Horseplay
Chapter 1 : Monday

  It was a nice change unloading the car in the counselor's area
rather than with the students/campers. After two years as an
"assistant counselor", Neil was finally a fully qualified counselor
and that meant more pay, more perks and a room all to himself. He
glanced down the shallow hill where schoolbusses full of students
were competing with mini vans and station wagons for parking and
unloading spots. It was a chaotic storm of tearful goodbyes,
exuberant hellos, people milling in all directions and the usual lost
luggage and confused campers. Behind him, a car rumbled to a crunching
stop, interrupting his inspection. Neil turned and recognized Harriet
Enders sitting behind the wheel. She had a look of frustration and
impatience on her face, no doubt from the long drive and line of
vehicles at the main gate, but as he watched her face was slowly
relaxing into relief. Neil knew Harriet fairly well from the previous
year. At seventeen, his junior status meant dragging clutches of the
younger campers around to classes, which were always led by an older
counselor. Later, he would babysit the older campers and work the
trails and arena as a assistant,jobs that carried little respect.
Harriet had been really nice to him, and he had turned that attention
into endless fantasies. Neil started to wave, but she was fidgeting
with something in the passenger's seat of her small sedan so he
checked out the admin section of the camp for changes.
     The area looked the same, six low buildings along a gravel
semi-circle atop the hill with the huge flagpole in the middle. The
US flag, South Carolina state flag and the green camp flag all lay
idle against the pole. The main administration building sat at the
top of the circle, the only two story building in the entire camp.
Like all the other buildings it was made of huge logs and had a steep
blue slate roof. The building was flanked by the two main counselor
dorms, which were subdivided into sixteen "cabins", set up just like
any typical roadside hotel. The left dorm was called "Equus" and the
right "Caballus", which made up the scientific name for horses, but
everyone just called them "E" or "C" dorm. For the first time Neil
would get to sleep here rather than with the campers down the hill.
The biggest benefit to the dorms was having his own private room with
a locked door. The second biggest benefit were staff-only bathrooms
and showers in the middle of each long log building.
     To the left of E-dorm was the supply shack which contained all
sorts of toiletries, office supplies and everyday products that the
campers always forgot. Their parents would get bills for extra
blankets, shirts, riding gear and so on that the campers managed to
destroy or forget over the summer. The majority of parents could, of
course easily afford it. Most of the kids came from wealthy parents
who saw equestrian arts as a means of rounding out their precious
kids' college resumes. The rest were from middle class families
fighting over the remaining spots and handful of scholarships the
camp provided. Either way, few parents who sent their kids to the
Silverspire Riding Academy for summer classes would bat an eye at a
supply bill.
     The last building on the left was the med hut, which had a good
sized dorm, emergency service area and standard doctor's office. Kids
around horses got hurt now and then as a rule. It was almost always
falls, stomped feet and the stock injuries you'd get at any summer
camp: poison ivy and scratches. Nobody got kicked and nobody got
thrown, though, period. It may not have been engraved in stone in the
admin building lobby but it might as well have been. Rich people don't
send their kids and money to riding schools to get kicked by huge
animals.
     On the end of the right row was the counselor's pavilion,
called "the Cave" by everyone in camp for reasons that nobody seemed
to remember and Neil had never figured out. The left half was
enclosed and contained a small kitchen and storage area for food,
gear and equipment. The counselors used it to store all their summer
food, although with the top-notch food service in the main camp, it
was generally a treasure trove of comfort foods and processed
desserts that the camp kids were denied. Rich parents apparently
don't send their kids to camp to get fat, either. The right side of
the Cave was a covered pavilion with long tables and benches. In the
middle of the building, built into the wall where the pavilion met
the closed-in section was a large television setup used for
orientation, movies for the counselors or parent's day. It was pretty
top-notch, with speakers hidden in the rafters and big cork boards and
whiteboards for presentation material.
     Since nothing had seemed to have changed, Neil finished
unloading his duffel and suitcase onto one of the big drag-a-longs.
They were essentially extra large versions of the little red wagons
everybody seems to have as kids, except they had adjustable side
rails and massive inflated tires with off-road treads. Neil folded
the nearest side back up and dragged the cart away from the entrance
road. His mom came over for her big hug, which was still embarrassing
at seventeen, but not nearly as bad when he wasn't surrounded by
crying campers.
