 
Thunder Valley

Thomas Kelly

Published by Thomas Kelly at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 Thomas Kelly

"DEDICATION"

This story is dedicated to my two wonderful daughters, Alivia and Emma. My girls will always be the most important people in my life. I love you Alivia and Emma.

I would like to thank my friend Jessica for her support and confidence in me throughout this whole process. I cannot thank you enough for all your kind words and enthusiasm for reading the crazy stuff I make up. You will forever be my Sunny and Julie.

I could not have done this project without another friend of mine. Mary, thank you so much for all your time and effort. You helped make this dream of mine a reality. So for all the reading and editing, research and support. I give you a special thank you. *HUGS*.

Another person whom I would like to thank is Jason. Your vision of the cover is exactly what I was looking for, thank you for the hard work and the dedication as well.

Thank you to all of my family, friends and teachers who encouraged me and put up with my imagination. I owe you all so very much, I don't think I can put that into words.

"Don't cha wish you girlfriend were hot like me...." "Don't Cha" PussyCat Dolls

"I kissed a girl and I liked it..." "I Kissed a Girl" Katy Perry

"There she was just a walking down the street..." "Do Wa Diddy" Manfred Mann

"Devil inside, every single one of us..." "Devil Inside" INXS

"Is someone getting the best of you?" "Best of You" Foo Fighters

"Here we go for the hundredth time..." "Bleed It Out" Linkin Park

"Run, run, run, run. You better run all day..." "Run like Hell" Pink Floyd

"Tonight's gonna be a good night" "I gotta feeling" Black Eyed Peas

"If it makes you happy it can't be that bad" "If It Makes You Happy" Sheryl Crow

"INTRODUCTION"

The story of Thunder Valley is something that I had parts of in my head for years. It just took a kick in the butt from life to bring it out in the open. I have never written anything longer than a couple of hundred or maybe a thousand words before. The idea of writing a book was pretty far from anything I ever thought I could accomplish. I have always been able to make things up with relative ease, just never had the desire to put any of it down on paper. Well, I guess put it down on a computer.

In the late summer 2009 I had been working as an Ironworker for ten years. I had the fortune to work with some incredible people over those years, and I learned a lot from all of them. I remember most of them very fondly, and I found that their personalities combined would make for some interesting stories. Since I had a lot of time in those ten years to think about the endless possibilities of what people are capable of, I started to come up with the character of Charlie. One of the foremen I had on a job when I first started building bridges was quite the character. He made an impact on me and became the inspiration for Thunder Valley. I would think of all kinds of crazy things. Whether it was on the drives to and from jobs; or whether it was from the endless hours of tying bridge decks, welding clips and decking or just daydreaming, I never lost the idea of Thunder Valley.

Sure there were many variations of how it would work out in the end but the central idea was the same. I was also inspired by a few songs that made me think about what was right and what was wrong. One of those songs was the Sheryl Crow song "If it makes you happy." I thought that maybe, some people get off on killing other people. And if it makes them happy how can it be that bad? Another song that made me think was "The wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. The line in that song that says, "the lake it is said, never gives up her dead..." That planted the idea that someone could use that to cover up their tracks. I used that idea to set the story in northern Minnesota; it is as beautiful as it is dangerous.

So I had the misfortune to be laid off from my position, and I had a lot of time on my hands. Much like many other people at the time, it was around that time that I shared my idea with my friend Jessica. She liked the idea and really encouraged me to write it down. Once I started to do it, I found that I really enjoyed writing. The result was the story that is to follow. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you.

### "Camping Trip"

The sun breaks the sky early on a Thursday morning. It's late June and the days are long. Rico is woken up by Julie, his roommates' girlfriend. Conner and Julie have been up for over an hour getting ready for the road trip up north. Rico is still a little drunk from the night before. Wet Wednesday, happy hour from eight until ten, a guy can get pretty wasted. Especially when the next five days will be filled with more drinking and partying! The annual camping trip of the summer should be the best one in years. He slowly rolls out of bed as she dances around the room singing and shouting for him to get out of bed. When she finally sees he is up and not going back to sleep, she dances her way out of the room. Conner is telling Julie they need to get more ice and more Captain for the trip. Last time they ran out on the second day, and they had to resort to drinking some shitty 3/2 beer from the gas station. For a guy who rarely gets hangovers, that gas station beer really put a hurting on him.

Rico slowly walks down the hall and into the bathroom, splashes some cold water on his face and runs his fingers through his curly brown hair. "Shoulda gotten it cut yesterday, dammit! Oh well too late now, it will have to wait until they get back!" He quickly brushes his teeth and combs his hair, then decides to skip the shower. He thinks to himself 'It's only a four hour drive to the north shore. Lake Superior is going to be amazing this year.' Rico goes back to his room and starts to pack, "Shoulda done this yesterday too!" Julie is still singing and dancing around the house, something about "Don't cha wish your girlfriend were hot like me!" He can hear her almost like she is in the room with him. Conner is starting to get pissy, they still have to load the truck and pick up more booze, and they have to pick up two canoes, as well as Dave and Sam.

Conner knows that Dave will have his shit together and be ready to go. His wife Sam will not be so ready. She will take hours to finish getting her stuff packed and ready. Now Conner is just getting plain mad. Good thing they told her to be ready to leave at seven a.m. sharp, they all know nine or ten is more likely. Just as Rico stuffs the last of his clothes and rain gear into his pack, he remembers to call his Mom and wish her a happy birthday! He quickly picks up his cell phone and speed dials her number.

"Happy Birthday, Mom! I just wanted to tell you that, and I will take you out for dinner when we get back from the trip... I love you and I hope you have a great day... I know Mom but we always go this weekend every year, it's the only time we can all get off of work... All right, have a great weekend and say hi to Grandma for me." She reminds him to pack an extra pair of clean underwear, just in case, and his toothbrush. "Thanks Mom! But I'm twenty-five years old I can take care of myself!" he says to her. Then he hangs up the phone and goes to get the extra undies and his toothbrush.

A few more minutes and the three of them will start to load the truck, a big old Chevy Suburban, four doors and lots of room. The truck is two tones black and silver, there's no rust on it the body is in remarkable shape. Conner calls it his 'Sub', because it's big and solid, it's dark and will go through anything. The roof rack on top is sturdy and will hold the two canoes an even a cooler if it comes to it. As long as Sam isn't out of control this year, everything should fit just fine. Conner is very particular about how things are packed into his Sub; he has a place for everything. Rico on the other hand just starts tossing things in left and right, irritating the shit out of Conner. After about ten minutes of Rico 'helping' Conner has had enough. "God Dammit Rico, get the hell away from me and let me pack the truck," he snaps.

Rico laughs and walks away, "Whatever! Man I was just trying to help."

Conner glares at him and says, "If you want to help, just stay over there." He is pointing to the yard beside the truck.

By about seven the truck is loaded up and they pile into the old beast. Conner is driving, it's his truck and he knows how to get the most out of his baby. Conner would sell his mother for a bottle of Captain, but wouldn't take a new Tahoe for his old Suburban. "It's got character!" he says with pride.

"Pray that we get there and back!" sings Jules.

Then after a few tries she fires right up and they are on the road, "She is just cold blooded, no worries!" Conner is worried about what Rico will say.

"It's the fucking end of June! How the hell can it be cold blooded? It's already 85 out and only getting hotter! Cold blooded my ass!" says Rico.

"Maybe we should all pile into your piece of Skylark!" snaps Conner. Rico thinks to say something smart but decides against it. He has a 1987 Skylark, its faded orange and is in pretty bad shape, but it starts everyday and gets him to work and the bar. What more could you ask for?

"The important thing is that we are on the road, right guys!" Jules speaks up to break the tension. She knows that this could get ugly fast if she didn't speak up. Rico and Conner have been friends since the second grade, that doesn't mean they are without their disagreements. They fight like brothers, but, they always have each other's backs. Conner is fast to fight. He is six foot two and a solid two hundred ten pounds; he can hold his own in any scuffle he may get into. Conner has a crew cut that hides his blonde hair. He has light blue eyes and a winning smile. He drinks and smokes too much, he is ultra competitive, but a good sport. He works at City Audio, selling stereos and speakers. Conner is also a self-confessed ladies man, in his own mind anyways. Rico, Dave and his other friends used to call him 'Con her' for his ability to say anything to get a girl into bed. All that changed when he met Julie, she is short in stature but she carries a quiet confidence Conner could not resist. The fact that she is dark skinned, with a great body, sense of humor and can handle his shit is a huge bonus. They have been dating for about four years now. Julie wants to get married and they have been talking about moving in together for like two years, but she keeps her own apartment on the other side of town.

Rico can talk his way out of a fight. Rico is a bit shorter than Conner at five foot eleven and weighs about one hundred eighty; he has long curly brown hair, hazel eyes and a nice smile. He is a construction worker, and a good one at that. Rico has a natural ability to be good at just about everything he tries, whether it's a sport or anything else. He has never had a girlfriend for more than a couple of months; he is a smart ass of the highest order. Always quick to make a joke he can also piss you off and make you laugh in about ten seconds flat. He has a crazy side and will try anything once.

The drive to Julie's parents is about a twenty minute drive on a good day, but leaving at seven-fifteen on a Thursday in Minneapolis, it's bound to end up a forty-five minute drive easy.

"Fucking road construction sucks!" Conner complains, "When is this shit gonna to end Rico?"

Rico says, "There are two seasons in this state, winter and road construction. Building new bridges, roads and buildings take time man. This shit doesn't build itself."

Conner and Rico continue to argue about the time and cost of building roads and bridges the whole drive. Soon enough, though, they have stopped at Julie's parents' house and picked up their canoes. Two old, aluminum relics from the 1970s, they are big, heavy and wide. One of them has a large dent in the front and several long scratches on the sides. The other one is in almost perfect condition, other than a few scratches on the bottom. Dave and Conner hate them, but they won't sink and they are pretty comfortable for day trips.

"You can fit two coolers in each of them!" says Rico, "What more could you ask for right?"

They will take three or four day trips down the local rivers in North Point. Sam found a campsite online for only twenty-five dollars a night. They have showers and electricity, running water, and they offer pickup and drop offs at the local rivers, especially for day trippers.

Rico thinks to himself that it sounds too good to be true, "There must be a catch! Only twenty-five dollars a night! They probably overcharge for everything else, firewood, little shit that you forgot to bring. Probably going to be ten bucks for two pieces of wood! I'm not sure I like this idea," he says aloud.

Conner chimes in, "The last two years were way too expensive! I must've spent like five hundred last year and four hundred the year before! This is the way to go! Roughing it, tents, and sleeping bags, out in the elements!"

Julie says, "Yeah Rico, roughing it! Tents, showers, electricity, bathrooms, the whole nine yards."

"Really back to nature right!" says Rico.

On the short drive to Dave and Sam's they stop at the liquor store and pick up the 'necessities,' Captain Morgan, Coke and ice. Along with some Hard Lemonade, and a few cases of Bud. They also get some bottled water and some snacks for the trip. From there it's off to Dave's house. They pull into the driveway of the small town house; all the houses look exactly the same, at eight-thirty-five.

Rico, Conner and Julie have a pool going on what time Sam will be ready. Just as they all pile out of the truck, Dave busts out of the front door. Dave is six foot four, about two hundred thirty pounds, he works out four or five days a week, he has short brown hair and a fu-man-chu mustache going on. He is in a near panic, mumbling something about how long Sam is taking. "She isn't even close to being ready! I'm sorry guys, but you know how she is!" They really do know how she is, she packs and repacks three or four times, checks and rechecks her 'list'.

Conner is on the verge of a huge meltdown, "God dammit, Dave, we have been going on this trip every year since we were in high school! Can't she get her shit together just one freaking time?"

Julie tries to calm Conner down, "Conner relax, this trip is supposed to be fun for all of us, give her a break!"

Rico has stayed pretty silent about how long Sam takes to get ready every year is about to explode with rage! He starts to say "Jesus..."

At that very moment the garage door opens and there stands Sam all ready to go! "What the hell took you guys so long to get here? We've been ready to go since seven!"

Conner, Julie and Rico can't believe their eyes, Sam has never been all packed and ready to go before. They stand with their mouths open, speechless.

Dave is laughing so damn hard he is almost crying. Rico and Conner stare in disbelief.

"Seven years and you're finally ready to go on time! What gives?" Rico asks.

Sam starts to explain, "I'm so tired of being the butt of all your jokes and all your sarcastic shit!" Then she sees Dave out of the corner of her eye. Now he is crying, running over to the truck and damn near tackles Conner. Sam starts to laugh and picks up one of her bags, walking it over to the 'Sub'.

"We've been all packed up for like two days!" he says.

Conner and Rico finally start laughing and so does Julie.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Dave yells.

### "The First Sign of Trouble!"

After Dave and Conner pack everything away, they all pile into the truck, everybody but Rico.

"Where the hell is he?" barks Conner.

Sam says, "He went to bathroom, I think."

"Christ he has the bladder of a four year old! He went like an hour ago," says Conner, "Rico better not have to stop every damn rest stop this year or I will kick his ass!"

Julie chimes in, "Do you guys remember, what like two years ago, when he damn near pissed his pants because Conner was so angry, he wouldn't pull over till Rico threatened to piss in the backseat!"

Dave and Sam started to laugh along with Julie.

Conner, however, was not so amused, "That fucker was seven deep into a twelver of Bud before we got out of the cities! He deserved to be in a little pain for not sharing!"

"Now, now, now Conner you know you can't drink and drive," cries Sam through her laughter!

"Well it would have made the trip easier on me if I had though. What the hell is taking him so long?" huffs Conner.

Rico kicks the door open and steps out into the garage, buttoning his shorts and buckling his belt. He turns to the side and hollers. "Whoa! Do I look like I lost some weight? Think I dropped about five pounds in there! Damn taco bar." He hits the garage door button on the way out.

Sam is disgusted by what Rico just said; she is trying to control her gag reflex. Julie and Dave are yelling for him to, "Hurry up, we have to get going!"

Conner is waiting for just the right time. As Rico struts in front of the truck, Conner blasts the horn. Rico jumps about a foot into the air, trips over his feet and falls down. Everyone in the truck is laughing now. They can hear Rico saying, "Holy Shit, I thought I got it all out! Now I'm not so sure." He stands up with his hand on his ass, like he's crapped.

"Better go and wipe again!" yells Conner. He is laughing the hardest because in all the years he has known Rico, he has never seen him jump like that. Not even the time they were kids, when they went to their first haunted house! All of the other kids were scared to death, but Rico was laughing the whole time. Never jumped at a movie, loud noise, nothing. He just could not be rattled! Conner felt a bit of satisfaction for getting Rico like he did.

When Rico finally composes himself enough to get in the truck, Sam and Julie are laughing so hard tears are coming out if their eyes. Dave is complaining that his stomach hurts and Conner is beaming from his accomplishment.

With the tension fully broken they can finally get on the road. Conner tries to start the Sub, nothing. He tries again, nothing.

Rico sensing an opening says, "Don't worry people, She's just cold blooded. Right Conner?"

Conner doesn't say anything, he just rubs his hand on the dash of the old Sub and tries again. This time the engine turns over, sputters a bit then roars to life. "See just needs a little touch!"

Sam is worried about being stranded on the road in the middle of nowhere. "Isn't this how all horror movies start? Ya know truck breaks down in the middle of bum-fuck-Egypt, and..."

"BAM!" shouts Dave, "They all get slaughtered by a deranged serial killer! Ha ha ha!"

Everybody jumps and Sam slaps him hard on the shoulder! "Knock that shit off! It's not funny."

Dave rubs his shoulder and apologizes, "I was just kidding, besides that kind of shit. All together now." Putting his hands in the air and waving them like a conductor. "Only happens in the movies," they all say at once, then, start to laugh.

Just to keep the peace Julie talks Conner into stopping and getting it looked at. Her Uncle is a mechanic and has a shop on the way out of town; Rico thinks something must be wrong because Conner agrees way to fast.

"Better to be safe, then sorry! Right?" says Conner. As he pulls out of the drive and makes his way to Uncle Scott's shop. The small shop is just north of St. Paul, is nice and organized, tucked away in small courtyard with a tire place, exhaust, and quick lube. Scott is not at the shop when they pull up, very strange for Scott, he is always on time. 'You have to be on the ball when you are the owner of a small business.' he was fond of that saying.

Julie says, "Wonder where Scott is? I've never known him to be late for work." She takes out her cell phone to call him when he pulls into the parking lot. He is going about forty miles per hour, trying to get the shop open on time.

Scott pulls into his parking spot by locking up the brakes on his Subaru. He jumps out and walks as fast as he can to the front door and without even missing a step the door is open and he is turning on signs and lights, turns on his computer and starts the coffee maker. Scott is not a coffee drinker, hates the smell and the taste of it, but his loyal customers love it so he suffers through the smell. He is so focused on opening up the shop and getting ready for the day, he didn't even notice his niece and her friends in the big Suburban. Julie and Conner get out of the truck and go inside. The doorbell rings as they push the door open, nothing fancy, just lets Scott know if someone is in his shop while he works on cars and trucks all day. The bell is sort of quiet in the office and waiting room, but it is very loud in the shop. Scott has 17,000 songs on his iPod and he blasts that through his stereo in the back.

"Hi, Uncle Scott!" Julie shouts, she makes her way to him as he looks up and smiles.

"Jules, what brings you here today? Hi Conner. I thought you would still be waiting for Sam to finish packing. Or are you just killing time until she's ready?" Scott jokes. When he looked up he had seen Sam, Dave and Rico getting out of the truck.

"Julie is worried about the Sub not starting and getting stranded in the middle of nowhere!" says Conner.

"I'm not that worried, I just want it looked at, could you check it out Uncle Scott?" says Julie.

Scott looks at Julie with a smile and says, "I'm extremely busy here! I mean look around at all my customers waiting in the lot!" His arm rises up pointing toward the empty parking lot!

Rico is walking through the door as Scott is making his statement, he looks at the lot he was just walking in from and says. "Yeah, it's a damn zoo out there, almost got killed walking through all the traffic!"

There is an awkward silence as they all look at each other.

"The economy is killing everyone right now, people just can't afford to get the little things fixed like they used to." says Scott. "What seems to wrong with her this time?" Scott has worked on Julies friends' vehicles for years, and Conner's Sub, is one of his favorites to work on. Its big and old, has a lot of room to work, and move around the engine!

Rico starts to say, "Well Conner says that she is just cold blooded!"

Conner glares at Rico and tells him, "Shut up Rico! Don't you have to go to the bathroom again?"

Rico hangs his head and keeps quiet.

"I am just having a bit of trouble when I go to start it! No big deal, just wanted to have some reassurance. If you know what I mean!" explains Conner.

Scott nods his head and tells Conner, "Pull it in the shop. We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry."

"I'm not worried in the least; I just want to keep the ladies happy," says Conner.

Rico shouts, "Yeah keep the ladies happy, or you won't be getting any on this trip either!"

Conner is not amused by Rico, but he smiles and knows he's right! He jumps in the driver's seat and puts it in gear; he left it running just in case. Scott had walked through the shop with Julie and was opening the overhead door. Slowly motioning Conner to turn his wheels to the right or left then puts both hands up to stop him in the right spot!

"Pop the hood," he says as he pats the hood with his palm.

Conner reaches down and pulls the handle, as if the starting problem wasn't bad enough, it comes off in his hand. "Son of a Bitch!" he screams as he holds the handle up to show everyone!

Sam gets this frightened look on her face, "See I knew it, something's going to happen on this trip."

Dave puts his arm around her and says, "Come on Sam, if that's the worst thing that happens on this trip it will be a great trip!"

Rico walks over to a toolbox full of wrenches and other hand tools; he knows exactly what he is looking for! He finds the pliers in a drawer and walks over to the driver side of the Sub, sticks his head in and grabs the broken wire with the pliers and gives it a pull, just like that the hood releases and Scott reaches under and pushes the release on the hood. He looks up and says "Conner, kill the engine." Conner does what he's told. The engine stops running, sputters one or two times, then nothing. Scott pokes around, looking here and there, and then he sees what the problem is. The battery cable has come loose, a minor problem, he grabs a small wrench and tightens it right up. Then he tells Conner to "fire it up." Conner turns the key and the sub roars to life.

"Wooooooohooooooo!" yells Julie, "Thanks Uncle Scott, you're a life saver."

"Life saver, more like a trip saver," says Conner, "How much do I owe you?"

"This one is on the house," Scott responds.

Julie walks over to her Uncle and gives him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you so much, you're the best."

"It was nothing," says Scott. "You better get on the road if you want to get up there before it gets too late. Drive careful and have a good, safe trip."

"We will thanks again!" They all say at the same time.

Once more they all pile into the Sub, and one more time Rico is nowhere to be found, "Is he going again?" asks Dave. "What the hell?"

As Rico walks out of the main office he has some cups and a few bottles of pop, "You guys thought I was in the bathroom again huh?"

Sam is a coffee drinker and so is Dave, Julie and Conner are in between. Rico can't stand coffee. So, when he gets in the truck he hands two cups to Dave and Sam and he hands Conner and Jules each a bottle of Coke.

"Let's go!" he says happily.

### "On The Road"

Now behind the wheel and confident in the fact that the Sub will make it all the way up and back, Conner is in a better mood. Everyone is in a more relaxed mood, in fact, they are all in agreement on what to listen to on the radio. It is a very rare occurrence, indeed. Rico, Conner and Dave are all into Rock and Roll, classic or hard rock. It doesn't matter to them.

Julie is a hip-hop girl. She is always singing and dancing; she is very pretty and knows how to dance! At five foot three, she is very petite, long brown hair and big brown eyes, she is a complete knockout! Always a peacekeeper, she avoids conflict and is generally in a good mood. Quiet and confident, she has a very creative sense of humor and tries to look on the bright side of things. She is the manager of Sooper Cuts, a small beauty shop in Eagan. The shop is small but they have a loyal client base, and a good location.

Sam is a total country girl. She is a schoolteacher, in Richfield. She teaches seventh grade English and loves her job. At five foot six, she is average but pretty in her own natural way. She has long, sandy blonde hair with highlights, blue eyes and a killer smile. She is very confident and very organized. She has book smarts but not so much on the street smarts. Always wants to improve herself and save the world.

Dave is very submissive to his wife, he may be bigger than she is, but she is in charge. Dave will do anything Sam asks or tells him to do. He has light hair and green eyes. Dave is not a fighter, he prefers to drink his way out of issues or hide behind his wife. He knows he doesn't stand a chance in defying her, but he acts all tough in front of the boys. They all know who wears the pants in their family.

So on they drive getting back on 35 north. Trying to fight through traffic. They listen to Jac Danyls in the morning, your typical morning show DJ. Jac is loud and very opinionated. Right now he is complaining that "the Twins need to trade for more power and some veteran pitching! It's a good three weeks or so until the all-star break, and they are five games out of first place, damn Kansas City is two games up on them and they are horrible. We need a new manager, new coaching staff, and don't even get me started on the ownership." Just as he is about to lay into the owners he is interrupted by his co-host, Ronee Black. Ronee says, "Jac my man, we have a call from a listener that says he has the answer to all of our prayers."

Jac will never pass up the opportunity to tear down somebody's idea quickly says, "Let's hear this freaking idea, so who do we have on the phone?"

"Callers name is Rick O.!" says Ronee.

"Uh hello, am I on? My name is Rico not Rick O!" Everyone in the truck turns to the back seat where they see Rico, with his cell phone up to his ear and a big grin on his face.

On the radio, Jac says, "Uh yeah whatever Ricky, what is your bonehead idea?"

Rico says very confidently, "First of all, I want to say that I am a long time listener, first time caller. We need to bring in A-Rod, Manny, Big Papi, Johan, and just for the hell of it let's get Barry out of 'retirement' for good measure. Then we fire the coaching staff put in a call to TK and let's go win us another World Series title! I will hang up and listen to your response. Thank you and Go Vikes!"

Conner damn near runs into the car in front of him, swerving at the last second. He cries out, "Why the hell didn't you warn me you were gonna do that Rick O? Christ we almost just hit that guy!"

Sam says, "Hush, I want to hear what Jac has to say!" No one really thinks Jac's opinion really matters but he is usually pretty brutal with people he doesn't agree with.

"...Um Jac are you going to waste your breath with a response to that Rick O?" asks Ronee. "...Uh Jac are you OK? Wow ladies and gentleman we have a first on this radio show, the Great Jac Danyls is officially speechless. Never thought I would see the day, but here it is, mark your calendars people!"

Julie claps her hands and bounces around in the front seat, "Wooooooohooooooo, way to go Rico, you have done the impossible!"

Just then on the stereo, "What the F.beep? That is quite possibly the dumbest f.beep.king idea I've ever had the displeasure of hearing. It's so f.beep.king stupid it sounds just like something the Twins would do!" Says Jac. "That f.beep.king Rico is either a genius or he needs mental therapy, either way he is alright in this DJ's book! Call back anytime Rico my man!"

"Holy S.beep! Jac are you kidding me?" cries Ronee. "Maybe you're the one who needs therapy! But that is just dumb enough to see happening!"

"All right now can we get back to the question at hand? How much will this trade cost us?" Jac trails off as Conner turns the radio down.

Dave is in tears again, so is Sam. Conner has lost it behind the wheel and has to pull off to the side of the road! Julie is almost hyperventilating. "Where the hell did that come from Rico?" she asks once she has caught her breath.

Rico shrugs his shoulders and says, "What? I was serious! I thought it was a great idea!"

"I can't believe you got the great Jac Danyls to invite you back on the show! In twenty years of listening to him I've never ever heard him be speechless and invite someone back on the show!" says Julie.

Conner agrees, "That was amazing, good work Ricky O!"

After a couple of minutes on the side of the road Conner has it together enough to get back on the road. Now if they can just stay on the road, they should be in Duluth by one in the afternoon. Another forty-five minutes up the north shore to North Point and another thirty minutes northeast of there to the campground!

Driving by the Casino and rest stops they make very good time. Rico doesn't have the problem he had last year and the year before. No drinking on the drive up this year. Once they get into Duluth, they decide to stop and take a rest.

Rico asks Conner. "Hey man can we stop and stretch our legs for a little bit."

Dave goes out on-his-own and agrees, "Yeah I could use a little walk"

Sam who didn't show it earlier wasn't feeling that great asks, "Hey can we stop at a drug store? I need to pick something up! My stomach is kind of upset."

Julie also agrees and Conner finds the nearest exit and pulls over, He pulls into a Walgreen's parking lot and they all pile out of the truck. The guys slowly walking around stretching their arms and legs, yawning, wandering around. They are all looking up and down the street, and the parking lot.

Sam gets out and grabs Julie by the arm, dragging her into the store. Julie looks annoyed but calms down when Sam walks to the EPT aisle. "Oh my God Sam, are you serious? Does Dave know? How late are you?" Julie asks.

Sam tells her, "I'm not sure how late? Maybe a week. No, Dave doesn't know. We are not ready for this; we agreed to wait till we were older and can afford it!" she is almost in tears.

Julie says, "Hey cheer up, kids are great! You should know that!"

"I do know that, but Dave is skid-dish around kids and I'm afraid he will be upset!" Sam replies.

They pick out a test and pay for it! Then they both head to the bathroom. A few minutes later they emerge from the bathroom and head out to the truck where the guys are waiting.

"Are we all ready to go now? Did you get what you need honey?" Dave asks.

Sam says, "Yep we're good to go!"

"Good, we still have an hour and half to go!" finishes Dave.

The rest of the drive is relaxed and beautiful. Very scenic, Pine trees and rocks on one side, Lake Superior on the other! The road is winding and steep in some places, flat in others. The view is breathtaking in every direction though, Iron ore ships and other small boats dot the Great Lake. There is a lot of traffic on the lake this time of year, there is quite a bit of traffic on the roads by the lake this time of year also! Very easy to get distracted and miss a turn, and then you end up driving for miles in the wrong direction. Sam had to map quest where the campground was located, when she booked the campsite. Now about thirty minutes north of Duluth she digs out the map and tells Conner and everyone. "Look for a sign for Co. road three, it should be just a little ways farther, we don't want to miss the turn. The name of the campground is Thunder Valley Camp Center."

Conner slows down a bit and they all start to look for the road signs. Among all the pine trees and rocks, is a mile marker sign with several bullet holes in it. A little bit farther is the sign for Co. road three. It is also full of bullet holes. "Damn people and their guns always shooting the road signs," says Conner. The sign has so many bullet holes the number on it is almost completely gone.

Conner slows the big Sub down and makes the left turn onto the road; it is a narrow two lane road with no lines and no real shoulder to speak of. They continue to drive for about fifteen miles, the road curves around back to the northeast, then, they are looking for another Co. road 301, it runs north and is a little bit narrower than Co. road three. They drive another ten miles or so and they see a sign for Thunder Valley Camp Center. Conner pulls on to the small dirt road, it is very narrow and full of potholes. Conner is driving a bit fast and is having fun swerving back and forth avoiding the ruts and holes. After a few miles on the road another sign for T.V.C.C. Conner is driving too fast and misses the turn. He slams on the brakes. Luckily, he only has to back up about fifty feet.

"Holy shit!" says Julie.

Conner says, "Wow that came up fast, everyone OK?" He doesn't wait for anyone to answer, he just slowly turns down the fire road and makes his way toward the campground.

"No wonder the price is so good," says Dave. "They save money by not having a decent road to get to it on!" The trees on the side of the road are old and starting to grow over in places. The road is curvy and very hilly, in some parts it almost looks like it will completely disappear.

"This would be a fun road if it weren't so freaking bumpy!" Rico exclaims from the back seat. He is being bounced around like a rag doll, along with Dave and Sam.

Sam starts to say, "Hopefully the road gets better here..."

BAM. A sound so loud everyone thinks it's a gunshot, the right front side of the truck slams down to the ground.

"Julie, get down," Conner yells, "Jesus Christ is someone shooting at us?" He hits the brakes and pulls over to the side of the road.

"What the hell are you doing? Step on the gas!" screams Julie. "If someone is shooting at us we have to keep moving, go go go!"

Conner thinks about it but he knows that something is wrong with the Sub, "I can't go there is something wrong, I can barely control it!"

Dave and Sam are huddling close together as the truck slows to a stop. Rico is the first one to grab the door handle and get out.

"Be careful." says Sam with a terrified look in her eyes.

Conner slowly opens his door and slides out of the seat; he makes his way to the back of the Sub crouching down like he has seen people do in the movies, trying to stay out of the shooters line of sight. Rico has made his way to the back of the truck also. They both sit there with their backs to the Sub, scared and unsure of what to do next.

"Why the hell would someone shoot at us?" asks Conner. Inside the truck they can hear Julie and Sam crying, Dave is trying to keep them calm.

After looking around for a few seconds Rico calmly stands up and starts walking back to where they heard the shot.

"Rico get down!" shouts Conner.

Rico turns back towards Conner and says, "Hey man it's OK no one is shooting at us check it out!" He is pointing towards the huge pothole on the side of the road. "We just hit that hole and..." he walks to the front of the truck, "it blew out the front tire! No big deal well just put the spare tire on." With that he opens the front door and lets everyone know what happened. They are all relieved and get out of the truck to help in the tire change.

Dave and Conner start to unload the truck to get to the spare tire while Rico gets the jack and loosen the bolts on the flat. Sam and Julie decide that it is alright to wander down the road and check things out.

Julie asks Sam, "What are you going to tell Dave? I mean are you going to tell him now or wait till we get home from the trip?"

Sam thinks and says, "I'm not sure yet, I want to take the test again, maybe it was wrong! I'm so scared, that he will freak out, I don't want to ruin the trip."

"Come on do you really think Dave will freak out?" asks Julie.

"Dave can barely take care of himself, let alone take care of a little one!" Sam responds.

"Maybe Dave will surprise you. I'm sure he'll be OK with it!" Julie says.

Just as she finishes her sentence, they here a sound coming down the road, they make their way back to the Sub quickly.

"Hey there is a car coming!" says Julie.

Rico looks up from changing the tire. Dave and Conner turn to look at the oncoming vehicle. It is an old Ford truck, "Must be fifty years old" says Conner. Turns out to be fifty-five years old, a 1954 F-150. The truck is in very good shape, not cherry but still no rust and no dents; very unusual for a truck that old in MN. The driver is an old man in his mid to late fifties; he has black hair peppered with gray and white. He has a big bushy mustache, thick glasses and an old John Deere hat on. He slows down and stops. He slowly gets out of the truck. He has on a dirty pair of overalls and a dirty white T-shirt.

"Need any help? Nnn. Did you hit that pothole? Nnn. I've been trying to get that fixed for years now. Nnn. Where are you headed? Nnn." he says.

"No I think we have it under control, thanks anyways," says Rico.

Sam says, "We are headed to Thunder Valley Camp Center, ever heard of it?"

"Heard of it, yeah I've heard of it. Nnn. You're about five miles from the main nnn office. Just keep on this road and you will run right into it nnn. Nice place, I know the owner, tell him to give a good site nnn. Not one of the ones he gives the tourists, nnn but the good one! He'll know the one. Nnn." The old man says. When he is finished he climbs back into his truck and waves, "Drive careful and watch those potholes, nnn HAHAHAHAH!"

He fires up the old Ford and drives away, swerving side to side, avoiding the potholes.

"Thanks!" They all say and wave as he drives off down the road. "What's with the nnn thing?" asks Conner.

"Ahh leave him alone, sounds like he is clearing his throat, he seemed like a nice old man." says Julie, "Good tip about the site huh?"

"Yeah great tip if he is serious!" says Dave.

"All right, let's get going!" Rico says as he stands up and packs up the jack and flat tire!

"Damn we should've asked the old guy about a tire shop." says Conner. "Oh well we can ask when we get to the campground, let's roll!"

They pile back into the Sub and get on the road. Five miles down the road they see a big, worn sign; Thunder Valley Camp Center, with a big arrow pointing to the left.

"Thunder Valley"

Conner pulls the wheel to the left and hits the gas. They pull into the campground and start looking for the main office. The main office is just an old, it is a big house though, two story house. The front door has a sign next to it that says 'All campers must check in here!' Then it gives the office hours; Monday- Friday; six a.m. to ten p.m., Saturday and Sunday eight a.m. to eight p.m. It is a little bit faded, but in pretty good shape none-the-less. All around the office are Maple, Oak, Pine and Birch trees. They almost seem to block out the sun in some places, giving the office and surrounding area kind of a creepy, unfriendly feel. The courtyard in front of the office in contrast is wide open, with a small pond and some short Pine trees on the far side of it. The grass is green and lush, very well maintained. There is a huge fire-pit in between the office and the pond; it must be ten feet around and a foot deep. Big stones about the size of basketballs and watermelons form the outside of the pit; there are some big logs and pieces of wood left in there from the last fire. To the right of the fire-pit is a narrow road that leads through a rather large stone arch, it is about eighteen feet tall and about three feet wide. The road forks shortly after the stone arch. To the left, are the regular campsites, to the right are the cabins. Five cabins are on the side of the road, about three hundred feet apart. Trees help to separate the cabins, making them feel very private and cozy. The cabins are made of logs, with two small windows in the front, a small porch and a swing to the left, large flower pots are set on the right side.

On the left side of the fork are the campsites, ten sites about seventy feet apart, alternating so that one site doesn't have a direct view of any other site. They are huge, must average forty feet across and they are flat with two large picnic tables, and a fire ring in the middle. The fire ring is made of an ornate steel frame that has two legs sticking up and a grill that flips over the top for cooking. Close to the road on all the campsites is a wooden post with an electrical box on both sides. About six feet from the electrical post is a metal post that has a water spigot sticking out of it about two feet off the ground. There are also a few poles with rope running between them for tarps and clothes can be hung.

Directly in the middle of the cabins and the campsites is a large building made of brick, there are no windows on the building. There is a door on either side of the building, one is marked Men and the other door is marked Women. Inside there are two large rooms and a smaller room with three sinks and a large mirror running the length of the sinks. Through an opening that a door would fit, is a room with four toilets. Two on either side, all of them are rather big and have rails for people in wheelchairs or that have trouble getting around. Through the next door is a room with four showers, two on either side with two curtains separating them. One curtain can be pulled to hide you while you undress and the other can be pulled to shower in private. There is another door, which is locked and says authorized personnel only. The room is just a mechanical room and not that important, but it holds the two giant water heaters and all the electric circuit boards.

As Conner pulls into the parking spot directly in front of the office and puts the sub in park. Once again, they all pile out, stretching and looking around at the size of the campground.

Sam says, "What do you guys think? This is amazing right! This is even better than the stuff I found on the Net." The photos she found on the Net were probably five years old, they didn't show too much of the grounds. They did show the pond and the fire pit, but the size of the campsites was not very clear.

Dave excitedly says, "Yeah honey you are so right this place is amazing, look at the size of those sites and the fire-pit right over there!" He is pointing at the fire-pit and the pond behind it.

Conner and Julie are standing next to each other holding hands, staring at the pond and the stone arch, wondering what the rest of the campground looks like. They are whispering to each other, "Do you think we can sneak away somewhere and have a little fun?" says Julie.

"Oh I don't think that will be a problem! There are places to hide everywhere." replies Conner.

Rico is looking around amazed at the size of the sites and how secluded they appear. He is wondering to himself what the catch is going to be, there has to be a catch this place is too good to be true! "Wonder if there will be any women around this weekend? I hope so, or this may be a lonely trip." he says to himself aloud. He looks around to see if anyone heard him, but the others are all too involved in their own conversations to notice what he had just said.

"Let's get checked in so we can get our camp set up!" yells Rico.

Sam and Dave turn and start to walk towards the office, as do Conner and Julie.

Rico is at the door waiting for the rest of them, when he sees a girl walk out of the first cabin on the right. She is quite a ways from where he is and he perks up when he sees her, hoping she walks closer to them. Instead she just stands at the edge of the little porch, does a little stretch and turns to sit on the swing. She appears to have a beer in her hand. She is taking small drinks of it as she sits on the swing. Rico could tell from her stretch, she has a nice body; her dark hair is in a long ponytail. He can't see much more without looking like a freak or a creep. This is a distance call, and he doesn't want to get his hopes up till he sees her up close. Sam, Dave, Conner and Julie get to the door at the same time.

"Hey, snap out of it." says Sam as she snaps her fingers in front of Rico's face.

Rico looks toward her and says, "Uh, what? Yeah let's go!"

Conner turns around to see what he was staring at, when he sees the girl sitting on the swing, "Ooooohhhh, Rico's in love!"

They all turn at the same time and look at her. She sees them all looking at her and she waves at them politely, seeing her wave Rico waves back at her and smiles. This may be a good trip after all he thinks. He turns around when Julie finally grabs his arm and gives him a pull, "Yeah, yeah I'm coming, geez gimme a break," he says.

They all walk into the office and look at the pictures on the walls, stuffed fish and other critters, hung on the wall. There is a huge bear standing in the corner, it looks like it is going to walk over and tear into the guests as they sign in. There is a big map on the wall next to the counter. An arrow right in the middle that points to the TVCC. The arrow says 'You are here!' There are rivers that are highlighted and local attractions are shown, things like the Duluth aquarium, the Lift Bridge, Grandma's restaurant, Two Harbors all the big tourist traps. There is a bell on the counter, which says 'Ring for service.'

Sam walks up to the counter and rings the bell. Nothing. She rings the bell again. "Nnn just a minute, hold yer horse's nnn! I'm coming... nnn." says a man from another room.

Conner and Rico look at each other and laugh a little, "Is that the same guy?" whispers Rico.

Conner shrugs and whispers, "sure as hell sounds like it nnn."

Julie hears Conner mocking the old man and slaps him hard on the shoulder. "Knock it off you two! Be nice," glaring at Rico. The only reason she doesn't slap him is because he is too far for her to reach around Conner. She makes eye contact with Sam who obliges Julie and slaps Rico just as hard as she had slapped Conner.

"Damn, Dave get control of your woman!" cries Rico as he rubs his shoulder.

Dave starts to laugh but quickly puts on a straight face, and says, "Julie is right you guys, be nice!" He wasn't thinking that, but he didn't want to be in the doghouse already on this trip. Dave figured, sooner or later, she will be upset with him. It never fails, he goes a little too far in her eyes, and she will give him the cold shoulder. When she is upset the only thing he can do is keep his distance, eventually she will come around and they will make up. Then she will try to make it up to him in her own special way. He smiles at the thought, but straightens up right away. He doesn't want her to think he is laughing at Rico and Conner's joke!

The old man walks around the corner and says, "Welcome to Thunder Valley Camp Center, nnn how can I help you?" He finally looks up and recognizes the five of them. "Ahhh it's you guys again, nnn. Sorry about the tire back there, nnn"

"That's quite alright," says Julie.

Conner butts in and asks, "Can you tell us where the nearest tire shop, or garage is? That spare won't hold very much longer!"

"Nearest shop is in Two Harbors, nnn tell you what though. I can fix it up for you in my shop nnn, no charge, since I haven't fixed that pothole yet. Nnn" Charlie says almost whimsically.

"Wow, that would be great, thanks a lot," says Conner.

"Well now let's get you checked in, nnn," the old man says. He looks down at the computer on the desk, and despite his age and looks. He swiftly looks up the reservation and gets them registered. "We have two sites open right now. Nnn I think that number three is the right one for you guys. Nnn"

Conner interrupts again and asks, "Back on the road you mentioned 'the good' site!" Julie lands an elbow in his ribs, "What? I was just asking."

"Don't be rude, he has already offered to fix the tire, don't push it," says Julie.

"So I did. Nnn. It's OK Miss, number three is the best site we have, nnn it is the closest to the bathrooms and showers. Nnn, Can be pretty handy after a long day on the river. Nnn"

"We offer transport to three rivers from here all are about, nnn, forty-five minute drive. Nnn. They all end about twenty minutes from here, nnn. You can spend all day on the river though. Nnn." Says the old man. "Just let me know when you all want nnn to leave and we will load you up and go nnn. Site number three is through the nnn arch and left at the fork, second site on the right."

Conner reaches for his wallet to pay for the campsite; he usually pays for everything and gets money from everyone after-wards. The old man holds up his hand and says, "Keep your money for now, nnn. We can settle up before you leave. Nnn"

Rico thinks to himself aha there's the catch. He just keeps adding shit up on you, charge you for everything. Then he hits you up at the end of the trip. He keeps the thought to himself, but can't wait to get outside to share his theory. Conner puts his wallet back in his pocket and they all head for the door.

"Forgive me, names Charlie, I own Thunder Valley. Nnn Sorry to mess around with you, out on the nnn road, I just like messing with people nnn... Let me know if you need anything. Nnn"

Sam and Dave are the first ones out the door, she gives him a little shove and then grabs him from behind, tickling him on his sides.

"Get a room!" shouts Rico, as he heads for the Sub.

Conner yells, "Fuck that, help us with the tent before you even think of any funny business."

"Yeah let's get camp set up first!" Julie agrees, "I'm not gonna try to put that fucker up after it gets dark!"

Rico looks at his watch. "It's only four-thirty, Christ the sun will be up for almost five more hours."

Sam and Dave decide to walk to the site, while Conner and Julie climb in their seats, Rico jumps on the back bumper, avoiding the canoes, he grabs the luggage rack in one hand and slaps the side of the Sub.

"Yahhhh, get a move on this thing!" he shouts at the top of his lungs. He is yelling loud enough for the girl on the swing to hear. Conner starts the Sub and puts it in reverse, then slams on the gas, throwing Rico into the glass. Then he slams on the brakes, sending Rico flying off the back of the truck. He lands on his feet and does a barrel roll. Conner is laughing, waiting for Rico to get up and try to get back on the bumper again. Julie is concerned that Rico may be hurt, but starts to laugh when she sees him bounce up like a cat and run for the back of the Sub. Conner throws the truck in drive and slams on the gas, the big engine roars as the tires spin and spit rocks and sand at Rico as he tries to catch the truck. Conner hits the horn as he drives through the stone arch and onto the left fork. Sam and Dave turn to see Rico running as fast as he can to grab the handle on the door. The girl on the swing is laughing aloud as she watches the action on the road.

Rico has momentarily forgotten about her and is yelling and screaming, "Conner you asshole, stop the truck, stop right now. I'm going to kick your ass when you stop!"

Conner reaches the second site on the right and slams on the brakes, Rico is so intent on catching up he doesn't have time to stop and again slams into the back of the Sub; narrowly missing the canoes yet again. He doesn't hit very hard but he plays it up, and falls to the ground holding his shoulder. The campsite is out of view of the cabins and Rico pops up, staggers around a bit and then bends over and puts his hands on his knees. "Thanks for stopping, jerk! I need a drink!" he says.

Conner pulls into the site and parks the Sub. Julie hops out of the passenger seat and runs to the back of the truck to see if Rico is OK Conner is slower and less concerned with his old friend. He is laughing and yelling to Dave, "Did you see that? He damn near broke the window."

Sam is concerned about Rico as well and walks over to see if he is hurt.

Dave is laughing and says, "Yeah that was freakin great! I think your girlfriend liked it too Romeo."

Rico stands up and slaps his forehead, he remembers that the hot girl was sitting on the swing in front of the cabin. Sam and Julie decide that he is just fine and turn away from Rico, Julie is dancing like normal. Sam is feeling pretty good too so she starts doing a little dance as well. Dave takes notice of this and knows it is a good sign, last time she was in the dancing mood, she was so much fun. They would be sneaking off all weekend.

Conner grabs a radio and an extension cord out of the truck and walks over to the post, plugs in the radio and tunes in a station. It is the 'Bear,' they play all kinds of music but right now there is a commercial on 'Real men of genius'. Rico sings along with the commercial.

### "Roughing It"

Julie opens the back door of the Sub and reaches in to start pulling out the camping gear. Conner sees this and walks as fast as he can to the back of the truck. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there lady. I will get the stuff out, I know where everything is," he says.

"OK, OK relax," Julie says.

Rico can't wait for his drink and he jumps in the back door searching for the cooler with the Captain and Coke. He knows where the glasses are and soon he is getting drinks for everyone. Dave and Sam are beer drinkers, however, Sam says she still doesn't feel well and settles for a bottle of water. Julie is a Hard Lemonade drinker and she starts in on one of those. Conner loves the Captain and has sailed the high seas with him many, many times. In fact Rico and Conner have sailed with the Captain so many times; they consider themselves honorary crew members. After he hands out the bottles to the rest of them, Rico brings out the pride of his collection of cups. They are forty-eight oz. tankers from a gas station; Rico grabs one bottle of Captain and pours about four shots into the glass. Then he pours three cans of Coke in along with some ice, he is not concerned with stirring it as he gives it over to Conner. Conner takes the cup and takes a big drink.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh, that's what I'm talking about! Way to mix a drink Rico," says Conner.

Rico smiles as he finishes mixing his drink the same way, "I do what I can my man."

Soon Dave and Conner have a huge blue tarp laid out on the ground, and they are pulling the big three room tent out of the bag. They figure out where the door is located and unroll it. Then they all grab some of the poles and they are pushing them together trying to figure out which one goes where. A couple of minutes later they think it is ready to put up, they all lift their separate poles. It is pretty obvious they have one in the wrong spot so down they go and switch the ones that are wrong. Within minutes, the tent is standing; the guys are moving all the packs and sleeping bags into the tent. The girls have walked up to the bathrooms to check them out maybe get cleaned up a little.

Conner looks around and says, "What the hell? The girls sure snuck away fast."

Dave looks around and says, "Awww Conner give them a break, Sam hasn't felt that good since we left this morning. I'm sure Julie is trying to help out!"

"Yeah," says Rico. "They will just get in the way anyway. Hahahahahah! Besides we can drink that much more, right Dave!"

Dave responds by slamming the rest of his beer and clicking his wedding ring against the can. It's like ringing a dinner bell that means I need another beer. Then he smashes the can in his hand and tosses it toward the fire pit.

Rico is closest to the cooler with the beer in it; he reaches in and grabs a fresh one out for Dave. He quickly tosses it about twenty-five feet across the site. "Coming down!" he yells at it arcs across the early evening sky.

Dave knows better but is still caught off guard by Rico's throw. "Jesus Christ Rico, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asks as he reaches out his hand and grabs the can out of the air. Dave quickly cracks open the new one and puts it to his mouth as fast as he can so the foam doesn't get all over him.

