Two
When Cindy arrived it was with sweet treats, although Natalie wasn’t in the mood for them.
“How are you doing today dudette?” she asked. Natalie shook her head at the pity evident on Cindy’s heart-shaped face. Natalie leaned her head back, letting her brunette hair fall over her face.
“That good huh,” Cindy continued. Natalie grimaced.
“I still haven’t come to terms with it all.”
“Have you heard from him at all?”
“No, I tried calling him but there was no answer. I’ve tried not to look at his Facebook page.”
“He hasn’t put anything up of interest, in case you were wondering.”
“That’s a small comfort.”
“You know you have to stop this, it’s not doing you any good. I’ve indulged you enough but you have to pull yourself out of this misery.”
“And do what? How can I trust anything anymore? I thought we were going to end up together.”
“But this isn’t doing you any good. I hate seeing you like this.”
Cindy came over and took hold of Natalie’s arms, dragging her up. She had to use all her strength because Natalie wasn’t at all responsive, but eventually she got to her feet, and Cindy held her to prevent her falling down again.
“I’m your friend, and I’m telling you this for your own sake, you are falling apart right now and I’m not going to let it happen,” Cindy continued in a determined tone, “I don’t care what you say to me but I’m not going to let you languish in this place. Life is happening right now, and you’re too much of a good person to not enjoy the best years of your life. There’s so much else out there for you to do, and you can’t let him ruin your life for you. We live in the best city in the world and if you can’t enjoy that then I don’t know what hope there is for you.”
Natalie pouted and let her tongue hang out, for she did not have the energy to do anything. Cindy sighed with exasperation and let her fall back to the sofa. She turned and started sorting out a few things in the kitchen.
“You know, I’m trying my hardest here but you’re not making it easy,” she said. Natalie heard the frustration in her friend’s and realized that she was getting serious.
“I’m sorry,” she called out, “it’s just…it feels like everything I’ve known has been taken from me and I have no idea what to feel anymore. I don’t even know if I want to move on, I don’t know what I want.”
“All the more reason why we should go out and do something!” she prompted, and was met with a groan. Natalie was refusing to do anything, and Cindy stomped around the apartment, feeling frustrated. Eventually it got so bad that Cindy went into Natalie’s room, took some clothes out, and threw them onto her. Natalie pulled them off and protested.
“You’re either coming out now or you can find a new best friend, because I’ve had enough of you sitting around here like you have nothing going for you. You’re young, you’re hot, and you can do anything the hell you want because you’re single again. Now, I loved Mark, and I loved you when you were with Mark, but it’s been ages since we’ve both been single and I’m not going to have it be filled with you moping. We’re going out to meet some guys, or I’m going to leave you alone to end up rotting away in here.”
With no other choice Natalie reluctantly acquiesced to her friend’s demand, and got ready. The two of them hailed a taxi and went down to the local strip of bars. Cindy was wearing a short blue dress that sparkled, and it clung to her slim, slender figure. Natalie was a little shorter than Cindy but had a fuller, hourglass figure. She was wearing a black dress that perfectly suited her curves and had a plunging neckline. She looked a million dollars, and as she walked along she turned many heads, although romance was the last thing on her mind. When they reached the bar they got a couple of drinks.
“First things first we have to establish some ground rules for the night. There is going to be no talking about Mark because I’ve heard enough of that, this night is supposed to help you move on.”
Natalie agreed, but the rule was soon broken as she became tipsy. They were approached by a few men, but each time Natalie asked them what they would have done in Mark’s situation, and they were soon scared off. Cindy shook her head and blew out her cheeks as she realized that things were not going to be easily fixed. They danced a little, but Natalie’s heart wasn’t in it, and Cindy soon gave up on trying to give her friend a good night out. They retreated to Natalie’s apartment with ice cream, and Cindy listened to Natalie rant about Mark. Cindy had heard it all before, and she hated the fact that Natalie didn’t seem to be moving on. After Natalie had poured her heart out once again Cindy held her and came up with a suggestion.
“Look, maybe the problem is that you’ve been in this city for so long now that wherever you look you see reminders of him. Maybe we should go for a long weekend away somewhere, it might help take your mind off things?”
“But where?” Natalie asked, wiping tears away from her face. Cindy shrugged.
“I’m sure we can think of something,” she said, and after that the two women made an effort to find a place to go.
Cindy’s first instinct was to ask whether Natalie wanted to go home, but she said she didn’t, because she didn’t want to be made to feel helpless by her mother. That would have to come later, when she felt more able to cope with everything that happened. Cindy went away and did some research, and eventually came back with what she thought was a good idea. She slapped down a brochure in front of Natalie, who started to idly leaf through it. The pictures were of a rocky mountain and a lush green valley, with tall trees, a waterfall out of a fairytale, and it all looked like someone had taken the most desirable parts of nature and put them all in one place.