     With a thankfully low number of tears and advice his mom hopped
back into the brown station wagon and waved. Neil waved dutifully and
turned back to his gear. As he did he caught sight of Harriet moving
and he turned to look. She was standing with her back to her car,
stretching up and back with her arms crossed in the air over her
head, arching dramatically and pressing against the passenger side
rear door with her shoulders. Neil felt a flush, realizing her arms
blocked her view of him while her arch emphasized her figure and
outfit. She was about as tall as than Neil, and while she was by no
means fat, she had an endless number of pleasant curves. Harriet had
long brown hair, currently pulled into a loose ponytail, and was well
proportioned in the chest. With her arms up her stomach flattened
completely and her breasts strained up and out against the yellow
sleeveless cotton gym shirt. Her shirt also gave a slight peek of bra
through the arm-holes, and as he watched she shifted left and right,
showing a little more skin and lace with each rocking motion. Neil
felt a familiar stir and turned quickly. While he was enjoying the
view, he was missing an important piece of camp gear.
     Neil's first year had been a nightmare of hormones. With an
overwhelmingly female population, the camp was a playground for the
imagination. The girls wore summer leisure gear all day, mostly swim
suits and gym outfits adjusted for their newfound parent-free
environment. The best, or worst, however, were the riding outfits.
The traditional riding clothing included an endless sea of breeches
and jodhpurs, which were worn as tightly as possible, or jeans and
chaps. Many of the girls reveled in the tight, revealing outfits, and
a male counselor could be "hard"-pressed to maintain order with a tent
in his pants. Eventually one of the senior counselors named Jack had
taken pity on him, steering him to a sports store in town for padded
riding shorts. Jack dragged him past the cheaper stretch cycle
shorts, explaining that if he ever wanted to have children, he'd want
to avoid "cooking the boys" in the nearly air-tight spandex. Armed
with the concealing and flexible padded shorts and a brief, euphemism
filled lesson on how to prepare for the shifting spaces inside his new
shorts, Neil found he could stand at attention without drawing the
eyes of his female students. Now eighteen, he was thankfully past the
awkward puberty stage with its sudden erections and lack of
coordination and well into enjoying the visual pleasures of his job.
     At the moment, Neil was having a difficult time not imagining
Harriet and her various stretches. With a struggle, he keyed in on
his favorite mood-killer: sitting in the dentist's chair. When his
discomfort finished, he steered his cart in the grass and walked up
the gravel road to the admin building to get his room key, carefully
avoiding looking back. For the last two years he'd been a junior
counselor, meaning he had to bunk with the students down in the
commons. Junior counselors barely had their own space, sleeping in a
small room in the dorms so they could supervise the campers. For the
first few weeks the youngest group stayed for a week, meaning
homesick criers and bed wetters. The middle and oldest group arrived
at the end of the week and you switched to kids sneaking out to swipe
food, spy on other campers or make out in the woods. Supervising the
boys was easier, mostly because there were barely a quarter the
number of girls and they tended to get their scuffles over with
pretty quickly. The large dorms formed the "quad" in the commons,
standing around the huge central mess where the campers would eat, do
arts and crafts or have "labs", which were safety and equipment
training sessions. The mess was also used for movie nights, lectures
and safety drills, which were blessedly over within the first day or
two of camp.
     Neil stepped up onto the low admin building and walked into the
lobby area, which was pretty much a "wow" area for potential parents
to see how refined a horse camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains could be.
Rich folks liked to know their expensive camp fees were going toward a
level of refinement and comfort, Neil mused. Given his family's vast
lack of lands, power or a fortune, he didn't know anything about it
firsthand. The foyer stood two floors high and a pair of staircases
ran up the left and right walls to a balcony area. There was a huge
glass-enclosed conference room at the top that Neil had never been
in. It was the "Abbott room", named after some founder or patron. The
counselors called it the "sales department" or "Costello Room",
depending on their mood. It contained a beautiful cherry conference
table, a circle of very plush chairs and a large television. It was
also the only room in the building with air conditioning. Perspective
parents, investors and patrons would go in and see presentations.
Peons like the staff didn't get invited.
     Turning left took him into the main admin office waiting room,
where he ran into Sarge and April, reclining on the large sofas
outside the main office.
     "Hey Neil", Sarge said as he walked in. Sarge's real name was
"Louis", but he'd earned the nickname "Sarge" from his Marine Corp
history and gruff exterior. Most of the kids were somewhat
intimidated by the huge, hairy man. Neil had even been a bit
frightened of him his first year, but was quickly won over by his
relaxed charm and wit. Sarge lived in one of the small cabins behind
the admin circle. The cabins were used by year-rounders and VIPs.
Sarge ran security and the day to day requirements of building
upkeep. Aside from the summer camp, Silverspire ran a year-round
series of adult classes and rented out stable space, ran weekly trail
rides, and leased the arena for competitions to make money during the
off-season. The summer school, however, was the cash cow.
     Neil returned Sarge's mock salute and smiled at April, who had
been a counselor for several years. April was part of the yearly
staff who came up to get the summer camp ready. She'd never been
particularly friendly or hostile toward Neil, so he hadn't tried to
hard. She was pretty, with thick, curly black hair and deep olive
skin. She was thin and fit, but always seemed to be in her own world.