Conner is just about ready to start a fire for the evening and get some food cooking on the grill! He starts barking out orders to Dave and Rico. "Hey you two put up the other canopy, and get the other coolers out of the Sub. I'm going to walk up and check out the firewood situation."

Rico says, "Who put in you in charge?" He doesn't really care about putting the canopy up, but he is very interested in walking up to the office. Maybe get to see the hot chick again.

Conner says, "What? Do you want to go and get the wood?"

Dave interrupts and says, "Yes he does want to go get the wood; he will probably get some of his own wood if he sees that girl again!" He gets a good laugh out of Conner.

Rico is not so amused by it though; it's true but not amusing.

Conner gives in; he really didn't want to walk all the way up to the office anyways. Then drag a bunch of dry wood back to the camp, "Fuck that!" he says under his breath. "Make sure you get enough for the whole night, and the morning also."

"Yeah yeah, will do." Rico says as he quickly walks away. He see that Sam and Julie are walking down from the bathrooms, gives them a little wave and they start to walk towards him.

"What's up Rico?" Sam asks.

"I'm going to check on firewood, and see the local sites," Rico says. "You two want to come with?"

Julie looks at Sam who has a smile on her face, the first one she has seen since they left Duluth. "Yeah, let's go, I want to check out the local sites too!" she winks at Rico.

"Wow, Julie I never knew you had it in you." Rico jokes.

"Me either," says Sam. "Should I be worried? Have you been checking me out too?" With that she kinda wiggles her ass at Julie.

Julie quickly slaps her on the ass. Then starts singing, "I kissed a girl and I liked it, sure hope my boyfriend doesn't mind it. It felt so wrong, it felt so right..."

"You're fucking killin me Jules, killing me, knock it off," says Rico. He has always thought Julie was hot, but kept it to himself because Conner was so into her.

"OK! I'm just playing," Julie says.

They all start walking again towards the office. Julie and Sam are walking hand in hand. Making Rico take notice and jump in between them, grabbing their hands and holding them in his, "Mind if I get in on this too?" asks Rico.

Julie decides to play along with it and says, "Sure Rico, whatever you want!"

Sam on the other hand says, "Hell no Julie is my bitch, and I'm not going to share!" She lets go of Rico's hand and jogs a couple of feet in front of them and to the side where Julie is. She stops and grabs Julie's hand again pulling her away from Rico.

"Awww man, what the hell?" cries Rico.

By the time they get to the fork in the road Rico is damn near running. He is looking off to the left trying to get a look at cabin number one. As he walks past the last thick pine tree he can see that the girl is gone from the swing and is nowhere in sight.

"Damn, we waited too long," says Rico. He slows back down to let the girls catch up to him.

"Oh poor Rico, she has to be around here somewhere," says Julie.

"Cheer up Rico, you will see her again," agrees Sam.

They walk under the big stone arch, and Rico takes a minute to admire the quality of the job. The stones are fit together like they were made out of one giant piece of stone. Julie takes Rico by the hand again and says, "Let's go, we have a fire to build! These things don't build themselves." she tries to use a deep voice, mocking Rico.

Rico walks with Julie to where Sam is waiting, looking around over by the huge fire-pit. They all walk into the office, Sam followed closely by Julie and Rico in the back. Sam walks over to the desk and Julie is close behind, she rings the bell. Rico stops dead in his tracks. There in front of the bear in the corner stands the girl from cabin one, she is even better than he imagined. Her hair is in a tight high ponytail that reaches almost down to her waist, it is jet black and very curly. She is standing there reading the plaque on the bottom pedestal. Rico is frozen, he still hasn't seen her face, but he still has to find out more about her. He stands up tall and walks over to the wall and acts like he is looking at the huge Northern Pike hanging on the wall. At the same time he is stepping closer and closer to where the bear stands and the girl with the jet black hair. Rico is looking over his shoulder, trying to get a look at her face. Just a little further and...

"Rico, RICO, what are you doing? Get over here," chirps Julie. Rico is startled out of the trance he is in. He looks over at Sam and Julie, and then quickly looks back to where the girl was standing. She is gone again, he turns back around, and she is standing right in front of him.

"Whoa, holy cow, excuse me," Rico says. She is stunning; she has olive skin and big brown eyes, perfect features and a smile to die for. She is about five foot four, with curves in all the right places. She is in very good shape, very toned and lean.

The girl with jet black hair laughs and says, "Hey, no problem, I saw your ride on the truck. Very impressive." Then she laughs out loud, "Haven't seen anything like that before, thanks for entertainment."

"Well, I'm glad someone enjoyed that! My name is R..." he is interrupted.

"Rico, I know, I heard. My name is Sunny!" she says with a smile. She reaches out her hand and holds it there while Rico quickly grabs it in his, gently squeezing. She shakes his hand and doesn't pull her hand away, their eyes are locked. They stand in the corner of the room about four feet from the giant bear. Rico is instantly in love with her, she is gorgeous, that is all he needs to know for now. He is starring at her and cannot look away, she is smiling and so is he.

"Rico!" Sam says this time. Rico finally stops starring at Sunny and looks over to where Julie, Sam and Charlie are standing. They are all looking at the two of them. Finally, they let each other go.

Rico says, "Uh yeah, well it's nice to meet you Sunny. Hey we are at site number three, we're going to have a big fire tonight and we have a boatload of alcohol. You should stop by and have a few beers with us."

"That sounds like a good time. What time should we stop by?" asks Sunny.

"Um we?" says Rico. His heart sinks, he knows what is coming next. He has been in this situation many, many times. The next words out of her mouth will be...

"Yeah, my boyfriend and I, he is up in the cabin sleeping off a hangover. We had a rough night last night. He was up drinking till about three this morning, we didn't even go down the river today. I've been waiting around all day for his dumb-ass to get out of bed. I'm not sure how much he will be into drinking tonight but we will definitely stop by." Sunny says.

Julie is listening to the whole conversation. She can almost see the moment when Rico's heart breaks. She takes a few steps towards the two of them and says, "Why don't you stop by in about an hour! I'm Julie. That's Sam," she says as she looks over her shoulder towards the counter. "We will have a roaring fire and will probably have some extra food if you guys are hungry."

Rico fakes a smile and says, "Yeah, an hour should be good, give us plenty of time to get good and drunk. See you then," he walks over to where Sam is standing asking Charlie about the price and amount of firewood.

Sunny smiles and agrees to come over in an hour or so, "Bye, I will see you soon Rico."

Rico looks over at her one more time, he tries to smile but it is not very convincing. He watches her as she walks out of the door and gives him another smile as the door shuts behind her.

Sam is still asking Charlie, "How much did you say firewood is? We need enough to get us through the night and tomorrow morning."

"Well, enough for tonight and the nnn morning. Should be about four bundles nnn make it six to be safe. Is twenty OK? Nnn" responds Charlie.

Rico is still upset about what just happened with Sunny, thinks to himself; there's the catch. He says out loud without realizing he is talking, "Twenty dollars a bundle, are you shitting me?"

Julie is shocked by what Rico just said. She grabs him by the arm and gives him a pull, "What the hell Rico?" She is about to pull him outside and yell at him for being rude.

Charlie steps in again, "No, no, no twenty for all the wood, and nnn I will have Jr. bring it out to your site nnn right away." He limps his way over to the desk behind him and grabs a small two way radio, "Jr. you got a copy? Nnn I need you to bring six bundles of wood to nnn site three. Jr. Do you hear me boy? Nnn"

"Yeah I hear you old man," a voice crackles over the radio. "I will be there in a few minutes... Christ old man, I do have other shit to do... Ahh damn radio. Did you hear that?"

"Nnn yeah I heard that, now get off your ass annnd get that wood over to the site nnn double quick boy," Charlie snaps.

"I'm on my way," says the voice on the other side of the radio. "Geez..."

Charlie looks like he is going to lose it, his face is red, eyes are squinting, lips pressed together so hard they can barely be seen. Then like the flip of a switch, he has the same look on his face. Kind of like he is thinking of what he is going to do next. "Sorry folks, your wood will be at your nnn campsite ASAP," he says politely, looking out the window, trying to see if anyone is driving down the road.

Julie says, "Thank you Charlie, we appreciate it, see you later." As she grabs Rico by the arm once again and pulls him toward the door.

Sam says, "Thanks again!" she waves as she follows Julie and Rico out the office door.

Rico is looking down at the ground, his hair is falling in his face, he is mumbling something under his breath, "I can't believe..."

"Can't believe what Rico?" asks Sam. She is bending down a bit to try and see his face, "Rico! Are you alright?"

Rico as if in a trance looks at Sam then at Julie; he is sullen with no expression on his face, and then snaps into a fake grin. "I can't believe that sh...it is only twenty-five dollars, I mean I was thinking it was going to be a lot more." He is trying to hide the fact that he is heartbroken over Sunny. She seemed so perfect; they held each other's hand and stared into each other's eyes. There was a spark, or something, some kind of attraction.

"Rico are you alright?" asks Julie. "I mean you don't seem like yourself right now. I heard you ask her to stop by tonight, and I heard her say she would be coming by with her boyfriend. I know you like her, she is hot."

Rico looks at Julie and smiles, "What? Yeah I'm fine, so what if she has a boyfriend right. I mean really I will never see again anyways right!"

"That's right Rico, who needs her anyways?" says Sam. "We'll have fun this weekend and we will find you a girlfriend when we get home."

"Yeah don't worry about it Rico, we'll hook you up... when we get home," says Julie trying to sound upbeat.

Rico looks at both of the girls again and smiles for real this time. "You're right; she is probably a psycho... Who needs a hot crazy chick anyways?" He looks up in time to see Sunny walking up the path to her cabin.

Then they all walk back to the campsite, Julie starts to sing "There she was just a walking down the street." Rico and Sam join in, "singing do-wah-ditty-ditty-dum-ditty-do." Rico is smiling and laughing by the time they get back to the site.

Dave and Conner are still messing with the canopy. They have the canopy part on and they are trying to get the legs to slide apart. Conner is telling Dave, "Hold your side up. I can't do this while you are moving it." Dave is on the other side, shaking the pole just a little, just enough to make it seem like an accident. Conner is getting pretty upset.

Julie sneaks up beside him and yells, "What are you doing?" He jumps and spins around, almost kicks over his drink and screams a little.

"Jesus Jules, what the hell are you trying to kill me?" he cries. Trying to downplay how scared he was, "I knew you were there!"

Rico says, "Is that why you jumped so high?" he laughs as he says it.

"You're not helping Rico." Conner says, "Make yourself useful and mix me another drink." He picks up his tanker and takes one last drink. Shaking it in his hand, just to make sure he got the last of it.

Rico walks over and grabs the cup, he shakes it also, "You want it like the last one?"

"Hell yes, that was freaking perfect," Conner says.

As Rico makes his way over to the cooler, Dave asks, "What is going on with the firewood? How much did you get?"

"And how much did it cost?" asks Conner. "Ten dollars a bundle?"

Sam shakes her head side to side. "Not even close. Six bundles were only twenty bucks and they're going to deliver it."

"Hey Rico! Did you see your girlfriend?" Dave asks with a smile. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Sam shoot him a look. Dave knows this look, it is not good. He starts to stammer, "Uh I mean..."

"Yeah we saw her; I think she is a lesbian or something. I mean I was up there putting out the vibe." He turns around and sticks his butt out. "And she didn't even pay attention." Rico says, "Honestly though, I did talk to her. Her name is Sunny, and she has a boyfriend already."

"Bummer man, sorry to hear that!" Dave sympathizes.

Conner agrees, "Yeah man that sucks, she was hot."

Julie who is still standing by Conner slaps him on the shoulder and says, "What the hell? Why are you looking at her like that?"

Conner looks like Dave does when Sam gets mad at him. He starts to say, "Ahh baby, you know you're the only one for me." He is grabbing at Julie and tries to give her a big hug. Julie acts like she is upset but is only playing. She jumps in his arms and kisses and hugs him back.

Rico finishes mixing the drink and walks it over to Conner. He says, "That's o.k. The shitty thing is I asked her to stop by the fire tonight. So she is going to come with him. Fucking great huh?"

Dave and Conner just look at each other and then they look at the girls, not wanting to say anything else that may get them into trouble. They know they are already on the edge of not getting any, one more comment or slap on the arm might just put them both over the limit.

Conner says, "Hey Rico, you want Dave and I to grab this guy and kick his ass?" He pounds his fist into his hand a couple of times.

"No thanks, I'm good. If she doesn't want me, she is the one missing out, right?" replies Rico.

"Right," they all say.

### "Fire"

Within fifteen minutes they have figured out the canopy and are sitting around laughing and joking; singing along with the radio. Drinking and having a good time, Conner is starting to get impatient with the firewood situation. "Where the hell is the firewood? I want to eat something pretty soon!" he complains.

"Relax honey; I'm sure it will be here soon. The kid sounded pretty busy," says Julie.

"The kid? What kid?" Conner asks.

"I think Charlie's kid. Nnn" Rico jokes.

"Be nice Rico, or we won't help you get a woman when we get home!" threatens Sam. She is just kidding; she really wants to find a girlfriend for Rico. It would be nice to have another couple, instead of two couples and a single.

"OK OK. I was just playinnng!" Rico laughs. He is starting to feel the Captain, after not eating all day; he is feeling it a lot sooner than he normally would. He has what he calls 'a nice eye-buzz.'

Then as they are all laughing, they see a John Deere Gator slowly pull up to the campsite. The box is stacked with wood, about 3 feet high all the way around. A taller, stocky kid gets out from behind the wheel; he is the spitting image of his father, only shorter and without the limp. He walks around the Gator and, looks at the girls, then looks at the guys. "Hello! Welcome to Thunder Valley. My name is Charlie, you can call me Jr. though. Dad wanted me to deliver this wood for you. Where do you want it? Let me guess, over by the fire-pit?" he laughs awkwardly.

Conner is relieved, they can finally get the fire going. "Yeah by the fire-pit is fine," he says. He gets up along with Rico and Dave. The guys start to walk over to the pit. In the meantime Jr. gets back in the Gator and backs it up.

"Beep, beep, beep," he says out-loud, "the Gator is supposed to have a back-up warning alarm on it but Jr. broke it off a while back. That God damn thing was so annoying," he states.

Julie and Sam laugh at what Jr. just did. They look at each other and then look away at the same time. Rico makes a detour and goes over to mix another drink for himself. "Anyone need a refill? You want a beer Jr.? Uh wait, let me see an I.D. Are you twenty-one?"

Jr. laughs and says, "Yes I'm twenty-two. And I will take you up on that a bit later if you don't mind. The old man will kill me if I get loaded and crash the Gator again."

"Yeah come back later and have a drink with us." says Conner. Then he starts to grab pieces of wood and throws a few of them into the pit. Dave grabs some pieces and starts to stack them next to the pit. Rico is still mixing his drink when, Conner walks past him to the back of the Sub and grabs out the lighter fluid, some newspapers and a long lighter. He is feeling a little of the Captain himself and he wobbles a little on his way back to the pit. Dave is still stacking wood and Jr. helps out stacking wood alongside him. Rico grabs two beers and walks over to the pit. He stands at the back of the Gator and holds the beers up in front of him. He has his drink in the other hand and is taking a rather large drink. Dave turns around to see Rico taunting him with a fresh beer, and quickly slams the rest of his. He crushes the can and tosses it aside.

Rico holds the other beer out to Jr. and says, "One beer won't kill you. C'mon everyone's is doing it... everyone but Sam, that is." He is now waving the beer around trying to point at Conner, Dave, Julie and stopping at Sam.

Sam hears this and jokingly says, "Don't give in to peer pressure Jr., it's OK to say no." She gets up and walks over to where Jr. is reaching for the beer. "Peer pressure isn't cool Rico." she tries to give him a serious look, but starts laughing instead.

Jr. grabs the beer from Rico and says, "You're right, one beer won't hurt anything. I only have one more site to deliver to tonight anyways."

Conner has been throwing pieces of wood and crumpling up newspapers the whole time. Then he opens up the lighter fluid and pours it on the dry wood and paper. He stands back and lights a piece of newspaper he had rolled up into a tube. As the tube of paper started to burn, Conner throws it towards the pit. Whoosh, a huge fireball blasts out of the pit. Rico and Dave duck to avoid the fireball. Jr. just stands there and admires the flame as it starts to die down. Conner is a closet pyromaniac; he walks over to the pit and sprays some lighter fluid on the fire, causing another big flame to shoot up. He stands back and laughs, "Now that's a fire! Hhhhaaaaahhhhahahaaa!

Julie is watching and not saying much of anything. She is concerned with Sam, and with Rico. Sam still isn't feeling well. Rico is acting like he is OK, but she has known him long enough to know he is still hurt by what Sunny has said. She finally speaks up, "Rico how about another drink! Make me part of the crew, hook me up with some Captain."

Conner does a double take, last time Julie had Captain he spent the whole night holding her hair while she proceeded to puke all night long. "Take it easy on the Captain, Jules, remember last time?! We don't want to puke all night again do we?"

"Relax I'm only going to have one! We are on vacation for crying out loud." Julie says, "Let's go Rico, chop chop."

Rico hurries over to the cooler and grabs a smaller cup for Julie, and mixes her a drink. He hands it to her and watches as she takes a little sip. "Jesus Rico, did you put any Coke in this? Wow!" she coughs and takes a few deep breaths.

"Try to stir it up a little," says Rico. Then he turns his attention to Sam who has walked over and taken out some food, burgers, hotdogs, brats, buns and chips. She grabs some cooking supplies and starts to cook for everyone.

Just as Dave, Conner and Jr. finish stacking the wood. Jr. slams his beer and hops back in the Gator. He starts it up and starts to drive away, "Thanks for the beer, I appreciate it. See you later."

"You're welcome, thanks for the wood!" says Rico. "You're welcome to come back and have some more."

"Thanks but I should probably stay in tonight after work, long day tomorrow. See you later. Thanks again for the beer," Jr. says as he drives away.

"Way to go Rico, now what if he changes his mind?" snaps Conner, "There goes all our beer!"

"What the hell are you worried about? You two have enough Captain to last a week," says Dave. "Sam and I are the ones who are going to run out of beer!" He then slams the rest of his beer, clicks his ring on the can and crushes the can. Tossing it aside, he looks to Sam who is standing next to the cooler, "Woman, fetch me a beer... I mean please hand me another beer sweetheart. I love you!"

Sam smiles and reaches into the cooler and walks it over to her man. She hands it to him and kisses him, then walks away and goes back to cooking. Soon she is serving food to everyone; with so much food cooked up she hopes that Sunny and her boyfriend show up soon. Only because she doesn't want any food to go to waste. As if on cue Sam looks up to see Sunny walking with a rather large guy. He is not that tall maybe five foot eight but he is wide, maybe two hundred seventy pounds and looks like he could lift the Sub over his head. He has a shaved head and a baby face. Rico looks up from his meal and sees Sunny, and then sees the bowling ball walking with her. He takes a big drink from his cup.

"Hi Julie, Sam, hi guys," she says to Dave and Conner. "This is Darrin. Darrin this is Julie and Sam."

Julie hops up from her seat and walks over to Sunny and Darrin, "Hi, Darrin this is Dave, Sam's husband, and this is Conner, my boyfriend. That..."

"That's Rico! He is the one that asked us to stop by. Hi Rico!" Sunny interrupts. She is smiling at Rico like she was in the office.

Darrin is polite and quiet, he says, "Hello, nice to meet you all. Where are you guys from?"

"We are all from the Cities. Around Eagan if you are familiar with the area?" says Julie.

Darrin responds, "Yes we know the area pretty well, I'm from Rochester, Sunny's from Mankato."

Julie is trying to stand between Sunny and Rico. Maybe Rico will not be so upset if he can't see her. However, it is having the effect of both Rico and Sunny ducking and swaying in order to see each other. Julie turns around to see Rico smiling from ear to ear. She looks at Sunny and she is smiling at Rico. Julie says to herself, 'what the hell is going on here?' Then she says out loud, "Well, these drinks are going right through me; I have to go to the bathroom. Sam do you have to go?"

Sam agrees, and walks over towards the road, "Let's go. Sunny care to join us?"

Sunny breaks her gaze at Rico and quickly says, "Yes I do. Let's go. Be right back Darrin."

"OK babe, don't be long!" Darrin says. He turns around and looks at Conner and Dave. They are both taking a drink. He looks at Rico, who is staring at the girls as they walk away.

Dave finishes his drink and asks, "What are you drinking tonight Darrin?" Walking over to the coolers. "We have beer, Captain and hard lemonade."

Darrin is still nursing his hangover says, "How about a Coke for now. I had a rough night last night! I'm still feeling it. How long are you guys up for?"

Conner answers, "Until Monday then we go back and recover for a day. How long have you been here?"

"We got here yesterday. Charlie had a huge bonfire by the pond. I drank too much beer and took way too many shots. I'm surprised I'm still alive." Darrin kind of laughs but it is obvious he is not feeling well and is only there because Sunny dragged him along.

"So what's going on with you Sunny? Are you just messing with Rico? He really likes you!" demands Julie.

"Yeah, what are you doing?" Sam agrees. They are all walking side by side, Sunny is in the middle; Julie is on the right, with Sam on the left. She knows they don't have much time to get answers but, they will grill her the whole time if they have to. "Rico is a really great guy, don't lead him on."

Sunny looks at both Julie and Sam, and starts to cry, "I know, Rico seems like a great guy and I'm very attracted to him. I'm just scared of Darrin. All we do is fight, he drinks all the time and only pays attention to me when we are both drinking. I don't know what to do. I want to end it with Darrin but I'm kind of stuck here. I'm sorry, I don't mean to dump this on you two. I'm just not sure what to do."

Julie has been in a bad relationship before and has compassion for Sunny. "Oh Sunny," she says, "I'm so sorry, I wish we could do something to help. Are you OK?"

Sam doesn't have much compassion for Sunny, she is not a victim. Still, she doesn't want to be mean. "I'm Sorry, Sunny, how long have you been together? Why don't you tell him how you feel?"

"Believe me Sam, I've told him many times, we have been together for about eight months," Sunny replies. "Every time I bring it up he gets all upset and storms off to get drunk. Then the next day, he acts like nothing happened. I just don't know what to do."

By now they have made their way into the bathroom and are standing by the counter with the sinks. Sunny is looking in the mirror, trying to fix her eyes. While she is trying to compose herself, Julie is grabbing some paper towels and handing them to Sunny. Sunny is wiping her cheeks, and chin, trying to laugh a little bit, "Look at me, I must look like a mess. Darrin is going wonder what is wrong with me. What am I supposed to tell him?"

Sam has an idea, "When we get back to the site walk over by the fire, then tell him the smoke got in your eyes. Then just avoid him the rest of the night. That should get you through tonight."

Julie nods and they start to make their way back to camp, "So do you really like Rico?" she asks. "He is a really great guy; he would treat you very well. He is funny and he has a good job, he works hard and he plays hard as well. If it weren't for Conner I might be all over him." This remark gets a quick look from Sam.

Sunny responds, "Well, we just met, but I honestly felt a connection when we were in the office. I would like to get to know him better, he seems like a great guy. Maybe we can get to know each other tonight."

"We'll help you out if we can," says Julie. She looks at Sam and she nods her head in agreement.

They arrive back at the site where the guys are talking. It's about sports, Conner is the one talking. He is telling Darrin about Rico's call to the radio station on the drive north. "So then Rico says, he says, I'm a longtime listener, first time caller. It was just fucking highlarious." He breaks down in a fit of laughter. Dave and Darrin are also laughing, Rico is still sitting at the table with a big smile on his face. He quickly turns his attention to Sunny, he stares at her and smiles as she locks eyes with him.

"I love Jac Danyls in the Morning; I listen to him all the time," says Darrin. He turns to see the girls walking up to the fire and the table. "Sunny they were just telling me that Rico was on the radio way up here from the cities. He actually made the great Jac Danyls speechless. Speechless do you believe that? Wow, Rico way to go."

Rico is still staring at Sunny, when he hears Darrin say way to go. He looks at Darrin and says, "Yeah I guess I got lucky." He quickly darts his eyes back to Sunny. She is still looking at him and smiling!

"Yeah Rico nice job, I didn't think anyone could shut him up," Sunny says happily.

Darrin is laughing and paying attention to Conner and Dave who are still talking about the drive up; the road and the flat tire, the view and the length of the trip. The bullet holes in all the signs, Charlie driving by. They barely take notice when Julie walks over to Rico and sits down next to him. She leans over and whispers in his ear, "Sunny really likes you, we should try to get her away from Darrin somehow."

"How are we going to do that?" Rico asks.

"I'm not sure yet, but listen she is really nice and wants to get to know you. She is not happy with Darrin." explains Julie. With that said she stands up and walks over to Sunny. "Hey," she says, "What are you guys doing tomorrow? Do you want to join us on the one of the rivers? The more the merrier right? What do you say?"

Sunny looks at Rico, and then looks at Darrin, "What do you think Darrin, should we join them? Sounds like fun to me." She is looking at Darrin when she asks the question, but returns to Rico as soon as she stops talking.

Darrin is still laughing at what Conner is saying, about the trip and he quickly agrees, "Should be a good time; think I'll have that drink now if you don't mind."

Conner says, "What will you have? We have Captain, beer and hard lemonade..."

"Captain sounds good, thanks. What do you want to drink Sunny?" replies Darrin. He looks to Sunny as she looks away and stares into the fire.

"Um, how about a hard lemonade?" she says.

All seven of them enjoy the rest of the night, drinking and laughing, telling stories and getting to know each other. Darrin, Dave and Conner sit by the fire most of the night and get hammered. Julie, Sunny, Sam and Rico mostly sit at the table and talk. Rico makes his way over next to Sunny and is smiling and laughing with her. Sam and Julie run interference and sit on the near side of the table so Sunny and Rico have a chance to talk. Rico has stopped drinking and is totally into Sunny, she is sipping on her lemonade and is getting pretty flirty with Rico. She keeps touching his leg and straightening her hair, leaning in to him and laughing.

Around eleven-thirty, Sam gets up and says she is not feeling well, suggesting some sleep may help. She walks over to Dave and tells him she is going to sleep. She walks away and gives him a sexy look over her shoulder. Dave is drunk, but not too drunk to miss a look like that. He is up and on his way to the tent as fast as he can, wobbling and swaying left and right. Trying to avoid things he sees but aren't even there. He stumbles and turns when he reaches the tent, then he walks back toward the fire-pit. He gets to the pit and sways back and forth a couple of times. Then he looks at everyone and says, "Don't listen to ush. We are going to have shome fun. I love you guysh. Have a good night."

Then he turns and walks right past the front of the tent and into the woods on the far side of the campsite. He turns and looks over his shoulder, swaying back and forth. He holds his finger up to his mouth and says "SSSSSSSHHHHHHHH" then he turns back around and finishes his business. Then he makes his way back to the tent and tries to unzip the front. He tries and tries, fumbling with the zipper, he stands up and looks around, "Fucking tent," he whispers. "How the hell does thing open, Conner, how, where?" Then he falls onto his knees and tries the zipper again, "God dammit, what the... Rico help me." Rico stands up and walks over to the tent, starts laughing and bends over, whispers something to Dave and he walks back to the table. Julie, Conner and Darrin watch him the whole time. When he sits down, he is still laughing.

"That drunken idiot is trying to unzip the screen side not the door side. Should have let him struggle a bit longer, but he is thinking he is going to get some loving tonight. Never going to happen, I know, but I didn't have the heart to tell him Sam is sick, and she is going to sleep." He says aloud and sits next to Sunny again. This time he sits even closer, she doesn't seem to mind and even seems to scoot a little closer to him. Rico is feeling very good about how this evening has turned out, he is grinning like a fool. He is getting to know her and the more he learns the more he likes her. She is funny, smart, caring, she is into sports, has a great attitude. On top of that she is absolutely insanely hot.

Darrin is getting absolutely hammered again. He hasn't mixed a drink for himself all night and hasn't noticed how strong the drinks are being mixed rather strong. By the time Dave is trying to get into the tent, Darrin is almost ready to pass out.

Conner says, "For a big guy he can't handle his liquor!" pointing to Darrin. He is leaning back in his chair, head is forward and his eyes are closed. He snaps his head up and looks around and then his head drops back onto his chest.

Sunny sees how close he is to being completely out and knows she better get him back to their cabin or it will be almost impossible. He is way too big for her to handle by herself; he would even be hard for all three of the guys. She says. "I better get Darrin up to the cabin or it will not be fun trying to wake him up." She stands up and puts her hand on Rico's shoulder. Then she walks over to where Darrin is sitting and grabs his shoulder, "Darrin, get up. We have to go to bed, let's go." She gives him a little shake and he looks up. "Come on Darrin lets go." Darrin slowly tries to get up, he falls back into the chair. Darrin tries to get up again, this time Sunny helps him get up. He finally gets to his feet, wraps his huge arm around Sunny and almost falls back into the chair, despite her size Sunny is able to keep Darrin from falling into the chair. "Well thanks for the fun time tonight. Julie, Conner. We had a great time, what time are you wanting to get on the river?"

Julie looks at Conner and says, "Uh maybe around eleven. How does that sound?"

Sunny says, "That sounds good. See you then, goodnight."

Rico is now standing and he asks, "Sunny do you want me to help you bring Darrin up to your cabin?"

"Sure Rico that would be nice," replies Sunny.

Rico smiles and he looks at Julie, she smiles back at him. She is proud that he is going to help Sunny. Rico walks to the other side of Darrin and puts his big arm over his shoulder, Darrin looks at Rico and stutters something, "I lub you man. Thanks for da helf... your all right in... burp... in my book."

Rico turns his head away like just smelled the inside of an outhouse on a hot day. "Yeah big boy, no problem; you're not going to puke are you? You're on your own if you do." He starts to lead the way out of the campsite and down the road towards the cabins. Sunny points out a path through the woods, and they consider taking it, but decide against it. Trying to get Darrin to walk up the path might prove to be too much of a challenge. The trip on the road is pretty smooth, other than the huge drunk man they are trying to keep on his feet. If they were to walk in a straight line the trip would be fairly short. They are however not so lucky, Darrin is staggering and stumbling all over the road. They go from one side of the road to the other. He walks for a ways then has to stop and try not to throw up, Rico is getting frustrated. "Come on big boy a little bit further, and then you can go to sleep, alright."

"Zunny... zunny... I need to stop! Whoa I gotta shit down right here." Darrin says and proceeds to fall flat on his ass. "I jusht need a minute or twoo. Let me..." he falls over on his side.

Sunny looks at Rico and starts to apologize, "Oh Rico, I'm so sorry... he usually... gets home... on his own." She is about to cry. When Rico sees her tears he walks over to her and puts his arm around her, she feels so good in his arms. She leans into him, there is a spark. She is comfortable, no longer upset, she wants to be with Rico. Rico feels it too, he is happy, relaxed and he is getting excited. He realizes that something is happening and quickly looks at Sunny. She is holding him tight, feeling him, wanting him. Sunny looks up at Rico's face and they move towards each other, so close he can feel the heat of her breath.

"Ogay, I'm ready to go," Darrin says as he finally sits up, "Helb me up!" He holds up his hands, his head is still down and his left eye is closed. Rico and Sunny are shocked back to reality, Sunny jumps away from Rico. They both look at Darrin and realize he didn't see them. Rico steps in front of Darrin, reaches down and grabs his hands. He squats down and tries to pull him to his feet, Darrin is no help at all. His upper body just moves forward a little.

Rico tries one more time with no luck, "All right Darrin on three, you're going to stand up. OK." Sunny is trying to help, but she is tiny, she is strong but no match for Darrin. Rico smiles at her effort and starts to count, "One, two and three, stand up Darrin. Come on, up we go." Rico pulls as hard as he can, Sunny is behind Darrin and she has her hands under his arms. She tries to lift him, they all rock forward and then back. No luck, Darrin falls back on his ass. Rico is getting frustrated again, "One more time, let's go Darrin. One, two, three get up." Rico pulls, Sunny lifts and Darrin finally stands up. He damn near tackles Rico once he gets to his feet. Sunny is still behind and tries to catch Darrin before he crushes Rico. Somehow Rico finds the strength to hold Darrin up. They all start walking up the path to the cabin. Sunny opens the door and they walk into the small two room cabin. Rico asks, "Where should I put this?" He is starting to strain under Darrin's near dead weight. Sunny looks around and points to the couch on the wall to the right. She walks over and helps direct Darrin towards the couch. Darrin hits the couch like a run-away truck.

The cabin is actually quite a bit larger than it looks, the first room is large and open. The windows on the front let in plenty of sunlight during the day, there is a hide-a-bed couch on the right side against the wall. A small window is above the couch, with a couple of small pictures on either side of it. There is a love seat on the wall to the left of couch, it is small but comfortable. Above the love seat is large picture of Thunder Valley before it was a campground, just a small cabin where the office is now. To the left of the door on a blank wall is a small table with two chairs. Across from the table is a counter with a sink and a faucet. Tucked under the counter is a mini fridge. In the middle of the wall is a door that leads to the other room. The other room is about the same size but it has one large window on the back wall. There are four sets of bunk beds on the walls and some small chairs around a small wooden table in the middle.

"I don't feel sho good, Zunny, I need..." Darrin mumbles.

"Well I guess I should get going we have a big day tomorrow. I'm glad you stopped by tonight, I had more fun than I thought I would. Thank you." Rico says as he heads for the door.

"Oh, well thank you for inviting me... err well us," Sunny replies. She walks to the door and holds it open for Rico, "Sorry that he got so drunk and thank you for helping me get him back here. I couldn't have done it myself. You are a lifesaver." She flashes Rico a smile and then looks at Darrin; he is a puddle lying on the couch. He is on his stomach and he is drooling already. Rico looks at Darrin and then back at Sunny; her eyes are so easy to get lost in.

After a minute of starring at her beauty, he moves out of the door and starts to walk down the path. He is trying as hard as he can not to look back at her but he can't help himself. He turns to look over his shoulder and sees Sunny is still standing in the door, starring at him as well. Rico stops walking and turns to face her, they stand there smiling at each other for what seems like hours. Just as Rico is about to walk away, Sunny runs down the path to Rico. He is thinking of something witty to say as she gets closer but he freezes. She stops when she gets him and stands on her tip-toes and gives him a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then just as fast as she ran down to him, she spins around and is back up the path and in the cabin. Rico is shocked but happy, he turns to walk away. He hears the door open one more time and Sunny steps out again.

"Rico!" Sunny whispers, "Rico." Rico spins around and hopes to see her running at him again but she is still in the doorway. "Thanks again, see you in the morning."

"You're welcome, see you then, goodnight," responds Rico. With that he waits till Sunny has walked inside and shuts the door. Then he slowly walks back to the campsite. He looks up at the sky, it is a clear night and the stars are amazing, so many stars.

### "Day Trip"

Friday morning about seven, Sam is the first one to wake up, she feels worse today than she has ever felt before. She sits up and looks around; Dave is half in and half out of their sleeping bag. His shorts are around his ankles and his shirt is up and over his shoulder. He stirs a little when she covers him up, it is pretty chilly in the mornings here. Sam stands up and puts on a sweatshirt and some pajama pants and unzips the door to their side of the tent. She walks over by the fire-pit, looks around and sees how many beer cans and lemonade bottles that are lying all over the ground. She considers starting to clean up, then grabs her bag and heads up to the bathroom. On her way to the bathroom she sees that Charlie is up and walking around the parking lot, she walks a bit faster so he doesn't notice her. Charlie does take notice of her and he watches her the whole time she is walking. Sam walks into the bathroom and looks in the mirror, her long brown hair is in a loose ponytail. Her blue eyes are blood-shot, she feels kinda sick to her stomach and runs for the toilet. When she is done she walks back to the mirror and looks again, then takes out her brush and pulls out her pony. She brushes her teeth then her hair, as soon as she is done she pulls her hair back into another ponytail. With her teeth clean and her business taken care of, she is feeling a little bit better but not too good. Sam has been in the bathroom for about fifteen minutes and when she walks out Charlie is still standing in the same spot staring at her again. Sam waves to Charlie this time and he finally breaks his gaze. Sam walks as fast as she can back to the site, she is the only one up yet. Sam looks around and walks over to the fire, it is still smoldering. She looks at the woodpile and tosses a couple of pieces on the coals. The pile of wood was stacked about three feet high and about three feet long, last night. Now the pile is about half the size. With-in a couple of minutes the fire is coming back to life. Sam decides to pick up the cans and bottles; she is quick and finishes pretty fast. Then she sits down for a minute and can't hold out any longer. She goes to the Sub and opens it up, digs through the camp supplies and finds the coffee pot, coffee and a mug. Sam is a coffee freak, she has to have it or she will be cranky all day. Soon the strong smell of fresh brewed coffee fills the air, and she has the pot full of coffee. To her surprise, Rico is the first one to emerge from the tent. His curly hair is in his face and he is only wearing his shorts.

"Morning Rico," Sam says quietly, "I made fresh coffee if you want it." She knows Rico hates coffee, especially camp coffee, but offers it anyways.

"Sam, good morning, how are you feeling? Better I hope." Rico states, still sounding a bit sleepy. He stands all the way up and stretches out. "No thanks on the coffee, I have my Coke." Rico walks over to the cooler and opens it, grabs a Coke and opens it up. He takes a big drink, burps and sits down at the table, next to Sam.

"I'm feeling a little better, not a hundred percent but better." Sam replies. She takes a sip of her coffee and asks, "So how did you get along with Sunny last night? I noticed you two were sitting pretty close when I went to sleep. What happened? Did you talk to her? Do you like her? Does she like you? What happened? Tell me I have to know."

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell... uh wait a minute, never mind. It went great we talked all night and I helped her get Darrin back to their cabin. Those things are nice, they are a lot bigger than I thought. We should've rented one of those." says Rico.

"I was going too but they were booked, so what happened? I want details," Sam quickly responds.

"Well, there isn't much to tell, we talked a lot. I like her and she likes me I think. She gave me a little kiss on the cheek when I left the cabin last night. Although I guess that is innocent enough. She is amazing though. She is funny, smart, kind loves sports, she is active, loves the Vikings. She is the perfect woman for me. Who would have thought that I would find the girl of my dreams, in the middle of nowhere?" Rico says with a big smile. "The only problem is Darrin. He seems like a nice enough guy, he just drinks way too much. I feel bad for Sunny, she deserves better than that."

"I am happy for you Rico, what are you going to do? I mean she is here with him. It's not like you can get away and hide from anyone." asks Sam.

Rico looks at Sam and shrugs his shoulders, "I'm not sure. I mean what can I do? I like her a lot, and I want to get to know her better. It is going to be a tough day on the river. I'll be right back." Rico stands up and starts to walk up to the bathrooms. It is a beautiful day out, the sun is shining, and there is a light breeze. Big soft white clouds dot the sky. Rico is walking rather slowly, taking in everything that is around him. There are birds singing, he looks up and sees an eagle floating high above. Finally at the bathrooms he walks inside and goes. Then he walks to the sink, splashes cold water on his face. He feels very good, thankful he stopped drinking when he did. He stares into the mirror and remembers how the evening ended the night before. "She kissed me, aaaaahhhhhh." A smile splits his face, granted it was a little peck on the cheek but still it was a kiss. He had never felt such a spark from a kiss before. He plays it over and over in his mind, the way she whispered his name, how he spun around, and the way she ran down the path to him. The way she looked as she stood on her toes and out her hands on his shoulders. He can almost feel how hot her lips felt on the corner of his mouth. They were soft and smooth. He can practically see her as she ran back up the path and into the cabin. Then he splashes more water on his face and heads back to the site. He walks on the road, thinking about how the day will work out. Rico stops walking and looks up toward the stone arch, very nice work he thinks to himself. He sees Jr. driving in his Gator, something is in the back but he can't tell what it is; maybe wood or something for a project around the campground. Jr. drives around the courtyard and picks up some trash here and there. He stops at the front of the office and hops out, he walks around the back, looks in and shakes his head. Then he walks into the office. Rico turns and heads back to the site. As he walks into the camp he sees that Sam is still cooking and Julie is up and poking around in the Sub. She finds what she is looking for and quietly closes the door, starts to walk when she spots Rico.

"Rico!!!!" Julie squeals, "Rico, tell me happened last night. What do you think of her? Tell me, don't leave out anything... come to the bathroom with me." She dances her way over to him and gives him a hug, grabs his hands and pulls him along with her, he reluctantly starts to walk along. "Oh man we have to go to the office too, let Charlie know what time we are going. We have so much to do. So tell me about Sunny, do you think you have a chance? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Rico wants to tell her all about the evening and especially the kiss, but Julie hasn't stopped talking since she saw him. "Well if you relax and let me get a word in I will tell you how it went." He stops talking and looks at her. She quickly stops and focuses on him. "Sunny is awesome, she is everything I've ever wanted. She is funny, pretty, and athletic, she is into sports and music, plays video games. Perfect. I tell you if she can cook and fix a car I will marry her. She is amazing, Darrin fell down on the way to the cabin, and she damn near picked him up, saved my ass from getting crushed by him. Then she gave me a kiss on the cheek..."

"She kissed you!" cries Julie. "Wow that is great, is that all?"

"That's all, she is great though. I think she likes me as much as I like her. The only problem is a big one, Darrin. I don't know what to do. I want to hang out with her as much as possible, but it is going to be really hard with him around." says Rico.

The walk to the bathroom is fast, Julie goes in-and-out quickly. "So what do you think? What are you going to do?" She doesn't wait for a response, and answers her own question. "I'll tell you what you're going to do. You are going to let Sam and I keep Darrin busy, Dave and Conner will help us. That way Sunny will be left alone and you can get to know her better. We'll all distract him as much as we can, OK. What do you think?" She is bouncing up and down clapping her hands together. "I'm so excited for you!"

"I think it's worth a try. Thanks a lot, I hope it works, she is really cool." replies Rico. They turn and walk towards the office.

Julie is dancing around Rico as he walks admiring her moves. He laughs as she bounces up and down, singing a song from the 80's. "Devil inside, every single one of us, the devil inside... oooooo the devil inside..." she trails off. Then says, "I don't know the rest of the words. Devil inside, yeah yeah yeah the devil inside." She keeps singing and dancing till they find themselves at the office door.

Rico reaches for the screen door, as it bursts open. Jr. is on his way out of the door, he is holding a bucket with a bunch of cleaning supplies in it in one hand. In the other he is holding a bottle of Mountain Dew; he is chewing on a granola bar.

He drops the bucket of supplies and grabs the bar out of his mouth. Quickly swallowing the little bit in his mouth, he says, "Oh my, excuse me, I'm sorry. I didn't see you out there. I ah..." he tries to pick up the bucket but there is stuff everywhere. "Dammit, let me get this stuff out of the way."

"Jr. what the hell is the nnn problem out here?" Charlie bellows from inside the office, he limps to the door, "How did you drop nnn?" He stops and sees that Rico and Julie are standing behind Jr. "Oh folks, I'm sorry, nnn Jr. get this stuff out of the way nnn. Sorry again you two. How can nnn I help you?" He smiles, glaring at Jr. the whole time. Jr. is scrambling to gather up the bottles, cans, sponges, and brushes. Julie and Rico are watching, trying not to laugh at poor Jr., he is trying to get everything without looking to foolish. As soon as the sidewalk is clear, Charlie holds the door open and directs the two of them inside. "Go right in folks I will just nnn be a moment." Julie steps in the door followed by Rico. "Hurry up Jr.; go get that cabin cleaned nnn up. Then go clean the bathrooms, we have nnn a lot of things to do today nnn. Now what can I do for the two of you?"

"We would like to set up a ride to one of the rivers today, if that's OK." Julie says. She looks at Rico. Charlie is making his way around the counter, he looks like he is still in the same overalls. Same hat, maybe same T-shirt as well.

"Well of course that is OK nnn. What time would you like to leave?" asks Charlie.

"We were hoping to get on the river about eleven or so," says Rico. He walks over to the map, "Can you tell us anything about the rivers?"

Charlie looks at his computer screen, "Yep, I can take you at eleven. I can nnn tell you everything about those rivers. Nnn what are you looking for? Lazy, middle of the road or lots nnn of paddling? We've got all three. All three run into Silver Creek closer to the lake."

Rico and Julie say at the same time "Lazy," Julie continues, "We just want to relax; ya know tie the canoes together and float."

"Sounds good to me, nnn. That will take about forty minutes to get to the top. Nnn it's about a five hour trip. We'll pick you up about five, that way nnn you don't have to rush to get down." Charlie informs them.

Julie looks at Rico, he looks excited. Then says to Charlie, "Great, we have two canoes and we are going down with Sunny and Darrin, they are staying in cabin one. I think they have their own canoe also. Is that too many to bring up?"

"No, I can bring as many as six canoes at one time; nnn got a big trailer in the back by the shop nnn. Speaking of which, when did nnn you want to get that tire fixed? You nnn could leave it here and I will have Jr. fix it while you're onnn the river" says Charlie.

"Wow, uh that would be great Charlie thanks a lot, we will bring the tire up when we bring the canoes up. We will see you at eleven then," says Rico. He and Julie start to walk out.

"Did I hear you say that nnn you are going with Darrin and Sunny?" asks Charlie.

"Yes, you heard right. We invited them to go with us last night. Is that a problem? asks Rico.

"No, no problem, I just get a nnn weird vibe from that big fella. Nnn I don't know what it is just rubs me the nnn wrong way be careful nnn OK," Charlie says in a calm voice. "You kids have fun on the nnn river now."

Rico doesn't know how to respond to what Charlie just said, "Um, well thanks for the heads-up, we will keep that in mind." With that said Rico follows Julie out of the office, he closes the door and they walk quickly back to the camp.

"What the hell do you suppose that was all about? What did he mean, 'rubs him the wrong way'? That freaks me out Rico." Julie says in a quiet voice. "Let's get going we have to make sure everybody is up and ready to go. You should go and get Sunny. And Darrin I suppose."

"I'm not sure what to think of that Jules. He is a weird old dude, I mean Darrin seemed OK to me other than all the drinking he does. I will go and get them in a little bit, let's get everything ready first." They arrive at the site Conner is up and eating like a pig Sam is cleaning up the cooking stuff at the faucet, and Dave is nowhere to be found.

"What the hell you two? Been gone long enough? You two fooling around on me?" Conner jokes.

"Yeah we totally just did it in the bathroom!" says Julie as she throws herself on Rico who takes the opportunity, to fall down and grab her ass.

"Damn Conner, now I know why you like her so much. She is amazing." says Rico as he is lying on the ground with Julie on top of him. She quickly gets to her feet and runs to Conner, knocks his plate out of his hand and jumps into his lap.

"Oh Conner, honey you know you are the only one for me," sings Julie and kisses Conner hard on the mouth. "We went and got today's trip set up. We leave at eleven, so let's get a move on."

"Where is Dave? Still sleeping?" asks Rico as he gets to his feet. "Any food left Sam?"

Sam points to the table, "We still have a bunch of eggs and sausages over there, might still be warm. I don't think Dave will be up for a while yet. He was wasted last night."

"We know he was wasted, he was trying to open the screen to get in the tent last night. He couldn't figure out, that he was on the wrong side of the door. It was great. He would have been there all night if I hadn't told him." Rico laughs. "I'm surprised you didn't hear him, he was like talking to the tent." Rico tries to sound like Dave "How the hell do I get in there, dammit.' Good stuff Sam, he thought he was going to get some loving last night too."

Sam laughs and says, "I know he thought he was going to get laid. When I woke up, he was half in and half out of our sleeping bag. His shorts were around his ankles and his shirt was up kinda up over his head, one arm in and one out. I felt bad for a minute, then, well it's pretty funny. We leave at eleven huh. I will get Dave up in a little bit, if I wake him up too early, he will be cranky and pissy all day."

"Yeah, he is going to be hung-over anyways, no need for him to be pissed off and hung-over." Julie says, "Rico, when are you going to get Sunny?" She gets up off of Conner's lap and starts getting things together for the river. She gets the snacks and food, chips and jerky. Energy bars and some sandwiches, next she opens a cooler and asks, "How much alcohol do we want to bring today? Or should we save that for tonight?"

Rico answers first, "I feel pretty good today, but I don't want to get too drunk on the river. I don't want to get all stupid in front of Sunny." He walks over to the Sub and starts to check the canoes, finds the paddles, cushions, backrests, floor mats for their feet. He grabs some rope and a couple of inner tubes, "do we want to bring the tubes today? If we do I will blow them up." he asks and looks at the others. They all just look at each other and shrug their shoulders. "I guess that is a big fat no." He tosses the tubes back in the truck and shuts the door.