“It’s a hiking holiday,” Cindy began. Natalie grimaced when Cindy mentioned the word ‘hiking’, but Cindy continued in the hope of persuading her. “Look, it’s not that bad. The hikes are all guided so you get a little bit of the history of the place, and if you don’t feel like hiking there’s a log cabin where you can stay and just relax with the beautiful scenery.”
“I suppose it might not be the worst idea,” Natalie conceded.
“And it would be a nice change of pace from the city. It’d be good to get away for a few days, turn our phones off, and not have to worry about work or Facebook or anything like that. It’d be like stepping into the past, we can escape everything.”
Natalie smiled as she thought about the prospect of forgetting about her pain, and the more she looked through the brochure the more it seemed like a good idea.
“There is just one thing though,” Cindy added, and this made Natalie look up in concern. “Look at the back of the brochure.” Natalie turned to the back and her eyes darted across the page, and then her jaw dropped, and her head began to shake.
“It won’t be that bad,” Cindy said, “they haven’t had an incident for a number of years, it’s probably more of an urban legend really. I bet they just put that in there to drum up interest.” What had gotten Natalie so worried was the warning that bears had been sighted in the area, and there had been a point where a number of bear attacks had been recorded.
“I don’t want to die,” Natalie said.
“Neither do I, but do you really think they’d advertise this if there was actually a chance that anything could happen?” Natalie thought about it, and decided that Cindy was probably right. After all, it wouldn’t be good for business if people died while on the hike, and Natalie did really need to get away from things. Being in the city was gnawing at her soul, and she couldn’t forget about Mark and everything they shared while she was there. It was a horrible feeling, and she was already feeling a bit happier at the thought of being surrounded by the peace of nature. She had been so busy at work that she hadn’t had the slightest hint of a vacation for years, so she was certainly due one. Cindy immediately called to book up a few dates, and as they started planning their trip Natalie grew more excited by the second.
Three
The place where they were going was called Langley Falls, and it was a little way out of the city. When they drove it was a warm summer’s day, so they had the windows down and the air whipped through the car. The music was cranked up loud, and they were in good spirits.
“This reminds me of that trip we took for spring break in the first year,” Cindy said.
“The one where we tried to buy alcohol, got refused, then the car broke down and we had to call Michelle’s granddad to come and tow us to safety?”
“That’s the one,” Cindy said.
“That was a disaster.”
“Well, it ended up to be a disaster, but I mean when we first left, the feeling that anything could happen, it makes me think of that. I just feel good you know, it feels like we’re actually taking control of our lives, like we are masters of our destiny!” Cindy cried, and followed it up with a loud shriek. Natalie burst out laughing.
“Now there’s something I haven’t heard for a while,” Cindy remarked, and Natalie had to admit that being away from the city was providing a certain level of excitement that had been absent for a long time. They drove along the highway, leaving a trail of music behind him, and the sun gleamed off the car. The weather was beautiful, and it felt good to leave the city behind.
The drive took a couple of hours on the highway, and then they had to wind down side roads and country lanes that looked as though they had been plucked from the old English countryside. Trees and bushes stood on either side of the road, and there were barely any other cars there, and it made the women feel as though they were the only two people in the world. As they drove on they went through a tunnel made by the trees overhead, and the sunlight was filtered through the leaves on the trees, casting them in an emerald glow. It felt almost magical, and they were filled with a sense of awe. This was only intensified as they emerged from the tunnel and saw what lay before them. They both gasped as they looked at the towering mountains in the distance and the valley that lay below. Birds flapped their wings and cried out as they soared through the clear sky, and the two women marveled as they had previously had no idea that a place so beautiful had existed so near to them.
The winding road took them down to the bottom of the valley, where they passed through a small town. It was only made up of a few buildings; a general store, a bar, a couple of restaurants and some houses, and the people walked by without a care in the world. Natalie was instantly jealous of them. They followed the road and it eventually led them to a small hut, where there were a few other cars parked. They got out and went into the hut. There was a small group of people huddled around, and then two tall, burly men they greeted them with warm smiles. One of them was clean shaven while the other one had a thick dark beard. Cindy and Natalie were instantly struck by how handsome they were. The clean-shaven one introduced himself as Dan, while his colleague was Philip, and then he took the women's details before showing them were to sit. Natalie and Cindy weren’t alone in their admiration of the men, as they noticed a few glances being tossed in their direction, but they seemed unmoved by it all. After a couple more people came in Philip made a note on his sheet, and then Dan clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“Right then, everyone’s here so that’s good. We’d like to welcome you to this hiking tour. It’s beautiful weather this weekend so you guys have already proven you have good timing, so there shouldn’t be any problems this weekend. Just to go over a few things, if any of you missed it or forgot, I’m Philip and this is Dan. We’ll be your guides this weekend, and we’re here for anything you need. First we need to offer safety information. We will be doing a lot of walking, and some of the terrain we’ll be covering is going to be rocky, so just be careful and keep an eye out. Stay close to us and you’ll be fine, but if you do find yourself getting tired and you need a rest just talk to one of us and we’ll slow the pace or take a break. There are scheduled rest stops, and there’s plenty of opportunity to get water so don’t worry about that.”