Neil had originally thought she didn't like him until he noticed that
she really didn't interact personally with any of the counselors.
     "Mom's down on the commons, the standard mixups with bunks and
bags", Sarge said when Neil started toward the main office. Mom was
the nickname for Abbey Chandis, the matriarch of the camp. She was a
large, salt and pepper haired older woman who literally mothered
everyone in camp, from the youngest camper to Sarge and the old-timer
crew.
     "She leave the keys?" Neil asked. Sarge nodded and pointed a
large key box on a side table. Neil opened it up and grabbed C-16.
He'd gotten lucky with an end unit, it meant he only had two
neighbors, one behind him and one beside him. Although the log cabin
construction of the dorms meant you really had to be loud for anyone
to hear you.
     As Neil headed out, Sarge yelled to his back "Staff meeting at
1300!".
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
     It took about an hour to unload all his gear into the small
cabin. The E-dorm was nicer and larger, but old timers got first
choice and there were rarely any openings on that side. Between the
admin staff and master counselors, E-dorm was almost always the same
from year to year, so much so that several of the cabins sported deck
furniture and bug lamps outside. Neil wasn't upset, though, between
the privacy and the staff bathrooms, it was heaven compared to the
smelly and noisy dorms on the quad. The six by eight room included a
tall dresser, basin sink, freestanding wardrobe and bed. A lot of the
counselors raised their beds like the top bunk of a bunk bed, so they
could shove their dresser under it and actually put a chair or two in
the free space. Neil's room wasn't set up like that, and he weighed
his interest against having to pick up the heavy bed to set it up.
The inside of the log cabin buildings were drywalled and painted, so
it was pretty cozy and nothing like camping in the woods. Each cabin
had a front door and window. There was a heater under the window and
a fan built in to the lower section of the window, but no air
conditioning. Up in the mountains it usually wasn't much of a
problem. The nights often got pretty chilly, and you would see a lot
of sweats and light jackets at breakfast.
     All his electronics found a home in his footlocker. His phone
wouldn't work worth crap out in the hills and they'd get
walkie-talkies for long rides. All stereos and MP3 players were off
limits within the camp as well. Neil had laughed when he first saw
"MP3s" handwritten on the equipment list he'd gotten in the mail, Mom
was at least keeping up with the times. He had left all his games in
the car intentionally, and the only TV stations that worked were the
big local broadcasts out of Columbia, Charlotte and Spartanburg,
which would barely come in anyway. Mom had a satellite dish at the
main cabin, but only news and weather channels were unlocked. There
would usually be a clutch of counselors up at the admin building or
gathered around the small TV at the cave for weather each morning.
Neil wondered how hard of a sell even a few working TVs had been.
     He loaded up his dresser with uniform shirts, including the 3
new ones for this year, still in their crinkly plastic bags. Every
year the staff got 3 new polo shirts with the camp logo on the breast
pocket. This year they were a dark green with pale green trim. The
staff could wear previous year shirts, and many did as a subtle sign
of seniority. Neil had two mustard yellow ones from the year before
and his last blue one from the first year he'd come. He only managed
to keep one blue because he'd accidentally been issued one large, and
it was the only one that still fit. He grabbed it and put on his
riding shorts and some denim shorts before checking himself in the
small mirror on the back of his cabin door.
     Neil's cropped brown hair topped a face he considered round,
although he'd managed enough looks to snare a few girlfriends in
school. The hair would get buzzed weekly, although it was more out of
laziness than style. He'd started shaving every day even though he
knew it was more for his ego. The patchy fuzz was barely coming in.
His complexion had been blessedly clear this year after battling with
problem skin since he'd turned 12. Physically he'd managed to bulk up
a little so he wasn't scrawny anymore, but his ever increasing height
threatened to stretch him back to skinny if he didn't stop growing
soon. He washed his hands in the sink and pulled his window shades
back and cranked on the built-in fan. Then he opened the door to let
some air in and spotted Harriet walking into the admin building. With
a spark of inspiration he decided to help her drag her stuff to her
cabin. Thinking about her stretching earlier set his imagination to
work again, and after a brief fantasy he decided to see if he
couldn't score some points.
     Neil was waiting at Harriet's cart when she emerged from the
admin building, trying to shuffle a clipboard full of paperwork and
still hold onto her keys. Neil noted that her gray gym shorts lacked
pockets and grinned at his luck.
     "Hey Harriet, need a hand?" he asked casually. His heart was
thumping, but he figured it would be worth it to follow her back to
her cabin.
     Harriet smiled thankfully and nodded, trying to extend a hand
without dropping anything. Neil laughed and waved her off. "Thanks
Neil." she said, tilting her head slightly and smiling.