"UUUUUhhhhhhh, why do you have to be so loud out there?" Dave moans from inside the tent, "Damn I'm trying to sleep in here, keep it down."

Rico thinks for a second, looks at Conner, and they both walk over to the tent. At the same time they both grab the tent, and shake it from side to side. Conner stops shaking the tent and goes inside.

Dave starts yelling, "Dammit you guys knock it off, uh I feel like shit, get off of me Conner... What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Time to get up David. We have to get on the river, the bus is leaving in ten minutes. Let's go," Conner shouts. He is in the tent jumping on Dave, bouncing on the inflatable mattress. Not letting Dave go back to sleep. He jumps on him one more time and says "let's go, everyone's up, we have to get ready." Just as fast as he went in, he pops out of the tent again. He has a goofy smile on his face, he knows that they don't have to go for about two more hours. Dave has no idea what time it is, and he will go back to sleep. Conner and Rico return their attention to getting ready for the trip.

"Oh yeah, Conner I almost forgot, if we bring the tire up to the office. Charlie said he would have Jr. fix it while we are on the river today," Rico says.

Conner thinks for a bit and says, "OK sounds good to me. That guy is creepy, but he seems like a nice enough guy."

Sam thinks about how Charlie was staring at her, and says, "He was watching me this morning, just watching me. He freaks me out, something is not right with that man." She shivers and goes back to cleaning up the site and getting stuff ready.

"He is kinda dirty old mannish isn't he," agrees Julie, "Rico you should go see if Sunny and Darrin are up yet."

Rico says, "Alright, alright I'll go and see if they are up and if they are still going to come with us." He walks out of the site and walks down the road, finds the path that Sunny had pointed out last night. It is a small path but well traveled, the trees and the grass have been trampled down or pushed aside. There are some tree roots sticking out of the ground here and there, but they are pretty small and not too much of a problem. The path is straight, and narrow, no more than about eighteen inches or maybe two feet wide. Rico thinks to himself, there is no way we would have been able to get Darrin down this path. Darrin is much wider than the path by himself; it was smart not to take this last night. Soon he is emerged from the path and standing on the road that leads to the cabins. He looks his right and sees he is in front of cabin number one, Sunny is sitting on the swing. She looks good in the morning he thinks to himself, she has a big hoody on and a pair of tight running shorts. Her hair is in a ponytail and she is drinking from a glass. Sunny waves at Rico as he steps out on the road, she smiles and stands up. Rico walks up the path to the cabin. "Morning Sunny, how are you?" he asks with a smile.

Sunny takes a step towards Rico and says, "Good morning Rico, I'm great, but Darrin was puking all night long. I don't know if we will be able to make it today."

The smile quickly leaves his face, "Oh man that sucks," sighs Rico. "Would he freak out if you came with us alone?"

"Ya know he honestly probably wouldn't even know if I were gone. I should stay here and look after him, but I am tired of his shit. He always drinks too much and then spends the next day all hung over. Screw it, what time do we leave?" says Sunny. "I deserve to have some fun right. I mean this is my vacation. Let's do this."

"We have to leave at eleven. Can we bring your canoe? We only have two. Yours will give us an even number; two in each one?" asks Rico. He is slowly moving closer to where Sunny is standing.

"We sure can Rico; do we get to ride together? I mean I don't want to break up one of the other couples," says Sunny.

Rico is smiling like a fool again, "We sure can ride together if you want to. Let's get your stuff ready to go... We have all kinds of food and drinks, so all you have to bring is you, your canoe and a good attitude." He is looking around for the canoe. "You do have a canoe right."

Sunny smiles and responds, "Yes our canoe is up by the office already, and you have to let me bring some food or something to drink. I feel bad for taking your guys' stuff all the time."

"What? So you guys had and little bit of food and some drinks last night, who cares. You don't have to bring anything," says Rico.

"I insist or I won't come along," she turns and acts like she is going to walk inside the cabin.

"Alright fine you win. Bring whatever you want, OK. What can I help with?" Rico gives in. He would do just about anything to spend the day alone on the river with her. Well without Darrin that is. He follows her into the cabin once again, the cabin is even better in the sunlight. It is open and very clean. It smells of pine and wild flowers.

Sunny is poking around trying to get her stuff ready. She is bending over and gathering food and other little things. Rico is trying not to stare at her ass as she is finding her things. Rico looks on the couch where he put Darrin the night before; he is still there out cold. He has a large bucket by his head and he has a blanket that barely covers him. Rico looks back through the door where Sunny had been bent over a minute ago. She is not there anymore.

"Rico come in here for a minute so I don't have to yell," Sunny says in a somewhat loud voice. Rico takes a few steps to the opening and looks inside. He scans the room and is impressed with the cabin even more, the bunk beds are all made of logs. He thought they were single beds or twins, but it turns out that they are all double beds. He finally sees Sunny; she is standing in the corner by a dresser, with her back to him. She is pulling up a pair of shorts over her bikini bottoms. Her long black hair is down and she doesn't have a top on. Rico can see the side of her breasts, perfect. She starts to pull up her hair, puts it in another ponytail. Then she grabs her red bikini top and puts it over her head, down on her chest and turns around, she ties it in back. She looks amazing and Rico is speechless, his jaw is open wide, he can't believe how hot she is.

"What do you guys want to drink? We have all kinds of beer and other alcohol. We have lunch meat and all kinds of snacks and stuff. Rico are you OK? Rico," Sunny says.

"Um yeah, sorry, I'm fine; just daydreaming a bit. We have all kinds of food, so maybe just bring some wine coolers; whatever you want," Rico finally says. He looks around the cabin some more and tries to hide his excitement. "So how often do you go camping? We come up here every year, the north shore I mean. Last year we were closer to Duluth, the year before we went to the Boundary Waters. Have you ever been there? That place is the best to go canoeing. It is beautiful up there, it has to be my favorite place to vacation."

"Well, I love to go camping, Darrin not so much. I would go every weekend if I could. This place is pretty cool though, I like it a lot. I was in the Boundary Waters with a church group when I was in like seventh or eighth grade. We were up there for like a week, it was a great trip. I really would love to go back there, ya know as an adult. It was great as a kid, but there was so much we couldn't do." says Sunny.

"I know what you mean. It's a blast up there. Maybe we will go back there next year, you could come with us, I imagine. What do you think?" asks Rico. He is trying to sound, cool and relaxed, but he is nervous as all hell. He is asking a girl with a giant boyfriend who is only a few feet away, if she wants to go camping with them next year. He knows that is a stretch and it's a year off at least but, it can't hurt.

Sunny looks at Rico, she smiles, "Yeah that sounds good, as long as things work out. You know what I mean." She nods her head towards where Darrin is laying on the couch. He stirs a little and she quickly stops talking. She bends over finishes gathering the food and snacks, as well as the drinks for the day. She puts them in a medium sized Igloo cooler.

They head for the door; Sunny stops and decides to leave Darrin a note. It says, 'Hope you don't mind but I went to the river with Rico and his friends. Be back in a few hours. Hope you feel better. Sunny.'

Rico is a gentleman. He puts his hand out, grabs the cooler and smiles at her. She lets him take it out of her hand, impressed that he would carry it for her. Darrin on the other hand would make her carry it the whole time. She is not used to being treated with kindness.

"Let's go Rico," Sunny says as she walks out of the cabin and closes the door. They make their way down the path and onto the road. As they walk into the site they are playing, tickling each other, laughing and joking. They seem like they have been dating for years.

Sam and Julie take notice and both say, "Hi Sunny!" at the same time.

"Where's Darrin?" asks Sam. She hopes to herself that Darrin is sick and not going to make it.

"Darrin is sick as a dog and is still sleeping, he puked all night after we got him back up there. He won't be getting up till five or six. Rico talked me into coming with you guys. So what the hell, right? Let's have some fun." Sunny replies.

Dave is finally up and out of the tent. He looks like he got into a fight, his eyes are all puffy, and his short hair is matted to his head. He tries to smile as Sunny walks with Rico, but he can't hide just how horrible he feels.

Rico looks at Dave and asks, "Whoa, man. Are you going to make it today? You don't look so hot."

Dave looks at Rico with his eyes nearly shut. He grunts out his answer, "yep, I will be fine, just need a little hair of the dog. Maybe a Bloody will do the trick." He looks around and slowly moves toward the cooler, Sam watches him for a minute.

"Go sit down Davey. I will mix one for you..." Sam says. She watches Dave sit down and put his head in his hands. "How about some aspirin? Water? Can I get something for you to eat; anything babe?"

Dave lifts his head and says, "No thanks hon, just a Bloody for now." He puts his head back in his hands; just the thought of food is enough to make him feel worse. He puts the thought out of his head, and concentrates on the Bloody Mary.

Sam is mixing the drink as fast as she can, although she has never been a bartender. She can mix Bloody Mary with the best of them. "Almost done, Honey," she says. As soon as she is done mixing it, she walks it over to Dave.

Julie and Conner have just about finished getting everything ready, they have two coolers packed. One is full of drinks and one is full of snacks. They look and see that Rico is carrying a small cooler too.

"What the hell Rico? Where did you get the cooler? What's in it?" asks Conner. He thinks to himself, "Ahh never mind. We can never have enough to drink, I mean am I right or am I right. Dave what do you think? Should we get drunk today?" Conner laughs.

Dave takes a drink and says, "Hell yeah, just give me a few minutes. I will be ready to go soon enough."

Sam is a bit worried, she doesn't want Dave to be drink and hung-over all weekend. She decides to put her foot down, "Dave you are not going to drink that much today. Conner, leave him alone, get drunk on your own. I need him to be useful later." She looks at Dave and gives him a wink.

Dave is feeling better and now that he knows he will be getting lucky. He quickly changes his tune, "Conner I don't think I'm going to drink too much today. Sorry."

"Dave you are pussy whipped worse than any man in the history of the world. Stand up for yourself," he then turns his attention to Rico. "Put your drinking shoes on?" Conner demands.

Julie knows where this is going and she doesn't want Rico and Conner to get into a drinking contest. Last time that happened, Conner got in a fight and Rico ended up in detox. Plus she doesn't want Rico to do something stupid in front of Sunny, "Conner, knock it off, maybe we should all take it easy today. We can all get drunk tonight, what do you say?" she says. She expects Conner to ride Rico till he gives in and starts drinking like it's going out of style.

"All right Jules, I was just playing, we can do that. It's going to be a hot one today anyways, it will be nice to remember the trip this year." Conner says. He had a hard time last year, they spent the whole trip on board with the Captain, and a whole crew of others. They had shots of Jager and Vodka, and then someone had brought out the Tequila. After the Tequila, things got a little crazy. Or so that's what he was told, he has no idea what really happened.

When everything is ready it is almost time to go to the office. Conner gets in the Sub and drives up to drop off the canoes. Julie, Sam and Sunny head to the bathroom one last time. While Rico and Dave walk to the office to help Conner with the canoes. Conner is just finishing untying them when Rico and Dave show up.

Charlie is standing by the office door, he has his little radio in hand, "Jr., where are you? Nnn I need you to bring the trailer around front nnn... Jr. did you hear me?" He puts the radio up to his ear, "Damn kid, slow as molasses in January nnn," he says out loud.

"I will be there in a couple of minutes, just got done cleaning the ladies room." Jr. says over the radio, "Those girls sure are..." Charlie hits the button on the radio and effectively cuts off the rest of the sentence. He shakes his head, hoping that they didn't hear.

"Jr., we have guests down here nnn, hurry up. Sorry about that you guys, nnn Jr. is, well..." Charlie starts.

Dave doesn't let him finish, he holds up his hand, "That's no problem Charlie, we understand."

Conner and Rico have lifted both the canoes off the Sub and put them next to the other one on the ground. "That one must be Sunny and Darrin's," says Rico. He looks up towards the stone arch and sees Jr. driving in the Gator. He has his cleaning supplies in the back, as well as a couple of large black plastic bags. The bags are full of trash. Conner and Dave have grabbed out their coolers, paddles and the rest of their gear for the trip. Just as Jr. drives by, Charlie waves his arms for him to stop. Jr. slams on the brakes and skids to a stop.

"Dammit boy what's wrong nnn with you?" he shakes his head, "Did you want that tire fixed?"

Conner says, "Uh yeah that would be great, let me get it." he walks to back of the truck and gets the tire out. It is flat and has a pretty good sized hole in it. "Think you can save it? It doesn't look too good."

"Jr. can fix it... Jr. grab that from him nnn, then I need you to fix it nnn while we're gone," says Charlie. He motions for Jr. to get moving, with a wave of his arm. Jr. is out of the Gator and grabbing the tire out of Conner's hand, as fast as he can. He walks it over to the back of the Gator, tosses it in the back and climbs behind the wheel.

"Have a good trip, I'll have that tire fixed by the time you get back," he pauses, "I will be back with the trailer as soon as I can," Jr. says as he drives away.

The girls arrive at the office just as Jr. drives around the corner. They are talking like they have all known each other for years. Sunny is very easy to get along with as are Julie and Sam.

Julie asks, "Are we ready to go? I can't wait to get on the river."

"Just about, I'm going to drive this back to the camp. I will be right back." Conner says as he gets behind the wheel and backs up, turns and drives up the road. He turns to the left and then disappears into the woods and the campsite.

Within a couple of minutes he is walking down the road back towards the office. He can hear people talking and then he hears a loud roaring sound. Someone is revving an engine, that has to be Jr. he thinks to himself. Sure enough Jr. comes driving around the back of the office in a big old Army truck. It is an old troop transport truck. It still has the star on its faded green paint, the canopy has been taken off and the poles remain in place. Behind the truck is the old canoe trailer, its big enough to hold eight, but Charlie will generally only take six at a time. The back of the truck has two benches along either side of the back. They were made to carry troops around, now they carry campers and weekend canoeists. The seats are made of wood, they have been covered with a soft padding. Comfort is the key to get people to return for another stay. Jr. slowly pulls up to the parking lot as close to the canoes and he can get. The truck is big and not too easy to drive. Soon the canoes are loaded and all the gear is in the back. Sam, Julie and Sunny get in the back and sit down as the guys load. Charlie and Jr. are standing to the side of the truck, talking quietly. Jr. walks away and waves at the group.

Charlie makes his way around the front of the truck and asks, "Are we all ready to go folks?"

Dave has climbed up and is sitting by Sam, they are holding hands; she is leaning into him. He leans back and puts his arm around her as they wait for the truck to start moving. Conner and Rico and standing by the driver's side door, arguing about what kind of truck it is.

Rico says, "It's a deuce-and-a-half, I saw it on the History Channel, Gunny had a segment on these things."

"No way is this a Deuce, I don't care what the Gunny says, it's too small for that." Conner barks. He turns to ask Charlie, "Is this a deuce and a half?"

Charlie looks at Conner and says, "Yes it is a Deuce and a half. Nnn Rico is right and so is the Gunny. I nnn used to drive one of these in the service. It will go through nnn anything. Climb on up and we will get on the nnn road." He climbs in the cab and starts the engine.

Rico looks at Conner and says, "Told you so. I know my history, now let's go," he smiles as he climbs into the back and sits down next to Sunny.

Conner mocks Rico, "I know my history, blah blah blah," he climbs in and sits by Julie.

Charlie puts the truck in gear and they are officially on their way to the river.

### "The River"

Charlie turns the big truck around in the parking lot, just missing the fire-pit. He gets it all the way around and is on the way out the rough road. The deuce and a half is a big machine, it was built to haul things. In WWII it helped drive troops and supplies around both theaters of the conflict. It was a real workhorse for the Army for years. For all its uses, it was not designed for comfort. The road was bad in the Sub, Conner and Rico expect the ride to be even worse in this old relic. Much to everyone's surprise the ride is surprisingly smooth. Charlie had put the soft pads on the seats, and installed some springs and shocks. He drives at a rather slow pace. He tries to miss the bigger holes. Some of them are unavoidable especially with a larger truck. He shouts a warning when he can, "Pot-hole, hang-on." Everyone would try to brace themselves on anything they can, there are make shift handles made out of leather straps. Sort of like on a downtown bus.

"How long is the ride again Charlie?" Conner shouts.

"About another twenty minutes nnn, pot-hole!" Charlie shouts back and he swerves the truck to the right, mostly avoiding a hole. He catches a bit of it and the front of the truck bounces, then the back of the truck bounces a little bit. The trailer is not so lucky, the tires on the double axel hits the hole and bounces straight up in the air. The canoes on the bottom make it through without moving, while the third canoe is one row above on the rack. It is not tied down as well as the others and starts to bounce around a little.

"Damn!" cries Julie, "That must have been the same hole that gave us the flat."

Dave sees that the canoe is slowly coming loose and yells... "Charlie, pull over one of the canoes is coming loose, stop so we can tighten it up."

Charlie looks in the mirror and sees the loose canoe. He slows down to a crawl, and finally stops in the middle of the road. Conner and Dave jump out of the bed of the Deuce and start to get the canoe tied back down. They have it tied down as tight as they can get it and are about to get back in the truck again, when Charlie gets out of the cab. He stretches a little and limps back to the trailer, he bends over and checks the tires and the axles.

"That was a pretty bad hit, just have to nnn make sure the trailer is good to go," he walks around the back of the trailer looking at everything. "Everything seems to be right nnn where it's supposed to be, if you'll get back in, we'll be on nnn our way." He starts to walk back to the cab, stops at the tailgate and says. "My apologies for that one nnn folks, everyone good to go?"

"No problem Charlie. We are all fine, just a little shaken up." Rico tells him, as he looks at the girls. He smiles at Sunny, she smiles back.

"Good, good well I will try to keep the ride nnn as smooth as possible the rest of the way," says Charlie. Walking back to the cab he climbs back in the cab, and puts it gear. The Deuce lurches forward and soon they are on a much smoother well maintained road. Charlie picks up speed and is making good time north to the head of the small lazy river.

The ride is fairly short and the wind makes it hard to talk once they get on the good road. The big tires howl as Charlie drives them around sharp turns, up and down hills.

Sam looks at Sunny and yells, "Is Darrin going to be upset that you left him back at the cabin?"

Sunny rolls her eyes and shrugs, "I honestly don't know, he won't notice I'm gone until after three or four. I left him a note, seriously though he was so sick. He wasn't as bad the other night and the only reason he got out of bed was because I jumped on him and made him get up. He would have slept until this morning if I had let him. Let's not worry about that though, I can deal with him when we get back. He may be big but he is a softy."

"If you say so Sunny, I just don't want him to be freaking out looking for you, or doing something stupid." Sam replies. She looks at Julie and nods her head at Rico. Julie looks at Rico and he is staring at Sunny, absolutely taken by her every word. They have never seen him so intent on anything before.

Julie smiles and starts to sing, "ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer," everyone joins in even Charlie. "Take one down, pass it around; ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-eight bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around..." They all sing until they have eighty-eight bottles left. Then Charlie slows down and turns the Deuce onto a small narrow dirt road that clearly doesn't see much traffic. It is just wide enough for the truck to make it through without hitting the trees on either side of the road. Some of the low hanging branches almost hit them in the head, but are easily avoided. Charlie drives for about two miles on this small road then comes to a fork in the road, he goes to the left and it makes a sharp turn to the right. The smell of the trees and the diesel fumes are soon replaced with the smell of the river that is coming up on the left side of the truck. Charlie pulls up to a makeshift, boat landing. It is made of old railroad ties. There is a small dock made of plywood and old galvanized posts. There are three or four small campsites on the right side of the truck. They are small and starting to grow over with tall grass and weeds. There are still small stones that form the fire ring, as well as some very old picnic tables made of wood. The tables are in pretty bad shape, from years of neglect. Back closer to the fork in the road is an outhouse, a small shack with a fingernail moon cut in the door. The door hinges are rusty and it looks like a good wind will knock it over. It does the job it was built for though. Charlie finally stops the Deuce and climbs out of the cab, stretches drops the tailgate and makes his way to the outhouse. "Be right back folks, nnn nature calls," Charlie tells them.

Rico is the first one out of the bed, he quickly turns around and reaches up to help Sunny get down. She jumps into his arms, and he catches her with no problems. He turns and puts her down, then turns back around and starts catching paddles and cushions, coolers and floor-mats. Conner is throwing stuff out as fast as he can, Rico is doing his best to catch them all. He misses one cushion and gets hit by a floor-mat, a paddle and the small cooler with the food in it.

"Dammit Conner, give me a chance here. What the hell?" yells Rico. Conner is laughing and just about to throw the other two coolers out when he realizes what's in them.

"Come on Rico, we don't have all day. Look at the mess you made," Conner laughs. He finally jumps out of the Deuce and then grabs the coolers as Rico starts to pick up everything. Sunny is laughing, but bends down and lends a hand; they both grab for the food cooler at the same time and touch hands. They make no effort to get away from each other, and stay that way for a few moments. Finally letting go when Conner coughs to get their attention. They both stand up and get back to gathering stuff. Julie is still in the truck with Sam and Dave. She is waiting for Conner to come back and help her like Rico did for Sunny. Instead she sees he isn't going to help, she climbs down herself. Dave jumps down and turns to help Sam, who is smiling at him. He knows he is going to get some loving tonight now for sure.

Conner starts untying the canoes, Dave and Rico, take them off and set them on the landing. The girls on the other hand are bringing the cushions, paddles, mats, towels and the light coolers. They put a cooler in each canoe, two paddles and two cushions; they only have four floor mats. They get tossed in the two aluminum canoes. Sunny's canoe is a nice newer model, made out of fiberglass. There are seats already built in and it's smaller and lighter. It is more comfortable as well.

By the time Charlie has answered natures call, everything is out of the deuce and off the trailer. He walks over to the landing, staring at Julie and Sam, the whole time. Sam and Julie are both wearing cut-off shorts and tank-tops over their bikinis. Charlie looks as if he is undressing them with his gaze. "Well folks, nnn this is a slow river, should take nnn about four, four and a half hours nnn. We have two signs down river, nnn first one is to let you know, you have about a mile nnn left on the river. The second one nnn is where you get out. I will be there around five, nnn if I'm not Jr. will be." He finally stops staring at Julie, and walks back to his truck, "You all have a good safe trip nnn, see you in a few hours. Nnn" He climbs in the cab and starts the truck, puts it in gear and waves as he drives away. He honks the horn and is soon out of sight.

"That old fucker creeps me out! Did you see the way he was staring at you two." Sunny says to Julie and Sam, "What a freak. His kid is even worse, like at..."

"The bathroom's before we left," Sam finishes Sunny's sentence.

"Yeah, what the fuck? He's been watching all of you ladies," says Rico. Conner and Dave nod their heads in agreement.

"They seem harmless though, maybe they don't see many hot women this far in the sticks. If you know what I mean," says Conner.

"Enough of the creepy old man, and freakish little boy, let's get on the river." Dave barks. Sam gets in the front of their canoe, and Dave pushes them off. For a big guy, who is still nursing a hangover, he moves pretty well.

Julie gets in the front of the other canoe and Conner pushes them out into the water. They have the heavy cooler, and they sit a bit lower in the water. As Conner sits down and tries to paddle, the canoe hits the bottom of the river. He lunges forward and tries to push with his paddle. He leans on the old wooden paddle. It snaps under his weight, he almost goes into the water. It's cold, but he manages to stay in the boat. "God dammit, do you fucking believe this?" Conner says. Julie is laughing.

Dave turns his canoe to see what all the commotion is about. As he is looking over his shoulder he sees Conner stuck on the bottom holding up the paddle in both hands. Dave tries to turn some more and ends up following his paddle right into the cold, cold water. He pops out of the water as fast as he can, "Holy cold water Batman, wow. Jesus, this is fucking cold." He tries to run and grab the canoe, but falls in again. Finally, he is able to get to his feet and catch up to Sam. Dave decides not to risk getting in the canoe away from shore. He grabs the canoe in one hand, his paddle in the other and starts for the landing. He looks like a big kid who got caught in the rain. When he gets to the landing, he grabs the front of the canoe Julie and Conner are in and gives it a good pull, freeing them from the bottom.

Julie is laughing so hard at the combination of what just happened she almost falls in as well. "Woooooow thanks Dave," she squeals out as she catches herself from falling in. Conner is caught off guard also. He accidentally throws the broken pieces of the paddle into the water. Dave reaches out and grabs the one closest to him. He tosses back to Conner, then walks over and gets the other part. He inspects the break and then throws it out towards Conner and Julie's canoe. The piece splashes water up on Conner, he yelps as the water hits him on the face.

"Wow you're right Dave, this water is freezing," he reaches in the water and grabs the broken handle out of the water. "Well Jules, looks like you get to do all the work today." He laughs and puts his hands behind his head, leaning back in his seat like it's a recliner.

"Whatever! You're in the back," she turns and tosses her paddle back to Conner, "You get to do the work."

"Damn, I was hoping to kick back all day." whines Conner.

Once Dave gets to shore, he grabs a towel and dries off as best he can then climb back in the canoe and push off, back into the river.

Sunny and Rico stand on the landing, and watch Conner break his paddle, then Dave go for his swim. They laugh and point at Dave as he walks his canoe back to the landing. Once they stop laughing Rico helps Sunny get in the front of her canoe and pushes off and climbs in the back seat.

"All right finally, we're on our way," says Sunny.

They slowly paddle out into the river. It is a wide, shallow, slow flowing river. From the landing it curves around the land, with hills and cliffs. Huge trees line the shores, some of them have fallen, and the current of the river picks up a little around those dead-falls. Then returns to the slow, lazy pace, the rocks in the river are large and round. They stand up in the water like tiny mountains despite their size they do not affect the flow of the river. Their paths and small campsites scattered on either side of the river. The river is so shallow in some places, the guys have to get out and push or pull the canoes to get them floating again. After a few minutes of paddling, Julie and Conner drift over to Sunny and Rico's canoe.

"Should we tie up together?" asks Julie. She is tying a short piece of rope to the front of the canoe. Sunny reaches out and takes the rope and ties the front of her canoe. Conner and Rico do the same the rear ends, "Sam, Dave do you want to tie up with us too?" she yells.

"Not right now Jules. We are going to check out some of these campsites," replies Sam.

"Uh we're going to do what?" asks Dave. He looks at Sam, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah we talked about it before remember," Sam winks at Dave, smiles and starts to paddle away. "We'll catch up with you guys in a little bit okay."

Dave suddenly remembers the 'conversation' and plays along. "Oh yeah, right! We are going to check out the campsite along the way. Maybe we will find one we can stay at next year." He steers the canoe to the nearest campsite.

They all watch as Sam and Dave pull up to the site. Sam jumps out of the canoe and holds it so Dave can get out. He pulls the canoe up and out of the river. Then he grabs Sam by the hand and drags her up the narrow path and out of site.

"I guess Sam must be feeling better, huh?" jokes Conner.

"Well that is a hell of a good cure for a hangover if you ask me," says Rico. They all turn back around and enjoy the easy pace of the river.

Dave rushes up the hill dragging Sam behind him. She is practically running to keep up with him. The campsite is very much like the one by the landing, small and bumpy; a small fire-pit, an old picnic table that is sitting on a cleared spot on the ground. Most of the site is dirt, large rocks and trees surround the site on three sides. There is a good view of the river, Dave can see the others drift out of site as he stops running and turns to kiss Sam. She jumps into his arms, wraps her legs around his waist. They kiss for a few minutes. Dave pulls her tank top off and kisses her neck moves down her chest. He pulls the string on her bikini top, as he tries to pull it off with his teeth.

"Wait, Honey we need to talk for a minute." Sam is breathing hard, she pushes him away the best she can.

Dave pulls her back and tries to kiss her again, then begs, "Oh baby can't it wait a few minutes? I need you right now," pants Dave.

"NO, this can't wait, we have to talk first. Then we will have fun, deal? Don't worry it's not bad," Sam is very reassuring.

Dave is disappointed, but he knows the reward is worth the wait, "Okay Samantha, what's on your mind?" He lets her go and sits on the old picnic table, "Is this about how much I drank last night?"

"No, it's not about your drinking too much," says Sam, "It's about how I've been feeling lately."

"What is it this time? Are you feeling trapped, lonely, trust issues?" Dave asks.

"Um no, nothing like that Dave, I'm talking about how I've been feeling physically. Ya know, I haven't felt so good lately." Sam tells Dave.

"Yeah I know what about it?" says Dave. He is looking at her with concern now. "Are you okay?"

"Well I'm fine, it's just, I'm late," she says quietly.

Dave looks confused "You're late?" he tilts his head, thinking.

"Yeah, LATE!" She sticks out her hips and points to them.

"Ohhhhhhh! You're late, are you pregnant? Oh wow, when? How? Oh my God, what are we going to do?" Dave says excitedly. He stands up and hugs her, "We're going to have a baby!"

"Are you okay with it? We agreed we were going to wait..." Sam is cut off by a kiss from Dave. He kisses her hard, picks her up and spins around with her. He pushes her against the table. She lays back and lets him do what he wants. He is pulling at her bikini, and her shorts. He kisses her neck and chest, moves down to her flat stomach. He thinks to himself, 'this won't be flat much longer'. Sam stands up and pulls Dave's t-shirt up over his head. Then unties his shorts, they fall to the ground. Dave spins her around, kissing the back of her neck. He grabs the string behind her neck with his teeth and pulls the knot out. His hands move up her from her waist, along her ribs. He finds her breasts, slides his big hands under her top, squeezing them hard. Dave bends her over the table, kissing his way down her back and pulling her bikini bottoms down. Soon they are moving together, faster and faster. It is fast, full of passion. When they finish, he leans on her against the table. They stay leaned over the table for a few minutes, and then Dave stands up. Sam stands up and turns to face him. She kisses him and they hold each other.

"That was amazing, we better get going babe, the others are probably wondering what we are doing?" says Dave.

"You're right, let's get..." she is looking down at Dave, "Oh no, Dave, I guess I'm not late anymore. I'm so sorry."

Dave looks down and he can see that she is not late after all, Sam's head is down and she is starting to cry. Dave is relieved but saddened at the same time. He puts his hand under her chin, raises her face and kisses her. "Sam I'm sorry, it will be alright. I love you... are you...?"

"I'm okay; just a little sad, I mean I thought, you know for just a minute... we were going to wait anyways right." She forces a smile, "Let's get moving," she finds her bikini, shorts and tank top.

Dave, naked, runs down the path to the canoe and grabs a towel. He runs back up the path and offers it Sam. She smiles, takes the towel and cleans Dave first, "Thanks babe, are you going to be alright?" He starts putting his shorts on.

"I think so, I will be fine, and we will be fine." says Sam. She has cleaned herself and is getting dressed as well. They make their way down to the canoe and get back on the river. They share an awkward silence as the paddle to catch up with the others.

While Dave and Sam are off exploring, Conner, Julie, Sunny and Rico float down the middle of the river. Rico paddles a little bit here and there, only to keep them from hitting the shores. Conner does the same on the other side. Julie and Sunny are in the front of the canoes, doing their best to sun themselves. Julie has not been in the sun too much and she is starting to get sunburn. Sunny takes notice and tells Julie, "Hey you're starting to burn a little bit, do you have any lotion?"

"Oh wow thanks, I think I have some in the cooler, Conner will you check in that one?" she asks, pointing at the cooler in front of him.

Conner leans forward and digs through the cooler. He finds it and grabs it out, "Found it. Catch." He sends it flying at Julie, with a nice easy toss. She catches it and starts to put it on arms, legs, stomach and chest. When she tries to put it on her shoulders.

Sunny offers, "Do you want me to put some on your back and shoulders?" Grabbing the bottle, she squeezes some into her hand. Rubbing them together she looks back at Conner and Rico, a devilish grin, grows on her face. Sunny looks at Julie and winks at her, Julie winks back. They decide to have some fun with the guys, "Why don't you untie your top? Nobody likes tan lines."

"That's a good idea," says Julie. "Can you do it for me?" she is looking over at Conner.

Both Rico and Conner are staring at the girls, hoping to see some good action. Julie is in a playful mood and takes her top off. Rico can see the sides of her tits. Conner slaps him on the shoulder, "What the hell? Don't look at her." He acts like he is pissed, but is really enjoying the show himself too.

Sunny slowly rubs the lotion on Julie's shoulders and back, Julie is turned so that Conner is able to see her whole side. She slowly arches her back and gives a little moan, "Thank you Sunny that feels much better."

Not to be outdone Sunny takes her top off and says, "You're very welcome... Julie will you do me?" She can almost hear Rico and Conner's jaws drop. Julie turns around to see Sunny, topless, smiling and holding the bottle out for Julie to grab. Sunny is proud of her body and doesn't mind showing it off. Before Julie can grab the bottle, she pours some into her hand and rubs it on her chest. Then, giving the bottle to Julie, she turns and lets her rub the lotion onto her dark skin. Conner and Rico are beside themselves, Rico is absolutely fixated on Sunny's body. Conner is sitting in awe of what is happening in front of him. When Julie is finished applying the lotion to Sunny she turns towards the guys and puts her hands over her boobs.

"You guys are terrible, look at you two. Guys are so predictable." Julie says, "What do you think Sunny? Should we give them more of a show?"

Sunny has turned and is sitting with her hands on her chest as well. "What did you have in mind?" asks Sunny. She leans over to Julie, puts her hand on her cheek and is about to kiss her.

Rico is getting very excited, he is leaning forward and almost falls over. Conner is paying so much attention to the show, he doesn't notice that they are about to run into a rather large dead fall log. His attention is finally brought to the tree.

"Shit Rico, paddle! Heads up!" Conner yells as he grabs his paddle and pushes it into the river. Rico doesn't have time to grab his paddle; instead he jumps out and pushes the canoe away from the big log. Almost instantly he is no longer excited, practically frozen by the cold water.

"Way to go Rico, you saved us!" Conner exclaims.

Sunny and Julie braced themselves for the hit and the show ended, "My hero!" cries Sunny. She smiles and reaches for her top.

Julie grabs for her top and starts to put it on, "Nice work Rico, you sacrificed yourself for us. How can we ever repay you?"

Rico jumps back into the canoe and says, "you can start, by continuing that show! Then we will have to see what else you can do later! If you know what I mean."

Sunny smiles and starts to take her top off again. Julie stops her and says, "Maybe later, Ricky O. I think Conner and I need to go explore one of those campsites like Dave and Sam did. What do you think Conner?"

"I think that is a great idea, let's go." He quickly starts to untie his end of the canoe. Julie does the same in the front. Soon they are paddling away to one of the closer sites. "See you soon," Julie says as they paddle.

Rico looks at Sunny. Her top is on but not tied. They are floating slowly next to shore, Sunny is returning Rico's stare. She smiles, he can see the devil in her smile, and says. "So what do you think? Do you want to go check out a campsite too?"

Rico almost goes into the river again, he is shocked, excited, and nervous all at the same time. "Uh, err, well I would... love to go check out a site with you. Are you serious? Or are you just fucking with me?" He is worried about having just jumped into the freezing cold water, 'shrinkage' he thinks to himself.

Sunny still has her devilish smile. The smile slowly disappears. She tilts her head to the left and says, "Yes I am serious. Let's find a place quick." She turns and scans the shore, Rico does the same... they don't see anything. So they start to paddle, slowly at first then a bit faster. After paddling for what seems like forever, they see a campsite. It is marked like the rest, a small sign with a tent shape on it.

Conner and Julie paddle across the river as fast as they can. Julie jumps out of the canoe and holds it so Conner can jump out without getting wet. He jumps out and he ties the canoe to a tree as Julie grabs a huge towel out of the canoe. They don't waste any time getting up the small hill to the site. Julie finds a smooth place just out of view, spreads out the towel and starts taking her clothes off. Conner is already naked, he rushes up to her and they fall to the ground. They make love in a frenzy; both fighting to be in control. Conner wins and he gets on top, she digs her short nails into him and they move together. Julie can feel Conner getting close, she wants to make it last, flips him over and she gets on top. They kiss for a bit, Julie is in control now. She moves, slow and rhythmic. Sitting up, her long brown hair falls over her chest. She rides him till they both tense up, racked by the pleasure of the moment, she falls on Conner's chest.

"That was amazing!" whispers Julie.

"You aren't kidding there, you are the best baby!" Conner agrees. They kiss and hold each other for a few minutes, then gather up their clothes. They keep kissing and hugging while they try to get dressed. Julie has her bikini bottoms on and when she bends over to grab her top, Conner is behind her. He grabs her again, sliding back into her, she leans back into him. This time Conner is in control the whole time, he tells her to get on her hands and knees. Kneeling behind her he sets a frantic pace and it doesn't take long before he tenses up and he is finished. They quickly put their clothes on, Conner picks up the towel and they slowly return down the small hill. Back in the canoe Conner unties and pushes off, Julie is exhausted, and Conner is spent as well. Neither is in the mood to paddle, so they drift as slow as the current takes them. Conner lays back in his home made seat back, puts his hands behind his head and looks around for any signs of Dave or Rico.

"Wonder how the others are doing?" asks Conner. He knows what Dave and Sam were going to do but he is curious about Rico and Sunny. "Do you think Sunny is the one for Rico? She seems perfect for him, really. I've never seen him like he is with her."

"I know. He is glowing! I just hope he doesn't get hurt. I mean she still does have a boyfriend. She was telling us about how much he drinks, and how he treats her. Not that that means much, she could be as crazy as a shit house rat. I hope they get together though. Rico deserves it, he has had some pretty shitty luck with the women in his life." Replies Julie.

They float along just enjoying the day.

"Hey you two!" shouts Dave. He is slowly paddling and easily catches up, "Let's tie up. Where are Rico and Sunny? I figured you would have been further down the river by now."

"Yeah, what the hell have you been doing?" asks Sam. She grabs the line on the front of Julie and Conner's canoe. Dave ties up the back, they drift down the river tied together.

"We did the same as you two, I think," says Julie, "We, uh, explored the campsites just like you!"

"That is my favorite kind of exploring; it is so satisfying to find something so wonderful," says Dave. "So we don't know where Rico is?"

"I bet he wants to try to explore Sunny, huh?" Sam replies, "I hope they hook-up. They would make a good couple. Don't you think?"

"We were just talking about that. Rico has been so happy today. I hope something happens between them." Julie replies, "Should we try to catch up to them?"

"Nah, we should let them hang-out alone for a bit longer. Worst case scenario is we don't see them till we get off the river, right?" Conner says.

"Conner's right let's give them some time and space," Sam agrees.

Rico paddles to the site and turns the canoe, they both jump out at the same time. Rico secures the canoe quickly, he looks at Sunny. Her look is more serious now, she is almost looking through Rico. Rico stands and faces her, they step together, and he slowly puts his hands on her hips. Sunny puts her hands up on his chest. She stops him as he pulls her in for a hug. "Wait Rico, wait. I don't know if I'm ready for this. Let's go up to the site." She pulls away and leads him up the stone stairs, to the site. Rico is nervous, almost like it's his first time. He follows Sunny closely holding her hand as they climb the steep slope. Her hand feels so good in his, everything about her feels right to him.

"Rico, I want you to know that I really like you." Sunny says quietly, "I totally want you but..."

"Darrin, you're worried about Darrin right," Rico interrupts her, "I understand. I like you so much. What should we do? I don't want to lose you."

"Let's just take it easy and see what happens when we get back to the campground. Is that okay with you?" asks Sunny. They are still holding hands, he pulls her to him. This time she doesn't resist, they hug each other tightly. Rico can feel the electricity as they touch. Sunny feels the same. She pulls him to her as tight as she can. They hug and caress each other. Sunny runs her fingers through Rico's hair. Rico rubs her shoulders and the small of her back. Neither one wants to be the one who breaks the embrace. Finally Rico loosens his grip. They both lean back a little from each other. Rico leans down to kiss Sunny. She moves in to kiss him.

"HEY!!!!! We can see you!" shouts someone, "Get a room."

"What the fuck?" Rico growls under his breath. He turns to see who is yelling. It's Conner; he is standing up in the canoe waving his arms. Dave reaches out and grabs Conner's leg, giving him a little shove; he starts to lose his balance and has to sit down fast.

"Son of a bitch Dave! What the hell?" Conner yells. He knows how cold the water is, he doesn't want to take a bath in it like Dave did earlier.

Sunny pulls away from the hug and starts to laugh. They are standing in between two tall trees and she can see all the way down the river. "Apparently, anyone on the river can see what is happening at the site." Rico throws his hands up in the air, and laughs as well, "Where have you guys been? How was the exploring?" His fingers are making air quotes, when he says 'exploring'.

"It was great, very rewarding. Now let's get going. We don't want to be late. It's almost three." says Julie. "We don't even know how much further we have to go." She looks up and down the river, holds her hands up and shrugs."

Rico and Sunny make their way down the stairs and return to their canoe. Rico helps Sunny get in the front unties and pushes off. He sits down and paddles out to join the others. Conner grabs the front of the canoe and guides it alongside-their-own. Sunny is next to Julie again, they exchange a knowing glance. Julie is smiling, she is actually glowing. She looks over at Sam, who is smiling but seems very distant. Dave appears the same as Sam, pleased but out of touch.

"You all must've had fun exploring, you all seem like you're stoned. What gives?" Rico observes out loud, "Julie you look like a kid who got a pony for Christmas!"

"Oh, we just had a good experience, no big deal," says Conner. Dave nods his head in agreement, "How did your exploring go?"

"Well it was going very well..." says Rico.

"Somehow we were interrupted before we could get to the good part of it." Sunny finishes. She looks back and winks at Rico.

The rest of the day on the river is a blur to all of them, Rico is thinking of what is going to happen between the two of them. Wonders if Sunny will take the next step, finally kiss him. His mind is spinning at the possible outcomes he is thinking of.

Dave is thinking about Sam, the possibility of being a father, then back to not having a kid. He decides to drink the situation off of his mind. Then he knows he shouldn't do that, Sam is going to need him to be sober and strong, not a puddle like he last night. Sam is thinking about how close she was to being pregnant. She was starting to like the idea. She was beginning to think of names and all that good stuff. Now she feels like something is missing, she has to talk to Julie when they get back to camp.

Julie is remembering the excitement, of being with Conner. She knows how turned on he was by the show she put on with Sunny. She loved the passion of it, the taboo part of almost kissing another girl. She is getting turned on again thinking about how beautiful Sunny is. She wants to see her naked again, to feel her smooth skin. She wants to see Conner and Rico, hell even Dave respond to the sight of two or even three girls going at it. Normally, this would just be a passing thought; just a fun fantasy to think about. Now she can't stop thinking about it. Her first lesbian experience might be better than she could imagine, it may happen with Sunny. Julie is now looking at Sunny and smiling, she glances down at her tits when she thinks she can get away with it.

Conner is thinking about seeing Julie and Sunny making out. He is obviously staring at the two of them, not caring if he gets caught. He just wants to enjoy the view and see the show, maybe he would even get to join in.

Sunny can feel Julie's stare, she likes it, and Julie isn't the first girl to look at her like that. Sunny can also see that Conner is staring at her, and then his eyes lock on Julie. Back and forth, she pretends not to notice and looks around. She starts to try and tease the both of them: lots of stretching, twisting and turning. Her thoughts fall back to Rico, she wants him, wants to be done with Darrin. Her mind is made up, she starts to plan how to go about making it happen.

### "Landing"

They all float down the river lost in their own thoughts. The sun is shining and the breeze is light, birds are singing. There are big puffy clouds dotting the sky.

Rico is the first one to see the sign. It is small, beat up and full of bullet holes. The faded paint reads 'Thunder Valley Camp Center landing one mile.' "Hey there's the first sign. We are almost at the end. What time is it Jules? Are we going to make it?" he asks.

"Yeah, I think we will be there in time, it is only a few minutes after four. What are we going to do tonight?" Julie asks.

Conner looks at Dave and Rico, and then says, "I'm going to get drunk, and so are Rico and Dave. You ladies are free to join us of course. I think we should all get a little crazy, have some fun, enjoy ourselves."

Dave looks at Conner then he looks at Sam, "Uh, I don't know Conner... Sam and I... well..."

"It's okay, Dave, I really think we could use to have some fun tonight. Let's do it, let's have some fun. Ya know get a little crazy." Sam is surprisingly encouraging.

Julie turns to face Sam, a puzzled look on her face. "Sam, really? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Julie shoots a quick look at Sam's stomach.

"Yes I'm sure, I need to have fun," Sam replies. Then she whispers, "I will talk to you when we get back, OK."

Julie is confused and concerned. Her first instinct is to think Sam has lost her mind. She knows Sam is not stupid or careless. Her next thought is the correct one. Sam is no longer worried about being pregnant. Something must have happened since this morning. Julie is not sure how to feel or what to think. She decides not to push the issue till later and tries to put it out of her mind.

"Rico? Are you in?" Conner asks. He looks at Rico. He nods, and then looks at Sunny, "Sunny, what do you think, care to join us?"

Sunny smiles and thinks for a minute, "It sounds like fun, but I'm going to have to deal with Darrin. He might not be very happy with me tonight. I don't think I should hang out with you all tonight, not after last night and today."

"That's too bad, it would be more fun if you were there," says Rico.

Julie quickly agrees, "Rico is right, Sunny, it would be more fun if you were going to be there." She is still thinking about kissing Sunny, touching her, being with her. Julie can still feel how hot it was to have Sunny touch her skin, rubbing her and almost kissing her. She is imagining everybody getting a little loose and enjoying the night. Even though she is fantasizing about Sunny, she knows how much Rico likes her. The last thing Julie wants is to do something to hurt Rico's chances at being with Sunny. Julie tries to put those thoughts out of head also, now her thoughts return to Conner. "I understand about Darrin though, hope it works out. Let us know if you need any help." With that out of the way, she can return to her fantasies. Leaning back in her seat, she daydreams about Conner, Sunny and even Rico.

Rico is worried about how Darrin will react to Sunny being gone with strangers all day. Sunny hasn't really said much of how Darrin is. No mention of violence or anything like that just drinks too much and doesn't pay attention to her. "Sunny, what do you think Darrin will do when we get back? I mean will he get violent? Or will he just treat you like shit? I don't mean to pry, just worried about his reaction."

"Oh there isn't much to worry about with Darrin, he will be upset, and he won't talk to me for a while. On the other hand he won't let me out of his sight either. How fucked up is that? He doesn't pay attention to me half the time, and when he does... ahhh never mind. I don't want to ruin the rest of the trip thinking and talking about this." Sunny trails off, "Let's talk about something else. What are you all doing tomorrow? Should we all go down one of the other rivers? We can ask Creepy... I mean Charlie when he picks us up."

"Yeah we should totally do that, should we see if there's a more challenging trip? Or should we have a nice relaxing day like this, I don't know about you guys but I would really like to do some more exploring," Julie says as she looks at Conner. With a daring grin she looks at Sunny, then at Rico.

Conner is still lost in his own world, but he quickly brightens up when he hears about more exploring. He looks at Julie in time to see her little grin to Sunny, then Rico. "What has gotten into you Jules? I didn't know you were such an explorer. I like it," he says with a smile.

Dave is watching Sam intently; she seems to be acting normal. He is not sure how much she is affected by what happened, they both had wanted to wait to have kids. Dave cannot stop thinking about how excited he was when she told him she was late. When the light went off in his head, he felt scared, nervous, happiness, joy, and absolute excitement like nothing he had ever felt before. It was like a drug, now he wants to feel that way again. "I'm up for some more exploring," he finally says, "I think we could use the practice, what do you say Sam?"

"I think maybe we should take it easy on the exploring for a few days babe. If you know what I mean," Sam responds. She still doesn't know how to feel. Two hours ago she was thinking about being a mother and now she is back to thinking about her old life. She wants kids, and now she thinks this may be the right time to have one of her own. Dave was excited at the idea, maybe he is ready for it also. "We need to talk about it though."

Sunny is looking around and she sees the next sign, "Looks like we made it, there is the landing we get out at. It's too bad, this has been so much fun. I haven't had a day like this in a long, long time. Thank you guys so much for letting me tag along. Rico thank you so much for talking me into coming with you, it's been amazing."

Rico looks at Sunny and says, "You are very welcome, thanks for coming with us. You really made my day. I hope you can come and hang out with us later and go down the river with us tomorrow."

"Great day, great trip; let's do it again tomorrow," says Conner. Everyone's in agreement.

