up her beater stick, again, “I’m going to finish beating the crap out of this one, then I’m going to look for some firewood. Gather water to boil.”

“Do you think the tub will hold water?” Samantha asked.

“It’s pretty rough,” Michelle said, shrugging, “we’ll have to see.”

“I could use another bath,” Samantha said, with a playful smile.

“Yeah, me, too,” Michelle said, going to her for a kiss.

Samantha headed back inside, and Michelle was smiling as she started whacking the mattress, again. She spent another five minutes on it, then set the stick aside, figuring it was as good as it was going to get. Leaving it leaning against the railing to air out, Michelle picked up her bow and her small quiver of arrows and stepped off the porch.

She checked the trees near the house, found plenty of firewood for the night. She carried a couple of armfuls into the cabin, stacking them near the stove. Samantha had been busy with the broom, and the place was already looking a lot better.

One the stove were a couple of pots of various sizes, ranging from a saucepan to a big twelve-quart stock pot. Picking up the larger pot, she looked inside. It was caked in dust and grime, but she couldn’t see any rust inside. If it cleaned up okay, it would be perfect for boiling water.

Michelle snagged her backpack and walked the pot to the river to clean it out. Using some of her body wash, she scrubbed it the best she could. Crossing her fingers, she rinsed the soap out of it. She smiled when it came out looking brand new. She shrugged into her backpack, then dipped the pot in the river. Full, it was kind of heavy, but she managed to muscle it back to the cabin.

“We have a new pot,” Michelle said, setting the pot on the stove.

“Very nice,” Samantha said, coming over. She put her arm around Michelle, looking into the pot, “Oh wow. That cleaned up nicely.”

“It holds a couple of gallons, I think,” Michelle said.

“We are taking it with us when we leave,” Samantha said, kissing Michelle.

“Yeah,” Michelle agreed, then changed her mind, “maybe one of the smaller ones.”

“Oh hey,” Samantha said, letting go of Michelle, “I cleaned out the tub. There’s a little rust around the drain, but I think it’s usable.”

“No holes?” Michelle asked, going to it. She could see for herself that it was intact. It must have looked worse than it really was. Grinning at Samantha said, “We are so taking a bath tonight.”

“The best part is,” Samantha said, working the handle on the pump, “no walking back and forth to the river.”

Michelle groaned as water poured out of the spout, and she said, “Now you tell me. I lugged all that water in the pot back here for nothing.”

“It does look heavy,” Samantha said, laughing when Michelle gave her a dirty look.

“You are hilarious,” Michelle said.

“How about we get the fire going, then take a bath,” Samantha said.

“We should probably eat first,” Michelle said.

“We can eat while the water heats up,” Samantha said, moving against Michelle, “I don’t want to wait to get you naked any longer than I have to.”

Smiling, Michelle kissed her deeply. The kiss almost got away from them, and Michelle had to push Samantha away gently. Laughing, she husked, “Fire first, then we can fool around.”

“Right,” Samantha said, a little flustered.

Michelle knew how she felt. It took all her willpower not to pull the girl back into her arms and let the fire wait. She glanced at the door, saw that the light was starting to fail. It would be dark soon, and they’d need the fire burning before the sun departed this part of the world for the night.

Sighing, she went to the fire materials she had gathered. In the stove’s belly, she built a quick tinder bundle, stacking little sticks over it. With the battery and wire from her backpack, she lit the dried grass and pine bark. The bark was full of sap and it took off in a hurry. She let the fire catch before adding more, larger sticks.

Turning, she saw Samantha was pulling out some of the dehydrated fish. She made a face, not looking forward to a meal of dry fish. Her eyes went to the pantry, to the rows of dust covered jars. She got her feet under her, going over to the shelves of food. Pulling one of the jars off the shelf, she brushed the dust off the lid.

Samantha appeared at her side, taking a jar of her own from the shelf. Looking at the lid, she said, “It’s still sealed.”

“How can you tell?” Michelle asked.

“Grandma said if the lid is popped up, the seal is no good,” Samantha said, then went on when Samantha gave her a curious look, “she used to can vegetable out of her garden… and make gooseberry preserves, of course. She taught me how to seal the jars and how to tell if one is bad.”