     Neil gulped a bit at the look and started to blush as she
turned and started toward C-dorm. As they made their way over, Neil
took the opportunity to watch her walk. With her thin gym shorts, he
had a great view of her ass cheeks shifting with each step. The
shorts came down just slightly too far, meaning Neil got several
far-too-brief glimpses of her upper thighs but nothing more.
Regardless, he felt warm and tingly as his erection grew into a
familiar spot in his riding shorts.
     Neil grinned when they walked up to C-15, right next to his
cabin. "Guess we're neighbors" he said with a grin.
     Harriet glanced over and smiled. It was friendly at first, but
then it slipped into something more wry. "How'd you talk Mom into
getting the end cabin?", she asked with a scandalous tone.
     Neil started to reply, but his sarcasm failed when he looked at
Harriet's face. Her tone had been sarcastic when she asked, but she
had a strange, almost lustful expression and he couldn't finish his
thoughts. Finally she broke out in laughter and turned to unlock her
door.
     "You're pretty funny, Neil. I can just picture you and Mom,
negotiating a deal for the end cabin!". She opened the door and
stepped inside with a slight wiggle, causing Neil to suddenly feel
like a fly outside a spiderweb. He shook it off and pulled the
drag-around onto the concrete walkway in front of the door.
     Neil grabbed a small suitcase and turned to hand it through the
door and found himself gazing at Harriet's upturned ass as she knelt
on her hands and knees, looking under her bed. Neil thanked the gods
of chance silently that her bunk wasn't up on the extensions because
it gave him a fantastic view. Her cotton shorts were pulled tight
into the cleft between her butt cheeks, revealing the soft underside
of each. Between her legs, the cotton was pulled tight across her
mound, although not quite reaching "camel toe" status, the dent in
the curve of fabric was hypnotic. Neil marveled at the sight,
shifting his shorts slightly so the elastic would transfer pressure
across his now fully erect penis before finally setting the suitcase
down quietly and stepping back outside to avoid getting caught
leering.
     "Are you staring at my butt, Neil?" Harriet asked from inside,
with a hint of laughter.
     Neil froze outside and purposefully stepped back into the
doorway, adopting a look of innocence. "What?", he asked.
     Harriet was sitting sideways on her knees, looking up at him.
Neil displayed the second suitcase he was holding and raised his
eyebrows in question. A brief look flashed across Harriet's face, but
Neil couldn't read it. He thought for a moment it was disappointment,
but she brightened at the suitcases and climbed to her feet.
     "Oh, nothing. I was looking for the bed lifts, but I think I'll
just leave it here on the floor." she said as she picked up the
smaller suitcase and walked over to her dresser.
     Neil nodded and stepped back out to the wagon, glanced around
and shifted his shorts again.
     Harriet was full of chatter as Neil carried suitcase after
suitcase into the small room. Neil wondered at the mass of luggage,
trying to determine why she needed so much stuff and where she
planned on putting half of it. He looked up as Harriet was unpacking
one of the medium sized suitcases, and immediately blushed. She was
holding a pair of pink thong underwear in her hand. Her back was to
him, so Neil took the opportunity to examine her rear yet again. When
she shifted to reach down into the suitcase, he spied the fold of
fabric that hinted at a thong under her shorts. When he looked back
up, Harriet was looking back at him with an appraising look on her
face.
     "Are there any more bags?" she asked with a hint of amusement.
     Neil shook his head and blushed, then took a step back toward
the door. "That's the last one. I'll.. uh, let you get unpacked".
     Harriet's smile lifted on one side and she turned, still
holding a pair of underwear. "Before you go, could you help me move
the bed, I want to slide it back against that wall."
     Neil nodded and walked over to the headboard, feeling around
for a hand-hold on the heavy wooden frame. When he glanced up,
Harriet was doing the same at the footboard, only she was bending at
the waist, feeling around on the much lower piece of the bed frame.
Her loose shirt had fallen forward, and Neil had a clear view down
her cleavage at her modest breasts and the lacy white bra that
contained them. He risked only a brief glance, not wanting a repeat
of the thong incident, but as he focused on the bed Harriet glanced
upward. He didn't think she'd caught him ogling, but he felt his
cheeks flush anyway.
     As he left, Neil got the distinct impression that Harriet was
evaluating him. He wasn't proud of his leering glances at her body,
but he didn't get the impression that she was upset. There was a
measured look before he chastely shook her hand and another when he
turned to say goodbye and shut the door. Neil wasted little time
returning to his room and unearthing the small box he kept tucked
under his wardrobe. Miss September would be a flat and airbrushed
alternative to Harriet, but one he knew wouldn't question how
intensely he stared.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
     Neil arrived early for the staff meeting. The first ones tended
to be pretty short, although for some reason Mom felt everybody needed
to be reminded of the same rules year after year. Unlike prior years,
though, Neil would have to stick around for the main and senior staff
parts. Afterwards they'd be free for the rest of the day to set up
their rooms and stock their gear.