The landing is up on the right side of the river. It is bigger and wider than the first one was. There is a long dock, that is made of nice plywood and steel, it is painted red. The landing is made of concrete and could easily fit two trucks in at a time, to launch boats. The main river is just about one hundred yards further down the river. There are a few trucks in the small lot on the other side of the landing. They each have boat trailers attached to them. The lot is dirt, with a small barrier made of large wooden posts, a chain connects them together. The chain is old and rusty, but it does the job it is intended. It is to keep people from driving off the dirt lot and into the woods and other areas around the landing area. There is a small opening in the chain. It has a dirt path that leads up to a small building. The building is made of concrete blocks; it has one small window with a metal screen. The other side of the building is a narrow door that leads to a small toilet and sink. The toilet is old, it still has the raised tank, and the pipe that connects the tank to the bowl is about three and half feet long. There is a pull chain used to flush the toilet, made of an old dog chain. The door is a heavy steel door, it has a small barrel lock about five feet off the ground. There is a small waste basket, and a plunger sitting next to it on the ground by the sink. The floor is made up of small green and brown tiles, they are dirty and some of them are missing.

As they approach the landing, they untie from each other and paddle up to the dock. The girls all get out of their canoes, Sunny grabs Julie by the hand, "I have to find the bathroom. Come with me."

Julie feels a tingle and the hair on the back of her neck stands as they hold hands. "Be right back boys," Julie sings as they walk up the dock and to the opening in the chains. Julie grabs Sam as they walk down the dock and up through the lot, onto the dirt path. Dave, Conner and Rico are left to get all the gear and canoes out of the river.

Conner gets out of the canoe and waits till the girls are off of the dock, Julie looks back over her shoulder and waves. Rico and Conner wave back at her, Dave watches Sam. She doesn't look back. Sunny is still holding Julie's hand and she looks back at Rico, then turns and continues walking. When he is sure the girls are not going to turn around again, he asks "Rico do you believe that shit in the canoe? I mean how hot was that? Dave, you should have seen what Sunny and Julie were doing. They both had their tops off, rubbing lotion on each other. That was hot, man I thought they were going to kiss, man if it weren't for that fucking log."

"What? What the hell? When did this happen? Why did they have their tops off? Tell me dammit," Dave is almost yelling, "I want details, man."

Rico is trying to calm Dave down, his hands are out and his palms down, he sort of pats at the ground. "Dave, Dave, Dave calm down, when you and Sam were 'exploring'." He has his fingers making air quotes. "Sunny notices that Julie was getting a bit of a sunburn. So Julie gets the lotion from Conner, and starts to put it on. Then Sunny offers to help her put it on her shoulders and her back, so Jules unties her top. Sunny is rubbing the lotion on her, and then she takes off her top and asks Julie to put some on her; before she turns around though she rubs some on her tits, fucking beautiful tits."

"Hell yeah, they're beauties alright," Conner agrees.

Rico keeps telling the story, "So she turns around and Jules rubs some on her back. When she finishes Sunny turns around and touches Julie on the cheek, then they lean into each other. They are just about to kiss, when we damn near hit that huge fucking tree. I had to jump out and push us so we didn't hit it. So I get back in and by that time they are both putting their clothes back on. Then, since I saved us from hitting the tree they ask how they can repay me. So I say 'you can start by continuing the show. Sunny was all for it, but Julie had to wreck it and take Conner 'exploring'."

"Oh my god, are you serious? They were both topless. And I missed it, shit. So do you think they would have kissed or was it just a show?" Dave asks. He is standing on the dock, jaw wide open, arms out. He can't believe he missed the excitement. He is married but still looks at other women. Sam knows that Dave thinks Julie is pretty hot, she is confident that he is in love with her and would never cheat on her. Sam is pretty open-minded. She may have even joined in the fun. The thought of that gets Dave's wheels spinning.

Conner says, "I'm not sure about Julie, but I think Sunny was really going to do it. What do you think Rico?"

"Sunny was totally going to kiss her, Julie maybe not so much. Although she didn't seem like she too opposed to it. Did you see the way she was looking at Sunny the rest of the way here? Man she couldn't take her eyes off of her," Rico responds.

By now they have all the stuff out of the canoes and are starting to get all three canoes out of the water. Conner carries the first canoe along the dock, up the small incline and off to the side of the landing. Dave grabs one of the other canoes and walks it the same path, placing it next to the first one. Rico is close behind with Sunny's canoe, he puts it down and they walk around the parking lot. Waiting for Charlie to come and pick them up.

Sunny holds Julie's hand until they reach the bathroom, they finally let go of each other. Sam is walking a little behind Sunny and Julie. She is wondering why they held each other's hands so long. She is curious to know what happened when they were on the river. As much as she wants to know what happened she is desperate to talk to Julie and tell her about Dave and his reaction. She wants to tell her about getting her period. She wants to talk to her friend. Sunny is the first one to go into the small bathroom, she closes the heavy steel door behind her.

Sam pulls Julie to the side and says, "Julie, I have to tell you something." She has been strong till now, she tries to hold it together but can no longer do it; she starts to cry. "I got my period while Dave and I were doing it back at the campsite. It was horrible, Jules. We were so connected one minute then the next, it's like my whole world fell apart."

Julie is not shocked, "Oh Sam, I'm so sorry, what happened? Are you okay?" Julie hugs Sam.

"Yeah I guess I'm alright. I told him when we first got to the site. Oh Jules he was excited, told me it was okay, and we would be alright. Then we went at it fast and hard, when we finished, I turned around and, well let's just say it was all over him. I started to cry, Dave was so wonderful though, and he kissed me and told me it would be alright, that he loved me. Oh Jules, it was horrible and wonderful at the same time." Sam says through her tears.

The door opens and Sunny steps out. She looks and sees Sam is crying. Julie is still hugging her, "Is everything okay? Sam, are you alright?" Sunny looks around wondering if something happened while she was in the bathroom. Sam looks and Sunny and smiles, she nods her head. Then let's go of Julie, wipes the tears from her eyes and walks into the bathroom. "Is she..." Sunny starts to ask.

"Sam got her period while she was with Dave earlier. She was late. So yeah, she is a little upset, she is alright though." Julie answers.

"Oh wow, that is just terrible, how late was she?" Sunny asks.

"Well she wasn't too late, but still," Julie says, "That is why she wants to get a little crazy tonight. It would be nice if you could come and hang out with us tonight. The more the merrier!"

"I will definitely try. Sam seems so nice. I want to help if I can." Sunny exclaims.

"I don't know if Sam will be up for too much, but she needs people around her right now," Julie says.

"I know what you mean, Julie, I really like you all. I had so much fun on the river today. Rico is such a great guy, he is hot and funny." She says as she looks at Rico and the other guys, moving the gear. "I really enjoyed our little show as well. You have a great body Jules." She pauses for a minute and studies Julie's reaction. "I'm sorry. I hope that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable. It's just been so long since I have been able to be comfortable around people. You and Rico have both been so nice to me..." she finally looks up at Julie.

Julie is staring at Sunny, mesmerized by what she has said, "Oh my, Sunny, don't be sorry, I feel the same way about you. My god I've never felt like this about a woman before. What should we do? I mean Rico really likes you and well I have Conner," Julie looks nervous. Her hands are shaking, her face is flushed, she is getting warm and she is tingling again.

Sunny smiles, "It's perfectly alright Julie," Sunny grabs Julie's hand again, she gives it a little squeeze. "Just relax, we will figure something out."

Sam opens the door and steps out, she looks a lot better than when she went in. "Oh wow, I feel better now, it's amazing what some cold water on your face can do for you; your turn Jules," she steps aside and holds the door for Julie. Julie snaps out of the hold Sunny has on her, letting her hands fall to her side. Julie dances her way past Sam and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Sam and Sunny stand a few feet apart in an awkward silence. They both look around avoiding eye contact, finally Sam breaks the silence, "So what do you think of Rico? He is a great guy, you two really make a cute couple too."

Sunny smiles and looks over at Rico again. He has the canoe over his head and is just about to put it down. She turns back to Sam and says, "Thank you Sam. Hey don't be mad but Julie told me what happened, I am so sorry. I can't imagine what that is like, if you need to talk to someone. I'm a good listener." Sunny steps closer to Sam and gives her quick hug.

Sam hugs Sunny back, she feels good, "Thank you Sunny, I really appreciate that. I will talk to you later tonight. Okay? So what do you think of Rico?"

Sunny holds Sam tight for a minute, then let's go and answers, "I will be around the rest of the weekend and I'm sure I will be seeing you all quite a bit after that. You guys are so right about Rico, he is great. So nice and such a gentleman, I have to be with him. One way or another, I will make it work."

Just then Julie walks out of the bathroom. She notices that Sam and Sunny standing very close, she feels a touch of jealousy. Weird, she has never felt that for a woman before. "Are we ready to get back now?" she says abruptly. She walks toward where Sunny and Sam are standing so close. Her jealousy grows with each step. They are only about five feet from the door. It's like Conner is standing there kissing Sam. Sunny turns and steps towards Julie, leaving Sam. She reaches out and grabs her hand. All the jealousy that was growing inside her disappears as soon as she touches Sunny's skin. Julie smiles and holds Sunny's hand tight.

"Yep we're ready," says Sunny, "Let's go." Sunny grabs Sam's hand and they all walk down the dirt path. The guys are standing around laughing and joking. Conner is drinking a beer and eating out of a bag of chips. Dave is also drinking a beer, laughing at Rico. Rico was staring at the three girls walking hand in hand down the path, he dropped his beer and it landed on his foot. Now he is hopping around on one foot, swearing up a storm.

"Jesus Christ Rico, that couldn't have hurt that bad. The can was only half full." Dave says in between drinks and laughter.

"I know I know it just got me right on the toe," cries Rico. He stops and puts his foot down; Charlie is pulling into the lot.

### "Friday Night"

Charlie pulls up in the Deuce, drives around the small lot and brings it to a stop in front of the canoes. He slowly gets out of the truck. He is already staring at Sam and Julie. "Hello how was the river nnn, today? Nice weather for you guys nnn," he finally stops staring at Julie and Sam. He looks at Sunny between them.

Julie is freaked out by Charlie and his constant staring; she tries to keep out of his sight. Sam stays as close to Dave as she can. Charlie doesn't seem to be interested in Sunny, only Julie and Sam.

Conner speaks up to get Charlie's attention, "Yeah the river was great, great weather, great friends. What more could we ask for, right guys?" Conner looks around at Dave and Rico. Dave nods his head in agreement.

Rico nods and says, "Yeah, that's right. Great day, we all got to have some fun and relax. Some of us had more fun than others. But we all made it on one piece, ready for another trip tomorrow. What else do you have to offer for day trips? I mean, what are the other two rivers like?"

"Well, there is the long one, nnn takes about eight hours, that one is quite a nnn bit more aggressive, then we have another nnn short one, takes about six hours. That one is like nnn this one, lazy and not very aggressive, nnn. What do you guys think?" Charlie says.

Conner looks around and says, "I'm thinking the lazy one, if it's like this one, we should all have a great time on that one too. Maybe we can get some more exploring in also." He looks at Julie and winks. Julie winks back at him, she is thrilled but she cannot stop thinking about Sunny.

"Sounds like a plan to me," agrees Dave. He looks at Sam. She nods her head and stays behind him.

Rico looks at Sunny, "I like that idea, do you think you will be able to join us Sunny? I had a lot of fun with you today, tomorrow should be even better," Rico is trying to see how she is reacting.

"Oh Rico, I had so much fun with all of you today. I will figure something out, even if Darrin comes with. We will find a way to have a good time," Sunny smiles as she answers.

Julie and Sam both say, "Yes!" they both look at each other. Julie starts to get that jealous feeling back inside her. Conner grabs Julies hand and gives it a squeeze.

"Time to load up nnn," Charlie says, "Let's get moving, I have to make annnother pick-up after I get you back nnn." Then he walks to the back of the truck, drops the tailgate and then he moves back to the trailer. Conner and Dave start to load up the canoe, while Rico and the girls start to get the gear in the back of the truck. Charlie stands back and makes sure the canoes are loaded up and tied down properly. He doesn't want them to come loose again. When the gear, canoes, and people are loaded up; Charlie climbs back in the cab and fires it up.

Rico is up by the cab, with Sunny next to him. Julie and Sam scramble to sit next to Sunny, Sam wins. She sits right next to her, so close they are almost touching. Sam can feel her body heat, so warm.

Julie decides to sit across from Sunny, at least that way she can look directly at her. They are both wearing flip-flops, so Julie lightly touches Sunny's foot. She is pleasantly surprised when Sunny doesn't pull her foot away and plays with her back. They all are sitting pretty close on the trip back to camp. Dave and Sam hold hands and just sort of stare at each other. Sam can feel how good Sunny's leg feels every time Charlie hits a bump. Julie's feet are touching Sunny's and she is happy, sitting with Conner's arm around her. She is mostly trying not to stare at Sunny as she bounces up and down and side to side. She watches her boobs bouncing, gets busted by Sunny and Rico a few times, she doesn't seem to be hiding it very much. Conner is trying to get a cheap feel off of Julie and not paying attention to anyone else. Rico is enjoying the trip, Sunny is sitting close to him and he is watching her play footsie with Julie. Two hot chicks touching each other. Rico remembers walking with Julie and Sam, and Julie joking around singing 'I kissed a girl and I liked it.' He smiles to himself, thinking about how hot it would be to watch Sunny and Julie play with each other. Play with more than just feet. The ride back is quite a bit faster than the ride out. Soon Charlie is pulling into Thunder Valley, he pulls up to the office where he picked them up.

"Here we are folks. Watch your steps nnn," Charlie says as he gets out of the cab and drops the tailgate. "Jr. has your tire all fixed and nnn ready to go. I had him drop it at your site nnn. Just to let you folks know, nnn Thunder Valley would like to invite you all to our nnn Friday night bonfire. We start it about nnn seven-thirty or eight; burns till about midnight. You're all welcome nnn to come and enjoy the fire." He is pointing to the huge fire-pit. Charlie stands next to the tailgate as they start to pile out.

Conner is the first one out of the deuce, he starts grabbing the gear from Dave. Rico quickly grabs a few things and tosses them at Conner. All at once, towels and cushions hit Conner in the head. Rico starts to laugh, "Come on Conner, you're making a mess! Paybacks are kind of a bitch huh?"

Sam climbs down as the gear is flying. She turns to see Rico's revenge. She laughs as do the others; even Conner gets a kick out of it.

"Good shot Rico," says Conner, rubbing his head and fixing his hair. "What do you guys think? Should we hit the bonfire tonight?" Conner is looking around at Julie and the others. Dave and Rico get out next and Rico turns to help Sunny get out of the truck. When Sunny sees that Rico has turned, she jumps right into his arms. He easily catches her, and he holds her in his arms, face to face. Their lips so close, she is laughing, and then she gets serious. Rico is staring into her eyes. Sunny gives him a quick peck on the cheek again. Then she pulls out of his grip.

"I think that's a great idea. I should be able to talk Darrin into that. That is something he can't get too worked up about." Sunny declares. She looks at Rico and smiles. She quickly looks at Julie and Sam, they both smile their approval. Sunny's grin is positively devilish. "Wooohoooo tonight is going to be so much fun. I can't wait." With that said, Sunny picks up her stuff and says. "Thank you all so much today was great. I have to get back to the cabin, but I will see you tonight!" Sunny winks at Rico, then Julie. Conner notices Sunny's wink to Julie and is even more confused. He starts to untie the canoes anyways, reminding himself to ask Julie about it later. When the three canoes are unloaded, Conner turns to see if Charlie is still standing by the tail gate. He is, glaring at Sunny; then moves his eyes to Sam, finally stopping on Julie. He stares at her boobs under her tank top.

"Charlie!" Conner exclaims. Charlie quickly looks away, knowing he was caught. He sheepishly takes a few steps back towards the cab. "Can we set up a time for tomorrow? Maybe a bit earlier, so we can get on the river sooner." Conner sort of blows off the staring, he is an old man, cheap thrill.

"Nnn yeah, how about ten?" Charlie responds. He waits for a response, and his eyes quickly move from Sam to Julie then settle on Sunny for a second or two. Then he focuses on Conner, "Does that work? Nnn."

"Yep we will be here at ten, and we'll be here for the bonfire. See you then," Conner says as he steps in front of Julie. Sam is trying to hide behind Dave.

Charlie is at the cab of the deuce now, "Sounds good folks. See you then nnn." He climbs in the cab and pulls away, his eyes fixed on Julie and Sam, even though they are pretty well hidden. Then he is finally out of sight, turning the truck down the road.

"God, that man creeps me out, what the fuck? Why is he always staring at us? Then he only glares at you Sunny. And that's only for a couple of seconds. Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to stare at you. But, what the hell?" Sam asks aloud. She looks at Julie, shrugs and picks up her towels and cushion.

Sunny shrugs her shoulders, and says, "I guess I'm just not his type. I don't know. He is creepy though. Let's not worry about him. We're all going to have a great time tonight, creepy old guy or not." she smiles and starts to walk off towards the cabin.

Rico watches her as she walks away. Sam steps towards him and slaps him on the shoulder. She nods her head toward Sunny and whispers, "Go with her, see if she needs help."

Rico flinches from the slap and darts in Sunny's direction, "Sunny, do you need any help. Err can I walk you up to the cabin?" he blurts out. Sunny turns around but keeps walking. She smiles as she sees Rico moving after her.

"Sure Rico, maybe having you there will keep Darrin from freaking out for a while." Sunny replies. Rico catches her and eagerly grabs the cooler out of her hand. They actually hold it together and swing it hand in hand, for a couple of seconds. Rico finally takes it in his hand; it's almost empty and quite a bit lighter than this morning. "Thanks for the help Rico." Rico can see the devil in her smile and eyes again, he finds it very alluring.

Julie and Sam watch as Sunny and Rico walk through the stone arch and take the road on the right side of the fork. "They do make a very cute couple, huh guys?" Sam asks for anyone who will listen.

Julie feels her jealousy start to return, it had subsided till she thought about Rico and Sunny as a couple again. "Yeah, very cute," Julie forces out.

Dave and Conner are pretty indifferent about it and don't answer. They are all gathering things when they hear the familiar sound of Jr. in his Gator. He drives around the corner and pulls up next to Dave and Conner.

"You guys want a lift up to your site?" Jr. asks. His eyes are roaming around but keep returning to Julie and Sam. "You can leave your canoes right there for the night if you want."

Dave immediately answers, "Hell yeah, that would be great." He is already starting to throw the cooler and paddles. Conner stops walking and puts the cooler he is carrying in the back of the gator. Dave starts to climb in the back, and then stops, "Honey do you want to sit here?"

Sam declines. She is creeped out by Jr. as well, "No thanks, I have to go to the bathroom again, Julie will you walk with me? Please." She doesn't give Julie a chance to answer, walks over and gently takes Julie's hand, gives her a soft tug and they walk away.

Julie looks back over her shoulder at Conner, gives him a little wave. "See you in a few minutes," she yells to Conner. The girls walk toward the stone arch holding hands the whole time.

Conner taps Dave on the shoulder and points to Sam and Julie as they hold hands, they exchange a look. Dave knows what Conner is thinking. He grins and nods his head. Then he glances at Jr. he is watching the same thing, he has a dirty little grin on his face. Dave climbs in the front seat as Conner jumps in the back with the gear.

"Ready to go Jr.?" Conner says rather loud.

Jr. jumps a little, "Right, let's get going," he steps on the gas and they take off, quickly passing the girls.

"Hey who is minding the office if you're here and your dad is picking up another group of people?" Dave asks, trying to distract Jr. from the girls as they drive by.

"Oh no one, we have a sign up be back shortly. I believe all of the guests are checked in anyways. If anyone needs anything I will be going back as soon as I drop you guys off. Are you all coming to the fire tonight? We should have a full house. Most of the sites are full this weekend." Jr. says.

They drive past site number one, there is a small tent set up on the far side. There is a small Subaru with a cargo carrier on top, a bike rack and two mountain bikes on the back. Two men, who are probably in their late thirties, are sitting at the picnic table eating a meal. Conner looks at the two men, they wave, and all three of the guys in the Gator return the wave.

"Think those two are gay, but number two here," Jr. says as her slows down a bit, "number two has a really hot chick. Hope we get to see her, she's so nice." He is holding his hands cupped up to his chest. "If you know what I mean." Jr. is bumping Dave on the arm with his elbow. Dave feels like he should be pissed, but he looks at the site just the same. No luck there is a pop-up camper set up. There is an old Chevy truck short-bed hooked up to the camper. A short man with a beer belly, wife beater, cutoff jeans and a Twins hat on, is standing drinking a beer. He holds it up in a salute as Jr. drives past. Dave and Conner nod at the man in the hat, "Well that sucks. You will see her tonight at the fire. Wonder how a pig like that gets a hottie like her?" Jr. questions.

Conner can hear Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters singing, "Is someone getting the best, the best, the best of you?" He loves the Foo Fighters. So does Dave, they both sing along. "Is someone getting the best, the best, the best of you?"

Jr. pulls into site number three and lets Conner and Dave out of the Gator, he drives around and beeps his horn as he pulls out of the site, "See you in a little bit." he is quickly out of site.

Dave laughs and says, "Man, that boy has to get laid. Seems like a nice enough kid though."

"Well he is not as bad as his old man, but he's all right I guess," Conner agrees.

Rico and Sunny walk slowly up the path to the cabin, they haven't said a word to each other since the parking lot. They look at each other and smile, then look away, then back at each other. When they reach the first step, Rico stops and looks at Sunny. She turns to look at Rico, standing about a foot apart they gaze into each other's eyes. Rico finally says, "Sunny, I had such a great day with you. I can't wait to see you tonight. Do you think we will get to be alone? I mean, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. That would be so nice."

Sunny grins, "Thanks Rico, I had a great day too. I will figure out a way to be alone with you soon. Darrin probably won't notice if I sneak away from the fire tonight. I have to find a way." She steps in and gives him a quick hug. "See you in a little while." Sunny then walks up the steps and opens the door, she looks back at Rico before she closes it behind her. Rico waits on the path. He is waiting to see if there is any yelling or screaming. When he doesn't hear anything he walks down the path and into the road. The door opens on the cabin, Sunny pokes her head out and whispers, "I don't even think he's moved since we left. He must be hurting. See you later, Rico." Sunny disappears back inside. Knowing that Sunny seems to be in the clear; Rico makes his way back to the campsite.

Sam and Julie make their way to the bathroom. They have talked about how creepy Charlie and Jr. are most of the way. Julie wants to tell Sam what happened between her and Sunny on the river. She is about to explode, she has never felt this way about a girl before. Julie wants to tell Sam about how good Sunny's skin feels, and how jealous she was that Sam got to sit by her. Julie's wheels are spinning, she is confused, nervous, jealous and turned on at the same time.

"Julie what do you think of Sunny now? Ya know now that we have gotten to spend some time with her and get to know her a bit better. I really like her, funny thing is I was feeling a bit apprehensive of her when we got to the landing. Then we talked, she gave me a hug, and oh my God. I've never..." Sam says, and then pauses. She is blushing.

"Felt like that about a girl before right, oh my God I feel the same way," Julie interrupts. "I don't know what is going on with me. She just has something that I can't describe, I mean we almost kissed on the river today."

"You what? How did that happen? Why didn't you kiss her?" Sam asks. "Tell me, I want all the details." Sam is standing very close to Julie now, they are still holding hands. Sam is as giddy as a school girl. She is so curious about the details, she almost about to burst. "Come on Jules spill it."

Julie is also excited, just the thought of nearly kissing her is making her weak in the knees. "Well, after you and Dave went off on your exploration. Sunny and I were sitting there and she told me I was burning a little bit and then she offered to put lotion on me. Oh Sam her touch was intense, God it was crazy." Julie stops for a minute, "Then she told me to untie my top, so I did. So I am sitting there in the front of the canoe topless, Rico is sitting there, and I didn't even care. When Sunny was done putting it on my back, I turned around and she is sitting there topless as well. Then she hands me the bottle and asks me to do her, she put some on her boobs."

Sam cuts in, "She put it on her tits, right in front of you and the guys. Wow," She is taken back.

"Sam they are amazing, anyways, I rubbed some on her back. I was starting to get all turned on. Then we almost hit a tree. Poor Rico jumped in and pushed us to safety. When he got back in Sunny and I were putting our tops back on. Rico asked us to continue the show. Sunny took my face in her hand. It was electric. She was leaning in to kiss me. Sam I panicked, I was so turned on but so scared. I told her that Conner and I had to go exploring. I was so horny I had to get out of there, so I took Conner and we had some crazy sex." Julie finishes. Then asks, "I'm sorry Sam are you okay? Here I am getting all worked up over a girl that Rico is head over heels in love with and you're in the middle of probably one of the toughest things in your life. Forgive me please." Julie hangs her head.

"Julie it's alright, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Sam consoles Julie. "Let's get back to this Sunny thing. So how close did you two come to kissing? Ya know I have to admit I am a little jealous, I know how she feels. And you almost kissed her, wow."

"Well we were, about an inch away, close enough to feel her body heat. God Sam, I wanted to so bad..." Julie says, "Well I suppose we should get back to the guys. I can't wait to see what happens tonight." With that Sam follows Julie out of the bathroom.

### "Blob and Slim"

Jr. begins pulling wood out of the back of the Gator around seven. He stacks it nicely on one side of the fire pit. He gets back in the Gator. He steps on the gas and drives as fast as he can back behind the office. A few minutes later he drives back around the corner, the back of the Gator is full of wood again. This load he tosses in the ring; then he grabs a can of lighter fluid, pours about half of it on the wood. Jr. takes out a box of matches and lights one, throws it into the large pile of wood. Whoosh a huge fireball explodes towards the sky. With-in a couple minutes the fire is burning on its own, ten foot flames lick the sky. People start to arrive for the fire a few minutes later.

Rico is sitting at the picnic table waiting for the others to get ready. He has been ready for about forty-five minutes, when he got back from walking Sunny to her cabin he had taken a shower. He is wearing clean clothes and he actually combed his hair. Rico wears his favorite hat. It's a profit Georgia Tech hat. Rico just likes it because there is a cool yellow jacket on it. Always liked the nickname too, The Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech. He is sipping on a Captain and Coke he mixed a few minutes earlier. Dave and Sam are in their side of the tent, they had taken a shower and are now getting dressed. Rico can't hear them, so he assumes they are not fooling around again. Conner and Julie wandered up to the bathroom's a few minutes after Dave and Sam came back.

Rico watches as two groups of people walk past him and the campsite. He assumes they are from site number four or number five. The first group is a family, two kids run down the road, one boy and one girl. The boy is about eight years old. He is wearing flip-flops and catches the toe as he's running. He tumbles head over heels, rolls about three feet and just lays there. Rico stands up to see if the kid is alright, his sister is around ten years old. She stops and starts yelling for their parents. The mother is running the best she can, she is probably about a hundred pounds overweight and she is not carrying it very well. She is maybe five feet tall and has to go about two-twenty maybe two-thirty. Mom is wearing a large tank top and a pair of stretch pants. Skin tight stretch pants. She has long greasy, brown hair.

Rico tries to look away, but this is a total train-wreck just waiting to happen. He sits back down at the table, and then he quickly moves to sit on the table top. Trying to hide the fact that he is staring at what could be an incredible crash. Rico takes another drink and prepares for the worst or the best, either way it's going to be a good story.

Mom tries to get to the little boy, damn near falling on him as she gets close. Somehow she rolls down to her knees, or at least where her legs bend. She grabs the little boy and picks him up, he is laughing so hard he can hardly speak.

"I'm okay," the kid finally says, and then starts laughing again. He grabs at his knee and tries to hold it up to look at it. "See Mom no blood." His mother is not amused, she has to wait for her husband to come and help her up. He is trying not to laugh. It takes quite a bit for him to get her to her feet. He is about five foot seven maybe one hundred thirty pounds very wiry. He is balding, wearing sandals, socks, khaki shorts and an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt.

"Dammit John stop laughing... and help me up." Trying not to laugh herself, at the same time she is trying to catch her breath. "It's not funny... I thought he was messed up." John struggles, but manages to pull her to her feet. "Now will you two kids stop running and be more careful. You about gave me a heart attack." The two kids take off running again. "Damn kids, are you trying to kill me." She grabs John by the wrist and drags him down the road towards the stone arch and on to the fire.

Rico watches until he can no longer see them; then goes back to his drink. The next group to walk by is quite a bit different. It is two couples. They are both in their mid to late fifties. They all walk side by side, holding hands and talking amongst themselves. As they walk in front of Rico they all wave and keep walking. Rico waves back then returns to his drink.

Conner and Julie walk into the site a couple of minutes after the old couples walk by, "Rico did you see that um bigger lady? Holy shit, she was about as wide as she was tall. What's with the stretch pants? Man how nasty." Conner says. Julie is glaring at him with a nasty look. "What? It's true, there are some things that certain people just should not wear, that is a perfect example. Am I right or wrong? Rico help me out here."

Rico responds, "You're right Conner, but I really don't want to think about that anymore. I think I may be scarred for life. That was nasty, and I saw her try to run." He makes a face like he just smelled some rotten milk. "I wish you would've seen that, her little boy took a pretty mean spill right in front there." He is pointing towards the road, "That poor kid went ass over tea-kettle, and then he laid there for a minute. His sister comes up to him and starts yelling for their parents, so the blob, I mean mom starts running as fast as she can. About five minutes later, she reaches the kid, practically falls on him. Probably would have killed him if she had. So she picks the kid up and he is laughing his ass off, says 'I'm okay', so she gets pissed at him and tells the kids to stop running. They took off again, then slim walks up to her and tries to help her up. He was laughing, wow what a show, fucking great. I about fell off the table." Rico has a smile on his face as he tells the story.

Dave and Sam make their way out of the tent. Dave asks, "Is that what all the ruckus was about? We heard something, but couldn't tell what it was."

Sam agrees, "yeah we were wondering what the hell was going on."

Julie has a disgusted look on her face, "Conner, Rico you need to be nice, I don't want you being mean tonight. I'm sure she is a nice lady, who has a bit of an issue with her weight."

"A bit of an issue is ten or fifteen pounds, not ten or fifteen pounds per square inch," Conner jokes. He ducks away from Julie, knowing that a slap is on the way. Julie swings and misses, "Whiff!" he laughs. He jukes one way then the other. Julie is now chasing him, she follows him move for move, slapping at him. They run all over the site, Conner runs one way around the table as Julie goes right over the top. She jumps on Conner's back and they tumble to the ground. Julie gets on top of him and pins him down.

They are both laughing as Julie is tickling him, "Are you going to be nice?" She knows where he is the most ticklish, so she focuses on that spot. "Tell me you are going to be nice or I'm not going to stop!"

Conner is laughing, trying to grab Julie's hands to stop her from tickling him. "OK, OK, alright I promise I'll be nice, I promise, now get off of me tubby!" Conner says knowing, that Julie will move in for another attack. She does, this time digging her fingers and nails into his sides.

"What was that? Did you just call me tubby? Oh you're in for it now," Julie cries, "Be nice Conner." She continues to tickle and torture him for a few more minutes. Then she finally stops and stands up, brushing herself off. "Let that be a lesson to you buddy." She steps back and grabs his hands, pulling him up they hug and kiss, then head into the tent to finish getting ready.

Sam and Dave have watched the whole chase between Conner and Julie, they laugh as Conner gives into Julie. Even though he could've thrown her off at any time, he is just a big teddy bear when it comes to Julie. Dave sits at the picnic table, Sam grabs them a couple of beers then she sits next to him.

"I guess you are feeling better huh, Sam? Boy I am glad to see that, I was getting kinda worried about you," Rico says as he smiles at Sam. "Shit I almost thought you were pregnant or something, how would you like that Dave?"

Dave shoots a look at Rico like he could kill him. Then he laughs a nervous laugh, "Yeah that would really be something huh babe?" He says to Sam. She just smiles and nods.

Rico can feel the tension in the air. He realizes he must have hit a nerve and hit it hard, "Oh my, did I? Were you? Holy shit, I am so sorry Sam. Dave you know I would never have said anything like that if I had known. God, I'm going to shut up now." Rico hangs his head in shame.

"Oh Rico, its okay. I thought I was for a while, but it turns out that I'm not. So yeah, don't feel bad. It's not like I was three or four months along, I was maybe only a few weeks along." Sam consoles Rico. She smiles as he looks up at her.

Dave looks at Sam then at Rico, "Rico, don't worry about it. Sam is alright, so we are sad but, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. We really weren't ready for it anyways so... so anyways enough about that. What's going on with you and Sunny? You two seemed like you were getting along pretty well."

Rico is still feels like crap, he tries to relax and forget about what he just said. He starts to think about Sunny. "Well, I'm not really sure about her, I mean she is great. I really like her, we talked a lot today, and we have quite a bit in common. I hope we get to spend some more time together tonight and I'm really hoping for tomorrow. She told me that she is going to break up with Darrin, but I've heard that one before. Although, I do believe it this time, she seems very honest and sincere about wanting to be done with him. I guess time will tell." Rico takes another drink. He isn't done with it but decides to mix another one before they go to the fire. Julie and Conner should be ready to go. "Hey Conner, Julie are you guys almost ready?" Rico asks rather loudly.

"Yes, just another minute, we will be right out." Julie's voice rings out from the tent. Then they can all hear some rustling, some other muffled sounds, then the zipper on the tent. Conner about falls out of the door, followed quickly by Julie. They are still playing and wrestling, "Well, what are we all waiting for? Let's get to the fire. I'm sure Rico is dying to get going and see if Sunny is there. Right Rico?"

"Yes, I am excited to see if she is there. So can we get moving, please? Do you guys want a drink before we get going? Dave, Sam what about you guys? Need another beer?" Rico asks.

"Hell yeah I want a drink, Captain Coke, and make it a strong one. I don't want to have to keep coming back down here if this fire is any good," Conner replies. Julie just walks over and grabs a couple of bottles of lemonade.

"We should probably take a couple for the road, what do you think babe?" Sam says. "I think I'm going to switch to Captain though. Rico will you hook me up?"

"Wow, Sam getting crazy tonight. Let's have some fun," Conner says. "Mix up those drinks and let's get a move on."

Rico mixes three strong Captains, tosses a few beers and some hard lemonade's in a small cooler with some ice, and they all walk out of the site and towards to stone arch through to the fire pit. Dave and Sam are walking holding hands, so are Julie and Conner. Rico walks ahead of them with the cooler, he looks back and thinks of the two old couples that passed by after the Blob and Slim. Wow another thirty years and that will be them, Rico thinks to himself. Rico scans the fire to see if Sunny is there. She is not. He sees the Blob and Slim, Crash and his sister. The old couples, the gay guys, the redneck and his girlfriend. She has great tits. So far those are the only people that are sitting at the fire. There are chairs and benches sitting around the large stone ring. Jr. is standing by the gator, it's loaded with more wood. He is admiring his fire, when he sees Rico walk up. His attention is quick to change from the fire to the girls behind Rico. Dave and Conner do their best to stay between Jr. and the girls. Rico is distracted looking for Sunny. Darrin is nowhere in sight either, Rico is starting to get worried. He sits on one of the benches closest to the arch, sitting on the end, so he can turn and look back up towards the cabins. Julie sits next to Rico, Conner next to Julie, Sam then Dave.

Julie whispers to Rico, "I wonder where Sunny is? Maybe we should go and see if she is coming down or if she is okay. I wonder if Darrin got really pissed off or if he even cared that she was gone all day?" She is sort of leaning on Rico's back as she asks him.

"I think I will give her a few more minutes, it is still early. I really don't think that Darrin even knew she was gone. He was still on the couch when we got back." Rico says, and then takes a drink. He is looking up the road, hoping to see her walking down the path by herself. That is what he wants, but he knows that more than likely Darrin will be with her. "I hope he's not going to show up, maybe he has alcohol poisoning or something like that."

"That's horrible Rico. You shouldn't wish that on anyone even if the guy is an asshole," Julie says. She secretly wants the same thing, even though she would never openly admit it. She finds herself looking for her just as much as Rico. When she can't stand it anymore, she stands up and starts to walk towards the cabins.

Conner stands up and asks, "Where are you going Jules? Bathroom already? Damn girl, how much have you had to drink?"

Julie stops, turns around, and says, "Yes, yes I am going to the bathroom, it's an emergency. Then I think that I might go and check to see if Sunny is still coming down. Rico would you care to join me?"

Sam has been sitting on the bench enjoying the fire with Dave when she hears Julie ask Rico to go with her. She feels a weird sensation in her stomach, sort of a jealousy combined with anger. Julie normally always asks if she wants to or needs to go with her. She is starting to squeeze Dave's hand fairly hard, he pulls away as she squeezes too hard.

"What the hell Sam?" Dave asks. He is looking at his hand, turning it over and looking at the other side. He makes a fist then stretches out his fingers, "what got into you?"

Sam looks at Dave and kisses him on the cheek, "I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to..." she turns her attention back to the fire and takes a fairly large swallow of her drink. Now she really wants to get crazy, she wants to have some fun. She wants to forget about the baby and the confusion of wanting Sunny. Mostly she just wants to stay connected to Dave. It feels so nice to feel so close to him again.

Rico jumps up from his seat, he takes two quick steps and he is standing next to Julie, "That sounds like a good plan to me, let's go." They both start to walk quickly towards the bathroom. "Julie, why do you seem so eager to find Sunny? I mean, what's going on? I've never seen you like this before, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Rico. Can't I just be concerned about her? She seems so nice, I would hate for her to get into trouble because she spent the day with us." Julie responds.

"Whoa Jules relax, I didn't mean to hit a nerve. It's just weird to see you like this for a girl is all," Rico says. "I would understand more if you were getting this worked up about Conner..."

"Oh Rico, is it that obvious? I don't know how to explain it, I know that you like her. But Rico I feel something for her, I don't understand it myself. When we were in the canoe rubbing lotion on each other. I felt something... I felt a passion, a spark. I don't know what I'm trying to say Rico, and I'm sorry. I feel bad for this, but I, I..." Julie trails off. She looks at Rico expecting him to be upset.

"Wow Jules, I thought I noticed something on the river, then again on the ride back in the truck. I just thought it was my imagination," Rico says. He is thinking to himself, "Oh wow, so you were playing footsie with her on purpose, and you were staring at her. Wow, do you think she was into you too?"

"Yes, I kind of do think she was into me, wait, you're not upset with me? I figured that you would be pissed. I can see the way you two look at each other. How you two act towards each other. God you make a great couple and here I am, getting all jealous and worked up for her. I have no right to feel like this, I have been happy with Conner. She just has something, something I can't explain..." Julie confesses. She feels better for telling Rico but she is even more confused now. Is Rico okay with it? Is he mad, what the hell?

"Julie, I'm not mad. I don't know if I have the right to be mad, I mean it's not like we are dating. Shit, she's still with Darrin. To be honest I think it's freakin hot as hell, just the thought of the two of you together. Oh my lord, you don't get any hotter, unless Sam was into it as well. That would be incredible. Anyways, what are we going to do?" Rico questions.

Rico and Julie arrive at the bathroom. Neither of them really has to go, but they each go in and make the effort. Both of them check themselves in the mirror, making sure they look good enough for Sunny. Rico is the first one to finish and walk out of the bathroom, he patiently waits for Julie to finish. When she walks out, they both walk to the cabins.

"So what do you think Julie, should we push it and see what happens. Or should we..." Rico asks.

Julie looks at Rico and says, "We should just see if she is still coming to the fire tonight. Then we can go from there. Deal?"

"Deal," says Rico.

They walk up the path that leads to cabin number one. Sunny is standing in the door.

### "Sunny"

Sunny stands at attention as soon as she sees Rico and Julie walking down the path. She smiles and waves like a little girl, she can't hide her excitement. "Hey you two, we were just about to walk up to the fire," she blurts out. She turns around and shouts to Darrin. "Hey Darrin, Rico and Julie are here, let's go." She turns her attention back to Rico. Sunny takes a couple of steps out of the cabin door and looks around to make sure Darrin wasn't near, she then whispers. "Darrin didn't say anything about me going with you guys." She smiles at Rico then at Julie. They both smile back at her.

Julie asks quietly, "Does he know that you came with us?"

"Yeah, he knows I told him when he woke up, I was kinda trying to pick a fight. Ya know, so he wouldn't want to come to the fire. Then I would be able to spend more time with you." She is looking at Rico and winks, and then she sneaks a look at Julie.

Julie's heart is racing already, the look from Sunny makes her feel like she is going to pass out. She is starting to get flush, she is getting hot, and her palms are starting to sweat. Julie is more confused than ever now. Her mind is spinning, visions of spending time alone with Sunny. She tries to think of something else but can't shake the ideas. "Wow Sunny he didn't say anything. Is that a normal reaction? Was he pissed?"

Sunny shrugs her shoulders and nods her head to the side, "yeah that is pretty standard, he is a jerk. He will just ignore me for a little bit longer. Oh well, works out good for me," she quickly quiets down. She turns as Darrin walks out of the door.

"Hello, how are you guys? Sorry I wasn't able to make it to the river today. I felt like shit all day. Sunny told me that you all had a great time though." Darrin says as he walks. He stops next to Sunny and puts his giant arm around her. She practically disappears beneath him, she looks uncomfortable next to him.

Julie is frozen with jealousy. Her mouth is open as if to say something. Nothing comes out, she just stares at Sunny, she wants to grab her and pull her away from Darrin. Put her arm around her, just hold her close.

"Yeah we had a really good time today. You should have seen the scenery. Spectacular, never seen anything like it before. Right Julie!" Rico says as he nudges Julie. She nods her head up and down. He looks at her and expects her to say something, anything. She just stands there looking at Sunny and Darrin. Rico continues, "There was this one area by a big dead-fall log, man it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Oh then, well I guess you had to be there," he looks at Sunny. She looks more comfortable, now that Rico has started talking.

Sunny sort of squirms away from Darrin, and says, "You are so right Rico that was amazing, what did you think of that Julie?" She looks into Julie's eyes as she asks.

Julie is brought out of the trance like state she is in, "Uh what, I'm sorry I just totally spaced out for a minute there."

Sunny reminds her, "We were just telling Darrin how beautiful it was around that big log we almost hit. Rico said it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, I totally agree it was almost perfect. The only way it would've been better is if we could've stayed there a bit longer." She is now looking at Julie's tits, and is biting her bottom lip.

Julie smiles, follows Sunny's eyes to her own tits. "Oh right, that was so amazing, I would love to see that again. The sooner the better if you ask me." She wonders to herself if that was enough of a hint.

Darrin can feel that he missed out on something. He assumes that Sunny flashed her tits or something like that. He knows Sunny, she likes to party and have a good time. It never surprises him when she does something to show off her body, "Well I can imagine what you all saw, I know the area. I think I've seen just about everything there is to see around here. Should we get going?" He steps back inside and grabs a small cooler. It's loaded with beers and ice. He shuts the door behind him. They all walk down the path single file, Julie then Sunny, Rico followed by Darrin. "Rico you got a minute?" he slows down.

Rico slows down to see what Darrin wants. "Sure what's up?" Rico is a little nervous, he doesn't know what to think of Darrin yet.

"Well, Sunny told me that you..." Darrin starts.

Rico braces for something like 'you saw her tits or you almost kissed or that you really like her'.

Darrin finishes, "that you helped her walk me back to the cabin last night, I don't remember but I wanted to thank you. And thanks for taking Sunny today. She would've driven me nuts if she were here all day. At least I didn't have to deal with her." He puts out his hand.

Rico is relieved, "Sure man, no problem. Glad I was able to help. Don't worry about it. As far as Sunny goes, it was fun to have her along. Maybe you can join us tomorrow." He puts out his hand and grabs Darrin's they shake and start to walk again.

Julie and Sunny keep walking. They don't notice Darrin and Rico walking very slowly. They seem lost in their own little world for a minute. When they do realize that they are not being followed Julie turns to see what is going on. She grabs Sunny and they turn to see Darrin and Rico standing about twenty feet away shaking hands, "What is that about?" Julie asks.

"I have no idea. It can't be that bad if they are shaking hands though," Sunny answers.

Darrin and Rico catch up and they all walk to the fire. Julie is curious about what the handshake was about, "What was with the handshake?" She whispers to Rico.

Rico looks at her and smiles, "He just thanked me for helping him back last night. He thanked me for spending the day with Sunny. I thought he would be pissed, turns out he didn't even want her around!" Rico looks over at Sunny. She is walking next to Darrin but is looking at him and Julie.

They finally arrive at the fire, everyone says 'hello' to each other, they all settle into their seats. Julie sits back down by Conner and snuggles into him. Rico sits on a different bench to the side of them. Darrin sits on the other end of the bench, with Sunny in between them. Darrin opens his cooler and takes out a beer, closes the cooler and opens the can. He takes a small drink, then a bigger one; on the third drink he finishes it. Darrin is on his second beer within a minute of sitting down on the bench.

Rico sees that Sunny doesn't have a drink. He is not surprised that Darrin has finished his beer and not offered Sunny anything, so he asks. "Sunny would you like something to drink? I can go back to our site and make you one." He would normally offer his own drink, just not with her boyfriend sitting there. He knows that she would accept the offer, if not for Darrin. Sunny grins at him, 'devil inside, devil inside' he thinks to himself.

Sunny stands up and says, "That sounds good Rico; I think I'll walk with you. You don't mind do you Darrin?" she helps Rico to his feet and starts to walk away without waiting for an answer.

Rico can't believe his luck. He turns and asks, "You guys need anything? Sam refill?"

Sam is holding up her glass, "Yes, please, that one was perfect. Thank you Rico," she says and takes one last drink for the glass. Rico walks over and grabs it. Conner is finished with his drink and tosses his glass at Rico as he walks past.

Rico catches the glass, bobbles it for a second then gets it under control. "How was yours Conner? Good?" he looks back for a response, Conner just nods his head.

Rico walks back to where Sunny is waiting for him. Rico takes a look at Darrin as he passes. He is more interested in getting to the bottom of his beer than whether his girlfriend is wandering off with another guy. Sunny turns and walks with Rico back to the site. On the way Sunny grabs one of the glasses so Rico doesn't have to carry all of them. They walk fairly slow, bumping into one another here and there as they go.

Rico breaks the silence, "So, what happened when you got inside? Did you just come right out and tell him that you went with us today?"

Sunny answers, "Yeah, pretty much, he got up about ten minutes after I got back. He asked me what time it was. I told him it was like five-thirty or so, he didn't say much. Just walked down to the bathroom, came back and asked me what I did all day. I told him that I had made plans with you guys the night before and I stuck by those plans. I told him that I had a great time, made some good connections and friendships and that I was going to the fire tonight. Even if he wasn't going to come, I also told him that I was going to go on another trip with you all again." She stops talking, looks at Rico and smiles. "He just sat there and said 'glad you had a good time' then he went and laid down till you guys showed up. I wasn't even sure he was going to get up until he walked out of the cabin."

Rico is silent, he searches for something to say, "Wow, I thought he would've been pissed. I know I would be. If you were my girlfriend, man oh man, I would treat you like a queen." They are almost back to the site by now. Sunny is smiling she bumps into him again. He grabs her this time and holds her tightly in his arms. Sunny reacts by putting her arms around Rico's neck. They both start to laugh, as they look into each other's eyes. Rico is nervous. His legs are shaking, his palms are sweating. He is looking at the most beautiful woman he has ever laid his eyes on. He leans down and kisses her, her lips are soft and full. She has an electricity that he can feel. Sunny eagerly kisses him back. Rico picks her up and he walks with her towards the table. He sets her down, her hands are on either side of his face. They are almost frantic. Rico hands grab her ass, so firm and perfect. He runs them up her sides and back down, she lifts her leg up. Rico grabs it and holds it firmly. Her skin is smooth and hot. Sunny is breathing harder and harder as they continue to make out. Rico is very excited and Sunny can feel him pushing against her stomach. She gently rubs him through his shorts, Rico gasps at her touch. Rico breaks the kiss and moves down to kiss her neck. Sunny suddenly pushes Rico away, she tries to compose herself.

"Whoa that was amazing Rico, but we can't do this right now," Sunny sighs. "I want to so bad, but I have to take care of Darrin first. Besides we have to get back pretty soon." Sunny can see how disappointed Rico is. She kisses him softly on the lips, and then pushes away again. "Please don't be upset Rico, it won't take long. And I swear it will be worth the wait." She turns and walks towards the coolers, looking at Rico over her shoulder as she bends over to open the cooler. Her legs are straight and they are spread slightly.