“Do you think any of this is edible?” Michelle asked.

“If the seal isn’t broken… maybe,” Samantha said, looking at the jar in her hand, “it’s hard to say how long these have been here.”

“Do you think it’s worth opening any of these?” Michelle asked.

Grinning, Samantha said, “You aren’t looking forward to dried fish, either.”

“This label says deer meat,” Michelle said.

Right on cue, Samantha’s stomach grumbled.

“We could open it,” Samantha said, looking at the jar, “give it the smell test. If it’s gone bad, you’ll know.”

“If we decide to eat anything, we’ll cook the hell out of it,” Michelle said, turning the lid. There was a very audible pop as the seal gave way. Glancing at Samantha, she said, “That sounds like a good seal.”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, then crinkled up her nose, “I’ll let you do the honors of smelling it.”

Michelle pulled the top up and didn’t even have to bring it all the way to her nose to smell the meat had gone south. Gagging, she put the lid back on and took the jar outside. Blue came over and sniffed it, and even the wolf shook her head and sneezed at the offensive smell.

Samantha was laughing when Michelle came back into the cabin. She held out another jar, laughing harder when Michelle gave her a dirty look.

“Dried fish it is,” Samantha said, putting the jar back on the shelf.

“Maybe tomorrow I’ll try to do a little hunting,” Michelle said, glancing at her bow next to the door, “I’ve been itching to try out my bow.”

“There’s an old fishing pole in the cabinet where I found the broom. If it works, I’ll try to catch us some fish,” Samantha said.

“This place is turning into a gold mine,” Michelle said, looking around, “there are so many resources we can use here.”

“It’s lucky you spotted it,” Samantha said, smiling at her.

“Tell me about it,” Michelle said, shaking her head, “we could have easily walked right by it.”

“Well, let’s make the most of it,” Samantha said, kissing Michelle, “let’s eat, then try out the tub.”

——————————————————

Michelle rose early, reluctant to leave Samantha’s side. It was just barely light outside as she wriggled into her jeans and slipped into the rest of her clothes. Slinging the bow across her shoulder, she picked up her little quiver of arrows. As she stepped outside, Blue lifted her head, her ears pricking up.

“Want to go hunting?” Michelle asked.

The wolf chuffed and got to her feet. She fell in at Michelle’s side as Michelle stepped off the porch into the dewy grass. Blue kept her nose close to the ground, sniffing as they walked. About fifty yards from the cabin, she suddenly stiffened and came to a stop. She looked up at Michelle, then back at the ground.

Stooping down, Michelle saw hoof prints in the soft earth. She didn’t know what kind of animal had made them, but most animals with hoofs were edible and quite tasty. More than that, most predatory animals didn’t have hoofs. She couldn’t think of any that did.

The grass in the hoof print was still matted, which Michelle took to mean it was reasonably fresh. Looking around, she spotted more tracks, heading north away from the cabin. She smiled at the wolf, said, “Good girl, Blue.”

Far from an expert tracker, Michelle moved slowly so she wouldn’t lose the animal’s trail. She was walking about half an hour when she heard rustling in the brush ahead and to the right of her. Pulling the bow from her shoulder, she nocked an arrow. The wind was blowing in her face, so she knew the creature in the brush couldn’t smell her. She took the tension up on the bowstring, standing very still. She held her breath as she waited to see if the animal would come into the open.

Her arm started to quiver under the strain of keeping the bow drawn, and she was about to give up when a wild pig poked its head out the brush. Seeing the tusks, Michelle’s heart started beating faster. Wild boars could be deadly, especially when wounded or cornered. This was a relatively small one, but still dangerous.

Glancing at Blue, she saw the wolf’s ears laid back and her hackles raised. The wolf was silent, her intense blue eyes locked on their prey. Michelle felt better for having her at her side.

She let the boar move a little more into the open, then took a breath. As she let it out, she let her arrow fly. She heard the pig squeal as the arrow bit into its flank, just behind its front legs. It had flown true, and the animal barely took three steps before it fell. It died almost instantly.

Blue threw back her head and howled, whether to celebrate the kill or as a show of respect for the passing of the boar, Michelle didn’t know.