     The main camp rules involved things like safety "all riders
must be wearing helmets" and how to treat the campers, which Mom
would regularly remind them were "customers". Customers who had paid
in advance. Customers who might pay in advance next year and who paid
their salaries. Everyone's forms and certs had to be up to date,
something that Neil had forgotten to do. He had his latest CPR cert
and a First Aid cert, two things that Mom needed on file. He made a
mental note to grab them from his cabin after the meeting.
     The last part of the meeting involved getting campers into
"clicks and classes". Mom had misspelled clique on her presentation,
but Neil wasn't about to correct her. Mom running an electronic
presentation was remarkable enough. Essentially, the counselors were
supposed to steer the younger kids into peer groups for friendship
and support. Generally if you grouped less popular kids together,
they'd bond and have more fun. It seemed contrived and a bit cynical,
but it had worked flawlessly for a decade.
     After the last bit of cheerleading and emphasis on safety, the
junior counselors headed down to the commons where the kids were
eating lunch and Mom set up for the main presentation. While Mom was
loading files on the projector, Neil glanced over to where Harriet
was sitting. The relief after retreating to his cabin evaporated a
bit when he saw her looking back. The tables sat perpendicular to the
screen, and she was straddling the bench. Neil had sat in the front
part of the pavilion, so he had a great view of her shorts riding up
between her splayed legs. She hadn't changed clothes and as he
watched she spread her legs further, drawing her cotton shorts taut
across her groin, emphasizing the curves of her pussy. It was a
surprising and arousing display. When Neil looked back up Harriet was
looking back and smiling, then she winked at him. He sat in a daze for
a moment, his erection swelling despite his lunchtime release. He
finally snapped out of it when he heard Mom start her presentation.
     "As usual, fraternization within the main and senior counselors
is frowned upon, but you are all adults and so long as I don't see it
on the commons, I don't care." she said perfunctorily. Neil chuckled.
It seemed like an open invitation with a thin veneer of official
restriction. His newfound attention to the content of the meeting
allowed him to push Harriet and her display back in his mind a bit.
     "Interaction between counselor and camp guests, however, is
absolutely not allowed. The majority of our customers are underage,
and any counselor found involved with a student will be dismissed."
Again, Neil wondered at the tone. Maybe it was just years of reading
the same material, but Mom sounded awfully bland and sardonic. Neil
turned to look back at the projector, but was distracted by Harriet
looking forward at him. He smiled and got a smile and another wink in
response. Mom continued to flash through rule slides covering guests
in the cabins, proper attire and the rules regarding swimming, using
horses and facilities unofficially and checking out equipment.
     After the presentation, Mom handed out the final duty
assignments. Neil had mostly safety and basic riding classes, which
he expected as a first year counselor. His real attention was on
chaperoned rides, which he enjoyed, lifeguard duties, which were
tremendously boring but allowed for a lot of "sightseeing", and the
two most dreaded tasks: meal and stable duty.
     The camp had a very tight schedule with lunch and dinner being
held on time every day for three hundred students and staff. The
campers got 45 minutes to eat in 3 overlapping shifts while the staff
would take turns eating and watching the rows and rows of tables or
supervising the quad as campers lined up for the next shift or had
free time. Lunchtime duty meant a hurried meal and constant vigilance
over the campers sandwiched between the morning class and the first
afternoon class. Dinner was a harried end to an exhausting day, not
to mention those poor counselors who taught the after-dinner advanced
courses.
     Stable duty was similar. Each morning the stables were mucked,
which meant emptied and cleaned while the horses went to the first
class. Campers had to work alongside the permanent stable hands, and
despite the fact that some of the kids came to camp year after year,
there was still a choir of whines and complaints about the smell and
mess that it involved. For counselors the work was simply to
supervise, but it was more often a tug of war with willful campers
who had no interest in dealing with horse droppings, no matter how
much their parents agreed it would be a useful learning experience.
     Neil grimaced at his list. He knew that his standing as a first
year counselor would net him extra stable and meal duties. Sure
enough, but he saw several days with double duty shifts, something
the other counselors called "mule kicks". As he poured over his
schedule for the next month and a half, Neil noticed a shadow
hovering over him and looked up to see Harriet grinning down.
     "Tough schedule?" she asked with a tone of glee.
     Neil stuck his tongue out at her, which caused her to giggle.
"I'm on double duty on Friday" he said with a groan. Harriet turned
his sheet around and chuckled.
     "S'not so bad" she said, pointing to the sheet "your double's
on days with a free period and its a ride class anyway!" she said
with a smirk.
     Neil grinned and nodded "I guess Mom's being kind this year.".