Rico is staring at Sunny as she bends over, he can't stop looking at her ass, "It's alright Sunny, I understand, I can't wait for this to happen though. I want you. I will do anything to help you get through this." He is really disappointed, but he understands that she needs to take care of her business first. "I think Julie will help out too, she wants you almost as much as I..." Rico stops abruptly, "Um, I shouldn't have said that."

Sunny stands up and is mixing drinks for everyone, "Julie wants me. Wow I knew there was something between you and I. I can't wait to be with you, we will be great together... Something between Julie and I could be fun, what do you think Rico? I mean Julie is hot. She has a great body and a great attitude. We could all have an unbelievable time together."

Rico is not really surprised by Sunny's response, the conversation he had had Julie is stuck in his mind. He thinks then responds carefully, "I think the idea is hot as hell, just not too sure about the aftermath. You know that Conner and Julie have been together for like four years, I don't think that she would risk losing him." Rico is watching Sunny as he speaks. She is smiling and has a mischievous look in her eye.

"Well, what if Conner doesn't know about it? Would you be into it?" Sunny says. She is almost done mixing the drinks, time to get back to the fire.

"Would I be into it? Are you kidding? Hell yeah I would be into it. Would you? Have you ever been in a threesome?" Rico asks, he is grinning like a fool.

"Yes and yes, Julie is hot and I do like women. It's going to be so much fun with you two." Sunny cheerily answers.

Rico grabs two drinks and Sunny grabs two drinks. They walk side by side down the road to the fire. Sunny has Rico all spun up, he can't stop thinking about Sunny. Now he is thinking about Julie in a different way. Rico had always thought Julie was pretty and very cool, but he knew she was off limits because of Conner. Sunny has changed his view of Julie in a matter of a few words. The thoughts were there a little bit before, but now it seems like it might actually happen. Rico gets up the nerve to ask, "Sunny, what do you have in mind here? I mean you sounded like you had a plan all worked out in your head. What are you going to do with Conner and Darrin? Kill em both?" he laughs.

Sunny laughs, "Oh hell no, I was just playin. Rico, it's a fun fantasy. But I know that Julie's in love with Conner. You are funny Rico. What am I going to do? Darrin has me by what a hundred and fifty or sixty pounds, and Conner is a big guy also... I was serious about liking women though!" she says quietly.

### "Crazy Night"

Charlie and Jr. are standing next to the Gator. They are both looking at the fire, then at the people around the fire. There is the Blob, Slim, Crash and his sister. They spend very little time looking at them. They barely look at the old couple, the gay guys, and the redneck. Charlie, however, stops at redneck's girl, he is fixated on her. She has his attention for a few minutes. Jr. stops at red's girlfriend too. Then he moves his gaze to Sam and Julie. Back to redneck, back to Julie and Sam. There are two more couples sitting by the fire, they have their own chairs. Charlie and Jr. pass over them rather quickly as they continue to stare. The fire is blazing by now. Flames are around ten feet high. Jr. continues to feed the fire with more and more wood. At this rate the fire will burn long into the night. Once there is enough wood on the fire Jr. sits on the back of the Gator. Charlie sits in the driver seat and moves it about fifteen feet. He stops and turns in the seat, he can still see the people sitting around the ring. They sort of fade into the background, just watching and waiting.

Rico walks over to Sam and hands her her drink, she says, "Thank you, Rico." She then takes a big gulp. "Mmmmmm it's as good as the first one."

"Thank Sunny. She made all the drinks this time," Rico says.

Sunny hands Conner his drink and sits back down by Darrin.

Sam and Conner both say, "Thank you" at the same time.

Sunny smiles, "You're welcome. I used to be a bartender, so I know what I'm doing."

Rico sits down on his side of the bench. He glances at Darrin. He is working on another beer. He doesn't even acknowledge that Sunny has returned. Rico feels a burst of anger and excitement, he is angry because he can't understand why Darrin is so disinterested in Sunny. He is excited because he feels like he is getting closer to being able to be with Sunny, he wouldn't ignore her.

They all sit around the fire just enjoying it for a while. Crash and his sister are running around. The Blob is yelling at the kids, "Would you please stop running... we are going to go back to our site if you... I mean it, Billy you are going to fall again and you will get hurt this time." Blob turns her attention towards Slim, "John are you going to do anything? Or are you just going to sit there? Get control of your kids." She is glaring at John, who is just sitting on the bench just out arms reach. He is barely paying attention to the kids and is paying less attention to her. With some effort she reaches him and slaps him hard on the shoulder.

John snaps his attention to her, "What? What was that for?"

"Your kids are running around out of control, do something. Before one of them gets hurt, we already had one close call tonight. I don't want another one." She trails off, but he can hear her under her breath, "That's all I need, two bloody kids..."

John stands up and walks over to the kids, he bends over and says something to them. They all walk back over to bench and sit down. After about ten minutes the kids are still sitting quietly, Blob asks John. "What did you say to them?"

John slides away from her a bit and says, "I told them, that I would have you sit on them if they didn't behave." He easily dodges her attempt to slap him. He cannot however escape her wicked stare, he knows that he is in trouble. He seems quite alright with it though. Blob takes another swing then gives up, she is winded and knows he can dodge everything for now.

Everyone at the fire is watching this epic battle between Blob and Slim. Redneck and his girlfriend are laughing. The gay guys are staring trying not to laugh. The two old couples are trying to avoid looking. They eventually get up and leave, making their way back to their site. The other couples actually turn their chairs to watch the action. Conner and Dave are clearly looking too, hoping to see some more fireworks. Sam and Julie are sitting by each other and they are not looking at Blob or Slim. They are changing between looking at the kids and Rico and Sunny. The kids are behaving for now. Rico and Sunny are sitting about a foot apart, they are not hiding the fact that they are staring at each other. Darrin is just staring at the fire and slamming beers. He has almost finished the six or seven he brought down in his cooler.

Darrin finishes his last beer and stands up, "Sunny, I'm out of beers. Are you going to walk back with me? Or are you gonna stay, eeh never mind. I'll be back in a bit." He stumbles a little bit as he walks away.

Sunny is looking at Darrin as he asks and answers his question, turns and walks away. She looks at Rico and says, "Wow, he'll be gone for probably a half hour, if he even comes back at all. We should all take off back to your site in about ten minutes. If he does come back he will assume that we went there, and go back to pound more beers." She is sliding closer to Rico as she talks.

Rico is amazed that Darrin just walked away, he loves it, but doesn't understand it. Rico's wheels start spinning, he can't believe this is happening. The girl of his dreams is sitting next to him and she is coming up with ideas to get away from her boyfriend. He looks over at Conner and Julie, then at Sam and Dave. Sam is really working on her drink. She takes a long sip, puts it down for a few seconds then back for another sip. Rico can tell she is on a mission. Sam's goal was to get drunk and she is well on her way, Dave is not very far behind her. He is going through the beers he brought at a pretty good pace. He is not drinking at the pace that Darrin was drinking his. Rico understands why they are drinking the way they are. He had a scare when he was twenty. He has never forgotten how it felt to hear those words. The excitement; then the extreme disappointment of losing it. The heartbreak, the anger, and the need to forget. The drinking till you can't drink anymore, hoping it will all be over in the morning. Rico knows.

"Hey you guys, should we head back to the site in a bit? Start our own fire, have some fun back there. This is kinda tame here, old people and kids. Come on, let's go get a little crazy." Rico asks his friends.

Conner looks around, then says, "yeah sounds good to me, what do you think Jules? Should we go have some fun?" Conner wants to play with Julie again. He can't get the incident in the canoe out of his mind. He wants to see if it will happen again: if it does, how far it will go. He is getting excited again as he thinks about it.

Julie is excited about the thought also. She quickly agrees, "I'm ready to go now, let's go!"

Dave and Sam are just looking to keep drinking. They don't care where they drink. Dave looks sheepishly at Sam, "What do you think babe? Should we go back?" He knows she will agree to just about anything now.

"Shure, I need another drink anywaysh," Sam blurts out. She tries to stand up, loses her balance and sits back down. Dave does his best to keep her from falling backwards off the bench. "I'm fine, I just slipped a little bit. Now, help me up Davey." She braces herself against Dave and the bench. With a little bit of effort she finally makes it to her feet. She takes a few quick steps and is getting closer to the fire.

Dave has a quick nightmare, Sam stumbles and falls into the fire and gets horribly burnt. He jumps up and grabs her. He sweeps her off of her feet. Dave has always been protective of her, but he has never tried to pick her up like that. She is surprised, "What the hell Dave?" This is a side she has never seen from him before and she likes it. She likes how small she feels in his arms, safe, secure and protected. Maybe it's the emotion of the moment, or maybe it's the alcohol. She can feel a connection that is deeper than anything she has felt before. Dave feels it too. He carries her in his arms as she lays her head on his shoulder.

Julie watches and her heart melts, she wants that sort of relationship too. She loves Conner, but she doesn't feel a connection like that with him. She puts it out of her mind, as she looks at Sunny and Rico. Sunny is staring at her, and then she winks at her, nods her head towards Dave and Sam. Julie is on her feet in a flash, pulling Conner up to his feet. "Let's go!" she is practically running Conner is trying to keep up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down. Don't make me get the Blob to sit on you," Conner says out loud. He is getting a little drunk too, he is loud and doesn't care if she hears him or not.

Julie slows down and turns to slap him, but he picks her up over his shoulder like she is a sack of potatoes. She starts to slap him on the ass playfully. He takes a few more steps and spins around in a circle. About three turns into the spin he stops and puts her down, his head is spinning and he falls over. Julie is not faring much better, almost falling herself. Sunny is suddenly there to catch her from falling. She covers about ten feet in a flash. She wraps her arms around her and saves her from falling on Conner. Julie is amazed at how fast Sunny got there to catch her, so is Rico. Even on his best day, he would've had trouble getting to her. Sunny holds Julie tightly for a minute, slowly lowering her arms down her sides. She stops with one hand on Julie's ass, giving it a little squeeze. Then just as quick as she got to her, Sunny is headed back to grab Rico. Julie's heart feels like it is going to burst out of her chest. She is so excited. She can feel herself getting wet. Julie helps Conner to his feet and they walk to the site, holding hands and huddling together. Rico and Sunny are a few feet behind.

Julie tells Conner, "I have to go to the bathroom, come with me." They walk towards the bathroom. She whispers to Conner as they walk. "Hey, Sunny just grabbed my ass, and she has been staring at me all night. What do you think of that?" Julie looks at Conner not knowing what to expect, although he is a guy and is pretty sure that he will approve of any girl on girl action, even if it may happen in front of Rico.

Conner has a smile on his face that speaks for itself, "What do I think of you getting it on with Sunny? Are you kidding me? That would be so fucking hot, I'm all for it if it happens. I mean look how hot it was in the canoe. I can imagine what it would be like if... well... wait, what do you think of it?"

"I don't know, I think Sunny is hot, and very sexy. But I've never felt that way about a girl before. Back in the canoe, I almost passed out. Then we sort of played footsie in the truck on the way back. I kind of want to see what would happen and how she would feel. I just want to make sure that you are not going to have a problem with it. What do you think? What if Rico is involved? How far can I go? Can we go?" Julie asks.

"Wow Jules, this is so amazing... so hot, so sexy. How far do you want it to go? Like full on sex with her? Can I join in? I'm not sure about Rico, but whatever happens, happens!" Conner replies, "What about Darrin? What if he shows up?"

Julie thinks for a minute, "I don't think he cares about what she does at all. I overheard her tell Rico that he will probably not even make it back out of the cabin. So I am not going to worry about it. Now let's get back to the site. I do have to pee though. Oh, by the way I am all wet!" She teases Conner as she walks into the ladies side.

Conner can't believe his luck, he runs into the bathroom and is out in a hurry. He waits for Julie to get out and they almost run back to the site.

Dave, Sam, Rico and Sunny are all at the site when Conner and Julie walk in. Dave is throwing wood on the fire pit and is just about to get the lighter fluid. Sam is sitting at the table. Julie walks over and grabs another lemonade. Sunny is mixing more drinks. Rico is standing next to her. Conner makes his way to the radio and flips it on. It's a commercial, so Conner plugs in his MP3 player and hits shuffle. He doesn't have 17,000 songs but he has a good variety.

"Here we go for the hundredth time, hand grenade pins in every line..." The song is fast and has a good beat. It sets the mood for the party about to happen. Everyone is in a great mood, Sam and Dave are kind of in their own little world, but they are still having fun. She continues to drink as they sit and enjoy the fire, listen to the music and bullshit about the day and what tomorrow may bring. Conner and Julie are sitting next to each other, they are playing with each other under the table. Rico and Sunny are sitting on lawn chairs, they are sitting close. Looking at each other they smile.

Conner breaks the ice and asks everyone, "Should we play a drinking game? Dice or cards?" It is starting to cool off and sun is down below the tall trees that surround the site. Mosquito's are starting to come out and they are getting thick. "We should move the canopy over the table and get away from these goddamn bugs. Rico give me a hand. Dave you want to grab a corner. Let's do this quick, I'm getting eating alive." He slaps at his arm, then his leg. The guys get the canopy and set it over the table, it fits around the table but it is a tight fit. The sides of the canopy are screens, no bugs. Julie goes and grabs the bug spray, she starts spraying people. She starts with Sam. She is getting very drunk and is in no shape to do much.

Once Julie has her taken care of, she sprays everyone then asks, "Will someone do me please?" she holds out the can.

Sunny jumps at the request, she quickly grabs the can and says, "I would love to do you Jules... um turn around." Julie turns around and holds up her hair. Sunny sprays her neck and then down to her legs, "Spin," Julie slowly turns around. Sunny waits till she is facing her then she sprays from her feet up to stomach. Finishing with her arms and chest, she sprays it on sort of heavy in one spot, taking a chance she starts to rub it around, trying to spread it out evenly.

Julie is a bit surprised but she is in heaven as Sunny rubs her skin, she lets out a soft moan, "Mmmmmm that feels amazing... thank you Sunny." She stares into her eyes and smiles a dreamy sexy smile.

Rico, Conner and Dave are all staring at the two girls. Dave is the first to snap out of it, "Hey, OK what do we want to play? Cards or dice? I will grab them both. I don't think Sam should play she is already wasted." He looks at her and rubs her shoulders, "Are you alright babe?"

Sam is drunk but still musters and answer, "Yesh Davey, I'm feelin really, really good, thanksh, can I have another drink please?" She leans back into the mini massage she is getting. She puts her head back and then jerks it forward again. Suddenly she is very alert and looking around, "When did we come back here?" She stands up and announces, "I have to pee, come with me Davey."

Dave picks her up and sets her down, so she doesn't have to try and get over the table on her own. They walk hand in hand out of the site. Just as they turn up the path, Jr. drives by on the Gator, the back is full of wood again. He waves at Dave as he drives by. Dave barely acknowledges Jr. as he passes. His attention is on Sam and keeping her on the path and not falling over.

Jr. drives by the site then stops, he backs into the site up by the fire and stops, "Hey, you guys forgot your cooler at the fire." He grabs it from the front seat and holds it up in the air.

Rico is still outside of the canopy so he grabs it from Jr. "Thank you Jr. that was a hell of a fire you built up there, bet that thing burns till morning huh?"

"Yeah!" Jr. smiles like a child seeing a clown for the first time. "It will burn for a while yet. Do you guys need more wood? This is on the house, the old man went in for the night, he won't even notice."

"Sure, that would be great. Thank you Jr." Rico answers. He walks over and starts to unload the wood.

Julie and Sunny try to hide themselves as best they can from Jr. staring at them. They both sit at the table and huddle down like they are in a deep conversation. Jr. doesn't seem like he is staring too much this time. As soon as Rico has the wood unloaded, Jr. hops back into the driver's seat, "I better get back, the girl from number two is starting to get a little crazy, if you know what I mean." He looks at Rico and winks. He drives out of the site and back towards the fire.

Rico walks over to the Sub and grabs out the lanterns and the cards and the dice. He grabs the cooler and brings it over to the canopy. Conner is waiting at the door and quickly pulls the stuff inside. Rico walks back to the Sub, grabs a can of yard guard, he starts spraying in a large circle around the whole site. When he has finished his circle, he walks back over to the canopy and steps inside. Conner is sitting beside Julie again, he is placing the lanterns on either end of the table. The whole table is pretty well lit up. Julie is shuffling the cards and Sunny is playing with the dice. Rico sits down next to Sunny and asks. "What are we going to play? Should we wait for Dave and Sam to get back?"

"We could play President and Asshole, or up and down the river. Dice we can play three man or six, five, four. Let's see, we could play poker. Let's play blackjack till Dave and Sam get back. I will deal," Julie says. She lays down the cards, to Rico, then Sunny, Conner and herself. "Bet for drinks? Or should we just drink if we bust?"

"Drink for a bust, twenty-one give a drink, lose take one!" Conner says, "Sound good?" Everyone nods in approval.

Rico has thirteen and takes a hit. He busts, takes a drink. Sunny has eleven and doubles down, she gets blackjack. "Rico take and Conner take a drink." Sunny gives two drinks because of the double. Conner has twenty and stays. Julie has seventeen and has to stay. Conner says, "Sunny take a drink." Everyone takes their drinks and Julie picks up the cards and shuffles them again. She deals out another hand, Dave and Sam walk back into the site and quickly duck into the canopy.

"What are you guys playing?" Dave asks, "Blackjack, cool." He sits down, Sam sits on his lap. He wraps his arms around her and gives her a little squeeze.

"Take it eashy babe, or I will have to go back to the bathrooms," she says and kisses him on the cheek.

"Alright babe, deal me in on the next hand huh?" Dave says.

Julie picks up the cards and says, "nah let's play something different," She looks around at everyone. "What do you guys think? Should we play poker? Or should we play something like Yahtzee?"

Everyone looks around and don't really agree on anything so they listen to the music and each make suggestions. Rico wants to play poker, something that they can all play, and then he wants to move that to strip poker. "I think we should play poker. It's easy and we all know how to play. Come on five card draw? Anyone?"

"I don't know. We don't have anything to play for, or did you have something in mind?" Dave says, "What do you want to play for Cheetos? Drinks?"

Rico thinks, "We could play for drinks, sure, or we could play for clothes! Strip poker! Who's in?"

Julie and Sunny exchange a look. They are both about to agree and start dealing the cards.

Dave, however, looks at Sam, "I don't think so. Its bad timing for that if you know what I mean."

"Okay Dave what do you think we should play?" asks Rico.

"Let's play three man. It's easy, seven ahead, eleven behind, blah blah blah, good drinking game and we get to keep our clothes on." Dave says, "What do you think of that?"

"I'm in," says Sam, "Let's play, gimme the dice." She reaches for them. Sam gets a hold of the dice and shakes the cup. It is a nice leather dice cup, with five black dice that have white dots. All five of the dice are in the cup and she lets them fly. The dice bounce all over the table and onto the ground, "Oh ssshit I'm sorry you guysh." She gets off of Dave's lap and starts to look for the dice. "Wow, how hard are these things going to be... to be found. Um wait... where did they all go?" Sam stops her search and sits back down. "I need another drink. Shunny, will you mix me one please?"

Sunny stands up to mix her a drink. She pauses and looks at Dave for approval. Dave nods, so Sunny goes and mixes her a drink. She knows that Sam wants to get wasted, but she doesn't want her to be super hung over. She doesn't mix it very strong. Sunny is a good bartender and she makes her rounds. "Who else needs a refill?" Everyone raises their hands. Sunny mixes a drink for Conner, nice and strong. Then she mixes a drink for Rico, not as strong, she might need him to be useful later. Then she grabs a lemonade, and mixes herself a drink. Sunny is about to sit down and give her two cents worth, when she looks up and says, "Shit! Shit, shit." She stands up quickly. "Darrin, what are you doing here?"

Everybody sort of jumps and turns to see Darrin stumble into their site. He is carrying his cooler and an open beer can, he is wobbling from side to side. "Zunny, ish that you? I walked back up to the fire that creepy little shun uv a bitch, told me you was down wit your new friendsh." He is almost to the screen canopy, "Why didn't you... wait for... what are you guysh doin?" He is squinting and trying to see through the canopy. He is doing his best to keep his balance. "Playing cards. Uh shit. I'm going back to..." He turns around and wanders back to the road.

Sunny walks around the table and out of the canopy, "I'll be right back," she runs off after Darrin.

Rico and Julie look at each other with sort of a fear in their eyes, "Rico, do you think she will be alright?" Julie asks.

"Well he didn't look to be upset, shit he could barely stand. I'm sure she'll be fine. I will go and check on her in a little bit if she isn't back." Rico says.

Julie agrees, "I will go with you if you don't mind. I'm a little worried about her," she looks around the table to see the others. Conner has a distant look on his face. She can tell he is thinking about the possibility of some fun later. Rico nods his head, Sam is drinking.

Dave tries to get back to the games at hand, "What should we play? How about in between? That is about the easiest game ever." He looks around for approval. Sam is taking another drink, but raises a thumb up in the air, "Sam's in! Who else? Conner what do you say?"

Conner is not really paying attention, he will agree to just about anything right now. "Yeah okay whatever, let's play. Are you still going to deal Jules?" he looks at her pointing to the cards.

"No, you go ahead and deal Conner," Julie responds. She hands over the cards and turns her attention to the road.

Rico stands up, he looks at Julie and is about to walk out of the canopy. Sunny quickly walks back into the site and into the canopy, "What happened Sunny? Was he pissed?" Rico asks as he sits back down making room for her to sit next to him.

"Oh that, no Darrin is drunk as usual. He was just looking for me to let me know that we only have like a twelve pack of beer left. I walked him up to the bathroom and told him that we can get some more tomorrow. I told him I was having fun and I would be back later. He will end up going back to the cabin and drinking the rest of the beer then passing out. Don't worry about him." Sunny tells everyone, "Did we decide on a game?"

Rico speaks up, "Um, wow that's great about Darrin. At least he's not mad. We are playing 'in between' do you know how to play?"

Sunny nods her head, "Yep, dealer lays down two cards and you pick whether the next card will be 'in between' or not, right? Are we playing for drinks?" she sits down next to Rico and grabs her drink. She takes a small drink and asks, "who's first?"

Conner has the cards, Julie is next to him, then Sunny is on the other side of the table from Julie. Rico is next to Sunny, with Sam and Dave to his left. Sunny decides to move and sit next to Julie and even out the sides. Julie's heart jumps a bit, so does Conner's. He feels a little twinge and is starting to really get excited. Such a simple act as two hot chicks sitting by each other is enough to turn him on like an eighteen year old boy at a strip club. Rico is disappointed but he quickly feels her foot touch his and run up his leg. He feels the same way as Conner does now.

Dave is getting pretty well drunk, he says, "Jesus if I could remember how to play we could play 'up and down the river'. Does anyone know that game?" He is looking around.

"Dammit I forgot how to play that too," Rico says, "Oh well that was a fun game to play. Man we used to get absolutely trashed playing that game. Do you remember that Conner? Probably not, if you were as drunk as I was." He laughs out loud at his joke. Only Sunny seems to get his joke and she laughs with Rico.

There is a moment of silence between all of them. The radio is playing a song that they all love. "Run, run, run, run. You better run all day and run all night... take your girlfriend out tonight..."

Julie starts to sing along, she is moving her shoulders side to side and bumping into Sunny and Conner. She is moving with the beat. Conner starts and lays down two cards a four and a two, Julie says. "Not in between." It's another four, "Tie, go again or drink?" Conner asks.

"Go again!" Julie responds.

Sunny lets out a little whoop, "yeah go for it girl."

Conner lays down a Jack and a five. "In between" Julie says. It's an ace. Julie drinks. Conner lays down two cards for Sunny. Nine and a six. 'Not' it's a five, "Give a drink." Sunny looks at Conner and says, "Drink it". Conner takes his assigned drink then deals two for Rico. Three and a king. 'In between' it's a two, Rico drinks. Two more cards, to Sam ten and a two, 'in between' it's a six. "Give a drink." Sam points to Conner, he drinks. Two more cards to Dave, queen and a five, 'in between' it's a jack. "Give a drink." Dave is feeling it and doesn't realize that Conner has had a few drinks in this game already. "Drink Conner my man."

Conner drinks then says, "What the fuck are you all ganging up on me or what?" He deals cards for himself. Nine and an ace. "Ace is low 'in between'. It's a seven, he tells Rico to drink. Rico takes his drink.

They go for another round, and then Sam and Dave agree to call it a night. Dave stands up and helps Sam to her feet, she puts her drink down and asks Dave, "I have to go to the bathroom, will you take me?" She doesn't wait for an answer; she just grabs his hand and leads him out of the canopy and the site.

When they are out of sight, Sunny moves over and sits close to Rico, "What should we play now?" She is looking at Julie, "Should we play another card game? Make it more interesting?" She reaches down and gives Rico a little squeeze on the leg, "What do you think Rico?"

Rico jumps a little bit from the squeeze, it feels good though. Rico has never felt a woman's touch like that before. It feels so natural, so electric, and so comfortable. "What did you have in mind Sunny? How do you want to make it more interesting?" he finally asks. Rico puts his hand under the table and gently puts it on her thigh.

"Mmmmmmm, that's nice. Uh I was thinking that we could play for dares, ya know instead of drinks. Like we could play poker or strip poker. What do you guys think?" Sunny responds but is sort of lost in the moment with Rico.

Conner looks at Julie and then at Rico and Sunny, "That sounds like a good idea to me. Let's play strip poker, and then we can play with dares also. How does that sound to you Jules?"

"That sounds great to me, let's have some fun here," Julie says. She grabs the cards from Conner and shuffles them. "What's the game? Five card draw? Two card limit." She starts to deal out the cards. When they are all dealt out, they all look at each other. Rico takes two cards, has nothing and folds, he takes off his hat. Sunny takes one card and waits for the other two to play. Conner takes two cards, Julie takes two cards. They all lay down their hands, Julie has a pair of Jacks, Conner has a pair of nine's, and Sunny wins with a full house.

"Wooohoooo! Let's see some skin you guys," Sunny blurts out. Julie takes off her t-shirt, leaving her in her bra and shorts. Conner takes off his shirt, leaving him in his shorts. Rico has a shirt and his shorts on still. Conner is really starting to feel the alcohol. He is doing his best to drink slow. It doesn't seem to matter though, he is getting wasted. As he sits at the table he slowly puts his head down.

Dave and Sam walk back into the site. Dave yells, "Good night, you guys have fun." He leads Sam to the tent. Rico turns to see if Dave is going to struggle with the zipper again, he grabs the right one this time and soon Sam and Dave disappear into the tent. Within a couple of minutes, the tent is silent.

### "Cheating?"

Now that they don't have to worry about Dave or Sam, Julie decides to get up and dance a little bit. She picks up the MP3 player and scrolls through the songs. She finds what she is looking for. She turns the volume up. The song she picked is all about girls with brown eyes. She is dancing around in the small space around the table. She is feeling very good and she wants everyone to join in the fun. Julie grabs Sunny's hand's and pulls her to her feet, Sunny happily joins her. The girls are holding hands, moving them back and forth towards each. Soon they are moving closer to each other, grinding on each other. Sunny has her arms around Julie. She is looking into her eyes. Julie's head is spinning. She's not sure how to feel. She is so comfortable in Sunny's arms, Julie wants to kiss her but she feels awkward about doing it front of Conner, and even Rico. It was hot on the river, but she didn't think of it as being taboo or cheating. Now, it is literally staring her in the face. She feels like she is betraying Conner, she looks over at him. He is trying to enjoy the show. The smile on his face tells a different story, he wants to go to bed. She looks at Rico, he is excited. He is smiling and watching their every move, he glances over at Conner. Conner and Rico sort of give each other a silent high five, from across the table. Rico turns his focus on the girls again. Conner puts his head down. As Julie turns her attention back to Sunny, she is met by her soft lips. Sunny gently kisses Julie on the corner of the mouth. Julie is surprised at how natural it feels to kiss Sunny, even if it is just on the cheek. She is torn between how good it felt and how it is so taboo. Julie is so excited though her legs are shaking. She kisses Sunny, opens her mouth a little bit. Sunny pushes her tongue into Julie's mouth, swirling and playing. Julie's head is spinning. She starts to play with Sunny. Julie is tingling everywhere, she is so turned on. Sunny breaks the kiss, and moves down to kiss her neck. Julie moans in pleasure, she kisses her again. This time she is more aggressive, sliding her tongue in her mouth, nibbling on her lower lip. Sunny's hands are on Julie's ass, she is squeezing hard then soft. Sunny is holding Julie up now. Her legs are so weak she can hardly stand. When they stop kissing, Sunny steps back a half a step. Julie's eyes are closed. She catches her balance and looks at Sunny.

"Woooooow, Sunny, that was... incredible," she is fanning herself. Sunny smiles and nods her head. She looks at Rico, then at Conner. Conner is fighting to keep his head up, just in time to see the end of their kiss.

"I couldn't agree more, Jules. What do you want to do now?" Sunny moves in closer to Julie, "ya know you sorta taste like bug spray. Maybe we should, um, go and take care of that!"

Julie is in her own little world. She is so turned on she can feel it in her toes, "Oh I'm sorry about the bug spray, how do you want to take care of it?" Julie holds on to Sunny's waist. She doesn't want to stop now, it feels too good.

"Well, I was thinking that I probably taste like it also," Sunny says.

Without thinking Julie moves in and kisses Sunny on the neck, and then she gives her a little lick. She tastes so good, but there is a hint of bug spray, "MMM you're right Sunny you do taste like it a little bit."

Sunny turns and looks at Conner and Rico. They are both staring at her, mouths open, they look like they just saw a ghost. Conner stammers out something that starts as a mumble then, "mmm don't stop... what do you want to do Sunny? Whatever... it is I'm all for it. Rico what do you think?" That is about all Conner can muster. His head drops to the table with a light thud. Conner is going to be pissed if he misses out on the action. Suddenly he jumps to his feet, walks around the table past Sunny and Julie. He stops and kisses Julie, then walks to the tent and he goes inside. Julie feels like going with Conner, but she can't resist how Sunny is making her feel. She turns her attention back to Sunny.

Rico can't speak, he is turned on and a bit hurt, he is watching the girl of his dreams kiss his best friends girlfriend. He opens his mouth, he tries to think of something to hide how he feels then he just nods. He takes another drink and stands up, one thing he can't avoid is what their kiss has done to him, physically. When he realizes it he sits back down and says, "Whatever it is I'm in." He takes another drink and smiles. Rico starts thinking what Sunny may have in mind. In his mind he thinks, this may be the best chance for them to be together. He looks at her and asks, "What are you thinking Sunny?"

Sunny flashes her devilish grin once again. She takes Julie by the hand and leads her out of the canopy, "Rico grab some towels and follow us." She gently puts her arm around Julie's waist, pulls her close. They walk slowly up to the bathrooms. Rico scramble's out of the canopy and goes for some towels. He grabs two off of the line that hangs from the poles on either side of the campsite. Not wanting to miss anything he takes off running, he quickly catches up to the girls, who are still walking, arms around each other like a couple. Rico puts a towel around his neck. He holds the other one in front of him as he follows. The walk is short, soon enough they are at the bathroom. When they arrive Sunny turns around with Julie still in her arms. With the devil firmly in her eyes, she calmly says, "Anybody care to take a shower?"

Julie needs no encouragement, "I do!" She raises her hand like she is in a classroom with Sam. Sunny grabs her hand and holds it tightly in her own.

Rico is in disbelief, this is stuff you only see in porn movies, he says, "Hell yeah." Sunny turns with Julie to walk into the bathroom, when the two old ladies walk out.

"Oh my excuse me, excuse us," one of them says. "Going to shower are you? Well it's all yours... you ladies go on in." They both look at Rico holding their towels, "the men's room is on the other side." She points to the corner of the building, "Enjoy your evening." The ladies walk down the path away from the bathroom. They are walking very close, similar to how Sunny and Julie were walking earlier.

As the ladies walk away, Rico busts out laughing, the girls see the humor in what just happened. They are all laughing at the thought, that they just about all got busted by women who are old enough to be their mothers, maybe grandmothers. When they stop laughing Sunny takes control again. She grabs Julie's face and kisses her, "How about that shower now?" They all follow Sunny into the bathroom.

They walk through the first room, then past the toilets. Sunny leads them into the first shower stall she can see. Once they are in the shower Rico slides the curtain behind them. The thought of getting caught at anytime makes it more exciting for all of them. Julie doesn't wait, she starts kissing Sunny right away, mostly because she is nervous about doing anything else first. Sunny kisses her back, then slowly backs them into the shower part. Rico watches intently as Sunny slowly pulls at Julie's bra, she easily has it off in seconds. She tosses it at Rico, then leans down and kisses the top of her left breast. Julie moans out loud, she gets a little more aggressive, by pushing Sunny away. She grabs Sunny's top and nearly tears it off of her.

"Whoa, Jules where did that come from?" Sunny asks. Julie has a fearful look in her eyes like she just made a huge mistake, "I like it!" She spins around and turns the water on. It is almost instantly hot, as the water begins to fall on her, she is joined by Julie. She turns around and kisses her long and passionate. Sunny's hands move to Julie's shorts, she unbuttons them and pushes them to the floor. Julie returns the favor and slips Sunny's shorts off of her. As both girls stand there naked, they embrace and move to kiss again. Sunny takes Julie's hands and moves them to her ass. Julie knows what to do next. She is squeezing her butt in both hands, kissing her feverishly. She has practically forgotten that Rico is standing there watching. Sunny has not forgotten though, she is waiting for the right moment to being him into the action. Sunny can feel Julie is starting to get into it. She is initiating contact and using her hands all over her body. Sunny is able to stop Julie for a minute, Julie is desperately trying to kiss Sunny now. As much as she wants to have Julie right now, she wants Rico even more. Once Julie starts to kiss her again, Sunny turns her head, Julie moves her kissing down her neck. Sunny can see Rico, he is nervous, he wants to join in but he is enjoying the show. She raises her hand and motions for Rico to join them.

Rico finds himself still torn, but he is getting close to the point of no return. Rico drops the towels and pulls off his shirt. He is clearly excited, Sunny senses that he is going to need some more encouragement. Rico's struggle is not that different from her own, she has put it out of her head. Sunny takes Julie's hand and together they pull Rico into the water with them. His shorts hit the floor. They are all standing in the shower naked. Sunny kisses Rico, then Julie, back to Rico. Julie is getting so worked up she starts to kiss Rico, it feels strange at first, but she keeps kissing him. The more they kiss the better it feels. Kissing Sunny and Rico, Julie feels a sense of comfort she has never felt before. She can't explain it but she feels closer to Rico now then she has ever felt for Conner. Sunny is having an unexpected affect of both of them. The three of them are all feeling the pressure of what they are about to do. Rico has one hand on Sunny's ass and the other has found its way to Julie's lower back. He is hesitant to move it further down. Sunny has one hand on Rico and one on Julie. Julie has one hand on Sunny. She slowly reaches for Rico's hand. For a moment she considers pushing it away. Instead she moves it down to her ass. She then grabs Rico as well, he feels good. They are locked a triangle, each seeming to wait for the others to take it further. They kiss and feel each other. Rico leans down and starts to suck on Sunny's nipples. Then he takes a huge chance and turns for Julie's. She accepts him and she enjoys it, then Sunny joins in on her. The pleasure is almost too much, Sunny is rubbing Julie.

"Oh God, I'm going to..." Julie's legs buckle, Rico catches her, and Sunny helps keep her from falling. The water is starting to get cold by the time Julie recovers enough to stand. Rico turns the water off and grabs the towels. He hands one to Sunny, the other one he hands to Julie. He watches as they dry themselves off, when they are done, they both turn their towels to Rico. When Rico is dry, they put on their clothes. The clothes are wet and cold, they make their way out of the showers. When they walk out of the bathroom they are all exhausted. The day on the river the drinking and the shower have them all ready to call it a night.

Sunny breaks the silence, "Wow that was amazing, thank you two. I think I better get back to the cabin though. I will see you guys tomorrow, thanks again for the great night." She is standing between the two of them.

"Well, you are very welcome thank you too. We will walk you up there. Right Rico?" Julie says. She looks at Rico and smiles.

"Yes absolutely, you are very welcome. That was the best night of my life so far. I can't wait till tomorrow," Rico says. He can't hide his joy, "Let's get you back there. We all need to get some sleep."

The three of them walk up to the cabin, Sunny in the middle, holding Rico's hand and holding Julie's as well. They walk very slow, remembering the pleasure they have just shared. Julie feels so close to both of them. She is not sure what she is going to do about Conner. She loves him but, Sunny has turned something on inside her. Rico has become very close to her, she feels a connection with him she doesn't share with Conner. She is still confused, but she's taken the first step to a new life.

When they get to the cabin, Sunny runs ahead to make sure Darrin is sleeping. Then she runs back to Rico and Julie. She stands in front of Julie and looks into her eyes, she smiles, hugs and kisses her. "Good night Jules. See you in the morning." Sunny then turns to Rico. She stands on her tip toes and puts her arms around his neck. He leans over and kisses her, "Thank you Rico, good night." With that she turns and walks into the cabin. She pauses at the door before she goes in.

Together Rico and Julie say, "Good night Sunny, thank you too." They look at each other, then back at Sunny. She disappears into the cabin.

Rico turns to face Julie, her long hair is still wet. She looks beautiful, "Julie, I, uh..."

Julie is looking up at Rico. She touches his lips with her finger, "Shh. It's okay Rico, you don't have to say anything. That happened for a reason, I don't regret it at all. Now let's get back to camp. We will deal with this tomorrow. Deal?"

"Yeah, Jules I don't regret it either, deal!" Rico says. As they turn to walk down the path, Rico reaches for Julie's hand. She grabs it and holds it tightly, as they walk Julie leans her head on his shoulder. Rico and Julie walk back to the site, Julie stops about thirty feet from the entrance to the site. Rico turns to and looks at her, "What is it Julie? Are you alright?" He is carrying one of the towels around his neck. He is holding the other towel in front of his waist. He is trying to hide how excited he still is.

Julie smiles and nods her head, she looks up at his face then she looks down at the towel. Rico is embarrassed, "Rico, can I give you a hand with that?" Her eyes are locked on the bulge that is beginning to grow again.

Rico was going to take care of the problem when they got back to the camp. Now Julie is asking to help him with it. He opens his mouth to refuse, but instead he is met with a kiss. Rico kisses her back, he is so excited, but he can't bring himself to go any further. Rico pushes away from Julie, she looks a bit hurt. "Jules, we can't do that. What if..." He is looking into her eyes, "I think we should go and sit by the fire for a bit. What do you think? I need to relax before I try to go to sleep." With that said he grabs her hand, leading her to the picnic table. They sit close together. He leans back and puts his arms out along the table top. Rico has the towel over his lap. He is enjoying watching the fire as it burns low.

Julie sits and scoots closer to him, she feels very comforted by him right now. She slowly moves her hand onto the towel and pulls it off of him. Rico doesn't realize what has happened till it's too late. Julie kisses him quickly then she runs her hands down Rico's shorts, she feels his heat. Rico doesn't know what to think, he helped get his best friends girl off in the shower. That was the heat of the moment, now she has her hand wrapped around him. She has had time to think about this. He wants her to finish, he wants her to stop. He is torn... his mind is suddenly clear. Julie is sitting so close to him. Her lips are on his neck, her hand is moving slow, and she is very good at it. Rico is tensing up, then... Rico buckles. Julie helps keep him on the bench. Rico holds her close to him, all the tension and all the doubt is gone. When he is ready he lets go of Julie, leaning back he looks into her eyes. "Wow, Jules that was... that was amazing. Thank you." He leans over and kisses her. He hands her a towel, then they sit and watch the fire burn to the embers. When the fire is finally out Rico follows Julie into the tent. As Rico gets into his sleeping bag alone, he watches Julie. She takes her clothes off. Rico can clearly see her naked silhouette. Beautiful, he thinks again. She climbs into her sleeping bag next to Conner.

### "Saturday"

The sunlight bathes the tent in light earlier than anyone wants to get up. Conner wakes up first, he quickly sits up extremely confused. He is not sure where he is, Julie is startled awake. He is happy to see her, and begins to calm down. When he is completely calm he lays back down.

Julie is groggy, she feels like the night before was a dream. She knows that it was not a dream though. When Conner lies back down, he tries to snuggle into her, she feels guilty. She's not sure if the guilt is because, she got off on Sunny's and Rico's hands or if it's because she helped Rico finish what Sunny and her had started. She is not sure if it's because she woke up next to Conner when she felt so close to Rico last night. Her mind is spinning. Julie fights to go back to sleep, but she can only think of the shower and Rico at the fire. Julie can see Rico as he sleeps, as she fights to keep her eyes closed.

Conner quickly falls back to sleep and is soon snoring. Another thing Julie is finding wrong with him, it never bothered her till now. She lies in her sleeping bag till she can't take it anymore. As quietly and gently as she can she crawls out. It's surprisingly cold this morning, as she tries to find something to put on so she can get out of the tent.

"Morning Jules!" Someone whispers, looking around she scrambles to cover herself. When she realizes that it's Rico, she almost poses for him. He enjoys the show as she finds a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt.

Once Julie is dressed, she looks at Rico and whispers, "morning Rico." She motions for him to get up and go outside. Rico stands up, naked, Julie stares at him. She never realized how hot Rico really is, he is toned but not overly muscular. She is used to seeing Conner naked, he is a workout freak, six-pack, muscles the whole nine yards. Rico is different though, he doesn't work out at a gym but he is in very good shape. Julie is even more torn now, she can't wrap her head around what is tearing her up inside. Just two mornings ago, she woke up next to Conner and was as happy as she had ever been. In the course of a day and half she is finding herself finding ways to not be happy with Conner. She is trying to justify what is happening with her and Sunny, even more so with, what happened with Rico.

Once Rico is dressed they both sneak out of the tent. Rico steps out behind Julie and stretches out as she walks over to the pile of fire wood. Julie tosses a couple of logs on the embers hoping it will be enough to get burning again. Rico watches as she goes about her busy work. "Julie, I'm going to the bathroom, do you want to walk with me?" He takes a few steps towards the road. Then he turns and waits for her.

"Yeah I do, hold on for one minute though. I want to see if this will fire up or not." She is looking at the fire pit. The wood is starting to smoke, white puffy streaks rise up and scatter in the morning breeze. Then a small flame seemingly out of nowhere jumps up, and starts one of the logs on fire. It burns like gas has been poured on it and lit from one end. The flame starts in the middle, quickly burns down to one end then all the way back to the other end. "That was kinda cool Rico, you should've seen that." She is pointing to the burning log. Now that the fire is burning pretty well she walks over to where Rico is standing. They walk out of the site together. Julie finds it very hard to not hold his hand. Rico can't stop looking at the place where they stood only a few hours ago and kissed. Julie gives a long look as they pass their spot.

Once they get to the bathrooms, they both stop and look at the door to the ladies room. They go into their own sides and Rico returns to wait for her to get out. He is lost in the memory of last night. The fire. Sunny and Julie dancing. Walking to the shower. The memory of watching the two of them standing next to each other grinding. Sunny waving him over, holding and kissing both of them. The ecstasy on Julie's face, keeping her on her feet. The cold water on his back, drying off, getting dressed, cold shorts. Standing in front of the cabin, the walk back to the site, stopping with Julie on the road. Kissing her, sitting at the table. Enjoying the fire, Julie's helping hand, her silhouette...

"Rico, Rico. Hey are you with me? Snap out of it," Julie is standing in front of him, waving her hands back and forth in front of his face.

Rico is brought back to Saturday morning by looking at the face he ended Friday night dreaming about. "What? Oh shit Jules I was just thinking about..."

"I know what you were thinking about, I can't get that out of my head either. What are we going to tell Conner? I know he's going to ask. I can't tell him what we did, but should I tell him about Sunny? We had talked about it last night after we got out of the shower. I know he was excited about it. Rico, what should I tell him? Last night was so special. On so many levels, the two of you made me feel so amazing. Conner has never made me feel like that before." She is staring into his eyes. She doesn't know if she really wants him to answer or if she is just venting. "What do you think?" she asks finally.

Rico looks shell shocked. Everything that happened flashes through his head again. He was hoping he would have an easy answer for her. However, there is no easy answer. He looks into her eyes, "Julie, just tell him the truth, but leave out the parts about us." He puts his head down. He feels a sudden sense of shame for his actions. Conner is his best friend, but he also knows that Julie is missing a lot of emotion from him. "Julie, what happened between us last night? I mean aside from the physical stuff, I felt something... something I don't know how to describe. Did you feel it too?" He looks her in the eyes again.

Julie is almost in tears, "Yes, Rico, I felt it." She is smiling, wiping her eyes. "I don't know what to do. I've been with Conner for a long time."

"I know Jules, I know. For now, only tell him about you and Sunny. We can tell him that I just watched after he went into the tent. Don't tell him about the shower, if you do he will ask if I was in there to see that." He pauses, "then I guess you should probably, not tell him the truth about you and Sunny. Just tell him that the two of you just kissed and danced with each other. We just have to make sure that we don't slip up, and hope he doesn't suspect anything." Rico looks for her reaction.

She thinks then nods her head, "You're right Rico he can't know the truth about last night. Dancing and kissing, right. You watched from the table, we gave you a show for a few minutes then, we walked her back to the cabin. Then we came back here and watched the fire die." Julie is studying Rico's face, "What do you think of that? Is that our story?"

Rico raises his eyes and looks over Julie's head, "Yeah Jules that's our story. We need to make sure that Sunny doesn't say anything different as well." He is still looking over her head, up at the sky, big puffy dark clouds are starting to roll in. "Do you want to go and see if she is up yet? By the looks of those clouds, we may not be going on the river today at all. Probably going to rain most of the day."

Julie looks up and sees the clouds, "What a bummer, now let's go see about Sunny." They walk to Sunny and Darrin's cabin. A light mist is starting to fall as they arrive at the door to the cabin. Rico knocks gently on the door, he takes a step back and waits for the door to open. Julie is looking at the door then up at the sky. Rico knocks a bit louder this time. He waits for a minute then turns to say, "They must still be sleeping. Let's go back to the site." Just as he steps off the little deck, he hears the door open. He turns around expecting to see Sunny, instead it's Darrin who answers the door. Rico does his best to hide his disappointment. "Morning Darrin, how are you this morning? I'm surprised to see you up this early," he is truly surprised.

Darrin looks like he was hit by a bus, "Uh morning, yeah, I just got up to go to the shitter." He yawns then finally says, "Sunny's inside I think. You can go see if she is up yet." He walks out of the cabin and sort of bumps Rico as he walks past him.

Rico steps aside and watches the bowling ball walk down the path. When he turns back around Julie is already inside and looking around for Sunny. He quickly follows her in. He looks to the couch where they had dropped Darrin the other night. He wonders how it didn't collapse when Darrin fell on it. He walks into the next room where he had first seen Sunny as she got dressed. He hopes to see the same thing today, just the thought of it sends a tingle down is spine. She is laying on one of the beds, sleeping. Rico thinks she won't be sleeping for long. He watches as Julie tip-toes over to her then jumps onto the bed. Sunny wakes up with a jump. Julie holds her gently to calm her down. The sight of Julie holding Sunny on a bed makes his whole body shiver.

"Morning Sunny!" Julie says quietly. She throws her legs on either side of her slim hips, so she is straddling her.

Sunny realizes that it is Julie. She sits up and gives her a hug and a little kiss on the cheek.

Rico feels another twinge, this time it is sort of a jealous feeling.

"Good morning to you too!" Sunny exclaims. She looks at Rico and winks at him, "How did you get in here? Where's Darrin?"

"Darrin let us in, he just got up to go to the bathroom," Julie answers. "We need to talk about last night quick. We need to get our story straight, because I can't tell Conner about taking a shower with you and Rico." She is very serious.

Sunny says, "Oh okay, what did you have in mind? I will stick with whatever you have come up with," she gives a reassuring smile. Then she lies back on her elbows, her blanket falls off her chest and gives Julie and Rico a great view of her tits. She does nothing to try and cover herself.

Julie is distracted. She remembers how they felt in her hands and her mouth. Feeling rather bold she leans down and licks one of her nipples, Sunny lets out a little moan.

