Chapter 1 "Man it was good to be finally on the open road and out of the traffic." I thought to myself. That bastard Bill! He's so pussy whipped! Calls at the last minute to say Shelly wanted to do something this weekend and he couldn't go on our trip. Shithead! We had been planning this trip for weeks and he bails out at the last minute! At least he let me continue to use his parent's place. There are probably some other places closer now that I'm on my own but at least I can count on Bill's place being free of noisy people besides, I can't think of a better place for easy access camping and great fishing. Damn him. I suppose I shouldn't blame him. If I had any pussy I'd probably be pussy whipped too - although I don't know why he hangs out with that bitch Shelly. Yeah, she looks nice and he raves about her in bed. I'll bet it's all crap. I can't imagine her being sexy - unless she wanted something. And God forbid you want to do anything that even remotely smells of outdoors - I can hear her now "Ewww, that's dirty! Let's go to a nice hotel and order room service." "Forget it all Brad!" I told myself. "You've got a nice long weekend break. Don't let the stupid shit ruin it for you. You'll have a good time." I knew this would be true. I feel like I've been cooped up in the lab for months. The only thing that really bothered me is that I don't like the risk of camping on my own. Call me conservative but it's too easy to have an accident and, if you're on your own, you have no way of getting out of trouble. With the fluky weather we have this time of year it would be very easy to die from a very simple accident - get stuck and freeze to death. "Ok, don't dwell on it! Just be careful." I sighed. I was driving from my home near Burlington, Vermont to a place in the Adirondack mountains in New York state. I was heading south and had gotten off the main road, Route 7, as soon as I could, taking back roads rather than deal with Holiday weekend traffic. I could have stayed on the main road for a while longer but I would rather drive farther than drive in traffic. I wonder how I would be if I was out West where there are hundreds of miles between vehicles. It was around 10PM and I had just passed through Ticonderoga, NY. I got a late start because I got out of work later than expected and had also counted on that asshole Bill on picking up the groceries. Enough of that! Let's just get to the site and have a nice sleep so I'm ready for the adventure in the morning. It was Friday night and I had planned to get to the logging road leading to Bill's parent's property and then, in the morning, canoe to the end of the lake and up some tributaries a bit to a nice camp spot just below some falls. I'll sleep in the Jeep tonight. It was Memorial Day weekend so I had a nice long weekend to enjoy nothing but the outdoors and fresh trout! As I came around a corner I saw a car with its emergency lights flashing. I slowed to see what was wrong. This section of the road was pretty isolated and there probably wouldn't be another car along here for a while or even until morning. I pulled up behind the car and saw that the left rear tire was flat and the trunk was open. I didn't see anybody changing the tire. I got out of my car wary that I didn't see anyone but as I stepped out I saw someone get out of the driver's side. It was a girl who looked 16 years old. About 5' 3", thin, and her hair pulled back to a pony tail. Christ! Probably doesn't know how to change a tire! I walked up to her and she said "My tire's flat and I don't have a spare. Can you please give me a ride to somewhere where I could get a new tire?" She sounded older than 16. I thought about it and said "I'm not sure where to bring you. I'm not from around here. Ticonderoga is about 10 miles back but everything is closed. You may have to wait until morning. Can I bring you to someplace to stay until morning?" "Damn!" She said. She seemed very angry which I thought odd since this seemed to be a situation she could have avoided if she had had a spare. "I was supposed to meet my friend in Lake George tonight and I can't call, my cellphone doesn't work from here." "I could bring you to Lake George. I wasn't going there but I could take a different route and drop you off. Would that help?" "Oh Yes! That would be wonderful! Are you sure it isn't too much trouble for you?" She sounded very relieved and grateful. "Yeah, no problem. I'm heading west of Lake George and normally would start heading west at the next turnoff but I can go through Lake George just as easily." "That's great! You're a real life saver! I'm Sarah by the way." and she stuck out her hand to shake mine. "Hi, I'm Brad." Her handshake was surprisingly firm and her hand, while not calloused, was rougher than I expected from a 16 year old girl. "What do you need to bring?" "Well, how much room do you have? It would help if I could bring the tire and all my junk for the weekend and then my friend could drop me off here at the end of the weekend. Do you have room for the tire, my sleeping bag, and backpack?" "Yeah, I've got room. Let me get your tire off while you get your other stuff." "Thanks Brad." and she turned to get her stuff leaving me thinking "here I am pussy whipped by someone who is too cheap to own a spare tire AND I am not even getting any pussy!" Oh well, good samaritan points and a buck will get me a coffee in some towns. We got everything loaded and headed toward Lake George. When Sarah got in my car and I saw her in the interior light I realized she was a bit older than I first thought. I was about to ask her about herself when she exclaimed "Ugh! I feel so stupid!" "Well you really should have a spare." I offered. "I KNOW THAT!" She sounded angry but immediately softened and was apologetic. "Sorry, I shouldn't have reacted that way. It probably looks like I'm too cheap to have