     A hearty chuckle from his left clued Neil in to Alek
eavesdropping. The senior counselor taught several advanced courses
and supposedly had quite the history of champion Western riders. He
was a graying man with sharp features and a slight accent that Neil
thought was either French or Canadian. "Ah, you have no idea how much
Mom frets over dees things.", he said with a smile. "Pours over her
laptop for weeks in the winter trying to keep up with what counselors
will be here and not overloading them.".
     Neil nodded and conceded the point. Alek grinned and stood,
taking his papers and heading toward C-dorm. Neil turned his
attention to Harriet, who was still standing across the table from
him. She had one leg up on the bench and was looking at the papers.
Neil fought the urge to look up under the leg of her shorts, which
were currently at eye level. He lost that fight briefly and was
rewarded with a view of a lot of firm leg disappearing below her
shorts up into the shadows. He forced himself to look up at Harriet's
face until she finished reading her papers. She smiled quickly and
then headed over to the crowd of counselors hovering around Mom at
the back of the pavilion. Neil enjoyed the view of her leaving, then
studied the other counselors.
     Most he knew from the previous year. There were perhaps a dozen
male counselors and nearly twice as many female ones. Neil picked out
the six or seven men he knew, checking off in his head that they were
teaching this year. Then he surveyed the women, either mentally
checking them off his list or appreciating their charms. There were
only two other counselors his age. One was a young, high-strung girl
named Erin who specialized in western competition riding. Neil had
almost no contact with her, and thought she really needed a good
spaghetti dinner or ten to fill out. The other was a quiet girl who
Neil had worked with, but rarely spoken to. She was very short, thin
but curvy and had pale skin, red hair and freckles. Neil believed she
was seventeen, but couldn't remember ever knowing for sure. While he
watched, she was quickly gathering her papers, apparently ready to
head back to the dorms. Rather than continue girl watching, Neil got
up to catch up with her.
     "Hey Mae." he said, matching her pace and smiling. Mae looked
at him shyly and smiled a bit. She nodded, but didn't really answer.
     After a few moments of silence, Neil tried again. "Which cabin
is yours?" he asked, trying to get some kind of response.
     Mae glanced over at him and answered softly "C-19". The cabin
was behind Neil, on the other side of the dorm.
     Neil waited a second longer, trying to think of something else
to ask her, but nothing came to mind. He made some grunting
acknowledgment, which Mae seemed willing to live with. Finally Neil
slowed his pace and let her get ahead. Partly he was convinced she
wasn't interested in talking to him, and partly it was a habit. It
let the girl get ahead so he could watch her butt.
     Surprisingly Mae slowed her pace slightly and glanced over at
him. Neil didn't think she suspected his reasons for slowing, he had
already started to turn to go to the front side of the dorm where his
cabin was. Neil was taken aback by her shift and nearly stopped.
     "Sorry, uh.. Neil" she said, "I'm a little, um.. focused on my
schedule".
     Neil smiled in sympathy "That's OK". he said. They sped up a
little, walking towards the dorm in silence for a few moments.
Finally, Neil again gave up trying to think of something to ask her
and decided to just say goodbye. Rather than just say something
normal, though, he decided to joke around. "Hey, you should come by
my cabin later. C-16" he said with a slight chuckle.
     "I should?" Mae asked with a raised eyebrow.
     Neil paused in his response. Her answer hadn't been dismissive,
she seemed to honestly be asking him. There was a tone he simply
couldn't place in the way she had asked. "Uh.. sure you should." he
said with a bit of confusion.
     Mae seemed to consider this for a second, then shook her head.
"Can't. I've got to finish unpacking... and I want to rearrange my
furniture."
     Neil grinned and held his arms out. "I'll help. I'm big and
strong... and I've got nothing else to do.".
     Mae looked at him a little suspiciously. "You want to help?".
     Neil nodded. "I'll be by in a bit. I want to drop these off in
my cabin.".
     Mae didn't respond, she simply looked at him for a second then
nodded.
     Back in his room, Neil wondered at his day. Harriet was clearly
teasing him. Mercilessly, he mentally added. It was probably because
he was the new kid and the youngest counselor, and he wondered who
else she was showing off for. His thoughts then turned to Mae. They'd
never really connected in the past. She was easy to work with, she
simply did what needed doing and got on with it, yet he'd never had
any sort of connection with her. He tried to think back to the safety
classes they'd worked together, but they were full of campers and
horses, the two of them were always on opposite sides of a horse or a
crowd of overeager and noisy campers.
     After tossing his papers onto his dresser, Neil checked himself
in the mirror and headed around to the back of the dorm to find Mae.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
     For a while, Neil was just pushing things around the room while
Mae considered where she wanted things. Then he helped move her
luggage and politely avoided watching while she unpacked, instead
focusing on unscrewing the leg extensions from her bed. She wanted it
down and he had, of course, volunteered to help. Afterwords he
concentrated on putting the furniture into the final configuration.