"Wow, Jules that is a nice way to say good morning. My nipples are hard enough," Sunny says as she looks at Rico, "Don't you think Rico?"

Rico is clearly getting excited again; his eyes are locked on Sunny's chest. He fights the urge to join them on the bed. He is worried about Darrin walking back in the cabin. He can just imagine how Darrin would react to seeing his girlfriend, with Julie and Rico, trying to get up on her. He musters an answer, "Yeah, Sunny they're perfect." He quickly looks back toward the door. When he sees that Darrin is still not walking up the path or in the door, he turns around and stares at Sunny again. "Julie, tell her what you are going to tell Conner. Hurry up before Darrin gets back. By the way Sunny, will he ask you what happened last night?" he shifts his focus briefly to her pretty face. Even after she wakes up she is pretty, just like Julie. Rico can't believe how lucky he was last night to be able to play with both of them. They are both so amazing.

Julies is also staring at Sunny's chest. "Okay, I am going to tell him that you and I only danced and kissed, Rico sat at the table and watched. We did not shower or do anything more than just kiss and grind on each other. Then Rico and I walked you back here. Sound good?" She looks at her face for an answer but her eyes are drawn to her chest again. She wants to lean down and lick her again, go further than they did last night. Finally she forces herself to look Sunny in the eyes.

Sunny is enjoying the stares. She knows both Rico and Julie are enjoying her boobs. When she hears footsteps on the steps she finally covers herself with the thin blanket. Rico and Julie are disappointed. Sunny says, "Yeah that sounds perfect."

Darrin walks into the room and asks, "What sounds perfect? Are you going to hang out with them again?" He glances at Rico and Julie, as if he is sizing them both up. He doesn't wait for an answer. He just walks over to bed and lies down, "I'm going back to sleep."

Sunny says, "We were just talking getting on the river again today," she doesn't know what else to say.

"Well, I hate to break it to you but it looks like it is going to rain all day. Have fun getting soaked out there," Darrin says with a bit of hostility. He has his back to them. He slowly lays his head down.

Sunny finally looks out the open doors and sees that the rain is falling pretty good now. "Damn I was hoping to have some more fun on the river today. Oh well, guess I could drive into town and pick up some more beer. What do you think of that Darrin?"

Darrin lifts his head briefly and grunts a reply. "Uh huh," he lays his head back down right away.

"Wow, that's all you have to say. Uh huh," she looks at Julie and smirks. Then she mouths the words 'watch this' "When we get back Rico, Julie and I are going to have a crazy three-some, right here on the floor. It's going to be great. What do you think of that Darrin?"

Rico almost shits his pants. He takes a step towards the door. Julie's eyes shoot wide open, her jaw drops. She is shocked that Sunny would say that to her boyfriend. Sunny raises her hands and puts her palms down. She motions them up and down, like she is going to pat a dog on the head. Rico steps back to where he was, ready to make a run for the door or charge at Darrin when he hops off the bed and tries to kill him. Julie closes her mouth and looks over her shoulder at Darrin.

Darrin for his part gives the same response, "Uh huh." He doesn't even raise his head this time. Sunny just starts to laugh, Julie smiles, and Rico slowly comes down from high alert. She says aloud, "Man I could tell him my hair was on fire and he wouldn't lift a finger to help me. Right Darrin?" No response this time.

Julie looks at Rico and then back at Sunny, "So do you want to come and hangout with us today? Or are you going to go get more beer?" She asks hoping she will say she is going to stay with them all day. Julie decides to get up off of Sunny. She stands up and stretches, posing for her this time.

Sunny watches Julie do her stretch-pose and smiles, "That sounds like fun, I'm not sure about the trip to town yet. Maybe Charlie has some we can buy. He seems to have everything else." With that said she throws the blanket off and stretches herself.

Rico is in heaven, Sunny is completely naked. She slowly gets off the bed and walks over to the bag she has all her clothes in. Rico turns and watches her as she walks past him. Julie walks and stands next to him. They both stare as Sunny finds a bikini, shorts, tank top, and a sweatshirt. Julie grabs Rico's arm as they both watch her get dressed.

Once she is dressed she turns around and says, "Let's get going? How hard is it raining? Should I grab my rain-gear?" She leans around the corner and then walks into the front part of the cabin. "Oh my, it's starting to come down pretty good. We might have to huddle under the raincoat. Nice and cozy." She bends over and grabs her small blue coat. She steps outside followed closely by Julie then Rico.

Rico stops and says, "Sunny let me hold that, I will stand in the middle and you the two of you can stay dry on either side of me." He holds his hand out to grab the coat.

Sunny hands it over, then slides close to him, Julie does the same on the other side. The rain is falling just hard enough to soak through a shirt in a few minutes. There is no wind, yet.

Rico says, "Hopefully this blows over soon and we can get on the river today." He doesn't expect an answer. It's more of a statement than anything. Both the girls nod their heads in agreement though. Once they are around the corner and walking down the road that leads to the tent and camp sites. Rico starts to run as fast as he can leaving the girls out in the rain. He yells as he runs, "Hope you don't get to wet."

Sunny and Julie look at each other and start to run after him. Julie yells, "Dammit Rico get back here!"

"We're going to get you Rico. You just wait," yells Sunny as she chases him.

Rico runs all the way to the site, making his way to the canopy, he ducks inside. Sunny and Julie are right behind him. Julie jumps into his arms and they spin away towards the table. Not wanting to be left out of the action Sunny jumps on Rico's back. He spins around again and falls back so he is sitting on the bench, Sunny lands on the table top and Julie lands in Rico's lap. His arms are around her, they are all wet and laughing. Sunny has her arms wrapped around his neck, she is playfully slapping him. Julie is laughing, and then becomes somewhat serious; her eyes meet Rico's. They are face to face, close enough to feel each other's breath. Julie can't help herself; she tries to sneak a kiss. She realizes what she is about to do and goes for it anyways. She kisses him on the lips. Rico smiles and kisses her back.

"Oh my god!" Julie and Rico snap their heads around. Sam is sitting in a chair staring at them.

### "Rain"

Julie jumps off of Rico, Sunny lets go of Rico and he stands up. Sam is sitting in a big lawn chair. She has one of Dave's huge hooded sweatshirts on. She has the hood up and her long hair is hanging out and lying on her chest. She was drinking a cup of coffee. Her mouth is wide open, eyes almost popping out of her head. The cup drops out of her hand, she looks at Julie, then back to Rico. There is a terrible silence, so silent, it is almost painful. Finally, Sam manages to say something, "What the hell was that? Julie? What? How? What is going on?" Sam is not sure what to do. She stands up and takes a step towards Julie. Then she stops, "Are you going to say anything? Julie? Rico? Sunny? Somebody say something." She is in shock. Julie had mentioned things about Sunny. Never in her wildest dreams did she think Julie would have anything to do with Rico.

Julie is scrambling to think of what to say, she wants to diffuse this before Sam gets any crazy ideas in her head. She starts to open her mouth... "Uh..." stepping backwards away from Rico, and Sunny.

Rico is quick to cover what happened, "Sam, wow, uh I thought that she was Sunny. It all happened so fast. We we're all running. I thought it was Sunny in my arms, not Julie." He looks at Julie with a help me look in his eyes. Then he looks at Sunny, she has gotten up and is standing in front of him now.

Sam appears to settle down a bit, she lowers her guard. Her eyes narrow, lips press together. She desperately wants to believe that it was an accident. Julie and Sunny are very similar in size, with wet hair they could easily be mistaken for one another. She slowly, starts to think it was an accident. She says, "Oh, wow that's good, because if it weren't... wow that would be..." She shakes her head, "that would be, wow, I don't even want to think about that." She actually smiles. Then she turns around and bends down to pick up her cup.

Julie laughs a nervously, when she sees Sam turn around she looks at Rico and Sunny. She makes a motion with her hand like she is wiping sweat off of her brow. They really dodged a bullet on that one. Julie starts to relax. Rico turns to Sunny, smiles then turns back around to make sure Sam is not watching them, trying to catch them or something.

Sam picks up the cup, she stands up, turns slowly. The wheels are turning in her head, her eyes lock on Sunny. "Wait a minute, Rico, why would you be kissing Sunny?" Her face lights up, "Are the two of you...?" Her mind is racing; she is trying to keep from getting a hangover. She can feel the headache starting to make its way into the back of her head. Bringing her hand up to her head she pushes it into her forehead, pressing her eyes closed. "Are you two hooking up here? What about Darrin?" She opens her eyes and looks for an answer.

Sunny sees a chance to help out and she jumps on it. "Well, Darrin isn't very happy with me right now, so... I don't know, Rico is really been nice to me and I really like him. So yeah, I guess we might be hooking up. We spent a lot of time together the last couple of days. We've gotten pretty close. Right Rico?" she smiles and kisses Rico on the lips. Catching him by surprise, she holds the kiss for a short time. Just long enough to make it a believable kiss.

"Right Sunny," Rico is surprised but he quickly gets into the kiss and is disappointed when it ends. He takes a breath and looks into Sunny's eyes. She looks just like Julie did the night before, after the shower. Looking over her shoulder he sees Julie, he realizes just how strikingly similar they look. Roughly the same height, same frame, perfect curves. "Amazing!" Escapes his lips, it is uncanny how much they look alike right now.

Sam has fully bought into the story. She walks over and finds some ibuprofen, refills her coffee, and sits back down in her chair.

With Sam calmed down, Sunny and Rico sit at the table. Julie breathes a sigh of relief and walks to the other side of the table she sits down. They all look at each other with a look of relief on their faces. Julie looks at the fire. The wood is starting to get wet. "We should cover that wood and make sure we keep the fire going. If it does rain all day, it will suck to not have a fire." She looks at Rico. "I nominate Rico to go and do it, since you took off on us back there. What do you think Sunny? Should we make Rico cover the firewood?"

Rico starts to argue, "Wait a minute, I was just having fun back there. I shouldn't have to go out there and get all wet just because of that." He looks at both of them. His heart melts and he stands up, walks out of the canopy. Running over to the Sub he grabs the handle to open the door, it's locked. He tries the other door. This one opens and he jumps in, crawls into the backseat and grabs a small tarp. Unlocking the door he jumps out and runs over to the woodpile. He quickly, tosses a couple of logs on the fire and covers the pile, and runs back under the canopy. "There are you happy?" he is soaked to the bone, "Now I have to change my clothes. Care to join me Sunny?"

"Maybe later big boy," Sunny winks at him again.

Rico quickly looks at Julie. He raises his eyebrows and moves his eyes sort of pointing to the tent. Then he smiles and laughs.

Julie smiles and remembers how he looked this morning, she wants to go with him and see him naked again. She knows that she can't do that right now though. She starts to wonder if it will happen again. She looks at Sunny then back to Rico as he runs for the tent. She wants something to happen today or tonight. How it will happen she has no idea, but she starts to think of ways to get the three of them alone again.

Rico makes it to the tent. He unzips it and jumps inside. Once inside he tries to keep any noise down, he knows that Conner and Dave will probably be hung over. Moving over to his little area he, takes his close off and grabs a towel. He finds some clothes, a pair of shorts, T-shirt and a sweatshirt. He is not cold but it won't take much to put him over the edge. He finds his GT hat, puts it on and is about to walk out of the tent to join the girls by the fire, stepping over clothes and sleeping bags, flashlights and other little things. He looks over at Conner and is surprised to that he is awake, he is up on one elbow and he looks confused, "Hey Conner, how do you feel this morning?"

"What, what time is it? Is it raining? Where is Julie?" Conner asks in a hurry.

Rico waits for his chance to answer then he says, "It's about nine, yes it's raining and Julie is outside with Sam and Sunny, sitting at the table." Rico tries to look out the screen on the tent to see if he can catch a glimpse of them. "I don't think we will be getting on the river today. Looks like an all day rain," he says as he looks back at Conner.

Conner lies back down so he is flat on his back looking up at the roof of the tent. He can see the rain drops forming little rivers as they melt together and run off the sides and to the ground. "It's nine already. Wow, hey what happened last night? I remember playing strip poker, and then the girls got up to dance. I think they danced, then nothing till just now." He looks at Rico waiting for an answer, hoping it is like. Julie and Sunny started making out then they took their clothes off and totally went at it on the table or in the tent. If that did happen and he didn't see it, he would be pissed but turned on. He needs to talk to Julie to find out from her. He knows Rico will only tell him little parts, not all the sexy details that Jules would be able to share.

Rico thinks carefully about what he is going to say, "Well Conner you missed out on those two dancing and grinding on each other pretty good. They kissed for a while, that was pretty hot. Then Julie and I walked Sunny back to her cabin. We came back here and watched the fire till it burned down, and then we crashed." He takes another step towards the door of the tent. "I'm gonna go out and sit with Sunny, she is so hot man. I got to see her tits this morning, can you say perfect? No tan lines, perfect nipples. Man so nice." He bends over and starts to unzip the tent.

Conner perks up when he hears about the kissing and grinding then he gets even more excited when he hears about the naked tits, "How the hell did you see her tits? Was it last night?"

"No, man, it was this morning, we went up there to see if Sunny was up and she got out of bed. Topless, she walked over and got dressed. No big deal really," Rico lies but he is starting to get more at ease with doing that. He is just about to step out of the tent, but he pauses for a second.

"Wow that's freaking sweet. Can you tell Julie to come in here please, I want to talk to her for a bit," Conner asks Rico.

Rico looks at Conner, "Sure, no problem. I will let her know right away. How are you feeling today?"

"Well other than some cotton-mouth here and not remembering much from last night, I'm... good," he sits up again. "I feel really good, actually, I was a little groggy but now I feel surprisingly good. I can't wait to get started again tonight. Hopefully I don't get so wasted again, maybe I will get to enjoy the show," he says then lies back down.

Rico walks out of the tent, runs over to the canopy and ducks under it, "Wow that is a cold rain," he says as he sits down next to Sunny. She snuggles in closer to him, she feels good.

Julie wishes that she was snuggling in to the both of them herself. She has a sense of resentment towards Sam for a fleeting moment. If she weren't sitting in her chair, she could be snuggled into both Rico and Sunny. The feeling passes quickly, she turns her attention to Rico.

"Julie, Conner is up. He wants you to go in the tent and talk with him for a minute. He doesn't remember anything past when you two started dancing," he winks at her so fast she hardly notices it.

"Really, alright, I better go and see what he wants," Julie says as she stands and moves toward the tent. She ducks out and runs across the site and into the tent. She quickly unzips the tent and hops inside, she turns and zips it back closed again. Once inside, she sees that Conner is lying with his hands behind his head, he is staring at the water on the tent pooling and running off. "Morning babe, how are you feeling today?" she waits by the opening. Not wanting to go and be near him right now.

Conner finally looks over at her and waves her over, "Come and lay with me for a little bit. It seems like a great day to just lie around." He sits up a little and pats the sleeping bag next to him.

Julie hesitates for a minute, her thoughts race. She feels like she has betrayed Conner, she knows that he was into the idea of her being with Sunny. She knows he would freak out about Rico, they are friends but that is crossing a line. Julie kicks off her flip-flops and pulls her sweatshirt off. Forgetting that she hadn't put on a t-shirt this morning her boobs fall free. Her nipples are hard and she quickly covers herself. She had stopped being self-conscious about her body in front of Conner a long time ago. Now she feels uncomfortable, as he looks at her half naked.

"What the hell Jules? Why did you cover up? Dave is still sleeping," he glances over his shoulder making sure that he is. He is. Conner returns to look at Julie.

Julie scrambles over to the sleeping bag and lies with her back to Conner, she sees her t-shirt form the night before next to her. She puts it on, it still smells like campfire. It also smells like Sunny, and Rico, "Oh I'm just a bit cold, the rain is freezing." She feels dirty when Conner wraps his arm around her and tries to kiss her. She doesn't want to kiss him right now, she makes up her mind. "Conner not right now. You haven't brushed your teeth." Pushing him off of her, in hopes that he believes her excuse.

Conner quickly moves off of her, he puts his hand over his mouth. She is right his breath is not good. "I'm sorry babe, so I'm dyin here, tell me about last night. Rico told me that you and Sunny were dancing and kissing," he is getting excited.

Julie can tell that Conner is not going to let this one go. She can tell that he is getting worked up, "Well, yeah, we danced and yeah we kissed," she says. Suddenly she starts to cry, she tries to curl up in a ball. She didn't expect to do that, now she doesn't know if she is upset that she kissed Sunny and Rico, or if she is upset because she really doesn't want to kiss him right now. Julie is truly upset now, is she betraying Rico? Is she betraying Sunny?

"Oh Julie, what's wrong? Are you upset about kissing Sunny? Don't cry babe," he is rubbing her shoulder trying to console her. He's no longer excited, not even close. Conner hates to see her cry. Thinking as fast as he can, he says, "Jules, don't be upset, I was pushing you to do it. I know we talked about it. Please don't cry." He tries to put his arm around, "I'm sorry Julie please stop."

Julie is shocked, he just apologized to her. As she cries she thinks of what to say. She doesn't want to be close to him right now, emotionally. She knows that Conner won't want to do anything as long as she is crying. "I don't know why I'm upset. Last night was fun, and I liked what Sunny and I did." She pauses. Doing her best to stop crying, "Oh I don't know what I'm trying to say. It just felt different; maybe it scared me a little." She is thinking of a way to start a fight with him. She also knows that she can't mention anything that would involve Rico. She slowly stops crying. As she lays there with Conner, they don't say much. Julie is thinking about how much she wants Sunny and Rico, "Conner how long have we been together?" she finally asks.

"What Jules, you know how long we've been together. We've been together for three years next month. Wait, where are you going with this?" Conner responds nervously. He is starting to wish he hadn't asked Rico to send her in. He starts to think about his answer. He can't remember now, it might be four years. Oh well he's screwed either way, and he knows it. He just lays there and waits for the shit-storm that is on its way.

Julie was looking for something to start a fight over and it just hit her. Conner doesn't know how long they have been together. "It was four years, last March. Jesus Conner. How can you not remember how long we've been together? Three years next month, are you kidding me." She knows that he will avoid her for the rest of the trip now. Or he will kiss her ass, depends on how she plays this. She is pissed that he doesn't know how long they've been together, even though she did goad him into it. "Well, it's one thing for you not to know how long we've dated... I guess I can understand that. I just want to know where we stand. I mean we don't even live together. Is this what I can expect? To just to be your girlfriend and nothing more," she asks and turns to look at him. He looks scared.

Conner thinks carefully, he loves her, or at least he thinks he does. "Julie, I don't know what you want me to say here. I know we've been together for that long. I was just distracted by you crying and all the other stuff that has happened on this trip. I'm not sure where we're going, Jesus, Julie do you really want to do this right now?" He is getting defensive. He sits up slides away from her, he knows that he should take the next step with her but something is stopping him. He has never been in a relationship like Julie wants and it scares the hell out of him. "Julie I want to be with you, why can't that be good enough for you?"

Julie has heard this before; she has also given into this line of reasoning every time. This time she decides not let it go, "It's not good enough anymore, I need more. We've been together for four years and I don't know how much longer I can wait for you... maybe you're not ready for more but I am." She turns over and starts to cry again.

Conner is feeling very defensive. He wonders how he can talk his way out of this one. He thinks, and then he says, "Julie, I love you. But I'm afraid to take the next step. I've never felt like this before, you are the first girlfriend I've had that I would even consider taking the next step. How about when we get home you move in with Rico and me? Is that what you want? Will that make you happy?" He hopes that will be acceptable to her.

Julie's sobbing slowly stops, "Really Conner, do you really want me to move in with you? Or are you just saying that because you think it'll make me happy?" She doesn't give him a chance to answer, "Let me think about it. I will let you know when we get home alright." Conner is now taken care of for the time being. Julie rolls over and gets to her knees, she looks at Conner, tries to force a smile. The only thing she can really think of is how much longer she is going to have to wait to be with Sunny and Rico again.

Conner looks at Julie and nods his head, "Yes, Jules I really want you to move in with me. I'm not just saying it to make you happy. If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say it. You should know that about me by now." He is lying to her, but he is trying to make her feel guilty for questioning how he feels about her and their relationship. He won't make eye contact with her, fearing that she will see through his weak attempt.

"Okay Conner, I believe you. I'm going to go back out and sit at the table," Julie says. She stands up and gets a dry sweatshirt, pulls it on and moves towards the tent door. She steps out of the tent without looking back at Conner. She looks at the table, it is empty. Her heart sinks, she scans the site, and they are nowhere to be found. Julie runs to the canopy and steps inside, she sees that Sam is still sitting in her chair.

"Where did Sunny and Rico run off to?" she asks Sam. Julie feels lost without them, she feels abandoned. She feels hurt, why would they leave her.

"They ran to the bathroom, they should be back in a couple of minutes... so what did you guys end up doing last night after Dave and I went to sleep? Did you guys get crazy? Tell me what happened," Sam asks.

Julie is relieved. She is still a bit upset that they did not wait for her but, she understands when you gotta go, you gotta go. "Well Sam after you went to sleep, Sunny and I started dancing around," she admits. Julie wants to tell Sam everything that happened. She needs to tell someone how it really felt to kiss Sunny. She wants to tell her how it felt to have two sets of hands on her, how amazing it was to touch Rico. Julie wants to shout it to the whole campsite, the whole world for that matter. She knows that she can't tell Sam anything more than she can Conner. It kills her that she has to keep all this inside of her. She sits down at the table, "Sam," Julie says as she looks around the site, as if to make sure no one is listening, "I kissed Sunny. I mean we totally made out with each other. It was amazing; I have never kissed a girl like that before." She expects Sam to give her the look. The look that says, Julie what are you doing? Be careful.

Instead, Sam perks up, "What? Really! Oh my god Jules. How did it happen? Did you like it? Would you do it again?"

Julie is taken by surprise. She expected to get the third degree from Sam. She is not sure how to answer, "Well, when you and Dave went to the bathroom, the four of us decided to play strip poker. When you guys came back we had just finished the first hand, for some reason we sort of took a break. Then a song came on and Sunny and I got up and started dancing next thing I know we were totally making out. It was so exciting; she kissed me so different than I have ever been kissed before. Her lips were soft and gentle, so warm and smooth. We kissed for quite a while. Yes I would do it again. I liked it very much; it felt so dirty and so wrong at the same time. It was such a huge turn-on too. My lord I don't know what came over me. I can't stop thinking about it." Julie is starting to feel flush and hot, just the thought of kissing Sunny again has her longing for another embrace another kiss, anything with Sunny, or Rico.

"Wow Jules that's crazy, what did Conner think of it?" Sam wonders. She is trying to study Julie's face and body language. Being a teacher she has become very good at reading people, she can tell if someone is lying or trying to hide something. Sam can tell Julie isn't telling her the whole story, "Julie did something else happen?"

Julie tries to hide that she is getting worked up again, "Well actually Sam, Conner wasn't even really paying too much attention. He was kind of passing out at the time. It was weird I didn't think he drank that much, I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to that though. After we kissed the first time Conner got up and went to the tent," she pauses. Julie wants to tell Sam even worse now, "then after he went to sleep Sunny and I kissed some more. Kinda felt each other up, and then Rico and I walked her back to the cabin. We kissed a bit there as well. After that Rico and I came back here and watched the fire for a bit then we both crashed. So we really didn't get too crazy, it was fun though." Julie hopes that Sam doesn't see through her attempt to hide what really happened.

"Hmmm, sounds like you really had a good time last night then. I wish I hadn't gotten so drunk now," Sam says. She decides not to push any more, and turns her attention back to her coffee. She quickly gets lost in her own thoughts again.

Julie can finally relax and think about ways to sneak off with Sunny and Rico. She knows that it would be pretty hard to do if they were on the river. If it rains all day, or just long enough for them not to be able to go out, she will have a much better chance. She stands up and stretches, her eyes are locked on the road. She desperately wants to see Sunny and Rico walking or running down the road. All that she sees is the rain falling.

Rico and Sunny had run to the bathroom, and then they decided to run up to the office. They run through the parking area, past the fire pit. The remains of Jr.'s fire are still smoldering, half burnt logs smoke here and there. The rain is slowly putting out the embers; smoke is hanging in the air, giving the appearance of a light fog. The office door is open. Rico reaches the screen door and holds it open for Sunny to run through. The office is empty. Sunny walks over to the counter and rings the bell. She turns and looks to see where Rico is. He is standing in the same spot where they first met the other day.

"Hey, do you think it will stop raining today?" Rico asks. He is looking at Sunny as she leans back against the counter. Her hair is wet and it is sort of hanging in her face. She looks even more amazing every time he sees her.

"I don't know. I'm going to ask Charlie or Jr. if they're around," Sunny answers as she turns back around and rings the bell again. She leans over the counter a bit, looking to see if one of them is in the back of the office. She knows that Rico is looking at her so she leans a little further than she normally would.

Rico stares at her as she leans over. He starts to feel a tingle, "I hope it stops some time soon. Even if we don't get on the river it would be nice to have some nice weather. I like things wet, just not when it rains all day." He jokes, hoping that Sunny will know what he means.

Sunny gets his joke, she turns back to face him, "I like it wet too, Rico. I wonder where they are," she taps the bell one more time. This time there is a rustling in the back room, she can hear a door close and footsteps.

"I'm on my way," Charlie says from the other room. He walks out of the door and looks at Sunny then Rico. "What can I do nnn for you folks?" he makes his way to the counter and leans up against it.

"We were wondering if you can tell us if it is going to stop raining?" Sunny asks. She watches as Charlie moves over to his computer.

Charlie types on the keyboard, he squints his eyes as he searches the screen. Sunny can see the screen, but she can't make out what's on it. Charlie continues to scan the screen then finally says, "Well, it looks like it's goinnng to clear up in a few hours, then we might get some nnn pretty good storms tonight," he looks up from the computer. "I don't think it will be a very nnn good day to get on any of the nnn rivers. I'm sorry to say folks." Charlie looks between the two of them again, "Anything else I can nnn do for you?"

Sunny looks at Rico, she frowns, "Well Rico, what should do for the rest of the day?" She turns back to Charlie and asks, "Hey you don't have any beer you could sell us would you? I really don't feel like driving into town," she smiles at him.

Charlie looks at the two of them and says, "Sorry folks I don't have anything to sell you. Even if I did have some I wouldn't be able to sell it to you nnn anyways. I don't have a license to sell alcohol." He looks like he could be about six beers up right now already. "I will try to keep you all posted if the weather gets bad. We have enough room here in nnn the office for you all to stay out of the weather. Might be nnn cramped but it's dry and safe. You are all welcome to stay here as long as it takes." He glares at Sunny, "even the people in the cabins." He turns his attention back to Rico, "Hopefully it will blow by south nnn of here closer to the lake." He looks past them both and stares out the window, "If it does hit us though, you will find nnn out why this place is called Thunder Valley."

Rico turns to see what has caught Charlie's eye. He sees nothing, just rain splashing on the window and smoke rising from the fire pit. "Okay... well thanks for the weather info." He turns to look at Charlie, only to see him disappear into the backroom of the office again. He finds Sunny, she is staring at him. The devil is in her eyes again, the corner of her mouth is crooked. Rico can see her white teeth and the fire in her eyes. "Well he sure disappeared fast. Should we go back and see how Julie is doing? Conner seemed pretty interested in how last night went. I hope he didn't ask her too many questions," he smiles at her and holds out his hand.

Sunny keeps looking into Rico's eyes as long as she can, listening to him speak. She reaches out and grabs his hand, then says, "Let's go see how Julie is doing. I think the three of us need to spend some more time alone today." She pulls him along as she walks towards the door. Together they run as fast as they can avoiding puddles here and there, the rain has lightened up just enough for them to make the site without getting too wet.

When Julie sees the two of them running into the site she sits up and fixes her hair. She is nervous; her stomach is full of butterflies. Despite feeling like they abandon her a little bit ago, Julie can't hide how excited she is to see Sunny and Rico. She starts to smile, her palms start to sweat. Sunny looks so good, as she runs for the canopy. Julie wants to stand up and grab her, hold her like she did in the shower. She also wants to jump into Rico's arms and kiss him, feel his strength. She wants to feel safe in his arms. Somehow she holds herself back; she looks at Sam out of the corner of her eyes. She doesn't appear to be paying attention to anything but her coffee. "Hey you two? Where have you been? Sam said you were just going to the bathroom," she has a pretty good idea, "I was getting worried about you guys. I thought maybe Jr. had smoked you with his Gator." Julie smiles at them.

Sunny laughs at Julie's joke, "Nah, he can't drive that thing for shit. We went and checked the weather; it's supposed to clear up for a few hours. Then Charlie said there are some pretty big storms rolling in." She looks at Rico and smiles.

Rico smiles and says, "Yeah that creepy old fart told us that if the storms get too bad we can go and crash at the office. I think I will take my chances with the weather, let alone spend the night in the office with the rest of people in this place." He finally looks at Julie, she is staring at him. She has a very serious look on her face, like she is concentrating on his every word, "What do you guys think?" He looks around the rest of the site. "Hey, are those two going to stay in the tent all day? Did Conner go back to sleep Jules?" He sits down at the table next to Julie. Sunny joins them on the same side of the table.

Sam looks up from her coffee, looks at Julie then she looks at Rico and Sunny, "I hope the storms hold off till tomorrow, there is no way in hell I'm staying in that office. No chance in hell, I will crash in the Sub before I go anywhere near that office after dark. Those two guys freak me out, Jr. always staring at us and the old man is just as bad. No thank you." Sam shakes her head, she is visibly getting upset.

Sunny is listening to Sam. She slowly puts her hand on Rico's leg. Giving him a little squeeze she stands up and says, "Sam, I totally understand. Don't worry about it. Why don't you all come and spend the night in the cabin with Darrin and me? Darrin won't mind, shit he probably won't even notice. We have way too much room as it is. What do you guys say?"

Julie is the first to respond, "Sounds great to me, I'm sure Conner will go along with it." She quickly looks at Sam. "Sam, what do you think? Beats sleeping in the Sub, right!"

Sam turns her attention to Julie, "Sounds good to me, just the thought of being in that office, around those two makes my skin crawl. God, he probably has hidden cameras and all that kind of shit." Her shoulders and body shake as she thinks about Charlie and Jr. "I don't even want to think about it anymore, thank you Sunny."

Julie finally looks at Rico, she knows he will be all for it, she asks anyways. "What about you Rico? Would you rather stay in the cabin or in the office?" she smiles at him as he acts like he is deep in thought over his decision.

Rico is looking out over the fire. He has his head cocked to the side a bit. He is scratching his chin, and then he says, "Yes, yes that is acceptable. As long as the rest of you are going to do it, I'm in." He starts to laugh out loud. Sunny sort of slaps him on the arm.

Sunny is happy, she says, "Well then it's settled, if the weather gets bad tonight we all spend the night in the cabin. It will be so much fun." Her smile is genuine and she is very excited for the storm that's coming.

### "Beer Run"

Sunny is excited about the possibility of having some fun with Rico and Julie in the cabin. She still needs to get some beer to keep Darrin happy and occupied, "Hey I need to drive into town and get some beer or something to drink for the night. Do you guys want to ride with me?" Sitting back down at the table, she looks at Rico and Julie.

"Well I can't speak for Julie or Sam, but I'm up for a road trip. I think we could use some more Captain and Coke as well." Rico makes his way over to the cooler and opens it up. There is no more Coke and only about two shots worth of Captain left in the bottle. "Yeah we're almost out of the necessities, Holy shit I didn't think that we drank that much the last two nights. Wow." He walks back over and sits in between Julie and Sunny. "What do you say Jules? Wanna go with us? Sam what do you think?" he knows that Sam won't leave without Dave and he is out for the count.

Julie sees her opportunity and jumps on it, "Yeah I think I need to get out of here for a while. I don't think Conner will let us take the Sub though." She is not really worried about taking the Sub. She just wants to get away from the site, as well as Conner. She feels a bit of guilt for wanting to get away from Conner so much. In her heart she knows that she should stay and hang out with him. The urge to be with Sunny and Rico again is just too much. She thinks about Sam and knows that she will stay and wait for Dave to finally climb out of bed. Julie has never felt so much inner turmoil in her life. It used to be easy to just go with the flow, to wait for Conner and be happy with what she has with him. She was about to be a wreck, then Sunny and Rico showed up. Sunny has a soothing affect on her, she is still torn but she finds it easier to make those tough decisions.

Sunny flips her hand in the air and throws her head back, "I'll drive, we can take my truck, and I have to go into town anyways." The look on her face is one of satisfaction. Her plan is coming together just like she wanted.

Rico smiles at Sunny and asks, "You have a truck here? Where is it? I don't remember seeing it by the cabin." He turns his gaze to Julie. "Did you see a truck up there Jules?"

"I don't remember to be honest with you. I never really paid attention though," Julie says.

"Oh yeah... my truck is back behind the office, Charlie had Jr. look at it for me the other day. It started making a strange noise on the way up here. Apparently Jr. is a really good mechanic. I don't know what was wrong with it but he should be done with it by now," she shakes her head and looks at Rico.

"Wow, those two may be creepy as hell but they sure are helpful." Sam says, "Charlie had Jr. fix one of our tires the other day also. Sunny did he charge you anything for fixing it? He didn't charge us for the tire because he said he felt responsible for not fixing the road out there." She is looking intently at Sunny for an answer.

Sunny looks as if she is thinking, "You know what, he didn't mention anything about any money for it. I should ask him when we leave." She looks around at the three of them, "Should we hit the road? Sam did you want to come with us?"

Sam wants to go with but she feels like she should stay and wait for Dave, see if he is going to be okay. "I would love to go with you guys, but I have to stay here with Dave. Thanks for asking though. You guys have fun, drive careful," she is disappointed. The trip into town would be fun. She hasn't had much time to spend with Julie since they were on the river. Mostly she just misses her friend.

Julie sees the disappointment on Sam's face, for just a minute she considers staying to hang out with her. As soon as she thinks it though she knows she may not get another chance to be alone with Rico and Sunny. "Alright Sam, we will, are you sure you don't want to go with us?" She is looking at her, Sam nods her head, with a half assed smile. "I better tell Conner we are leaving." She runs out of the canopy and over to the tent. She unzips it and pokes her head inside, she looks at Conner. He is out cold again. She ponders going in and waking him up to tell him, then decides against it. She knows that she is pushing the 'fight' to the limit now, but she really doesn't care. Her mind is made up; if Conner isn't willing to make more of a commitment to her after four years she is going to have some fun on her own. She zips up the tent and heads back to Sunny and Rico. "Let's hit the road, Sam will you tell Conner that I went into town. He is sleeping again, I didn't want to wake him up." She is looking at Sam, she nods her head again.

Sam looks up and says, "Yeah, that's no problem. See you soon."

Sunny leads the way out of the site with Rico and Julie walking very close behind. When they get out on the road, Sunny slows down and falls in alongside Rico. "Hey I need to go and see if Darrin is up. Let him know I am leaving and I need my ID. Then I need to get my keys from Charlie in the office, and then we can get on the road." Then she leads the way down the hidden path and up to the cabin. The rain has turned into a very light mist. Sunny runs up to the cabin door and steps inside.

Rico and Julie walk up and stop on the small deck. They are looking into each other's eye, there is some tension building up in both of them. Rico is so torn between how he feels about Sunny and his new feelings for Julie. He wants to have intimate relationships with both of them. He has a friendship with Julie that goes back five or six years; they knew each other before she hooked up with Conner. In Sunny he sees and feels an animal like attraction, she makes him feel so good inside. If only he could have both of them, he would be in heaven.

Julie can feel the tension between her and Rico also, it's different for her though. She thinks she loves Conner, but she sees how Rico has treated Sunny and even herself. He is kind, respectful, understanding and funny. Now she is realizing that emotionally Rico has everything she wants, everything she needs. On top of that, physically, she is more attracted to him than she is to Conner. Maybe it's just the fact that she is confused about Sunny, maybe it's the fact that she showered with them both. Whatever it is, she is willing to go for it right now today or tonight. She will find a way to be with Rico and Sunny.

Within a couple of minutes Sunny bounds out of the door and they are off towards the office. Rico walks in the middle with Julie on his right and Sunny on his left. Julie leans around the front of Rico and asks Sunny, "What did Darrin say?"

"He just said, 'don't forget to get ice,' he really doesn't care if I come back, as long as he has cold beer. Oh well, at least he didn't ask to go with. That would've sucked really bad, this is going to be a fun ride," Sunny says.

As they walk under the stone arch one more time, Rico notices there are five more large stones laid out next to one side. He thinks to himself, wonder where those are going to go? It's just a passing thought, and then he thinks about how much fun this trip to town might be. Rico speeds up a bit when they get to the office he quickly opens the door for the girls to walk through. He bows and sweeps his hand low in front of knees, he says, "After you my ladies." Then he stands up and laughs. As the girls pass him, he can't help but stare at their asses. They are both perfect. Julie looks back over her shoulder and busts Rico as he stares, instead of getting upset or hiding. Julie stops and wiggles her ass for him. She smiles then turns back around, she takes notice of Sunny's ass herself. When Rico walks up and stands next to her he gives her a bit of a nudge. Julie looks up at Rico and flashes him a sexy smile.

Rico smiles back at her. He has visions of Julie and Sunny kissing and holding each other. He is starting to get excited and they haven't even left the campgrounds and things are starting to tingle. He looks over at Sunny. She is bent over the counter looking for her keys. Rico nods his head towards her; Julie looks and stares at her as well.

Sunny can't find her keys so she hits the bell, over and over. It sounds like a phone is ringing.

"Dammit, I'm coming, what the hell?" Jr.'s voice comes from the back room. He walks around the corner and sees who it is, "Oh it's you. I should've known, I suppose you want your keys huh!" he says as he looks at Rico and Julie. Both of them are still staring at Sunny as she leans over the counter, "Tell you what, it's pretty muddy back there, I will go get your truck and drive it around front." He turns and walks out of the room.

Sunny finally stands up and turns to face Rico and Julie. They are still looking at her. When she sees what they are doing she waves her arms over her head. Rico snaps to attention, he starts to laugh. She almost looks like a football referee calling for the clock to stop.

Julie turns quickly to look at Rico. She asks, "What the hell is so funny?" She looks back at Sunny to see if she knows. Sunny shrugs her shoulders.

Rico slowly stops laughing, finally he tells them, "I'm sorry, it's just that... Sunny you looked like Ed Hochula." He looks at both of them, trying to keep his composure.

Sunny looks at him, she looks pissed, "You think I look like that football referee," she takes a couple of steps towards him.

Rico quickly backs up a couple of steps and covers up, "No, just the way you were waving your arms in the air like that." He stops backing up, stands and mimics her.

Sunny takes three quick steps, surprisingly quick steps, and jumps into Rico's arms. He barely has time to react. Somehow he catches her, spins around and holds her tight.

Julie is amazed at how fast Sunny closed the distance between the two of them. She reacts by jumping out of the way.

Sunny kisses him and pulls his GT hat off of his head. They hold the kiss for a couple of seconds. When Rico finally puts her down, she puts the hat on backwards.

Julie is watching the two of them and she is getting jealous. She wants to be involved somehow. When Rico puts her down, Julie quickly grabs Sunny and gives her a hug. They all kind of play wrestle for a minute. They don't stop till Jr. lays down on the horn, pulling to a stop in front of the office door.

Jr. hops out of the cab and slowly walks around the front of the truck. It is a mid 1990s Chevy short bed, midnight blue with tinted windows. There is no visible rust on it and the body is in very good shape. As he walks through the door, Sunny, Rico and Julie stand in a line next to each other. Rico is in the middle with Julie on his left and Sunny on his right. They sort of stand at attention, trying not to laugh out loud. Jr. looks at the three of them. He then shakes his head and walks towards the counter. "You're all ready to go. I couldn't find anything wrong with it. Let me know if you have any more trouble with it. Oh and take it easy on the road out, this rain will hide more of the potholes than normal." He sits on the small stool behind the counter. He is clearly trying to avoid eye contact with the three of them, "I left the keys in the ignition."

Sunny has turned to follow Jr. around the room, "Really? You didn't find anything? Well, thank you. Hopefully it wasn't anything important. See you later, Jr." With that she turns and grabs Rico by the hand, she leads him out of the office. Rico follows like a puppy, grabbing Julie. They head out to her truck. Sunny lets go of Rico and she walks around the front of the truck. Rico and Julie stay on the passenger side. They both try to get in the truck. Julie wants to sit in the middle, so she can play with both of them. She loved being the center of attention in the shower. Rico has his hand on the door handle; he wants to sit in the middle so he can be the center of attention also. He stands there looking down at Julie arguing with his eyes.

Once Sunny is in the truck she looks at Rico and Julie, they are standing there staring at each other. The truck fires up and Sunny rolls down the window, "What are you guys doing? Get in here, so we can go. Rico you sit in the middle, chop chop. I want to get back here before the weather moves in on us." She puts her foot down on the gas pedal, revving the engine. Rico and Julie follow her orders, and climb in the cab with her. "Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" she yells with a loud howl she throws the truck in gear and stomps on the gas. Wheels spinning, she cranks it to the left and the back end starts to move. Rico can hear dirt and rocks flying up and hitting the office, he turns in his seat and sees that they are just pebbles. They are not big enough to do any damage. "Yeeeeeehhhhaaawwwwww!!!!!" Sunny yells as truck does a huge sweeping fishtail through the parking lot. The smoke that is still rising from the fire, give a movie scene image of the truck screaming out and on to the road. Sunny is driving fast, Rico looks down and sees that she is already doing about sixty miles per hour.

"Holy shit, Sunny slow down a little bit," Julie says as she grabs the door handle and Rico's leg. She likes how it feels to have her hand on him. She settles down a little bit as she holds him. She slowly, gently starts to rub and squeeze.

Sunny eases off of the gas a little bit, slowing down to a manageable and safer speed, "What's wrong Jules? Am I making you nervous or something? Ha-ha I was just playing. We have to have some fun on this trip. We have to get back safe tonight so we can party." She leans over and turns up the radio. 'Tonight's gonna be a good night. Oooooo.' The Peas are singing. Julie continues to rub on Rico's leg; he leans back and enjoys his position. Sitting in between two beautiful women and this time he is the one getting the attention. Julie is rubbing his leg and moving closer to him. Once Sunny settles down with her driving she puts her hand on his other leg. Rico never thought that heaven would be found in an old Chevy truck, but he is happy to have found it. Rico is getting very excited and very relaxed. Sunny is driving about forty-five miles an hour. She is avoiding all the potholes and making the ride very smooth. The radio is on, there is a comfortable silence between them. Rico decides to lean back and enjoy the attention, placing one hand on Julie's thigh and the other on Sunny's. Once Sunny gets on the main road she heads towards town. Julie has moved her hand further and further up Rico's leg, she is almost at his crotch, she can feel his excitement. Sunny is driving with one hand on the wheel and the other on Rico's leg as well. He is almost bursting from excitement. When Julie helped him the night before, he thought to himself that the only way it could be better is if Sunny had a hand in it as well. Now he is getting close to having that, he considers unbuttoning his shorts and pulling them down. He doesn't realize that the drive has taken less time, as he makes his move and opens up his eyes. He sees a road sign for Two Harbors. He is a little bummed out but he knows that they will have to take the same trip back and he will be sure to make his move earlier.

### "Two Harbors"

Sunny slows down and pulls off the road and into liquor store parking lot, "Let's go get some booze." She hops out of the truck and waits for Julie and Rico to follow. Julie quickly gets out of the truck, and joins Sunny at the front. Rico is trying the best he can to calm down. He is still very excited. "What's the holdup Rico? We have to get moving!" Sunny yells, and then looks at Julie with a knowing smile.

They hug each other. Julie can't get over how good Sunny feels. The more Julie is around Sunny the more comfortable she is getting. Stepping back she says, "Sunny, what do you want to do tonight? I mean after tonight we may not see each other for quite awhile, I know that you don't live to far away from us..." Suddenly she feels very sad. Trying to put it out of her mind she snuggles into Sunny again. "Do you think we should go and pull him out of there?" as they both look back into the cab.

After about a minute Rico is sufficiently calmed down, he has thought about all kinds of things to get his mind off of what may happen with both the girls on the way back to camp let alone tonight. He slowly crawls out of the cab and adjusts everything, "Sorry about that you two. I was just a little bit... um, well." He says as he looks down at his groin.

Sunny grins and then turns to Julie, "Julie, I wouldn't worry about what is going to happen after tonight. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of each other." Grabbing her by the hand she takes a few steps to the side and then she reaches out her hand offering it to Rico. "Let's go and get our stuff and we can all talk about it on the way back to Thunder Valley alright." Then she leads them into the store.

Rico grabs a cart and pushes it as the three of them move through the store and pick up what they want. They all act like they have been dating for years. People in the store look at them and they keep their distance. When they finally have everything they need they walk to the counter and checkout. "Hello, welcome to The Booze Shop. Did you find everything alright?" The clerk is about twenty-three; he is tall and very thin. He has a crew cut and glasses; his face is covered in pimples. He is trying not to stare at Sunny and Julie as they hold hands. Rico stops the cart and starts to unload it, a case of beer, a 1.75 of Captain, some Hard Lemonade, a case of Coke and two bags of ice. "You gonna have a party or something?" He tries to act cool, hoping to get an invite or something. He is desperate for attention, just the thought of watching two hot chicks together is enough to get him visible shaken. He drifts off into a daydream, seeing himself in the middle of them, instead of Rico.

"Hello! Uh hello," Sunny snaps her fingers in front of his face. She finds his name tag on the front of his shirt. "Ed, are you with us here?" She snaps one more time.

Ed flinches and is back on the other side of the counter again. "Oh sorry, I just drifted off there for a minute. Did you find everything?" He asks again. Grabbing the beer he passes it over the scanner in the counter. When he has done the rest of the items he asks, "Will that be all?" Staring at Julie the whole time.

Rico was getting a kick out this kid, "Yes Ed, we found everything just fine and that will be all." Trying to get his attention off of the girls. The amusement he was feeling is gone in an instant, as Ed continues to stare at Julie then back to Sunny. Rico fights the urge to reach across the counter and knock some sense into this kid. He has never felt like being this protective of Julie before. By now Rico is really starting to get upset, his face is turning red and he has a wild look in his eyes.

Julie finally looks at Rico and she acts quickly, she leaves Sunny's side for a minute and touches his arm. "Rico it's OK," she squeezes his arm a bit, pulling him to the side. She rises up on her toes and kisses him on the cheek. Then she lets him go, takes a step back. She can see the look in his eyes go back to normal. Once she is sure that Rico is back to being himself, she takes over. Turning towards Ed she calmly says, "How much do we owe you?" She reaches into her back pocket and pulls out her debit card.

"That will be seventy four fifty eight," replies Ed. Grabbing the card out of her hand and sliding it through the register. He waits for the receipt and hands it over to Julie, "Sign here please."

Julie signs the paper and waits for him to give her a copy of it. Folding the copy around her card she puts it back in her pocket. Watching Ed put the Lemonade and Captain in a box.

Rico grabs the cases of beer and soda, Sunny grabs the box and they all walk out of the store returning to the truck. Rico puts the beer in the back of the truck, followed by the box that Sunny hands him. When he turns around, Sunny is standing there with the keys in her hand. "Will you drive back please?" she doesn't wait for an answer. Tossing the keys high in the air, she turns and runs around the front of the truck. Rico's reflexes take over, he watches the keys as they fly through the air. Then he moves to catch them. By the time he has them in his hand, Julie and Sunny are in the cab already. Rico opens the door and climbs in, he is sitting next to Julie, with Sunny on the far side.

Julie is excited by the thought of having two sets of hands on her again. Something is on her mind though, she looks at Rico and asks, "Rico what happened back there? You looked like you were gonna go over the counter and kill that kid."

Rico is hit with and instant burst of rage for 'Ed', "Well, I don't know really. It just really got to me that he was blatantly staring you. I mean I know you are both smoking hot and all, but damn he didn't have to be that obvious about it. He was just staring at your tits Jules. I'm sure that he would've moved over to Sunny's if I hadn't have said anything." He looks at both the girls, then he turns the key and the truck starts.

Julie is in awe of what Rico just said. In the four years she has been with Conner he has never even remotely reacted to another guy checking her out. She likes the way it feels to be protected by someone. She feels safe and comfortable around Rico, something she hasn't felt around Conner in quite some time. "That is so sweet Rico; I'm not sure what to say!" she leans over and rests her head on Sunny's shoulder. Sunny leans her head onto Julie's as Rico puts the truck into gear and they get on the road back to Thunder Valley. The radio is on kind of low, Julie is wondering what Sunny has in mind for the night. "So Sunny, what did you have planned for tonight?" she picks up her head looks into Sunny's eyes!