a spare. The fact is that I just got this car about 3 months ago and never even thought to look to see if it had a spare. The bastard who sold it to me probably stole the spare before I picked up the car. Man, am I dumb!" I could see she really felt bad. "I'm sorry too. You were right. I did assume you were too cheap to buy a spare. Please forgive me." Sarah looked at me strangely and said "Sure, it was natural for you to think that. I really appreciate the ride. With the cold temperatures we still have at night I was really afraid of freezing out there. I couldn't decide if I should walk or stay with the car. I guess I was lost until you came along. Thanks again." "No problem. Glad I could help. It's easy to get in trouble quickly if you're on your own." I thought to my own stupidity of going camping alone. Sarah looked in the back of the Jeep and saw all my camping gear. "Are you on a camping trip?" "Yeah, a friend of mine has a place west of Lake George and I'm going to camp, canoe, fish, and try to get away from everything for a few days." "Wow, it sounds great. Does your friend have a cabin or something like that?" "No, the place actually belongs to his parents. They bought this property years ago. It used to be a logging forest but when the logging companies moved further north and Bill's parents got a good deal on this place. Right now it's just a piece of property with the old logging trail leading to a lake. The lake is really pretty and private with great fishing and there are some nice flat places to set up camp. Maybe one of these days they'll build the cabin they've been promising. I almost hope they don't. It is such a pretty place now." "It sounds wonderful. Gosh I haven't been camping in years." "Want to come?" I asked jokingly. Sarah looked at me and realized I was joking before she answered, laughing she said "Well it sounds tempting but I am going to meet my roommate in Lake George and she's promised me a great time. I'm not convinced but I promised her I'd give it try. I would rather be someplace where there aren't so many people." "Roommate? Do you go to school around here?" "Yes, I, we, go to Middlebury College. I just finished my Junior year." OK, so that makes her around 20 or 21 years old, not 16 you dumb twerp - no wonder you never get any pussy. She looked at me "What about you? Where are you from?" "I live in Shelburn Falls and work in a biomedical lab in Burlington. Originally I'm from Ohio, in the middle of nowhere. Where is your home town?" "My parents live outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, but they're in Europe this summer so I think I'll stay in Middlebury through this summer. Maybe I can get some extra credit during the summer and I've lined up a decent job for the summar. What do you do at your job?" "Well, mostly I goof off." I said with a laugh. "No, I'm just kidding. Actually I'm working on some research using gene splicing to improve the immunity to diseases in cows. It probably sounds boring but I really enjoy it." "Wow! You don't look old enough to do that sort of work. How old are you? No - I'm sorry! That's very nosey of me to ask that. Do you have a doctorate degree?" she seemed intrigued now. "Yup, Doctor Brad Martin at your service! Have anything that needs looking into?" I asked slyly but kidding around. Sarah laughed and I continued "I'm not a medical doctor. I have a PHD from Tufts School of Veternary Medicine - I'm afraid to tell you the subject area." "Why?" she asked uncertainly. "Because it's a weird degree that most people find confusing. I got my degree in Comparative Microbial Pathogenesis." I said knowing full well that this was likely to end the conversation as it always did. Sarah thought for a minute and said "So you studied the different ways that the organism can be attacked in the hopes of finding a way to protect it?" I looked at Sarah with total shock on my face. The only people who knew what this program was about were the school's faculty, students, and families of same - and most of these really didn't know. I had to look quickly back to the road as I ran on to the shoulder. "Wow! No one ever gets that! Are you taking medical studies at Middlebury?" "No, but I have relatives in the medical field." she said with a smile. "Are you working at the Schoenberg Institute?" "Right again! Have I already met you and bored you at a party and simply forgotten about it?" "No, I'm just familiar with some of the stuff going on in the area." she said with a smirk. "Well, I'm 26 by the way and would much rather talk about you. I'm trying to escape for the weekend and don't want to get into thinking about work." "What do you want to know?" "Well, first, if you live in Charlottesville why are you in Middlebury and not University of Virginia?" "Ah, well, I might have mentioned that I don't like crowds. UVA is a huge school and I had already grown up in the town where practically everyone is a student or faculty at UVA. I needed a change. Middlebury is the right size for me. Besides, as large as UVA is, it didn't offer my major. "What's your major?" "Now it's my turn to hesitate - don't laugh but I'm getting a degree in dance." she said sheepishly. "Really? I didn't know they had that major but I suppose it makes sense, they have a strong theater arts program." "You don't think it's silly?" "Heck no. Dance must be one of those things you do because you really love it and that you can find a place to study it formally must be wonderful!" "Wow! You keep surprising me Doctor Brad Martin. Most people I talk to think I must be some kind of retard with rich parents who are willing to throw their dollars at Middlebury to keep me off the streets. Usually after I tell someone what I'm studying they look away embarrassed to discover that I'm such a retard. Also, very few people understand what dance means to me - you got it. I