During the process Mae would ask his opinion about placement,
deferring a number of decisions about how the few pieces of furniture
should go. Finally, after moving the heavy wardrobe back and forth six
inches, he got a little testy with her.
     "Can you move it back again, maybe with the bed made it will
look better". She said, tilting her head and putting her hand on her
chin.
     Neil grumbled a bit and got short. "Come on Mae, just leave it
here.". His tone seemed to snap her out of her mood, and at first
Neil was sure he'd upset her, but she acted as if it were a load off
her mind to have the wardrobe position done with. They moved on to a
mirror and stand that Mae had brought from home, and she asked him
where to put it.
     Neil was a bit confused, and glanced back and forth from her to
the mirror. He wanted to lighten the mood, so he pointed to a place on
the wall where the dresser stood. "Put it there. Then you can see
yourself in bed."
     Mae glanced at him, then at the bed. She seemed to think about
it for a long time, then simply nodded. Neil was about to tell her it
was a joke, but her mood seemed relaxed or content, so again he just
let it go. Neil was getting more and more confused, so he put his
mind to moving the dresser so he could push the standing mirror into
place. It had a stand and a hinged safety clip that held it against a
wall. When he had it the stand up, he turned to Mae and pointed to the
wall-mount on the floor. The mirror was a little heavy, so he simply
said "Give me that stand clip" and held out his hand. Mae jumped to
grab it and smiled softly when she gave it to him.
     As Neil worked to get the mirror upright on its base and
clipped to the wall, he felt a little blush rising. Mae had seemed to
almost glow, he assumed because she had someone to help her. When he
was done, though, there was an odd mood between them and he wasn't
sure what to do next. Finally he bowed dramatically and headed toward
the door. "Well, I'd better let you finish unpacking." he said.
     Mae's mood seemed to cool a little, and Neil was about to say
something when she said "You could stay..." but as she finished Neil
noted some kind of drop in her voice. He didn't know if she was just
being polite, so he shook his head and opened the door. "I've got to
get ready for tomorrow. Have dinner with me!" he said.
     Mae seemed to respond to him again, warming back up a little.
She didn't say anything, she simply nodded.
     Neil walked out into the hot afternoon in a bit of a confused
funk. He wasn't sure why Mae was acting like she was, and he wasn't
sure how to respond. It was certainly friendly enough, although her
mood shifted so much he was at a loss as to what she was thinking. At
least neither of them were on duty at dinner, so he could puzzle her
out a little more then. Shaking his head, he headed back around the
side of the dorm to his cabin. When he got there he found Harriet
sitting in a folding camp chair outside his door. Actually she was
under his window, just to the right of her door, but it still
surprised him a little.
     "Helping Mae unpack?" she asked with a note suggesting
something else.
     Neil decided to play along "Oh yeah, she had lots of things she
wanted me to do." he said in the same tone.
     Harriet grinned evilly. "Mmmm. And what sorts of things did you
do... for her?"
     Neil switched to a deadpan tone, "move furniture". he said.
     Harriet laughed out loud, dropping the sexual innuendo. "Ah,
what woman wouldn't love a man to help her drag that stuff around.".
     Neil nodded. "I don't know what they make our furniture out of"
he said, with a laugh, "but it sure is fucking heavy". Neil paused
afterwards, realizing he'd cursed, breaking one of Mom's big rules.
     Harriet laughed in a howl. "Ooooh. I'm telling Mom on
yooooooou" she said in a singsong voice, shifting around in her
chair.
     Neil grinned and folded his hands behind his back, staring at
the ground in mock abashment. "Noooo, don't tell!"
     Harriet laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, well, maybe I'll
just hold that over your head until I need you to help me move some
furniture.... or something"
     Her tone shifted at the end, causing Neil to pause. There was
an unspoken edge to it, and he felt a bit of a flush rising. He
smiled down at Harriet in her low chair. Her revealing attire
suddenly became a focus and he decided to bail so she wouldn't be
able to tease him. With another flourish and bow, he opened the door
to his cabin and stepped inside to the relative cool. He stripped
down naked and stood in front of the window. Partly for the fan,
which blew the sweat off and cooled him quickly, and partly because
he knew that Harriet was sitting only inches away from him, just on
the other side of the window. He hesitated briefly, looking back at
his wardrobe and its hidden box of magazines, but finally he shook
his head and grabbed the baby oil off the table. Closing his eyes and
standing naked in front of the fan, he pictured her just outside, mere
inches from his protruding erection. His mind raced through the peeks
of skin he'd gotten since she'd arrived. Her breasts pressing into
the fabric of her top as she stretched on her car. Her ass shifting
in her grey shorts as she walked to her cabin. Harriet, bent over on
her hands and knees with her ass in the air, her pussy covered by a
tight stretch of cotton, capturing him, drawing him in. Looking up
her shorts in the Cave again and again. As he imagined each scene he
mentally undressed her, cycling through the events as his hand moved
slowly up and down the shaft of his cock, coating it with oil and
sweat. Finally envisioning her bent over on the floor of her cabin,
on her hands and knees with no grey cotton to hold him back he
imagined fucking her doggy style, slamming into her from behind, her
ass quivering with each blow. It took only a minute for him to reach
the boiling point and he felt his balls tighten. Rushing wind seemed
to fill his brain and Harriet's image faded to a blinding, screaming
light as he erupted, sending streams of come against the wall below
the fan. Neil clenched his teeth and fought the urge to growl, to
yell out in ecstasy until his brain snapped back to reality.