“But you do need to make sure you drink plenty of water, most people don’t realize how dehydrated you get,” Philip interjected. His voice rumbled from the pit of his stomach, and Natalie felt a strange tingling in her stomach at the sound of the low baritone.
“Yes, safety is the most important thing here. We want to make sure each of you are safe so take care of each other, and if you have any concerns don’t hesitate to come to one of us. We’re about to be going up to the cabin. There’s plenty of room for everyone there but it is isolated and the signal isn’t that great, so if you need to make any calls now would be the time to do it. We’re going to be taking the scenic route so do some stretches and drink a bit before we leave, it’ll get you used to what’s going to happen over the weekend. But thank you for booking this tour with us and we hope that you enjoy this slice of nature as much as we do. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask them, if not then we shall be leaving in about fifteen minutes.”
“What about the bears?” one of the other guests asked. The two men looked at each other, and Natalie nudged Cindy.
“Yeah, we have to put that warning in to cover our bases. It’s true that there were some reports of bear attacks a few years ago, but there haven’t been any since. I’m not going to lie to you, there may be bear activity around because it is their territory as well, but we’re always in a group and so far we haven’t run into any. It’s as much their planet as it is ours though. I wouldn’t be too concerned, if you do see any just try not to make any noise and make it back to the cabin as quickly as possible.”
Natalie wasn’t exactly encouraged by this, and when Cindy said, “see, I told you it would be fine,” Natalie wasn’t convinced, but it was too late to turn back now so once the fifteen minutes were up the party moved out. Dan came around to check on all of them to make sure their packs were secured, and then they left. The day was warm, and it wasn’t long before sweat began prickling at Natalie’s skin. Walking up the hill made her realize how unfit she actually was, and she was soon breathing heavily. Cindy seemed to be struggling as well, and she was glad that she wasn’t the only one. Looking around, she noticed that many of the others were in no better shape, and they were already red-faced and heaving their breaths in. Philip and Dan were the complete opposite though. They each carried far bigger packs than any of the guests, and their thick muscles stretched and tensed as they walked up the side of the valley. There was a small path, and the fresh air invigorated Natalie. Sweet smelling flowers bloomed nearby, and she was attracted to the colors. As the group moved forward, Philip and Dan told them a little bit about the history of the area, and what had made them decide to start these tours. As they continued on Philip and Dan moved through the group and started to get to know them better. Dan made his way to Natalie, who was wiping away the slick sweat from her face, and taking a few gulps of water.
“A little tip for you, take small sips, it’s better for your body to soak up the water,” he said. Natalie nodded.
“Is this your first hike?”
“Pretty much. I used to go fishing with my dad, and sometimes we’d go for a long walk around the lakes there, but it was never anything like this.” When Cindy noticed the two of them talking she shot Natalie a covert glance and smiled. Natalie rolled her eyes.
“What made you decide to come and do this now?”
“It was my friend’s idea actually,” Natalie said, inviting Cindy into the conversation.
“Her boyfriend just broke up with her for a bullshit reason, and she’s been moping around for the past few weeks so I wanted to get her out of the city and show her that there’s more to life.” Natalie glared at her, and if her body hadn’t been so tired from the amount of walking they had embarked upon she would have hit her friend. Dan raised his eyebrows and let out a bit of a nervous laugh.
“Well alrighty then, everyone has their own reasons I suppose. If you wanted to escape you came to the right place,” and as he sa
id this they crested the hill and came to a peak. Before them the mountain towered, its peak pointing to the sky that some great testament to the gods. It rose to such a height that it seemed to merge with the sky, and it was breathtaking. The valley was filled with colors, and if she had seen pixies and fairies dancing about Natalie wouldn’t have been surprised, because it would have seemed entirely fitting for them to appear. The group took a break to gaze in awe at the scenery, while they recovered some of their strength. Philip and Dan passed out extra bottles of water to those who needed them, and then soon enough they were off. It didn’t take them too long to reach the cabin; a large building that had separate rooms for each group that had booked. Cindy and Natalie were in a room with bunk beds. The cabin had a large lounge area, a big dining table, and a large kitchen. Many people took the opportunity to sit, and were obviously already feeling the effects of walking so much as they massaged their feet. Natalie saw Philip and Dan talking to each other, and she tried to not show the effects of tiredness, for she wanted to give the impression that she was stronger than she felt.
Dan came over and told them that given the heat outside they were going to take it easy for the rest of the day, have something to eat, and then go on a little circle in the nearby area in the early evening to show them some of the surrounding area. Natalie and Cindy had a chance to go into their room, and they gossiped about Philip and Dan.
“They’re both so hot, I think that Dan likes you,” Cindy said.
“I doubt that, he was talking to everyone, it's his job. Besides, even if he does I’m sure that quickly disappeared when you told him that my boyfriend dumped me and I’ve been moping.”
Billionaire: Menage: Swinger: Let's Swing (MMF Bisexual Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Short Stories) Page 42