“Holy shit,” Michelle said, her heart racing. Moving closer, she poked the fallen animal with her bow to make sure it was really dead. She had heard stories about hunters getting injured by a presumed dead animal, whether kicked by a deer or mauled by a bear. She didn’t want to be another statistic.

Pretty sure it was dead, Michelle looked back the way she had come. She needed to figure out how to get a hundred pound pig back to camp. She figured she had covered a little over a mile and she groaned. It would be backbreaking to have to drag her kill that far.

To Blue, she said, “Next time, we need to kill dinner closer to home.”

Blue grinned at her, her tongue lolling out.

“Sure, laugh,” Michelle said, giving the wolf a sour look, “you aren’t the one who has to drag it.”

Michelle put her bow over her shoulder, then grabbed the boar’s back legs. She started walking, dragging the animal behind her. The pig weighed almost as much as she did and it took a lot out of her. It didn’t take long for her legs and shoulders to start burning. Still, she kept her legs moving. She wanted to get back to camp with her kill as quickly as possible.

Her pace had been slow while tracking the boar and wasn’t any faster while dragging it. It took her almost an hour to get back to the cabin, having stopped four or five times to rest her shoulders. She sighed in relief when she saw the cabin.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement down by the river. Smiling, she spotted Samantha with her fishing pole. Michelle stopped, watched her girlfriend for a few minutes. Samantha seemed comfortable with the rod in her hand.

Michelle pointed at Samantha, said to Blue, “Keep her safe for me.”

Blue looked at Michelle, her ears pricked, then padded over to where Samantha stood on the bank. As Blue took up her guard post, Michelle looked at the wolf with a sense of wonder. Blue’s repeated displays of intelligence never ceased to amaze Michelle.

Seeing the wolf, Samantha glanced over her shoulder. She smiled at Michelle, waved. Michelle waved back, moved so Samantha could see the pig. Samantha’s eyes widened, then her smile. She started to come over, but Michelle waved her off.

“Keep fishing,” Michelle called.

“Okay,” Samantha said.

Michelle drug the boar up to the porch, then sat on the single step to catch her breath. Looking at her kill, Michelle sighed. She still had to dress it, skin it and process it. There was still a lot of work to do. Pushing to her feet, she went inside to get the knife out of her bag.

——————————————-

“Oh my God!”

“I know,” Michelle said, around a bite of boar, “it is so good.”

“So good,” Samantha said, sighing happily.

“I think I’m going to throw the fish out in the morning,” Michelle said.

“Go for it,” Samantha said, getting up. She returned with a jar of white crystals, “Salt. If we salt the boar down, let it dry out… It’ll keep, right?”

“Um, yeah… I think so,” Michelle said, then met Samantha’s eyes, “we’ll have to stay here another day, at least.”

“Would that be so bad?” Samantha asked, playfully.

“I’ll have to make a smoker,” Michelle said, her mind already turning over what she’d need.

“No, you won’t,” Samantha said, her smile widening, “this place has a little smoke shack out back.”

“What? Really?” Michelle asked, surprised.

“Where do you think I found the salt?” Samantha asked.

“When did you… Never mind,” Michelle said, taking a bite of her food.

“I had some free time,” Samantha said, shrugging, “did some looking around before I started fishing. There are tanning racks, too.”

“So, they trapped and processed their kills here,” Michelle said, looking around, “maybe sold the furs.”

“That was what I was thinking,” Samantha said.

“I wonder how old this shack really is?” Michelle asked, looking around.

“Old,” Samantha said, around some pork. Swallowing, she said, “There some dates carved in the door frame. May fifth, Eighteen-ninety-five. I think it was a trapper cabin like you said back then, but probably a fishing or hunting cabin more recently.”

“The canned food definitely isn’t that old,” Michelle said, her nose crinkling up at the memory of the scent of rancid meat.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and the owner will come back to do a little hunting,” Samantha said.

“Wouldn’t count on it. This place has to be abandoned. If it were still being used, everything would have been covered up,” Michelle said.

“A girl can hope, can’t she?” Samantha said.

Michelle put her arm around Samantha’s shoulders, said, “We’ll get out of here, I promise.”