could get to like you Dr. Martin." she said with complete candor. I was blushing but was safely camouflaged by the darkness. "I doubt there are many 'retards' attending Middlebury. What kind of dance do you like Sarah?" "I like almost all forms of dance. I think I like Modern or Modern/Jazz most of all because it doesn't have a formula you must follow. You could choreograph a dance in Modern and each time dance it slightly differently depending on your mood. People watching the dance, if they're perceptive, can read the mood from the dance. You really can't do that in any of the formal dance styles. But practically anything that gets me moving is a good thing." I could see from her that she was really empassioned about dance. I know that feeling. As strange as it sounds I'm empassioned about my work as well. We talked non-stop the rest of the way to Lake George. This was really unusual for me since I usually can't find anything to talk about, especially with women, but it was really very easy to talk to Sarah. We pulled into Lake George and Sarah guided me to the hotel where her friend was staying. She said I could just drop her off but I enjoyed being with her so I offered to wait to make sure she found her friend. We went into the hotel lobby and Sarah asked about her friend at the front desk. Now that I could see Sarah in the light I really liked what I saw. I stood a bit behind Sarah and admired her form. She was small and thin but had strong shoulders that curved gracefully to her waist and then widened again to the most exquisite ass and then inward again as her legs tapered to the floor. I'll bet she's a lovely dancer I thought to myself. Sarah turned and said she'd call her friend from the house phone. I stood and watched and this time could enjoy the front of Sarah. The curves were even more pronounced as she added the extra dimension of breasts and a flat belly that had to hide the tightest abs on earth and then moving downward to that lovely place of heavenly delights. Her breasts were smallish but seemed properly proportioned for her small body. Her face was probably the most dramatic thing about her however. Her face was almost perfectly round and she had beautifully large eyes. She almost looked like the sweet young girls depicted in Japanese cartoons with the tender innocence that I had thought was only imaginary, at least, until I met Sarah today. I was about to day dream about the possibilities when I saw Sarah become animated and begin talking loudly into the phone. Suddenly she slammed the phone down and stood there briefly looking as if she was about to burst into tears. She walked over to me and said "That bitch! She already met some guy and is shacked up with him in OUR room! She told me that she really liked this guy and that I should find my own things to do this weekend! Christ! I only came here because of her! I should have known better! See? I told you I was dumb!" "Wow, it sounds like your roommate is pretty self-centered. I'm really sorry Sarah. Is there anything I can do?" "No. I'll just stay here tonight and get my tire fixed in the morning and get out of this hell hole!" she looked completely exasperated. Then she said almost as an after thought "Too bad you were joking about me going camping with you." HUH? Did I hear her correctly? "Um, Sarah. I was only joking about that because I had just met you and I knew you wouldn't want to go. If you think you'd enjoy it I would really love to have you come along." Sarah looked at me quizzically and saw her look straight into my eyes. I felt her gaze in my belly and knew I had to clarify one thing. "Sarah, what I mean is that I could use another person on the trip. My friend bailed out on me so I'm stuck by myself as well. It's not safe to camp alone in case something happens. I know we've just met but I really enjoyed the time we've spent together and I'm sure it would be fun to have you along on the trip and, since you seemed to like the idea of camping, I thought you might enjoy it as well. I have no ulterior motive. I'll understand if you don't trust me but I do want to assure you that my intentions are honorable." She paused a bit longer and then finally said "Wow! Do you always talk like that? What time/space continuum are you from anyway 'cause it sure doesn't seem like you belong in this time!" I was about to apologize when Sarah said "Yeah! What the hell! Why do I want to hang around this tourist dump for when I can go to the beautiful outdoors with anachronistic Dr. Martin? Let's do it!" she said with conviction. I was stunned! Wow, this is too much but I decided I wasn't going to let her change her mind and I smiled and took her arm as we headed to the door saying "To the forest my dear!" "To the forest my knight!" she replied and we both laughed on the way out to my Jeep. When we got in the Jeep, Sarah looked at me and asked "You sure this is ok with you?" "Absolutely! Are you sure?" "Absolutely!" she said with an infectious laugh. I started the Jeep and was about to pull out when Sarah asked. "It just occurred to me. Do we need to pick up some more food or something?" "No, I had originally planned for two anyway and I have plenty. I'm only bringing basic staples, the rest we need to catch. I hope you like trout because that's what we're supposed to live on for the next couple of days." "Mmmm, I love trout. Maybe we should get some bacon - I love trout cooked in bacon fat." "Already got it covered my dear." I said with a smile. "My hero!" Sarah said with her laugh that was bound to become addictive by the end of this trip. With that we headed off to Bill's parents place, as I passed a 24 hour garage I stopped and asked if they could fix or replace the tire - we'd pick it up on Monday afternoon. When I got back in the Jeep Sarah smiled and said "sigh, my hero!" and more laughter. God I could get used to this!