Sunny looks into Julie's eyes and says, "Well, I was thinking that if it does storm tonight we will all be in the cabin. Darrin will get wasted like normal, or he will just leave and go to the office. That just leaves the six of us. Maybe we can play some more drinking games or play truth or dare. I'm not really sure yet, but I want to have a great night with the two of you. Just to make sure we can all have some fun I think we should hit the rest stop just before we get to three. What do you guys think? Should we have some fun?" she pauses and looks at Rico, then back over to Julie.

Julie smiles, she is nervous but she wants to do something crazy right now, "I'm in let's pull over there and find a place to have some fun." She leans forward and sees the huge smile on Rico's face. He doesn't need to say anything. He speeds up and heads for Co. Rd. three. Julie looks at Sunny's face and smiles, she has a moment of indecision. She is excited but torn, not wanting to deal with the consequences of her actions. All she wants to do is enjoy, Sunny and Rico right now. She was the center of attention last night, and then she helped Rico with his problem. Julie wants to focus on Sunny and make her feel as good as she did the night before.

Rico is smiling like the Joker, his thoughts race. He is speeding and almost goes off the entrance ramp into the ditch. Rico's head goes silent. He is focused on the road now. He thinks about slamming on the brakes, but resists the urge for fear of losing control. Instead he takes his foot off the gas and lets it slow down a little before he feathers the brakes, with the left truck tires on the grass and the right ones barely on the concrete ramp. Rico turns the wheel and taps the gas, just as fast as he went off the edge he is back on and in control. His knuckles are turning white from holding the wheel so tight. As if from a distance he can hear a wailing sound, his thoughts return, he thinks it's the cops. Checking the rear view mirror he sees nothing. He quickly turns his head to the right and sees that it is Sunny and Julie.

"WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Julie and Sunny yell as loud as they can, Sunny has the 'oh Jesus' handle locked in her one hand, the other is on the dash board handle. Julie has her arms straight out in front of her and she is bracing herself against the dash. Both the girls look terrified and thrilled at the same time. As Rico makes his way to an empty section of the lot, they all relax enough to see the humor in what just happened.

Rico is the first one to say anything beside a yelp or holler. He laughs nervously, "Well that was fun, holy shit. Is everyone OK?" He looks at the two girls. Sunny is smiling. She looks at Rico then over at Julie. Julie has her eyes tightly closed, her head is back and she looks like she is thanking someone who isn't there.

Sunny blurts out; "Who's up for round two?" she pumps her fist in the air then bounces in her seat a little bit, "That was a real eye-opener. Holy shit, Rico, nice save!"

Julie is not so excited, she slowly leans over Sunny and opens the door. Pushing her way past Sunny and out into the parking lot. She is shaking and walking around in small circles. She is whispering to herself, "Holy shit, Holy shit, Holy." She looks up at Rico as he is jumping out of the truck and running around the front. He grabs her in his arms and gives her a big hug, kissing her cheek, he looks into her eyes.

Sunny is right behind Rico and she holds her as well, "Julie are you alright?" she is helping Rico hold her and she is caressing her arms and face.

Julie is fine but she really likes the attention, her eyes are closed again. "MMMM that feels nice you guys, don't stop," Julie opens her eyes and finds Rico's. He is staring at her with a loving look. She can't hold back anymore and kisses him on the lips. They hold the kiss for a bit, until Sunny coughs a bit. Slowly they break apart, just enough to look at Sunny.

"What about me Jules?" Sunny asks with a pouty look. She is a bit jealous and wants in on the action. She moves her hand down and squeezes Julie's ass then moves her other hand to Rico's and gives it a squeeze also. She has a bit of a grin on her face and she is biting her lower lip.

Julie likes the way it feels to kiss Rico, it is so natural, so right. Then she turns and kisses Sunny, her lips are soft and warm, smooth. The three of them are locked like they were a few hours earlier in the shower, each one with a hand on the one another, kissing from one to another. They are all getting into the action. Rico is the first one to look around for someplace they can have some privacy. Sunny keeps kissing Julie, they hold each other tight.

"Uh Julie, Sunny I think we need to stop. There is a family over there and the kids are staring at us." He points to the other side of the parking lot. Standing by the side a minivan are two little boys, they are probably about nine years old. They stand side by side fixated on the two girls and the tall guy with a GT hat on. As Rico watches the boys, he glances back at Sunny who has her hands on Julie's ass and is rubbing up and down her sides and hips. "Hey, cool it for a couple of minutes or we will get kicked out of here for sure." He literally has to pull Julie off of Sunny. The two of them cling to each other as long as they can, Rico overpowers them a little and finally has them about two feet from one another. They are staring into each other's eyes. They both turn to look at the kids Rico was talking about. Julie, is embarrassed, waves at the boys. The smaller of the two quickly waves back, he is reprimanded by the larger one. He pulls the little boys hand down and they wrestle a bit.

Sunny is more interested in getting back into it with Rico and Julie. She slides closer to Rico and nuzzles into his side, "What do you think Rico? Do you see anywhere we could go?" grabbing on to his arm.

"No, the only place I see is the building but I'm sure that they don't want us to be in there getting all crazy and naked." Rico is bummed. He looks at Julie, her face is beet red, and she has never been busted like that before.

Even though she has never seen those kids and will never see them again, she feels like she should be ashamed for kissing Sunny like that in front of them. Even though she feels shame, she desperately wants to keep kissing her and Rico some more.

Rico knows that it will be very hard to find a private place, but he continues to scan the area. He is trying to remember any spots on three that they could pull over and have some fun. Not wanting to draw more attention than they already have, he notices that there are other people looking in their direction. He can see that they are not so much looking at the three of them, they are looking beyond them. Rico slowly turns to see what everyone is looking at. He sees instantly, there is smoke pouring out of the hood of the truck. He doesn't see flames but the smoke it pretty thick, it is white and puffy, sort of like the smoke from the fire pit this morning. "Oh shit!!!" he takes off running to the driver's side of the truck. Tearing open the door he grabs the hood release and bolts back to the front. He reaches his hand under to find the release, he finds it and the hood pops a little. When he gets the hood open, the smoke blasts out at him. Sunny and Julie have turned to see what Rico is doing.

Julie is in awe, she can barely see Rico through the smoke. She grabs onto Sunny and they hold each other tight, "Oh Rico, be careful," she shouts. Then turning to Sunny she asks, "What the hell? Did you have that problem before? Did Rico wreck your truck? Or do you think Jr. did something to it?" she is just blindly asking questions. She is nervous, shocked, ashamed, but most of all she is worried about Rico getting burnt or worse.

Sunny is watching the smoke and Rico, what she can see of him anyways. Turning her attention to Julie she says, "No, never had that problem before, I don't think Rico did anything to it. I hope it is something simple." She looks back at Rico through the smoke. It is already starting to dissipate. Rico is waving his arms from side to side. "Do you see anything in there Rico?" She takes a couple of steps towards the truck, Julie snugly beside her.

Rico has the smoke mostly clear from the truck, he is looking at the engine and all around. He is no mechanic but he can see what the problem is, "Oh man, we are fucked, this is bad. Sunny I'm sorry to tell you this but, this truck may never run again." He says as he steps back. He can't help but smile, he knows that there is no real problem but he is playing.

Sunny steps and looks at the engine, Julie joins her. Julie has seen her share of engines thanks to her Uncle. She sees the problem and starts to laugh, "What the hell are you talking about Rico? It's just the radiator cap. Quit screwing around."

Sunny laughs and says, "Nice try Rico, I know about engines too. Let's go see if we can get some warm water and put this thing back on." She walks to the back of the truck and grabs a big jug out of the back. "I always carry an extra bottle of antifreeze, my Dad taught me well." She walks back and hands the bottle to Rico, it is half full, and then grabs him by the other hand. She grabs Julie and they all walk to the building that has a bathroom and a visitor area. "Let's go fill it up with water and let the engine cool down."

It's a fairly short walk to the small building in the center of the parking lot. The lot has two sides, one is for cars and small trucks the other is for Semi-trucks and trailers, as well as RV's and large vehicles. There are a few semis, one RV and about four other cars besides the one with the kids.

One of the truckers approaches the three of them and asks, "Looks like you are having some trouble over there, need any help?" His eyes are locked on Sunny and Julie. Rico takes the lead and steps in front of the girls, as they walk. "No thanks I think we have it under control. The radiator cap just came loose, just have to let her cool down and fill it back up. Thanks for the offer though." He sort of pushes his way past the trucker, ushering the ladies into the building.

"No problem you have a good day," the trucker walks away back to his rig.

Once inside the building, Rico makes his way into the bathroom and does his best to fill up the bottle with warm water. Once he is done with the bottle, he goes to the bathroom and walks back out to the lobby. The girls are not out yet, so he walks over to the wall and starts looking at pictures and maps of the area. They are pretty much the same as Charlie has at Thunder Valley. Charlie's are a bit older but they show the same things. Two Harbors and the Gunflint Trail, and so on. Rico slowly wanders around the lobby, wondering what the girls are doing. He finally has an idea, they are in the bathroom together, probably messing around without him. He is considering walking in and finding them, but there are too many people walking around. He is getting restless, just as he is about to walk right into the ladies room, he hears them laughing and they walk out of the door and arm in arm. Rico is relieved but curious about what took them so long. "Hey what the hell took so long? Did you do anything in there I need to know about? I will be jealous if you did." He drops his shoulders and tries to look sad.

"Oh Rico, we will tell you when we get out by the truck. You didn't miss anything." Sunny says as she walks into his arms. He gives her a hug. She gets up on her toes and kisses him on the lips.

"Yeah Rico, we didn't leave you out of anything!" Julie agrees. Not wanting to miss a chance she kisses Rico as well. "Let's get going!" This time Julie leads the way out of the lobby and into the parking lot. She looks at the truck right away and sees that there is no smoke coming from the front of the truck. "Wooohoooo, no smoke," she starts dancing as she walks back to the truck, soon Sunny is dancing along side of her.

The sight of them dancing has Rico starting to forget about possibly missing out in the bathroom. Now he is interested in getting back on the road and finding a place to have some privacy. As soon as they get to the truck he checks the cap and pours the bottle into the radiator and some into the reserve tank. He quickly puts the cap on and makes sure it is tight. Then he climbs in the cab and starts the truck. He watches as Sunny and Julie dance their way into to the other side of the truck. By the time they get in they are grinding on each other pretty good. He can tell that they are both getting very worked up by the dancing and all the good stuff earlier. Julie stops dancing just long enough to push Sunny into the truck, crawling in after her, she pushes her up close to Rico. Sunny snuggles in next to Rico as they get under way.

Rico slowly drives through the lot, making sure to slow down just enough to get the helpful truckers attention. As the trucker looks up, Rico nods his head to rub it in a little. He grins back at Rico and nods. This small act, the nod, is just enough to make Rico swell with pride. He knows that the trucker is jealous, even if Rico weren't about to be in the threesome of his dreams. He would be proud of the fact that he has made a total stranger jealous. He watches out of the corner of his eye, then in the rear-view, till he can't see him any longer. Then he tries to concentrate on the road, it is very difficult though. Beside him Sunny and Julie are getting very friendly with each other. Sunny has her head back and is moaning softly, Julie is rubbing her legs and kissing on her neck and face. He is enjoying the show but he wants to be in on it as well. Putting his arm around Sunny, he leans over and kisses her cheek. Then he says, "Hey you two save some for me." He starts stroking Julie's hair, he slowly curls his fingers in, then gently pulls her head away. Julie gasps with pleasure and pain, she closes her eyes as Sunny touches her face then kisses her lips. Holding her face firmly in her hands she nibbles and kisses her.

Sunny stops just long enough to turn and say, "Don't worry Rico, we will have plenty of time for you, we are just getting warmed up." Then she kisses Rico, moving down to his neck and chest. She pulls his shirt down so she is kissing his skin. Now Rico starts to moan, he is drifting over the center line of the road.

"Rico!!! Pay attention to the road," Julie practically yells to get his attention, "Sunny let him drive. We definitely want to get back in one piece so we can all enjoy this."

Rico tears his attention from Sunny, let's go of Julie and puts both hands back on the wheel. With his eyes back on the road, he scans the side of it for signs or somewhere they can pull over and have some privacy. He fights the urge to turn his head and watch what Sunny and Julie are doing. Not very easy when all he can hear from them are moans and giggles. After a few miles on the road back to three. He then sees what he's been looking for, an old faded sign. 'Tiny's Waffle House. Home of the Jumbo Waffle!' Rico starts to slow down and then asks, "Hey should we pull in here?" He gently nudges Sunny. He can see the building and it looks like it has been abandon for years.

Sunny has been enjoying Julie as she kisses and nibbles on her neck and shoulders. She slowly pulls her head up and tries to see what Rico has interrupted. Julie stops kissing on Sunny for a minute, but doesn't seem to care too much for looking at the road her eyes are locked on Rico. She is grinning and rubbing Sunny's legs.

"Will we have some privacy? If we will, I say go for it. I don't know how much longer I can wait for this," Julie sighs. Her mind is spinning, she is thinking about what she is about to do. Or at least what she thinks she is about to do. Her mind races from Conner to Rico, back to Conner and then quickly she thinks about Sunny. Her heart is racing, palms are starting to sweat, and her ears start to ring. Doubt and fear creep into her soul. Julie tries to push the thoughts out of her mind. She can't stop thinking about the consequences. If Conner finds out about Sunny, he will enjoy every second of it. If he finds out about Rico he will be crushed, so many things will be ruined. Friendships and relationships will end. She doesn't know if she can handle everything that will happen if they go any further.

Just as she is about to change her mind and tell Rico to keep driving, he pulls into the lot. Slowly driving behind the small restaurant, he can see the windows are covered with dirt and grime. The back door has been kicked in and there is a piece of plywood covering part of it. There is a small fenced area that probably held a garbage dumpster. Rico is looking around the lot and checking out the area. He pulls to a stop, puts it in park, and turns to look at Sunny and Julie. He can tell that Julie seems to have changed, she doesn't seem to be as eager to continue. The smile is disappeared from her face, she is withdrawn and deep in thought.

Sunny can tell something is wrong also, she turns to face Julie, "Is everything OK Jules?" she leans in and gives her a hug. Sunny holds her tight, nuzzling her neck and caressing her hair.

Julie is comforted by the hug, some of the doubt eases from her mind. She starts to relax again. Suddenly her door is torn open. Rico is standing there looking at her with love in his eyes. Julie has not seen a look like that in years, and the last time surely was not from Conner. Rico offers his hand to her; she quickly takes it and steps out of the truck. Sunny follows close behind, standing in the parking lot of this old restaurant, the three of them hug. Julie's doubts are completely gone now; she wants to be with Rico. Not only does she want to be with Rico, she also has a need to be with Sunny. Julie looks up and kisses Rico, their lips press together. Julie tries not to compare him to Conner, but she can't help it. Kissing Conner was not unlike kissing a dog, way too wet and way too much tongue. Sometimes she felt like he was trying to eat her face, there was little feeling, no emotion, and no love. Rico, on the other hand, knew what he was doing; his lips were warm and inviting. Not too much tongue, not too wet, very playful and exciting. She could feel love and an emotional bond in his kiss, something she never really knew she was missing out on till now.

Rico again felt the spark in Julie's lips, so soft and smooth. Kissing her was like kissing a dream, perfect in every way. Even though he was holding both of the girls he didn't really want to stop kissing Julie. He could feel that Sunny was starting to get jealous. She moves in on the kiss, instead of kissing him though, she gently pulled Julie's face to hers and kisses her with as much passion and love as Rico.

Sunny slowly kisses Julie then moves to kiss Rico. Finally, she can relax and give it her all. The three of them kiss each other, finally moving into a three-way kiss. Soon their hands are all over each other as well.

The rain that had been holding off in the distance slowly starts to roll in. A light mist starts to surround them, quickly turning into a full on rain. Julie breaks from the kissing and the group. She turns and runs toward the building only to find the doors are closed tight. Runs back to the truck where Rico and Sunny are still kissing and holding each other.

"Hey you two we should probably get back to the campground. If it starts to storm like Charlie said it was going to. I sure as hell don't want to get stuck on that shitty road on the way back. What do you guys think?" She looks at the two of them as they stop kissing and both look to the sky.

Rico gazes at the rain as it falls. He is disappointed, but he knows that Julie is right. He can feel his chances slipping away. He is not sure what is going to happen with Julie when they leave. He is even less sure about what will happen with Sunny, he is starting to feel the pressure of being in love with two different women, "Yeah Jules I guess you're right, let's get on the road. We can finish this sometime tonight huh?" Then he quickly moves around the front of the truck and climbs in. This time Julie climbs in and sits next to him in the cab. Putting his hand on her thigh, she leans her head on his shoulder.

Sunny climbs in behind Julie and closes the door. She snuggles into her and holds her hands.

Rico starts the truck and pulls out on the road back to Thunder Valley. The spray from the road makes it hard to see, but Rico concentrates as hard as he can on the road.

### "Stormy Weather"

The gray skies have turned dark, almost a blackish green. Rico is leaning forward in the truck trying to see what the clouds are doing. Sunny and Julie huddle together next to Rico, they are starting to get cold from standing in the rain. Julie is shivering and her lips are turning blue, even with Sunny rubbing her arms and legs, the shaking continues. "We have to get you warmed up Jules, you should take your shirt off!" Sunny reaches over the seat and grabs a small blanket from the back. Just as she is about to wrap Julie in it, she quickly pulls her top off and tosses it on the dashboard. Rico is too concerned with the weather to really notice that in a couple of seconds Sunny has Julie completely naked and is taking her own clothes off as well. Sunny turns the knob on the heater and soon it is blasting hot air into the cab.

Once out of her clothes and cuddled under the blanket with Sunny's hot smooth skin, Julie is starting to get warmed up! "Oh Sunny this feels so good thank you so much." Julie slowly moves her hand into Sunny's lap.

"Mmmmmm Jules, now I'm getting all warmed up too!" Sunny says in a low sexy voice. She leans her head back and enjoys the ride. The rain falling on the roof is strangely calming to her.

The rain lets up a bit and Rico finally sees what is going on with Julie and Sunny. They are both naked, Sunny is moaning lightly and Julie is kissing on Sunny's nipples. He is doing his best to keep the truck on the road, "What the hell you two? I'm trying to get us back to Thunder Valley in one piece..." he glances back at the road then back to the action "Holy shit Julie save some for me!" Rico's moment of anger is quickly replaced with an urgency to get back to the campground. With the rain letting up even more Rico presses his foot down. Driving as fast as he can, he sees Julie move her head down a little bit further. Soon the rain starts to pick up again, forcing Rico to slow down, giving the girls a chance to get even more comfortable.

Sunny is moaning and enjoying Julie as she kisses her way lower and lower. "That's amazing Jules, oooooo" Sunny whispers. The blanket has opened and Julie is moving off the seat onto the floor of the truck. Julie slowly pushes Sunny's thighs apart, kissing and licking her way around. "Julie, that's it right there... aaaaahhhhhh... don't stop." Soon Sunny's whole body tenses up and she lets out a little scream, "Oh my Jules, that was amazing." Sunny reaches down and grabs Julie gently and pulls her up to her face. Kissing like two old lovers they hold each other close, naked bodies pressing into each other.

Julie feels so close to Sunny right now, she is happy and excited about the pleasure she just experienced. "Sunny that was awesome. I want to do it again. What do you think?" She starts kissing her way back down. Sunny stops her though, by pulling her back up to kiss her again.

"Julie I think I've had enough for now, besides this isn't fair to Rico. Poor thing, look at him." Sunny looks over her shoulder at Rico, he is trying not to look at her and Julie. "Rico, don't worry we will both take care of you as soon as we can. You've earned it. What do you think of that?" She picks herself up a little and kisses him on the cheek.

"Yeah Rico we will take care of you tonight for sure." Julie agrees with Sunny. Getting up into the seat she leans over Sunny and kisses Rico as well. Her boobs fall in front of Sunny who steals a kiss and a lick of her nipples. "Mmmmmm, you better knock that off Sunny that feels so nice." She slowly moves away from Sunny's lips and Rico's face. Reluctantly Julie sits back on the seat next to Sunny. They sit close together to stay warm. Both still naked lightly rubbing each other here and there. "What are we going to do about our clothes? I really don't want to put them back on they will be so cold and wet." Julie asks as she looks at Sunny.

Rico has been pretty silent the whole time. He is frustrated that he has to wait even longer for his reward. Now he has to think of a way to explain two, hot naked girls in the truck. What are they going to do when they get back to Thunder Valley? "Well I suppose when we get back I could run into the tent and get you some dry clothes Julie." He says as he still thinks about what will happen if they get caught. "Maybe... how big is that blanket?" He glances over at the two of them. Both Sunny and Julie are relaxing holding each other. The blanket is mostly off of them and they are wrapped up in each other. He is distracted by how good they look together. "Um wow you two look so good like that. I can't wait till I get to be in the middle of that. How are we going to make this happen tonight? I was hoping we could do it on the way back but with this storm coming in..." Rico exclaims.

BOOOOM!!! Thunder smashes the soft patter of rain on the roof. The girls jump, and hold each other even closer, the rain is heavy and the lightning is starting to flash across the sky. The storm is still off in the distance, but it is definitely getting closer.

"Holy shit, that was crazy how loud that was." Rico looks around at the sky and the road. The trees on the either side of the road are starting to sway back and forth, some of the smaller ones are whipping around like they are have springs in their trunks.

Sunny and Julie sit up to attention at the blast of the thunder. Julie tries to pull the blanket up to comfort herself. Sunny leans hard into Rico's side, pulling Julie in with her. She finally looks at the road, "Rico where the hell are we?" Her eyes scan the side of the road for landmarks. "Seriously, Rico, where are we? We should have turned on three by now. Are we lost? I think you should turn around." She looks up into Rico's eyes, he is squinting to see the road. He looks left and right, then slows down and pulls to the side of the road.

"What? I'm not sure... man I can hardly see the road sometimes let alone see the road signs. Maybe we should turn around," Rico turns his head and looks out the window. Seeing no cars or lights coming from either direction he pulls the truck around and heads the direction they just came from. Sure enough about five miles down the road, they all see the sign for Co. Rd three. Rico slows down even more and heads onto the road towards Thunder Valley. The road was rough on the way out and now with the rain and wind the road is almost impassable. Rico does his best to keep from hitting all the potholes but they are full of water and very hard to see. Avoiding most of the holes Rico swerves from right to left, after quite a while, they see the sign for Thunder Valley. Rico pulls to a stop and parks just outside the driveway. They have all been fairly silent since they turned around and got on the right track. Finally, Rico says "Well what do you two think? Do you want to put your clothes back on?" He pauses and looks at both the girls.

Sunny looks at Julie and grabs for the clothes, some are on the dash and some are on the floorboards. Her shorts and Julie's shorts were not as wet as their tops and shirts. Sunny slowly puts her shorts on, they are cold and wet. She shivers and lets out a little hoot. "Wow that will wake you up! They aren't as bad as I thought they would be." She grabs her tank top and quickly slides it over her head. Her skin was still on the cold side from being naked and wet most of the ride back. Now she is downright cold. Her nipples stick straight out, Rico stares at her chest. Sunny puts her hands over her chest, trying to warm them up a little bit. "Think I could cut glass with these things!" She puts on a little show for Rico and Julie as well. She gently cups her tits and bounces them up and down, just enough for them to jiggle. Rico smiles and continues to stare, while Julie stares and bites on her bottom lip.

"Mmm Sunny, want some help with that? Um can you hand me my shorts?" Julie plays along. She really doesn't want to put her clothes back on but she really has no way around it. Reaching out her hand she grabs the shorts and slowly pulls them on. She pulls them up her legs, she quickly gets goose bumps as they get further up her legs. When she finally gets them on she is leaning back in the seat, "Wow that sucked." Julie is cold again. Her shirt has been on the dashboard, with the heat on it for about twenty-five minutes. It is almost completely dry by the time she puts it on, the shirt feels warm and cozy as she slides it down her body. The combination of warmth on her chest and cold on her butt has her rather uncomfortable. The only thing she wants to do now is get some dry clothes on and stay warm. "Well, I guess we don't have to worry about how we will explain being naked now huh?" Julie looks at Sunny then over to Rico. Both of them appear to be deep in thought.

Rico is looking, first at Sunny then, back at Julie. It's as if he is comparing the two of them. Which one should he pursue? He can have both of them? He knows Julie, and is so comfortable with her, but Sunny is so amazing too. He suddenly asks out loud, "Jesus how long have we been gone? I bet everyone is getting worried, especially with this weather. What should we do now?" He stops looking at the girls and puts the truck back into gear.

Sunny has a look on her face like she doesn't care how long they have been gone, but Julie's eyes show a bit of concern and nerves. How will she deal with what has just happened? How can she look Conner in the face? If he tries to kiss her, will he know what she had just got done doing to Sunny? Her mind is starting to race again. She can feel the panic return. This time she takes a deep breath and says, "I don't know how long we've been gone. I think we should drive to the site and see if everyone is alright. Then we can run into the tent and grab some dry clothes and head up to your cabin, Sunny." Her calming tone relaxes Rico as well as herself. She is surprised at how clearly she thought of that. With all the questions in her head right now, she can still be a problem solver.

"Sounds good to me Jules. What do you think Rico? Get some dry clothes and head for the cabin? Then we can start to party and have some fun out of this shitty storm." Sunny agrees and looks out the window towards the office.

"Well, I guess it's settled then, here we go." Rico smiles and pushes the gas, slowly he pulls into the parking area. Just as they pass the office, Jr. comes running out and motions for them to stop. He is getting soaked by the rain but he doesn't seem to mind. Julie rolls down the window just enough for Jr. to be able to talk to them.

"Hey I'm glad you guys are back. We were starting to get worried about you, everyone from the campground is pretty much already here. Staying out of the storm, I was just about to go and get the rest of your friends but, well y'all pulled up." He is trying to see into the truck as much as he can. Julie is leaning as far away from the window as she can, not wanting to get any more wetter then she has too. "You're all welcome to join us in the office if you want. This one is going to be a doosey. You all take care now." Jr. slaps the side of the truck and turns to run back into the office.

"Well, I guess that answers one question, Conner, Dave and Sam must still be at the site. Let's go get them." Rico says as he pulls away from the office. Making his way through the campground, Rico slowly pulls up to site three. He isn't sure what he expects to see, but he hopes that everyone is OK and they are not upset with them for being gone so long. Rico pulls into the site as far as he can, he can see that Conner and Dave are standing under the canopy. Sam is nowhere to be seen, Rico is a bit worried but he knows that Dave wouldn't let anything happen to her. Both guys turn and look at the strange truck that just pulled into the site. They both have their rain gear on and are each holding one side of the canopy down. Putting the truck in park and hoping out Rico runs for cover. "Holy shit! What's up with all this rain? I didn't think it would hit till quite a bit later. Are you guys all OK?" He looks around, trying to find Sam, "Where's Sam? Is she here?"

"What the hell Rico? What took you guys so long? Sam told us that you were going into town, I didn't think it was that far of a trip. We were getting worried about you," Dave says in a loud but calm voice. He is relieved that they are back but sorta mad for how long they were gone.

Conner is silent. He looks at Rico then at the truck. He is having trouble seeing into the cab, the rain is blowing by in sheets. When he sees that Julie is in the cab sitting next to Sunny he breathes a sigh of relief. "Yeah Rico what took so long? Did you stop and get it on with Sunny and Julie?" he looks into Rico's eyes.

Rico is caught totally off guard, he takes a step back. His heart sinks. He feels like he is going to get sick, "What?" Rico shoots a look to Dave for some kind of sign. Looking back at Conner, he opens his mouth.

"Holy shit Rico, you should see the look on your face. Priceless, man, priceless. I know Julie wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. I have no idea what Sunny would see in you either." Conner says then busts out laughing. He looks at Dave and says, "Did you see his face?" He mockingly tries to copy the look Rico had made.

"Ahhh that's a good one Conner. You really had me going there, I mean jeez, Julie and I, yeah, never happen. Sunny though, I want her." Rico plays along. He doesn't want to push it though. As fast as he can he changes the subject, "Where is Sam?" he glances over at Dave.

Dave stops laughing and points to the Sub, "She has been in there since it started raining. I was just about to join her when you pulled up." He walks over to the edge of the canopy and bends over a bit to see if she is looking out or not. "What's the plan? Do you know how long or how bad this storm is going to get?" He looks back at Rico with a bit of concerned look on his face.

"Well it's not going to get any better, not for a while anyways. Sunny said we could all hang out in their cabin. It's dry and safe in there. We were just going to get some warm dry clothes and then head up there. Are you guys good with that?" Rico says and looks at Conner and Dave for their answers. Rico knows that they will all be in the cabin soon and they will all be getting loose and having some fun a little bit after that.

Both Dave and Conner nod their heads in agreement, Sam had mentioned something about it earlier, so they knew about the offer. "Yeah Sam told us earlier, we were just waiting for you to get back. We didn't want to go up there and just invade the cabin with Darrin in there," Dave says. He takes a few steps towards the Sub to get Sam, and then he stops and just yells, "Sam lets go, they're back."

Rico turns and waves to Julie and Sunny in the truck. Then he runs to the tent and does his best to get in without getting too wet. Once inside he finds a light and grabs some dry clothes out of his bag. He thinks for a minute to grab some clothes for Julie but he doesn't know how he would explain it. So instead he grabs an extra sweatshirt, and a T-shirt, just in case. Rico is in and out as fast as he can, he can hardly wait for the night to begin. Once he is out of the tent he runs back to the canopy and stands under it for a minute, "Are you guys ready to go up there?" Rico sees that Sam is standing next to Dave. "Hi Sam, how are you? Do you want a ride in the truck?"

Dave, Sam and Conner nod in agreement, "Yeah let's go. Hopefully we won't get too wet." Sam says. Sam starts to move towards the truck, Dave is close behind her.

"Hold on a minute, Julie may need to get some clothes out of the tent. I will go ask her," Rico says. He glances at Conner who doesn't seem to notice Rico's concern. Rico quickly runs to the driver's side and jumps into the cab. "Hey Julie did you want to grab some dry clothes? I grabbed an extra T-shirt and sweatshirt if you want to wear it," asks Rico.

Sunny is a little shocked, "That is so thoughtful Rico, you are awesome!" She looks into Rico's eyes and sees how much he cares for Julie. She is a bit jealous, but she also knows she has a grip on him. "Julie I have clothes at the cabin you could wear, I'm sure that they would fit you! How does that sound?" Sunny looks at Julie.

"That would be great Sunny thanks, I don't want to get all soaked again running to the tent and back. Thank you too Rico. That was very sweet to grab something for me." She looks at Rico and smiles, and then she looks at Sunny and smiles at her also. "Are those guys coming with Rico?" Julie knows the answer but she asks anyways. She knows that Sam isn't really a fan of storms and Dave will do whatever she does. Conner will go with the crowd as long as he can drink and be dry he will be happy.

Rico nods his head and jumps out of the truck, runs back to others and says, "Julie is going to get some clothes from Sunny, so let's get going. We got plenty of booze when we were in town also, so let's have some fun," says Rico. He then runs back to the truck and jumps back in the front, waits for the others to hop in the back. Julie opens the door and lets Sam get in the cab. It's a tight squeeze but they manage to make enough room. As soon as they all get in the bed of the truck, Rico hurries out of the site and makes his way back up the road to the cabin. "When we get to the cabin you three can just run inside right away. I will get all the booze with Conner and Dave." He puts the truck in park and hops out to get inside as fast as he can. Rico grabs the beer and makes sure that Dave and Conner grab some as well.

Sunny leads the way up the path and into the cabin, Darrin is laying on the couch in front part of the cabin. She walks in and looks around, "Hey Darrin, I invited these guys to wait out the storm in here with us, hope you don't mind." She could really care less, Darrin will just have to deal with it. "Come on Jules, let's go find some clothes for you. Sam, are you OK? Do you want to see if I have something for you also?" She looks at Sam and waits for her to respond.

Sam stands in the room and looks at her clothes. Even though she was in the Sub for most of the rain she is still a little bit wet and decides that she may want a dry shirt or something. "Yeah Sunny, maybe a sweatshirt would be nice." She walks over to where Sunny and Julie are standing. The three of them walk into the back part of the cabin, where Sunny has all her clothes. Soon all three girls are wearing dry clothes. Sunny and Julie are the same size so it's easy for them to find something. Sam is a bit bigger but she finds a sweatshirt that will fit her just right. Julie had grabbed Rico's t-shirt and sweatshirt from the truck on her way out. She slips it on over Sunny's t-shirt, it's Rico's favorite sweatshirt. It's a black hoody with 'Minnesota Vikings' on the front of it. Julie can smell Rico on the shirt, her mind drifts to the picnic table and the fire.

Rico, Dave and Conner finally get all the alcohol and finally get in out of the rain. They all find the coolers and start putting the bottles and cans away. Darrin hasn't said anything since everybody started walking in, finally stands up and walks over to the guys. "Hey guys. Can I get one of those beers from you? That's getting to be one hell of a storm huh?" Dave grabs a beer and hands it to Darrin. Darrin opens it up and takes a huge drink. Then he turns and goes to sit back on the couch and look out the windows.

Soon Sam walks into the front part of the cabin, "You have something in there for me Davey?" She grabs him around the waist and squeezes him. Dave stands up and spins around to grab onto Sam. They hug and play around a little bit, then Dave hands her a drink.

By the time Sunny and Julie walk into the room Conner is just finishing putting the bottles in the cooler. He stands up and turns to see his girlfriend standing next to Sunny. She is wearing Rico's sweatshirt, "What the hell Jules? Why are you wearing that sweatshirt? Isn't that Rico's?" He glances at Rico, who just shrugs his shoulders.

"Oh Conner, just relax, Rico grabbed an extra shirt when he went in the tent. It's no big deal. Let's just have some fun tonight," Julie says. She walks over to Conner and puts her arms around him. It is the last thing she wants to do but she knows it will help the situation from getting out of hand. She can feel how cold Conner is, Rico is so much warmer to hold on to.

Rico watches as Julie walks over and hugs Conner, he is instantly jealous. Then he turns to look at Sunny. She looks so good, her hair is wet, she is in a big sweatshirt, and he assumes that she has shorts on but he can't tell. His heart melts a bit more for her. Rico's mind is spinning again, he is trying to figure out how all this is going to happen tonight. The one thing he does know is that he is about to explode, he wants Sunny and Julie so bad it hurts. He doesn't know how long he can act like nothing has happened between the three of them. He wants to walk over and grab Sunny then grab Julie and take them to one of the beds.

BOOOOOOM!! Rico jumps a bit from the sound of the thunder. Lightning flashes, the whole cabin lights up. Sam and Julie jump in the air a little bit, they are comforted by Dave and Conner. Sunny lets out a little scream. She looks at Darrin who is still staring out the window. Rico looks at Sunny, wanting to grab her and hold her like the other guys were doing. Sunny seems to read his mind and walks over to Rico. She quickly wraps her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Rico is not sure how to react, she feels so good though, he wraps his arms around her a hugs her back. He looks over his shoulder at Darrin, who has his head down, he is rubbing his eyes. When he looks up he blinks several times.

Darrin says, "Holy Christ that was freakin bright, I can't see." He sits back on the couch and drinks his beer while trying to get his eyes to focus again. He didn't even see that Sunny was holding onto Rico.

Dave lets go of Sam, breaking the silence after the thunder he asks "Hey Sunny, would you mind mixing me a drink? The ones you made last night were perfect. He watches as Sunny lets go of Rico and walks over to the cooler.

"Sure Dave I can do that, who else wants a drink?" Sunny quickly grabs some glasses. She puts some ice in them and starts mixing drinks for everyone. As soon as she has everyone all set she says, "Let's all go into the other room there is more space for us." Sunny grabs Rico by the hand and leads them all into the other room.

Everyone finds a place to sit in the large room. Sam and Dave sit next to each other, on one of the bunk beds. Julie is torn between sitting by Conner and sitting by Rico. She wants to sit on Rico's lap, but she also wants to be in a bed with him and Sunny. Julie ends up sitting by Conner for now. She can't keep her eyes off of Sunny and Rico though. Rico grabs a chair and sits between Sunny and Julie. He can see both of them. Darrin finally wanders into the room, grabs a chair and sits on the other side of Sunny. The mood in the room changes as he sits down, there is an uncomfortable silence.

Darrin finally says, "Well Sunny what do you want to do? Should we play a game?" For some reason Darrin seems to be in a good mood. Maybe it is the storm, maybe he is at just the right point in his buzz to be happy, but it is a nice change. He is actually smiling. He still doesn't seem to be paying attention to Sunny other than the passing question. He is looking around the table at everyone, almost like he is sizing them up. Then he takes a drink of his beer, finishing it he slams it down on the table, startling everybody. "Hahahaha, holy cow are you all jumpy or what?" He stands up and walks into the other room.

"Wow, what's gotten into him?" Julie whispers, "I have never seen him like that." She is looking at Sunny, wondering what is going on.

"Oh Darrin? He must be in a good mood because of the storm, he has always liked them. It's weird, but whatever at least he isn't crabby. We should enjoy this while we can," Sunny says. She is looking around at everyone, she stops when she gets to Julie.

Julie is staring at her and she winks, "Well Sunny, what should we do?" Julie looks around at everyone else. Everyone's attention is squarely on Sunny, the mood in the room is one of nervous anticipation. Dave and Sam are sort of quiet, just cuddling together on the bed. Conner is drinking and imagining what he missed last night between Julie and Sunny. He is doing his best not to stare at Sunny, but it is obvious he is undressing her with his eyes. Rico is beside himself with excitement, he can barely sit still long enough to take small sips of his drink.

Sunny looks at everyone again and says, "Well, I'm not sure, should we play a game? I think I saw some board games in the closet." She stands up and walks into the other room. "Let's see, there's Life, Monopoly and Yahtzee. I'm leaning towards Yahtzee myself." She pops back through the door with all three games stacked on one another.

Rico could care less what they do as long as he gets a chance to be with Sunny and Julie. Julie is in the same boat, she wants to be alone with Rico and Sunny. Conner is still in his dreamland with Sunny and Julie getting busy with each other. Sam and Dave sort of perk up to the thought of playing a game.

As Sunny makes her way back through the room, Darrin follows close behind. He has a fresh beer in his hand and a rare smile on his face. Just as Sunny sits back in chair, Darrin looks over and sees that Dave and Sam are sitting away from the table. He turns around and walks back out of the room. He emerges a few seconds later with two folding lawn chairs. "Here sit up at the table you guys, so we can all play a game," Darrin says. He sets the chairs up side by side next to his and Sunny's. Conner slides over a bit and makes room for Dave and Sam to sit at the table.

Dave is shocked, he never expected Darrin to be in a good mood. He is actually starting to like Darrin. "Wow, Darrin thanks for bringing those in here," he stands up and helps Sam to her feet. They both walk over to the table and sit down pulling into the table, there is not much room. Everyone is now sitting very close together.

Sunny takes the Yahtzee game and asks, "Is this OK? We can make a good drinking game out of this." She doesn't concern herself with paying attention to anyone who may disagree. In a couple of seconds she has the dice out and the nice leather cup. She digs in the box and finds the score pad and a few small pencils. BOOM. Thunder crashes loud again, causing Sunny and Julie to jump at the same time. All five dice are sent flying around the cabin, landing here and there. Darrin starts to laugh and quickly moves to start picking up the dice.

"Man this is like Déjà vu all over again. Sam did the same thing last night," Conner blurts out with a laugh.

Dave and Rico help find the rest of the dice while Conner continues to stare at Sunny. Once the guys have the die collected they start to play the game.

Lightning flashes again and again. As the evening darkness approaches, the flashes help keep the small cabin pretty well lit. Even though Darrin has had a small radio on, it is getting harder and harder to hear. The thunder, wind, and the sound of the rain hitting the roof and the windows practically drowns out every other sound.

Before the game starts Sunny gets up again, mixes new drinks for everyone and sits back down. Once everyone has their drinks, they start rolling the dice. "What kind of drinking game are we going to play here with this?" Sunny asks. The storm is in a bit of a lull, giving them a break between the loud claps of thunder and flashes of lightning. With the small amount of calm and the mood pretty easy in the cabin, everyone relaxes and proceed to drink and have fun.

Rico doesn't care what kind of drinking game they play, he is more interested in getting to the point where he can be alone with Sunny and Julie. With everyone, including Darrin, getting along and having fun, Rico sees his opportunity slowly slipping away, he finally says. "Well I don't know about anyone else, but I say we just play the game like normal and just drink as you see fit." He looks at Sunny and then at Julie, "Then we can have a social drink for every Yahtzee. How does that sound?"

"I like it, I think we should do it that way also." Julie chimes in and smiles at Rico. She tries not to stare at him but it is getting tougher for her to see him as just a friend. The more she looks at him and sees how he is looking back at her, she can tell he is not looking at her as just a friend either. Although she knows that Rico wants to be with Sunny as well, she doesn't mind. Sunny is amazing and Julie wants to be with her as well. As strange as she used to think it was for two women to be with each other, she is totally into it now. She can see herself having a girlfriend, and a new boyfriend. Her small daydream is smashed by a very loud. BOOOOOOM BOOOOOOM.

Lightning flashes and fills the room with a blinding light. Julie jumps. So does everyone else, including Darrin. The thunder is so strong it actually rattles the cabin, the windows sound like they are going to crack. The wind picks up again and the storm is raging worse than before. The rain is coming down harder than ever.

Darrin stands up and walks into the front room. He carefully peers out of the window, "Wow, I can't even see the sign on the road, shit it's only ten feet from here. This is crazy, wonder how long this is going to last? This is the kind of storm you tell stories about." He throws his head back and lets out an eerie laugh. Then goes off on a strange story, "yeah back in the day we had a storm that put this one to shame, ya know. Wind blew so hard the cabin came off of the foundation, rained so hard you couldn't see your hand in front of your face." He is wandering back and forth in the other room as he speaks. "We had to walk up hill both ways," then he walks behind the wall. When he comes back, he has a new beer in his hand. He is mumbling then, "Wow that storm is crazy!" he finally sits back down and smiles at everyone. "So are we going to play or what?" He leans back in his chair puts his hands behind his head and grins.

All eyes are on Darrin, mouths are wide open and there is complete silence for a split second. BOOOM. Blinding light, then, nothing, no light, no sound. From the distance, a low deep rumble, closer, closer, louder and louder. Finally KABOOM, another blinding flash, the brightest yet. Sam is stuck to Dave like a child on her father. Another flash, Sunny is moving to sit next to Rico. More thunder, more flashes. Julie is frozen, stuck to her chair, she wants to go and sit with Sunny and Rico. But she sits in place. Then another clap of thunder, at the same time she feels a hand grab her arm. Julie jumps and screams, her arms waving wildly in front of her face. Julie is terrified, till she realizes that Conner has reached out to her, his cold hand touching her arm practically makes her piss herself.

"Dammit Conner, you prick, you scared the shit out of me," Julie screams. She is angry. Not so much at Conner as much as she is mad at herself for being so jumpy. She is scared, confused and jealous. Looking at Sunny sitting so close to Rico, she wonders if his hands are cold like Conner's. Suddenly Julie is back in the shower, she can feel Rico's hands on her skin. His lips on her neck, fingers lightly on the insides of her... then that cold hand brings her back to the cabin. Conner is trying to grab her leg.

"Jules, Jules, hey Jules. I'm sorry, geez I wasn't trying to scare you. I was just trying to make sure you were alright," Conner apologizes. He is still trying to grab onto her leg, this time he reaches up, just above the elbow.

Julie pulls away from him then she relents, "Well, Jesus Conner what did you think was going to happen? You know I don't like storms." She turns her back to him and folds her arms across her chest.

Conner knows he made a mistake, still he tries to get his hands on Julie's arm. Or at least on her shoulder, he rubs and grabs at her till she finally leans back into him. He whispers in her ear, "I'm sorry, babe. I really didn't mean to scare you." He plants an icey kiss on her ear as he lets her go. Conner knows that every time he has said that before, Julie has come around and snuggled up into him. This time he waits for her to turn around and give him the look, then kiss him and hold him tight. Only he waits and waits. He waits for something that is just not going to happen this time.

Julie listens to Conner and cringes as he kisses her. She carefully thinks about something to say to Conner. There is an awkward silence as Julie stews. Instead of hugging Conner like she usually would, she scoots her chair away from him. They are still close but she has a bit of distance from him now. With a new found sense of power Julie exclaims, "Let's play!" Then she proceeds to slam her drink. "Wow I need another drink. Sunny will you help me with it please?" Julie stands up quickly and walks into the front room.

Sunny pulls herself off of Rico, and follows Julie with her own glass. When she rounds the corner she sees Julie standing with her back to the counter, hands on either side of her. She has a grin on her face and she is staring at Sunny as she walks over to her. Julie peeks over her shoulder as she gets close to her, making sure that no one is looking or followed her. Once she is within arm's reach, Julie grabs her and pulls her in for a hug.

Sunny asks in a low voice, "Julie, are you OK? Is something wrong?" Pulling away from her a little bit, still hugging her gently though. She looks into her eyes and smiles, she has seen that look before. It was when they were in the shower, just before Rico joined in.

Julie is holding on tight, not letting Sunny go. She is just about to pull her in to kiss her, when she sees someone move towards them from the other room. It is Sam. She has a look of concern on her face. Julie lets go of Sunny in a flash, and steps to the side trying to hide her face a bit.

"Jules, are you alright? Did Conner scare you that bad, or is something else going on? You've been acting weird all day." Sam says as she walks over to Julie and puts her arm around her, "You know you can tell me anything Jules." Sam finally looks at Sunny, who is trying not to make eye contact with either one of them now. Sam takes that as another sign that there is a problem, "Come on Jules level with me. Sunny do you know what is going on?"

BOOOOM, more thunder, another couple of bright flashes. The rain seems to be letting up a little bit but is still making a lot of noise on the windows and roof.

Julie is thinking of what to say to Sam, after all she is her closest friend. She doesn't know whether to cry or laugh. Then it hits her. She looks Sam in the eyes and says, "Sam, I'm fine, just upset about how Conner has been treating me lately. I would have come to you but... well I know how upset you must be about your situation. I didn't want to make it worse by throwing my petty problem at you." Julie has turned to face Sam and has taken her hands and is holding them. "I should be the one who is asking you if you are alright. You need me to be a better friend to you than what I have been. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me Sam." Then she hugs her tightly. In the back of her mind she is thinking that hugging Sam right now is like hugging Conner, before she realized how much she was missing out on. Before she was touched and held by someone who actually cares for her. When she finally lets go of Sam, she takes a couple of steps back and looks for her reaction.

Sam has tears in her eyes. She is holding them back as best she can. "Oh, Jules, I'm fine and you should know that you can always come to me for a shoulder to cry on. No matter what is going on around us. Now come over here, you too Sunny." With that all three girls come together for a group hug. When it is over they separate and stand close to each other, turning their backs to the other room.

Julie says to Sam, "Thank you Sam. I know I should have told you, but I am just tired of being treated like I am his trophy, or like he can do no wrong. He knows how jumpy I get when it storms out, and yet he still grabs me with his cold hands. Ah never mind, let's not talk about that anymore, we are supposed to be making drinks and having fun. Right, this is our last night up here so let's get good and drunk." She looks at Sam, who nods her head, them at Sunny, she nods. "Great! Sunny set up the drinks for us." With that she walks over to the cooler and grabs some cokes and the Captain, putting them down next to Sunny on the small counter. She turns and walks away with Sam and waits for Sunny to finish mixing the drinks.

Once the drinks are all mixed, the girls carry them back into the other room where the guys have been drinking and wondering what the hell is hold up. Darrin is looking out the window and only comes around when Sunny hands him another beer.

Conner takes his drink from Julie and asks, "What the hell took so long? It's like you all went to the fucking bathroom or something." He looks at Julie for an answer.

Rico sees an opening and jumps on it, "Well Conner, you did scare Julie pretty bad... I'm not so sure I would drink what she just gave you now just in case she had an accident or something." He starts laughing and slaps Dave on the shoulder. Everyone starts to laugh along, with the exception of Conner, who is looking at his glass, wondering if Julie put something in it. He sniffs it just to make sure. Then he sets it down on the table in front of him.