Smiling at her, Samantha said, “I know.”

“Why don’t you show me the smoke shack. We’ll get the meat started smoking, then I’ll let you wash my back, again,” Michelle said, popping the last bite of her food into her mouth.

Laughing, Samantha kissed her, said, “Okay.”

Samantha led Michelle around the side of the cabin. Michelle blinked in surprise at the smoker. She had expected a ramshackle wooden structure, but it wasn’t. Instead, there was a well-built adobe brick structure, with a side fireplace. Impressed, Michelle moved closer, opened the metal door in front of the main smoker. She saw rusted hooks inside.

“We can’t use these,” Michelle said, poking one of the hooks and setting it to swinging back and forth.

“We could skewer the meat on some sticks, hang them across the hooks,” Samantha said.

“That would work,” Michelle said nodding, “we can gather some skewer sticks while we look for some firewood.”

“There a sticks all over the place,” Samantha said, looking around.

“Just pine limbs,” Michelle said, looking around, “we need a hardwood tree if we are going to smoke us some pig.”

“Why?” Samantha asked.

“Pine is no good for smoking my dad says,” Michelle said, shrugging, “something about the way it burns isn’t healthy for you.”

“Oh,” Samantha said, then perked up, “there is a huge hickory tree by the river.”

“Are you sure it is a hickory tree?” Michelle asked, then held up her hands when Samantha gave her a look, “hickory will be perfect. Do you want to gather the wood or start slicing the boar meat into thin strips?”

“I’ll cut, you gather,” Samantha said.

They walked around the house, separating at the front porch with a kiss. Samantha headed inside, and Michelle went in search of the tree Samantha had mentioned. It wasn’t hard to find because was indeed massive. She could tell by the way the bark peeled away from the main trunk that it was a shagbark hickory. As she walked closer, she wondered if it was the right time of year for the tree’s nuts to be falling. She hoped so because the meat of the nuts was not just edible but tasty.

She spotted plenty of fallen sticks at the base of the tree to smoke the boar she had killed. As she started gathering some, she was on the lookout for some fallen nuts. She saw a bunch with brown, desiccated husks from last year, but only a couple where the shell was still a healthy green color. Glancing up, she saw the limbs heavy with nuts and groaned. It was still a little early in summer for them to fall.

Gathering the fallen limbs, she made a couple of trips to the smoker with armfuls. She gathered more than she thought they would need, figuring any extra would go in the stove in the cabin. From her pile, she found a couple long, narrow sticks and took them inside. Samantha was using the survival knife to cut up the boar, so she used the multi-tool to strip the bark off the sticks. When Samantha was finished cutting up all the meat Michelle had harvested off her kill, Michelle helped her start skewering the strips. When they were finished with putting the meat on the sticks, they rubbed them down with salt to help the drying process.

Before taking the meat out to smoke, they filled all the pots on the stove with water, stoking the fire back to life. Michelle hoped the first round of boiling water for their bath would be ready by the time they had the smoker going. She was looking forward to a long soak in some hot water after dragging the boar through the woods and dressing it when she got back.

While Samantha started hanging the meat, Michelle assembled the fire in the smaller chamber. Seeing the vents on one wall of the fire chamber and the hole on the other that fed into the main chamber, Michelle had to give whoever made this credit. The flow of air would take the smoke right past the hanging meat, making for much more efficient smoking than her improvised rig in the cave.

Using her battery and wire trick, Michelle lit the little tinder bundle she had created. Thinking about bacon, the scent of hickory smoke made her mouth water. Even though they had just eaten, she couldn’t help but think, What I wouldn’t do for some eggs and bacon.

Satisfied with the fire, they sealed everything up and left the smoker to do its thing. Hand in hand, they went back inside. The hot water went into the bottom of the tub and Samantha pumped more water into the big stock pot. It went back on the stove as Samantha started pumping water into the tub. They learned last night it would take one more turn of water from the stock pot to get the water just right.

Michelle kicked off her shoes, bending over to remove her stock. As she straightened up, Samantha moved against her. There was an eagerness behind the kiss as their lips met and Michelle didn’t think the water would heat fast enough. Pulling back, Samantha lifted Michelle’s shirt up, and Michelle put her arms up so the girl could remove it. Michelle popped the catches on her bra, and Samantha removed that, too. Samantha moved against Michelle again, kissing her deeply. Michelle felt Samantha fumbled the button of her jeans free, her fingers running the zipper down. Without breaking the kiss, Samantha worked the jeans off Michelle’s hips, pushing them down around her thighs. Samantha broke the kiss to smile at Michelle, then sank to her knees in front of her. The girl finished what she started, removing the last of Michelle’s clothing.

Samantha didn’t get up from her knees, running her hands up the insides of Michelle’s thighs. Her brilliant blue eyes locked on Michelle’s as she lowered her mouth to Michelle’s girlhood. The caress of her tongue drew a moan from Michelle. As her hips started moving on their own, pushing against Samantha’s mouth eagerly, Michelle couldn’t look away.

When Michelle was ready, Samantha eased her fingers into her hot, slick core. Michelle waited for the pain, but there was none. Only pleasure and lots of if as Samantha’s fingers found that magic spot deep inside. Michelle couldn’t hold in her little cries of enjoyment with that lovely pressure on her g-spot. They only grew louder when Samantha’s mouth returned to her bud.

Michelle put her hand on the back of Samantha’s head, her fingers tightening in her hair. Her other hand was on the lip of the bathtub for support. The lovely things Samantha was doing was making her legs feel weak, tremble.

Samantha didn’t let up, kept Michelle rocketing toward a breath-taking, toe-curling, mind-blowing orgasm. The hot caress of her tongue and fingers had Michelle’s body going crazy. It all felt too good to last. Michelle’s eyes widened as she felt her body start to gather tension like a watch spring being wound, tighter and tighter, until she reached her limit. For a half a heartbeat everything stopped, then her body exploded with pleasure. Her legs wanted to give out as her orgasm left her a shaky mess and she leaned against the tub for support.

“Jesus,” Michelle gasped, looking wide-eyed at her girlfriend.

Laughing, Samantha got to her feet and leaned in for a kiss, said, “I told you I couldn’t wait to get you naked.”

“That was last night,” Michelle said, smiling at her.

“I can never wait to get you naked,” Samantha said, kissing her, again.

Michelle put her hand on the back of Samantha’s neck, not letting her get away from the kiss. Her hand free hand slid between Samantha’s legs to massage her girlhood through her jeans. When the girl moaned into the kiss, Michelle popped the button on her jeans so she could slip her hand into Samantha’s panties. The caress of her fingers had the girl’s hips pushing against her hand eagerly. Michelle’s hand moved from Samantha’s neck, down to cup one of her breasts through her shirt. She felt Samantha’s nipple tighten and she teased it until the girl groaned into her mouth.

Removing her hand from the girl’s panties, Michelle pulled her shirt up and off, tossing it aside. While Samantha undid her bra, Michelle worked her jeans and panties off her hips. She pushed them down around Samantha’s ankles. Bending down, she removed Samantha’s shoes, then helped the girl out of her jeans.

From her knees, Michelle looked up at her girlfriend. Samantha smiled and urged Michelle to her feet. Wrapping her arms around Michelle’s neck, Samantha kissed her and said, “I want to wait until we are in the tub.”

“I’ll grab the water,” Michelle said.

Samantha released her, going to the towels they had hung up to dry last night as Michelle got the water from the stove. They were in the cabinet were Samantha had found the blankets.

“They are dry,” Samantha said, setting them next to the tub.

Michelle smiled at her, said, “Good. We are going to need them.”

The boiling water went in the tub and they used the pump to bring the water down to the perfect temperature. Michelle got in first, sighing as the hot water welcomed her tired body. Samantha came next, sitting in the hollow of her legs and leaning back into her. Michelle wrapped an arm around her and kissed her neck, her shoulder. Samantha sighed, running her hands over Michelle’s thighs.