Julie looks at what he just did and picks up his glass, "Jesus Conner, Rico was only joking, I would never put anything in your drink." Then she takes a drink, puts it down and says, "There are you happy now."

Conner looks around at everyone, and then cracks a smile and laughs. He still won't take the drink though. Conner is looking at Rico, and then he says, "I don't trust the two of you, you are probably trying to mess with me for scaring you." He turns to look at Julie.

Rico reaches across the table and grabs Conner's drink, puts his down in front of him and says, "There you can have my drink." He takes a drink, a long drink, and then sets the cup down. "Conner how the hell could the two of us have plotted something against you? She was in the other room and I was sitting in here with you the whole... whol..." Rico's eyes get big. He shakes his head from side to side a bit. "Uh whol... ugh." Then he falls out of his chair, flopping around on the ground.

Everyone jumps up from the table, Conner starts to yell, "What the fuck? What the fuck did you do? Holy shit!" Conner is in a panic, he looks over the table where Rico is still twitching. Then he stops.

BOOOM, more thunder, then as the lightning flashes Rico jumps up and yells, "Gotcha Conner, you fucking pussy." Rico starts laughing, "You should see the look on your face. That's what?" Rico looks up out of the corner of his eyes like he is counting, "Three times on this trip. Wahoo."

"Shit Rico you had us all going!" cries Dave. Sam is standing behind him nodding her head.

Conner is pissed now, but he tries to act like he knew it was a joke. He laughs, but gives Rico a dirty look, "Good one Rico." Then he sits down and takes the drink in front of him, slowly drinking it he barely takes it away from his lips.

Rico is pretty sure that Conner is not going to say anything the rest of the night. If he does it will only be something that will try to dig into either him or Julie. "Oh come on Conner it was just a joke, relax, and let's try to have some fun while we can." Rico returns to his seat and waits for everyone to sit back down. He can feel Conner's eyes on him, almost like little knives being shot at him. It bothers him for a minute, and then he looks at Julie, Sam and Dave. They all have smiles on their faces and they are all starting to relax, the drinks are going down easy.

The game of Yahtzee turns into one long game of roll the dice; forget what you had on the last roll. Drink for the hell of it and pass the cup to the left. After about an hour of rolling the dice, the storm has let up and it is just raining. There is an occasional blast of thunder and some brilliant flashes of lightning. But as the heavy weather rolls off, another smaller storm is on the way.

### "Yahtzee"

Sunny keeps mixing the drinks as the game progresses, the drinks get a little stronger and stronger. Sam starts to feel the effects of the drinks the quickest, followed by Julie and then Conner, Rico and Dave. Although Darrin has been drinking the whole time, he seems to be the same as he was when they finally sat down and started rolling the dice. He has been drinking beer the whole time so maybe that is what is keeping him from feeling the alcohol.

Sam starts to feel a little tipsy and sort of woozy, "Whoa, Sunny, these drinks are either getting stronger or I'm drinking way more than I think I am." She says as she looks over at Sunny and then at Dave. Her eyes are getting a little blurry, and she almost feels like she is going to pass out. "Whoa, I think I have to lie down, Dave lets go..." As she tries to stand up she falls back into the chair, she starts to laugh and grabs onto Dave as he gets to his feet.

For as big as Dave is, the alcohol is getting to him as well, "I know what you mean Sam, I'm feeling a little sloppy here too." He has to brace himself on the table and the chair, as he tries to take Sam's weight. "Come on Sam lets go to..." Dave looks like he is going to fall over with Sam in his arms.

Rico sees the impending collapse and jumps up out of his seat, grabbing Dave around the waist. He grabs Dave's wrist and slings his arm over his shoulder, his long arms drape over Rico like a gorilla. Rico has a flashback to the other night when he almost lost Darrin in the middle of the road. Dave is taller, but doesn't seem to weigh as much. He still doesn't want to be in the middle of him and the ground. Maybe it's because Dave is still trying to help and move along with him, but Rico is moving him around with ease. "Come on Dave, here you go, lay down on the bed." Rico does his best to toss Dave as far onto the bed as he can, he doesn't get him very far though. "Alright Dave, now just roll over so I can get Sam on there with you." Rico squats down and pushes Dave as hard as he can, finally getting him to roll over to the far side of the bed. Getting to his feet, Rico spins around to get Sam out of her chair. Somehow she is still in the chair and not face down on the floor, she is leaning back with her head leaning off to the side. "Holy... hang on Sam I will be there in a second." Before he can get to her in the chair, Darrin grabs her and picks her up. Rico is taken back, sliding away from the bunk to give him room to lay her down. He carries her over to the bed and lays her down next to Dave on the bed. "Wow thanks Darrin. I didn't..." Rico looks at Sunny then, Julie. They are both watching as Darrin gently lays Sam down on the bed. "No thanks to you Conner," Rico glares at Conner, who is still pissed about the joke earlier.

Conner just sits in his chair ignoring everyone, the only thing he is trying to do is find the bottom of his drink.

Darrin just smiles and nods his head, "Hey I have to piss like crazy, I'll be right back," he says as he turns and heads toward the door.

Conner finally finds the bottom of his drink and asks, "Sunny how about another one just like the last one." He holds his glass up and wiggles it back and forth.

Sunny stands up and grabs the glass, then walks into the front room and mixes him another drink, "Hey Rico, Julie do you two need a refill?" Poking her head around the corner she winks at them as they both look at her and check their drinks.

Julie is feeling pretty loopy herself, but she wants to be ready for some action if anything presents itself. "No Sunny, I'm good for now. Thanks anyways." With Sam and Dave lying in bed and Darrin out in the weather, it is just the four of them.

Rico looks at Julie, who is thinking the same thing, "No, Sunny, I'm good for now too." His eyes are locked onto Julie, and she has a smile on her face. He then glares at Conner, who is just about to fall out of his chair.

Conner is so wasted he can barely focus on anything. Julie could probably take her clothes off and have her way with Rico on the table in front of him. Other than not having a place to put his drink he wouldn't even notice.

Once Sunny is finished mixing the drink she returns with it and hands it to Conner, who takes a drink immediately. He tries to set it on the table, instead, he only gets half of the glass on, sending the drink into his lap and all over the floor. Conner stands up in a violent, revolting dance, trying to get the ice and liquid off of him. Knocking over his chair in the process, he looks like he just pissed himself.

Rico busts out laughing as he sees his friend dancing around like an idiot. His shorts and half of his t-shirt are soaked. He is laughing so hard he almost misses Conner step on one of the ice-cubes, slipping on it and falling flat on his ass in the middle of the puddle.

Conner tries to get to his feet, yelling the whole time, "Rico sshut up, you assshole. Get over here and helb me up." Then he gives up and lays back down, mumbling something under his breath.

Julie is staring at Conner trying not to laugh, and then she looks at Rico with a disapproving look. She genuinely feels sorry for her boyfriend, something she has never felt for him before. Now she sees him, as a childish, selfish, alcoholic who just doesn't know when to stop. Julie looks back at Conner as he lays in his puddle, almost ready to pass out. A smile spreads across her face as she realizes this might be the one chance they all have to fool around. "Conner, do you want to lay in a bed? Rico will you help me put him in one of the bunks, please?" She can barely contain her excitement, the thought of getting to be alone with Rico and Sunny makes her feel weak in the knees.

Rico slowly walks around the table and starts to bend over. Then he stops and looks at Conner, he looks absolutely pitiful. He is drooling, and it looks like he is laying in his own filth. Rico knows it is just his drink. But it still looks like piss. Rico is not sure if he should help put him in bed or if he should just leave him alone.

Sunny has been standing watching the whole mess take place. She is laughing to herself, trying to keep from completely losing it. She opens her mouth to say something, when Darrin walks back into the cabin. He is pretty well soaked from the rain that is still coming down.

"Whoa, what the hell happened to him?" Darrin is looking down at Conner, who is barely conscience. "Did he piss himself?" Then he sees the glass and the ice all over the floor. "Uh never mind. How did he end up on the floor though?" He is looking at the three of them as they stand over their fallen friend.

Rico and Julie look at each other, seeing who is going to start to tell the story. Rico knows that if he starts to talk he will just end up laughing the whole time. He gives Julie a little nudge on the arm, prodding her to start talking. For some reason Julie is frozen, she wants to tell Darrin the whole story but she just can't seem to say anything. It is almost like she has completely lost her voice. She doesn't know what to do, so she looks at Sunny then back to Rico. She just shrugs her shoulders and lowers her head.

Sunny makes her way around to grab a towel start to clean up the mess. "Darrin, you should have seen it. I walked back in with a drink for him, and then when I gave it to him he took a drink and tried to put it down on the table. Only instead of putting it on the table he only hit the edge and it spilled into his lap. Then he tries to stand up." She can't hold it in anymore and busts out in a fit of laughter.

Rico has composed himself enough to finish what Sunny had started. "He stood up and knocked the chair over, trying to dance the drink off of his crotch." Rico breaks into a little dance making fun of Conner. "Then he took a step forward and he must've slipped on one of the ice-cubes, because he fell down like, well, like a drunken idiot." Rico is still dancing around, laughing the whole time. "Then he tries to sit up, and he is yelling the whole time, 'help me up' then just like that he gave up and laid back down. We were just going to try and put him in one of the beds when you walked in."

"So you're just going to put him in bed, wet shorts and all?" Darrin looks at Rico and Julie.

Julie raises her eyes up and then she quickly grabs a towel from Sunny and starts to help clean up the mess. That leaves Rico to decide what to do with Conner for the time being. Julie has started to try and dry off Conner as well. She gives up rather quickly because he is just soaked, and he is starting to move around again. He is rolling around from side to side, moving his arms and legs as if he is running in place. If it didn't look so painful it would be very funny. Conner's eyes flutter open. He looks completely lost, as he fights to sit up.

"What... what happened?" Conner finally asks. He is resting on his elbows, trying to focus on Julie as she is kneeling beside him. His eyes are slits, he tries even harder to open them all the way. "Jules, what happened?"

Julie is taken back a little bit, she is unsure about how to react. She can still barely talk, she manages to say, "Well Conner you spilled your drink on your lap and then." She starts to laugh as she pictures the dance he tried to do to get the ice off of him. "Then, you slipped on one of the cubes I guess and fell down." Julie hands Conner the towel so he can dry himself off. Then grabs him by the hands and tries to pull him up. She doesn't get very far, he is just too big for her to have much luck.

Sunny sees that Julie is having trouble and needs help. Rico is close so he tries to help, Conner is like a limp noodle. As Rico tries to get him to his feet, Conner just sort of slides along the floor with every pull. After a few tries Rico lets go and Conner slumps back to the ground.

Darrin watches as Julie and Rico try to get Conner to his feet or into the chair. When he looks at Sunny, she winks at him. Darrin nods his head and waits.

Sunny stands up and tosses the towel and puts the glass on the table. "Darrin, could you give them a hand? Maybe you could take him down to their campsite and put him in the tent. Stay there till he gets some dry clothes on and then bring him back." Sunny looks at Julie for a response, "what do you think of that Jules?" She waits for Julie to look into her eyes then winks.

Julie is still feeling a bit weird but can still take a hint pretty well. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Maybe I should go with and help him get dressed." She starts to wobble a little bit herself, she turns to look at Rico. Who has found a chair and is sitting in it, looking up at Sunny and Darrin.

Sunny glances at Darrin, "Well Julie, you look like you could just about pass out yourself. Maybe..."

"Don't worry about it Julie, I'll take care of it," Darrin interrupts, "You guys were nice enough to me the other night. It's the least I can do. Besides, I'm already wet. I might as well help out with him, before I get some new clothes on." Darrin takes a few steps towards the table.

"Oh wow, Darrin. Thank you so much, that is so nice of you," Julie stands back as Darrin moves towards Conner and easily picks him up and gets him to his feet.

Conner is just a puddle but manages to say, "Whoa, I don't feel sho goo..." His head falls down and to the side.

Darrin carries Conner around like a ragdoll. His feet barely touch the ground as Darrin spins around and heads towards the door. "Be right back you guys," then he opens the door and disappears into the rain with Conner on his side.

As soon as the door closes Sunny is on Julie, she grabs her face and kisses her hard. They feel each other's bodies and fight for control. Julie gives in and lets Sunny do as she pleases, she could hardly speak before, now she is absolutely speechless. Sunny pushes her backwards towards Rico, who is sitting in his chair staring at them as they kiss. Rico stands up out of the chair and grabs them both in his arms. He leans down to get in on the kiss, moving from Julie to Sunny and back again.

Sunny finally breaks the kiss, "We don't have much time, let's get to a bed." She quickly leads them to the bed that Julie had attacked her in the other day. "I've been planning this since I saw you the first time Rico." Then she kisses Julie, "You are such a sweet bonus Jules."

Rico and Julie see that Sunny has taken charge and they just go with the flow. Rico tears his shirt off then he grabs for Julie's shirt. "I've wanted you to do this since the first day Sunny. Jules I can't believe how much I want you too. God is this really going to happen?"

Julie is a bit nervous. She flashes a look over to the bed where Dave and Sam are passed out. Sunny steps in front of her, "Don't worry about them, they are out cold. This will be easier and more fun if you just relax. Rico why don't you help Jules get comfortable on the bed I will be right back." Before she walks away she gives Rico a push and he falls onto the bed.

"Alright Sunny, hurry back, we don't have much time." Then Rico reaches out and grabs Julie by the back pocket of her shorts and pulls her down on the bed with him. She doesn't resist this time and soon they are kissing and grinding on each other.

Sunny walks back in the room with a glass, as she gets to the bed she appears to take a drink. "Here you two, take a drink of this, it will take the edge off a bit." She holds out the glass to Julie, who pulls herself off of Rico and sits up.

"What is it Sunny?" Julie asks as she takes a sip, then a drink. Julie sits back even further off of Rico and hands him the cup.

"It's just something I whipped up. It's good you'll like it," Sunny smiles as she talks.

Sitting up on one elbow Rico takes the cup and finishes what is left. Sunny grabs the empty cup and walks back to the other room. Rico watches her ass as she walks away, only to be stopped by Julie leaning down to kiss him and start grinding on him again.

The more worked up Rico gets the harder it is for him to focus on Julie. She sits up again and slowly pulls her top off. Rico is squinting and popping his eyes open to get a good look at her. He has lost track of time, all he can think; is finally this is going to happen. Then just as soon as she takes her top off, Sunny steps in and helps her with her bra. As it falls away, Sunny cups her hands around her boobs and squeezes them a little bit.

Sunny then gently pushes Julie over and off of Rico, taking her place on Rico's lap. He watches as Julie lies down next to him and rolls onto her back. Rico then sees Julie close her eyes, and then he looks up at Sunny. She is so pretty he thinks, then nothing. As he lays there he can feel Sunny moving around on him. He feels her lips on his, then on his cheek, over to his ear. She whispers, "Times up, Rico."

### "Times Up"

Rico slowly opens his eyes, it is dark all around him, and he is still on his back. He is very weak, his legs feel like lead, arms feel like they are tied down. Something is stuck in his mouth, he tries to spit it out but he can't. Rico tries to focus on the room he's in. He looks all over, looking for something, anything. He yells out, calling as loud as he can. All that he hears is his muffled scream. Rico does his best to move his body, his mind is spinning. The last thing he remembers is seeing Sunny push Julie off of him. Julie, she was right next to him. He looks to his side, he can't see anything. What did Sunny say to him? Rico closes his eyes. Small tears start to roll down his face. What happened? Where am I? Where is Julie? Where is Sunny? Rico starts to panic, he can't see, hears nothing, and he can't move. He drifts out one more time.

As Conner comes around, he is blinded by light. He is tied to a chair, he has a gag in his mouth and his head is pounding. He feels like he just got his ass kicked, he has taken beatings before and this is the worst he has ever felt after one. When his eyes adjust he looks around, he is in the middle of a small room. The walls are made of plywood. There are no windows or openings other than a small door behind him. He can barely see the door, but he can see the frame. His hands are tied together with a rope that runs underneath the small wooden chair. His legs are tied into the rope as well, as he leans forward to check out how he is tied, he can feel a thin line tighten around his neck. Conner fights to sit back up. The tension on the line releases as he sits up straight again. The silence of the room is broken by a loud scream, from behind the door. He recognizes the voice, it is Sam. She is screaming at the top of her lungs, Conner can't tell what she is saying but he can tell she is scared or in pain. Conner starts to scream and panic, the line around his neck cinches up tighter. The more he yells the less he can breathe. Somehow he fights the urge to panic any further, sitting up he tries to breath.

Sam is screaming as loud as she can, she is scared out of her mind. She is tied up in a chair. She has been awake for quite a while. There is a small light on above her head, barely bright enough to light the room. Her hands are almost completely numb. She is fighting against the ropes that are holding her tightly in the metal folding chair. The more she struggles the tighter it gets. Her fingers are turning purple, and she can't feel her feet, she is hysterical. Snapping her head from side to side, she can't understand what is happening. She screams again, she screams till she can't scream anymore. Once she is quiet, she rests her head on her chest. She is on the verge of passing out when she hears the unmistakable sound of a door knob turning. Footsteps, then a hand grabs her long hair from behind. She is pushed forward a little bit then her chair is pulled backwards out of the small room she is in. Sam tries to scream again as she is pulled around a corner into a larger well lit room. She tries to look around to see if she can figure out where she is, and what is going to happen to her. The chair stops and her head is pulled back again. She opens her eyes enough to see a bright light, and then she closes her eyes. The footsteps move away from her now, then a door slamming closed. She jumps from the sound. Hoping to wake up from this nightmare, she knows this is not a dream. It is too real to be a nightmare. Sam lets her head fall down. He starts to cry again, wondering what will happen next. Wishing she could see Dave, have him burst into the room and rescue her. Somehow she knows that isn't going to happen. For several minutes that seem like a lifetime, Sam sits in the chair, as still as she can possibly be. Somehow she isn't scared anymore, she raises her head. Her attitude changes, she is getting angry. The anger gives way to madness. She struggles against the ropes that hold her. Tighter and tighter, her right hand feels like it is going to fall off. In a moment she will wish it had.

Sam hears the door open behind her, footsteps, then pain. She is hit in the dead, not hard enough to knock her out, but enough to daze her. Something starts to run down through her hair, down the back, then making it to her face. It is warm, she knows its blood, it's in her eyes, then her mouth. Through the blood she can see somebody's feet walk around in front of her. Her head is lifted up, she can't make out the face. Then she is slapped or punched hard across the face, snapping her to the left. Laughter fills the room, a low muffled laugh. Then she can feel her right eye starting to swell, then another slap, softer this time. Her eye is completely closed within a minute, she raises her head to try to see who is doing this to her. With all her strength she looks around trying to find the feet. When she finds them she fights to pull her head back, she can't make out who they belong to. When she gets to the face, another punch to the head, so hard it knocks her over, chair and all.

Conner stops fighting, he can't hear Sam yelling anymore. Fighting is not working so he gives up for now. He tries to remember what happened before he passed out. The only thing he remembers is the storm, and Rico making fun of him. Rico his best friend, laughing at him. Rico, Rico was acting strange all night. Come to think of it so had Julie, they were both acting strange. Then Sunny made him a drink, and then he wakes up in this little room, tied to a chair almost choking to death. Conner starts to yell, he is screaming, trying to get to Rico. "Arg, Rio, you bastar. Arrrrr." His yelling does him no good, he only succeeds in making the line tighter then he passes out.

Rico wakes up, still on his back. Still can't move, he can almost make out a sound. AAAAA. Then silence again. He tries to look around and see where he is. He is laying on something made of wood, the floor maybe? His legs are still like lead, arms useless for now. He can't see or hear anything again. Rico closes his eyes again trying to think of what happened. He replays the night over and over in his head. His thoughts turn to Sunny, what was it that she said? She pushed Julie to the side, and then sat on top of him. He looked at Julie, back to Sunny, then nothing. Sunny was moving around on him then when she leaned over she whispered, 'Times up.' What the hell did she mean by that? His eyes close again, he tries to fight, to keep them open...

Sam is picked up from the floor violently, her head snaps to the side. Blood and hair cover her once pretty face. Her right eye is still swelling. She is in agony, being tossed around in the chair. That last blow must've broken the chair, because every time she is forced upright. She ends up slumping back and to the left, till she falls over again. Sam has given up screaming, finally her arms are released. A strange voice says, "Pick her up. Tie her to the wall." She can't tell if it is a man or woman. Sam tries to find where the voice is coming from. She probably couldn't see who it was anyways. Hands grab her hair and one is wrapped around her neck, she is dragged backwards then tossed against the wall. She falls hard on the floor, her head lands on something soft, something familiar. With all her strength, she turns to see what she landed on. The screams start again as she sees that familiar thing is Dave's chest and shoulder. He is cold and not moving, his throat is a wide open gash. Blood is everywhere, cold and sticky. Sam tries to get away from Dave's body, then, she stops. Through her good eye, she can see that Dave's eyes are open, it's as if he is looking right at her. Sam throws herself back onto Dave, she kisses his cheek and tries to wipe the blood off of his mouth and chin.

"Dave, Dave, oh God, Dave, please don't leave me, Dave." Sam is running on something she didn't know she had, she tries to pick Dave up. He is limp, she knows he is dead, but she still tries to get him out of the blood he is laying in. As she lifts with all her might, Dave starts to move out of his resting place. One final pull and part of Dave's body is up and in her arms.

"Dave, oh Dave. What did they do to you?" Then she realizes that she only has part of Dave, his legs are still lying on the ground over by the wall. The sight drains everything out of her, she falls backwards, part of Dave falls on top of her. What blood he has left, floods onto her chest and face. Sam tries to scream again, she gets a mouthful of blood instead. Sam is drowning under Dave, yet all she can hear is laughter. Low, bellowing laughter. She finds a way to turn her head and spit out the blood. As she fights for air one more time, boots walk up to her and what is left of Dave is lifted off and thrown aside like a bag of trash. Suddenly she is on her feet, well she is in the air anyways. Her back slams against the wall, her arms grabbed and held above her head. Hands tied to something, as she hangs her feet just touch the ground. The person who moved her and tied her quickly moves away. Her head hangs down as she tries to see what is coming next. She is hit with a liquid that burns as it passes over her. The only good thing about is now the blood and hair are washed out of her eye. Sam can finally get a look at the room. More importantly she can see who is doing this to her.

"Why? Why would you do this?" Sam screams. She can't hold on much longer. As she cries she can feel her arms breaking, "Why?" Sam asks one last time. She raises her head one last time, as the figure moves in and hits her one last time. There is no pain with this shot, her head drops. She looks to see a giant hunting knife sticking out of her chest. She knows it's over now.

Conner is torn from his forced slumber by a sudden pain in the middle of his back. A hand on his head pulls him upright. Something is pulled down over his eyes. The pain in his back is starting to subside, and then it's gone. It is soon replaced with a pain, a burning pain that runs down his left arm and into his hand. He cries out in pain, nobody can hear his cry, no one that cares anyways. Conner struggles to get away from the pain in his arm. He is also trying to get away from the smell. His flesh feels like it is burning, not from fire, but a chemical. Acid maybe? It reminds him a movie he watched once, where the main character had his hand burnt by some chemical. He was being held down by his 'best friend' then after being in severe pain for several minutes. His 'friend' poured something else on his hand to stop the reaction on his hand. Conner can only imagine that Rico is the one pouring acid or God knows what on him right now. He can only hope that his 'friend' will show mercy on him the same way as the movie. Conner's hope is answered, only not by his friend. The pain stops as fast as it started. Sweet relief, if just for a few seconds. The burning pain stops, and then he is hit by something on his right side. His elbow explodes in pain, someone is laughing as he is hit again. The sound is like an aluminum baseball bat hitting a ball out of the park. The hand on his head is gone and his chin hits his chest. The line tightens up and he can't breathe again. Just as he is about to pass out again the line is cut and he has a minute of relief. Whatever was around his neck must've been attached to the gag in his mouth. He gasps for air, the smell of whatever was on his arm makes him gage, then he pukes. Whatever was in his mouth goes flying. His hands are still tied under the chair to his feet, he then hears the first voice. It is low and deep, Conner doesn't remember that voice.

"Cut him loose," a man says, "move him to the other room. The others are out of there now."

Conner is cut loose and he is picked up a big arm is under his neck and then they move backwards. Conner tries to use his arms to fight or grab on to whoever is manhandling him. But it is no use. The shot with the bat and whatever burnt his arm, make them just hang like a puppet. His feet drag behind him as he tries to stand on them. Maybe he can get away and make a run for it. He has no idea where he would run or what he would do if he got away. His arms were useless and he was pretty sure that his feet would be in bad shape also. As Conner is dragged out of the small room he was in, he is pulled down a hall. The hall is fairly well lit, more so than the other room. He can make out the lights through the hood that is over his head. Once they are in the other room, the person who is dragging him hits him in the kidneys, hard. Then he is dropped to the floor, hitting with a thud. His face smashes onto the hard wood floor.

"Put him in the chair," this is a different voice that sounds vaguely familiar. Conner knows that voice.

"Hey, I know you. I can hear you. You fuckers. I will ge..." Smack. Conner is kicked in the head, and then he sees stars.

"You will what? What do you think you are going to do? You are going to die, you can scream you can run, oh wait, I imagine your legs will be broken in a few minutes so that's not going to happen." It is the first low voice, the one he can't place yet.

"Shut up. Just, shut up. Put him in the chair and leave him alone for a minute," the voice he knows.

Conner is picked up and placed on a chair. It's a cold metal chair, his arms hang at his sides. His legs are spread in front of him. He remembers the comment about his legs being broken and tries to pull them up to the chair. His mind is still pretty quick, but his reflexes are gone. The same thing that destroyed his arm whistles through the air, and then crushes his right knee. Conner passes out from the pain.

Rico sits up, and he is moved to a chair, he wakes up in the middle of the move. His eyes are covered by something and can't see anything. Then a faint light is coming from the edge of the blindfold. All he can see is the floor, and shadows moving around him. This time around Rico can feel his legs, he can actually move them a little. No such luck with his arms they still feel like they are tied to him somehow. There's hardly a sound, other than footsteps and shuffling. Then Rico gets the feeling that he is being watched. There is no sound in the room. Rico rotates his head from side to side trying to hear something. Anything, but it is no use. He is alone in the room, his thoughts turn back to Julie, then to Sunny. He thinks of the last thing he saw, Sunny's pretty face. Then he waits.

Conner finally wakes up from the blast that shattered his kneecap. He is in more pain than he could ever imagine. Somehow he is still in the chair, for all he knows, he could've fallen out of the chair and been kicked around some more. Then put back in the chair, he just doesn't know. He is in so much pain that he starts to wish he was dead. Just to make the pain stop, he has forgotten about everything else. Julie is nowhere in his mind, Sam and Dave are gone. The only other thought is Rico, laughing at him; making fun of him for falling down, acting like he had been drugged. He would give his last breath to know that Rico will be facing the same fate, if he hasn't already. This last thought brings his last true smile to his face. "Hahahaha." His sick laughter fills the room. When this trip started he never thought he would be laughing at the thought of his best friend being tortured and killed in some brutal way.

Suddenly Conner is snatched out of the chair and dragged backwards, tossed against the wall where Dave and Sam's blood still stain the floor. His leg broken, his arms mangled, he is propped up against the wall, tied up and he takes another shot to the ribs this time. He tries to brace for another shot, but instead the hood covering his head is torn off, quickly. His eyes have trouble focusing, but he starts to see the faces of the people who have been beating and breaking him. Just as he recognizes them he is knocked out by a punch.

### "Decisions"

Rico has been alone in the room for what seems like hours. It is starting to get rather warm, and he is starting to sweat. He can't see anything but he figures that it must be getting to be around noon. Rico's mind starts to wander in and out, from the drive up from the cities to seeing Sunny for the first time. All the missed chances, how much fun he had with Julie and Sunny, the shower.

A sound behind him, the door opens, and then closes. He hears whispering, and then he hears the door open and close again. He thinks he is alone in the room again. His mind goes back to the walk back from the shower with Julie. Then, "times up, Rico." What? Is this what she meant by times up? Good lord that just sounded so real. Rico has a quick passing thought that Sunny is in the room with him and just said. "Times up, Rico." But she couldn't be in the room with him. She wouldn't do this to him. Rico knows in his heart that Sunny was falling in love with him. How could Sunny do anything like this? She is so sweet.

Rico's mind jumps back to Julie. Where in the hell could she be? He knows that he would do anything to make sure that Julie is safe. Rico can feel the hopelessness of the situation, the fear and the pain in his heart. He sits, waiting, listening, hoping to hear someone walk into the room and say 'Gotcha.' The longer Rico sits there, the more he knows that isn't going to happen. Every now and then, he can hear footsteps behind the door. Some are heavier than others and there is no pattern to when they come and when they go. Rico is starting to sweat even more now, all the alcohol from the night before is starting to come out. He expects to start getting a headache, although he realizes that he didn't drink enough to get a hangover. Minutes seem like hours, hours seem like days. Rico is thirsty and he is getting tired again. He has been motionless for a long time, just sitting, every few minutes, he has been trying to move his arms. They are starting to work, and he can move his legs a bit, he then realizes that they have been tied to the chair. Rico starts to move his fingers and hands, they feel like they have been asleep for days. He can almost feel the pins and needles, lightly pushing into the tips. Then they move up his arms, soon he can move his whole body. He can move but he can't go anywhere.

After what seems like a lifetime, just as Rico is about to lose his mind the door slams open. The heavy footsteps approach him from behind. He is grabbed by the shoulders. Fingers dig into his flesh, a painful reminder of the pins and needles. He is forced to stand up, hands held behind his back. He is grabbed by the back of his hair, the chair is moved and Rico is pulled backwards, almost yanked completely off of his feet. The first real pain he has felt other than the pins is this hand trying to rip the hair out of his head. An odd thought flashes through his head; 'Shoulda gotten my hair cut before this trip.' Then it is back to the pain raging through his head. Rico is lead to a different room, and forced to sit down in another chair. His arms and legs are tied to the chair. There is a bright light in the room and a smell that is foreign, Rico can't place it but it's not good. The smell reminds him of burnt hair and dog shit.

As Rico sits in the chair he listens and wonders he waits for a beating or the gotcha. Something, anything... anything would be better than sitting here not knowing what is going to happen. Rico has never been very patient and this is no different. If he is going to be killed or beaten he just wishes it would happen.

Finally after a minute or two Rico hears a voice.

"Well, what are we going to do with him?" It's Darrin's voice. Then he can hear something metal clanking around.

Rico is stunned, he feels like he is going to lose his mind. Then he just freaks out, he strains to get out of the chair. He screams and yells. He is pissed that Darrin is the one who is doing this. How could he be doing this? Who the hell was he talking to? Did he do something to Sunny?

Rico starts to calm down a bit hoping for Darrin to say something, or better yet, for Sunny to say something. Maybe Julie will say something. After the struggle and the fighting, Rico stops and hangs his head. He fears the worst has happened to Julie. Once he has this last thought, he starts to cry, softly to himself. Rico has never felt like crying for a girl before, let alone a girl that has been dating his best friend for the last four years. He cries for Julie and he cries for Sunny, another girl he never thought he would cry for. Sunny made him feel like he was worth something. Julie made him feel loved, important.

Rico finally raises his head, he sits up tall and proud. He waits for his fate like a man, he feels bad for not telling Julie or Sunny how he really felt about them. He makes a vow to himself, if he makes it out of this in one piece, he will never miss an opportunity to tell someone he loves how he feels about them.

Rico can hear Darrin moving around, he is getting closer, and then he moves away. As Rico sits up tall he can see shadows out of the corner of the blindfold. Every time he sees the shadow come close to him, he braces himself for a punch or something. He keeps moving his head from side to side, trying to get a glimpse of what is coming. After a few minutes of Darrin moving around, he finally walks up and to Rico's side, standing so close, he is practically pushed off the chair. Then the blindfold is pulled off of Rico's head. The bright light of the room hurts as it floods into his eyes. As he focuses on the room he finally sees where he is. The room is large, and open, there is a counter on one side of the room. On the counter, there are all sorts of tools and toys. He can see a bat that seems to have wet blood on it. Next to the bat is a claw hammer, with a bunch of screwdrivers and pliers. Some small hand shovels and trowels lay all over the counter. He looks to the other side of the room, the wall is covered in hooks and other tools like rakes and shovels, hoes and pick-axes. He can see four different sized mauls, the biggest one is probably a twelve pounder. If he weren't tied to a chair he would think he is in any normal garage somewhere. He keeps moving his head to see what else is in the room. He stops when he sees Darrin. He is wearing a black apron that seems to be covered in blood. He has on a pair of leather work gloves, and he is looking at the wall with the rakes and other tools. Rico watches as Darrin walks over and reaches for a hoe with three prongs on it. Then he stops and walks in front of Rico, pausing to glare at him. He moves towards Rico faster than he can react, and gives a kick to the chest that knocks the wind out of him and sends him rocking backwards. Just as the chair is about to fall over and land on his head, somehow it stays upright. The front of the chair slams back to the ground as Darrin laughs to himself. Rico fights to catch his breath again, as he lifts his head, Darrin has made it to the counter and is going after a pair of long-handled tree pruners. As he grabs them and takes a step away from the counter, Rico can't believe his eyes. Sunny is standing there leaning against the counter. She has a wicked smile on her face, her eyes are focused on Rico. Then she watches as Darrin slowly walks towards Rico, he is opening and closing the pruners, looking at the blades close on each other.

Rico is crushed, but at the same time he is elated. Sunny is alive but she's not what she seemed to be. How could such a sweet girl be involved in this? He watches as she follows close behind Darrin step for step. Darrin is so wide Rico can only see her because she is off to his right side. She stops about eight feet from where Rico is sitting in the chair. Darrin continues to move at Rico. He hangs his head and tries to fight back tears.

As Darrin gets close enough to start cutting at Rico, Sunny calmly says, "Wait a minute Darrin, hold up. I want to say something to him first."

Darrin stops as if he is frozen. He closes the pruners and steps away back over to the counter. His eyes are down as he passes Sunny, he is silent.

Sunny stands for a long moment, looking closely at Rico. Her head moving from side to side, she folds her arms over her chest and starts to pace back and forth. Then she slowly walks up to Rico, she can see the tears still in his eyes. He is fixated on her, watching as she moves.

"Well Rico, what do you think? Are you shocked? Oh you poor thing Rico." She is inching closer and closer to him. When she gets to him she bends over and looks him in the eye, and then she winks at him.

Rico has no idea what the wink is about he is still in shock over seeing her alive. He doesn't know what to do, if he should be upset with her or if he should be happy that at least she is still alive. He leans back as far from her as he can, he starts to turn his face away from her. But he can't help himself, and he turns to look her in the eyes.

Sunny reaches out her hand and touches Rico's face. Melting him, just like the first time she touched him. He can feel warmth and tenderness. Her hand is shaking a little bit though, she is nervous, or so he thinks. She runs her hand around the back of his neck and she swings her leg over Rico's lap. Settling down on top of him, she grabs his face and leans in close.

He can smell her sweet smell. His mind wanders back to the office the first time he saw her face to face. Then he is back in this little hell.

As Sunny leans in she starts to whisper. "Rico, I want you to know something, I'm totally falling for you. I can get you out of this, but I need to know if I can trust you and more importantly, if you love me." She leans back and looks him in the eye. She smiles then leans back in, "We don't have much time, so nod your head yes or no."

Rico thinks, then he nods his head yes. He wants her desperately, but he also wants to live, and he has to know what happened to Julie.

Sunny whispers to him again, "That's good Rico, but I'm going to need you to prove your love for me. We need to get rid of someone who is in the way. I have to know if you will finish what we started. Once he is out of the way we can finally be together. So will you finish it for me?"

Rico's head is spinning, he agrees out of fear and love. He nods his head up and down.

Sunny leans in one more time to say, "Good, now you have to trust me for right now. I'm going to save you. Do you trust me?"

Rico nods one last time. Then he watches as Sunny stands up and gives him a kiss on the corner of his mouth. Turns around and walks back to Darrin, she whispers something to him. Before he walks away Darrin leans over to a stereo and turns it on. "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad, if it makes you happy..." Darrin looks up at Rico and starts towards him one more time. Even though he knows Sunny said that she was going to save him. He wonders how she is going to stop him. Darrin is twice her size. When it happens it happens fast, as Darrin slowly makes his way over to him, opening and closing the pruners again and again. Rico braces for Darrin, but he tries to see what Sunny is up to. He watches as Sunny walks up behind Darrin and smashes him in the back of the head with the bloody bat. For her size she absolutely crushes his skull. He drops to the floor in a heap, blood and parts of his brain fly everywhere. Rico is showered in the result of Sunny 'saving' him. Sunny walks calmly over to Rico and cuts his gag away. He is still tied to the chair, in shock and covered in pieces of Darrin.

"What the hell is going on Sunny?" Rico asks. Then he watches as she turns around and gives Darrin another shot in the head. More blood pours out on the floor. There is no way he will ever get up, Rico knows he is dead.

"So what if right now everything's wrong, if it makes you happy..." The radio plays on...

Sunny turns back around with a wild look on her face. Through the blood he can see fear in her eyes. She stands in front of Rico still holding the bat, and then she drops it to her side and asks Rico. "Are you ready to finish him off? He is the only thing standing in our way."

Rico looks down at Darrin's lifeless body, blood is still pooling out of him and all over the floor. Sunny steps to the side to avoid getting it on her sandals. "Yes, Sunny I am ready to finish this. Cut me loose and let me at him." Rico's eyes never leave Darrin, he is not sure what is left to finish. Whatever it is though Rico is more than ready to do anything for Sunny.

"Good Rico, good. I knew you were the one I was looking for." Sunny walks around behind Rico. She wraps her arm around his shoulders and kisses him on the cheek again. Then she lets him go.

Rico waits for her to cut him loose, then he is spun around in the chair and what he sees almost sends him over the edge. Conner is hanging against the wall, beaten and battered. His broken leg hangs awkwardly to the side, arms tied above his head, and he is being held up by some kind of hook or shelf. Rico can't really tell what it is. Rico feels a bit of sorrow for his friend, but he is more confused than anything right now. Rico struggles with what he is seeing, and then he finds Sunny. He looks at her and doesn't know what to say or do.

"Well Rico, this is it, with Conner out of the way, we can all be together. Finish him." Then she cuts him loose, and hands him the bat.

Rico is in shock. He grabs the bat and tries to stand up. He has been sitting so long though, he falls back into the chair. Then he makes it to his feet and takes a step towards the wall. "Sunny, what do you mean, we can all be together? Where is Julie?"

"Julie is fine Rico she's in another room, still out cold. Now, I know that you love Julie and she loves you. Isn't that right Conner?" She turns her attention to Conner on the wall.

Somehow Conner is still alive and awake. He tries to raise his head, when he finally does he sees Rico standing in front of him with the bat. It is covered in blood and so is Rico. He has a crazy confused look on his face.

"Yeah, I knew you were behind this Rico. You've always wanted Julie and this is how you are going to take her huh? You have always been jealous of me and what I had with Jules." Conner yells as loud as he can. Though it comes out as a low growl, the yelling has caught up with him. He tries to stand on his good leg but doesn't get too far. "Come on Rico you big pussy."

Rico can't believe what he is hearing. Conner is right, he has been jealous of what the two of them had. Rico could never understand why he didn't treat her better, why he was always more concerned with what he wanted. Not with what Julie wanted or needed. Rage fills his head. Conner had always been sort of mean to him. He had constantly found ways to dig at Rico and everything he did. Ever since they were kids, it was Conner first and Rico second. Now it was going to change, Rico tightens his grip on the bat and takes a step at Conner.

"Rico you better not fuck this up, like you do everything else. Come on what are you waiting for? Can't handle it can you? Both of you can have Julie, she's a clingy little whore anyways," Conner taunts Rico. He flashes a shitty grin, he has blood in his teeth. "Ha ha. Come on do something, or get me down." Conner moves his eyes towards Sunny as she stands off to the side. "Hell Sunny, why'd you pick such a puss? You need a real man to care of you." Conner looks back as Rico's hands tighten on the bat, he knows what that means.

Rico could always put up with Conner's bullshit, but now he had gone too far. "How can you say that about her? Shut your mouth." Rico finds a strength and quickness he didn't know he had. He sends the bat sailing through the air, and he hits his friend as hard as he can right between the eyes. Conner's face explodes as the bat makes contact. As Rico lets go of all his anger he falls to the floor, dropping the bat and watches as Conner's now lifeless body hangs against the wall.

Sunny makes her way over to Rico and holds him tightly, "You did the right thing Rico, it's okay now. We can all be together." She helps him to his feet, and they walk away from Conner and Darrin.

Just as they get past Darrin's body, the door at the far end of the room flies open. Charlie charges through the door, he has a shotgun and he brings it up right in Rico's face.

"Dad, put the gun down. Rico's with us now," Sunny steps in front of Rico between him and Charlie grabbing the barrel of the gun and pushing it to the side.

Charlie slowly lowers the gun away from Rico's face, "Nnn, well he's with us now." He looks past the two of them and sees that Darrin is laid out on the floor. Just beyond he can see that Conner is hung on the wall, his face is caved in and he is clearly dead. Charlie looks back to Rico and nods his head.

Rico is shocked yet again. He pushes away from Sunny just a little bit falling to his knees. He feels sick, but also exhilarated, all the emotions are catching up to him.

"Uh did you just call him Dad? Sunny what the hell is going on here?" Rico's mind is spinning even more than before. He has just killed his best friend to save his life and Julie's as well. Now he is finding out that Charlie is Sunny's father. Things start to make sense to Rico now. That is why Jr. and Charlie were always checking out Julie and Sam. Not staring at Sunny, that is also why all their stuff seemed to be stored away at the cabin, and their truck and canoe were up front already. That is how Sunny knew about the little path leading back from the campsite to the cabin.

"Well, Rico we have a lot of things that you need to understand, we will explain everything in time but first things first." Sunny steps closer to Rico, joining him on the floor and hugs him. "We need to go and get Julie and tell her what is going on. Are you ready to go and start over with us?"

Rico staggers to his feet, trying to soak up everything that has just happened. He tries to think of what he is going to tell Julie. How can he live with what just happened? Will Julie ever forgive him? Will she be the same as she was yesterday? Will he be the same? How can all this be happening? Somehow he manages to say, "Yes Sunny."

Charlie stands in front of the door sort of blocking it in case Rico changes his mind. He is studying his face and watching for the reaction. He has been doing this for a long time and he knows how to read people, he can tell what someone is going to do just by looking at them. Once he gets the right feeling from Rico, he steps away and lets them pass.

Sunny leads Rico out of the room and down a short hallway, they stop in front of one of the doors. Rico is still in shock, he just helped kill his best friend. He doesn't know if Conner would have died from the beating he had already taken. But he does know that he is the one that finished him off. Now he wonders if he made the right decision, he doesn't know if he would do it again if he had the choice. As they stand in the hallway, he falls back against the wall. Sunny has to help hold him up. He is confused, scared and exhausted. Sunny's touch is very comforting, some of the fear and exhaustion seem to melt away from him as she holds him close. She kisses him on the lips, and hugs him tightly.

"Rico are you OK? Everything is going to be alright, you just have to trust me and do as I say," Sunny is looking at Rico, she has his face in her hands.

Rico has a far off look in his eye for just a split second, then when Sunny says trust me, he snaps back to the hallway. The flood of emotions is tearing him up, he wants to close his eyes and be back in bed with Julie by his side and Sunny on his lap. But this time when he closes his eyes and opens them he is back in the hall with Sunny.

Sunny looks at Rico then she tells him, "Julie is in this room, do you want to go and get her?"

Rico just about knocks Sunny off of her feet to get into the room, he needs to see her, and he needs to know that she alright. He grabs at the handle and finds that it is locked, he turns and twists, pushes and pulls. Rico is just about to kick the door open when Sunny grabs his wrist.

"Rico, relax, she is fine. Alright we didn't hurt you or her, she is out cold in there just like you were." Sunny takes a step back and reaches into her pocket pulling out a small key, "Here is the key to the door." She teases him with the key. Holding it out then quickly pulls it back when he reaches for it. "Rico, I have to ask you again. Do you trust me?"

Rico can only think of one thing now, and that is Julie. He will do or say anything to see Julie right now. Without so much as a second thought he says, "Yes Sunny, yes, I trust you, and I will do anything you tell me just let me see Julie. Please I need to see her. I need to know that she is alright."

Sunny is convinced that Rico is telling the truth, this is what she has been working for. Getting Rico was the plan. Getting Julie is a great bonus. "Alright Rico, here you go. Go get her." Then Sunny turns around and unlocks the door. She steps aside and Rico bursts through the door.

Rico looks around trying to find where Julie is. Rico looks to the left then to the right, he sees her lying on a bed, eyes closed. Just as pretty as can be, she looks so peaceful. If she only knew what had been happening to the rest of them. Rico takes one step, he is a bit shaky then he practically jumps the rest of the way across the room, and lands on the bed. He grabs Julie and picks her up in his arms. He can't understand why she won't wake up, he wants to shake her and wake her up. He starts to get a little panicky, Rico looks back over his shoulder looking for Sunny.

"Why won't she wake up? Julie. Julie, wake up, wake up it's me Rico. Julie please wake up!" Rico cries.

Julie slowly opens her eyes, she tries to focus on the face in front of her. It is Rico's face she sees. She smiles and hugs him, "Rico what's wrong? What are you doing?" Julie looks around the room, she looks confused. "Where are we? Is that blood? Why do you have blood on you?" She continues to look around the room, nothing is familiar then she sees Sunny standing in the doorway. "Sunny, what is going on here?"

Rico can hardly speak. He is so relieved to know that Julie is OK. Tears start to well up in his eyes, he pulls Julie close to him again. This time she hugs him back, they kiss for the first time. It is so natural to kiss Julie it feels so right.

"Rico what's wrong?" Julie asks again.

Sunny knows that she needs to step in and save Rico from saying too much. "Julie, some terrible things happened last night, Darrin flipped out and well, the only thing that saved us all was Rico. Somehow Rico got away and stopped Darrin from hurting anyone else. Unfortunately he didn't get away until it was too late for Dave, Sam and Conner." Sunny has started to cry and act like it was what really happened. She walks over and sits on the bed next to Rico and Julie.

Rico is amazed at how believable she is, he knows what happened and he actually believes what Sunny just said.

Julie is shocked by what Sunny just said, "What do you mean? Darrin flipped out? I don't remember anything from last night. It's all a blur from when Conner spilled his drink. Then well I know that Darrin was going to bring him back to the site. Then we were on the bed, you walked over to us Sunny, then nothing." She looks at Rico, tears in his eyes.

"Yeah well, we can talk about that later but now we have to get out of here, let's go." Sunny says, and then she gets up and heads for the door. Rico stands up and helps Julie to her feet they turn and walk out of the room. Sunny leads the way down the hall and past the 'Room', the door is still slightly ajar. The lights are off and there is no sound coming from inside.

Rico feels the urge to stop and look in one more time, maybe he will see something different from what he left. He wants to see his friend not hanging on the wall missing half of his face. Rico slows down and reaches for the door, he is just about to push it open.

"Rico, what are you doing?" Julie asks. She is lost and curious. Her mind is still in a bit of a fog. She is strong enough though to hold Rico back just long enough to alert Sunny.

Sunny turns just in time to see Rico reaching for the door. "Rico! We have to keep moving let's get out of here. We have a lot of work to do." Sunny is close enough to Julie to grab her hand and pull her away, she pulls Rico along with her. The three new lovers walk out and into their new world. The storm has passed and they all long for the comfort of each other. There are sunny days ahead for all of Thunder Valley...

THREE WEEKS LATER... A mini-van slowly pulls into the parking lot at Thunder Valley and parks in front of the office. A man in his late forties opens the door and steps out, stretching and looking about the courtyard. He slams the door and leans his head inside for a minute, then walks into the office. He looks around and sees the bear in the corner, the pictures and maps on the wall. Stepping up to the counter he rings the bell. "Hello, anyone here?" he says in a loud voice.

A young man emerges from the back room. He has curly brown hair and a smile on his face.

"Welcome to Thunder Valley my name is Rico. How can I help you?"