Michelle’s free hand came up to cup Samantha’s breast, kneading it until the nipple stiffened. Samantha moaned thickly as Michelle teased the nipple with her thumb. As her back arched Michelle moved to her other breast, didn’t let up until she thought Samantha couldn’t take much more. Her hand slipped from Samantha’s breast, moved down her taut stomach. Michelle smiled when she heard Samantha’s breathing get a little funny the lower her hand went. She knew Samantha knew where the hand was headed, but she was going to make the girl wait for it. Michelle could feel the girl’s frustration when her caress continued onto her hip and not somewhere else. Teasing Samantha, Michelle let her hand slide up her thigh to her knee, then slowly back down. Samantha was more than ready for it when Michelle’s fingers found her bud.

“Oh God,” Samantha said, around a moan, “that feels so good.”

Smiling, Michelle kissed her behind the ear, then whispered, “I love you.”

“Mm… I love you, too,” Samantha said, the smile clear in her voice, “and right now I really love your fingers.”

Michelle laughed, moved her hand lower. Samantha moaned thickly as Michelle’s fingers eased into her ready core. Each time she pushed them in deep, a little sound of enjoyment escaped the girl. As the thrust of her fingers came faster and faster, Samantha’s hips began to move with a mind of their own, pushing against Michelle’s hand greedily. Samantha had her hands on Michelle’s knees, her fingers digging in as she held on for dear life.

“Why don’t you turn around?” Michelle whispered in Samantha’s ear.

Sloshing a little water out of the tub, Samantha stood up and turned around. Michelle scooted a little bit forward, and Samantha sat on her lap, facing her. Wrapping her arms around Michelle’s neck, Samantha kissed her deeply. With her hand palm side up, Michelle eased her fingers back into Samantha. Michelle’s found the magic spot, teasing it with these little come-hither motions that forced Samantha to give up on the kiss. She buried her face in Michelle’s neck instead.

Rolling her hips, Samantha ground against the palm of Michelle’s hand. Samantha’s arms tightened around Michelle’s neck as she moved faster and faster. The water was lapping closer and closer to the edge of the tub, disturbed by the rocking of Samantha’s body. Amused, Michelle heard Samantha let out her loudest moan just as the water spilled over the side.

“Oh God,” Samantha said, in a breathy moan, “I’m going to come!”

Michelle thought the girl was right. She could feel the tension building in her girlfriend’s body. It reminded her of how the air always felt heavy right before a storm. There was a storm brewing in Samantha, and the girl had a death grip on Michelle like she was afraid it would blow her away. When Samantha’s hips started to falter, Michelle kept her fingers moving. A few more thrusts and that storm overtook Samantha, shaking her apart. It had its way with her, then moved on, leaving Samantha destroyed in its wake. Trembling and gasping for air, the girl clung to Michelle.

Smiling, Michelle hugged her back until Samantha had recovered some.

“Shit,” Samantha said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She favored Michelle with a slightly dazed smile and a tender kiss, said, “I love you.”

“Me or my fingers?” Michelle teased.

“Both,” Samantha laughed, kissing her again, “we need to remember that one and do it, again.”

“Worked, huh?” Michelle asked.

“Oh yeah,” Samantha said.

“Good,” Michelle said, smiling at her.

————————————————

“God, this thing is obnoxious.”

Laughing, Michelle kissed Samantha, said, “The springs are just old.”

“Well, it’s hard to focus with them squealing every time we move,” Samantha said, running her hands down Michelle’s back.

Michelle pushed her hips forward, grinding against Samantha. She laughed as the springs protested the shifting of their weight. Two more thrusts of her hips and she was laughing so hard she had to stop.

“It’s not funny,” Samantha said, laughing, anyway.

“Yeah, it is,” Michelle said, smiling at her, “want to move the mattress to the floor?”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, unlocking her ankles so Michelle could get off of her.

They pulled the mattress off the bed, putting it on the floor. Their momentum lost, they just started over. Stretching out on their sides facing each other, they started with a kiss. One became many as their desire welled up.

In their passion, their positions ended up reversed, with Michelle on her back and Samantha lying between her legs. Samantha pushed her hips forward, grinding against Michelle. Michelle laughed when Samantha started grinning.

Wrapping her legs around her girlfriend’s, Michelle asked, “Better?”

“Much,” Samantha said, kissing her deeply.

Michelle had to smile, amazed that their worst discomfort at the moment was a squeaky bed. Well, that and a lack of toilet, but both were very manageable considering their circumstances. They had gone from sleeping naked in a life raft their first night to having a roof over their head, a fire to keep them warm, water at their fingertips, and a bag full of delicious dried meat to eat. Hell, they had so much food, they had exercised their option of discarding the dried fish before turning in for the night. Even Blue had been picky after receiving her share of the wild boar. She had passed on the fish, too.

Michelle could argue they weren’t just surviving anymore but living. The best part of living was her naked girlfriend smiling down at her.

“What are you thinking about?” Samantha asked.

“That we have it pretty good right now,” Michelle said, propping up on her elbows to kiss Samantha.

“I was thinking that earlier,” Samantha said, her smile widening, “how far we’ve come if a squeaky bed is our greatest discomfort.”

“That and no bathroom,” Michelle said.

“But we have toilet paper now,” Samantha said, making Michelle laugh. The cabinet with the towels and blankets had also had a four pack of toilet paper still in the wrapper.

Michelle met her girlfriend’s eyes, smiling as she said, “We aren’t going anywhere tomorrow, are we?”

“No,” Samantha said, then kissed her.

They found their rhythm, the flex of their young bodies in perfect harmony that suggested they had been at this for years, not weeks. They just seemed to know what the other wanted, needed without a word being said. In the flickering orange light of the fire, they pushed each other to greater heights of ecstasy. The world receded until it was just the two of them lost in their desire for one another. When the pleasure got too much for them, they came in each other’s arms. Even as they lay trembling and wrecked from their orgasms, they didn’t let go of each other.

In the hush after their lovemaking, Michelle wondered about the thing in her pants pocket. Was this the time? Smiling, she thought it was. She kissed Samantha, said, “Hand me my jeans.”

Samantha turned those beautiful eyes of hers on Michelle, asked, “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere,” Michelle said, kissing her.

Snagging the leg of Michelle’s jeans, Samantha handed the pants to Michelle. Her eyes were curious as she watched Michelle fishing in her pockets.

“Close your eyes,” Michelle said, as she found what she was looking for.

“Why?” Samantha asked.

“I have a gift for you,” Michelle said, her heart beating a little faster. She had put a lot of work into creating it, and she really hoped Samantha liked it. More than that, Michelle needed her to like it.

“A gift?” Samantha parroted, her eyes widening. With a curious smile tugging at her lips, she asked, “What kind of gift?”

“Just close your eyes,” Michelle said, kissing her.

Samantha closed her eyes and Michelle fished her gift out of her pant’s pocket. Taking Samantha’s hand, Michelle placed it in her palm, then curled the girl’s fingers around it.

“Can I open them now?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, holding her breath.

Opening her eyes, Samantha opened her hand and gasped. Michelle had un-braided some of the climbing rope and used it to braid her own necklace. Secured in the loop of the necklace was the shiny object she had found in the river a few days ago. She was pretty sure it was a garnet, about the size of soda cap and perfectly shaped like a heart. Seeing the heart-shaped stone, she had known she wanted to make something for Samantha.

Meeting Michelle’s eyes, she asked, “This is… for me?”

“Yeah,” Michelle said, smiling at her.

“It’s… beautiful,” Samantha said, hugging her.

“I found the stone in the river a couple of days ago,” Michelle said, hugging Samantha back.

“You found… Wait, you made this necklace?” Samantha asked, her eyes wide.

Smiling, Michelle said, “Yeah. I saw the stone, how it was shaped like a heart, and I… I wanted to make something to give you.”

Samantha looked down at the heart-shaped stone, and she started to smile, said, “You wanted to give me your heart?”

“I wanted to give you a necklace,” Michelle said, smiling warmly at the girl, “you already have my heart.”

“Michelle,” Samantha said, hugging her, again, “you are too much.”

“I love you,” Michelle said.

Pulling back, Samantha had tears in her eyes as she said, “God, you are going to make me cry. I- I love the necklace, and I love you more.”

“Can I help you put it on?” Michelle asked, her own voice a little thick with emotion.

Samantha turned so Michelle could secure it around her neck. Turning around, Samantha looked down at the sparkling red gem. There was so much love in her eyes when she looked at Michelle. With a kiss, she said, “I’m never taking it off.”

What Did You Think?