     Standing in the cool breeze of the fan Neil couldn't hear
anything outside as he strained to ensure that Harriet hadn't heard
his orgasm. The fan apparently covered his sounds so he looked around
for a towel to clean up with.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
     For the next few hours Neil finished organizing his room and
memorized most of the week's schedule. He made one trip to drop some
things off at the counselor's lockers, then headed over to supplies
to grab an extra clip board. He didn't see Harriet or Mae during that
time, and was somewhat relieved. He'd jerked off twice in a day
before, but after two his penis would start to get sore. Having a
weary erection and trying to get his day in order wasn't his first
plan.
     Neil finally decided to head down to the stables on the other
side of the commons so he could see if there were any new horses or
any notes from the stablehands on issues to be aware of. He could
just as easily do it before his first class, but he was running out
of ways to avoid Harriet's teasing and it would be nice to take a
walk. He made his way across the admin circle and was starting down
the hill toward the commons when he heard a familiar voice yell his
name. When he turned back to look, Dave and Ruth were walking toward
him. The pair both lived close to each other in Florida and had been
dating or friends for years at the camp. Neil had been close to Dave
his first year, but Dave had been absent the previous year and Ruth
had worked most of the summer at the show ring, meaning they only got
to hang out at the very end of the season. Dave was standing with a
huge duffel bag over his shoulder and dropped it when Neil rushed up.

     "Hey!", Neil said, slapping Dave on the shoulder. "What the
hell are you doing back? I thought you were whaling off the coast of
Newfoundland!" Dave was about the same height as Neil, with short
dirty blond hair and a bit more build.
     Dave laughed. "Charter fishing in Florida, you big moron." he
said with a grin.
     Ruth came up behind him and chuckled. "Guess Daddy doesn't need
him this year" she said wryly.
     Dave cringed dramatically "Nah, Dad just got tired of me
loafing around and not knowing what I was doing. He just didn't have
time to train me on much with all the customers. Ya know?".
     Neil grinned and nodded. "So Mom's going to be ticked. You two
missed the big meeting."
     Dave shook his head and shifted his bag. "Nah, I already talked
to her. We got stuck on the road in Georgia. Some big accident or
something."
     Or something" Ruth grumbled. "There wasn't anything at the
other end, we just started moving up 95 at normal speed again. After
three hours, I wanted to see carnage! Death! Anything!!".
     Neil laughed and looked at Ruth. She'd filled out a little over
the winter, putting on a few more pounds. She was probably a little
overweight, but it would disappear quickly over the next few weeks.
She was pretty short with cropped and spiked bottle-blond hair and
large breasts. Neil avoided focusing on them, but anyone describing
Ruth would invariably mention it. Also, she must have had eight or
nine earrings in each ear and often wore a nose-ring, although she
seemed to have abandoned it this summer. At one point she'd had a
piercing through her left eyebrow, but that hadn't lasted very long.
Neil suspected she had her tongue pierced and that she took it out
while she was at camp. He didn't know what her relationship with Dave
was at the moment, they always seemed to either have some kind of
dating system going on or they simply broke up and got back together
a lot. They lived close enough to each other in Florida to maintain a
winter relationship and had worked the camp for years. Whenever he
tried to discuss the details of their relationship with Dave, though,
all he got were shrugs and vague non-explanations.
     They chatted for a few minutes and Neil agreed to help them set
up their cabins. They were both on the back side of C-dorm, on the far
side of the building in 30 and 31. There were a few exchanged glances
between Ruth and Dave as they unpacked the rooms, and Neil got the
impression that they were "on" again. He also started to suspect that
C-31 might be pretty empty on most nights over the summer. He just
shook his head and pushed more furniture. It seemed like his lot in
life today.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
     Neil hung out with Ruth and Dave until dinner, chatting and
discussing their lives outside of camp. He'd offered to leave several
times so they could "get comfortable", but they just laughed and
exchanged cryptic glances. eil figured they'd already gotten
comfortable together or had some plans for later, so he let the
matter drop. The guys ended up in camp chairs in Dave's room while
Ruth lounged on the bed. When Neil finally got around to mentioning
Harriet, however, Dave perked up.
     "Teasing you?" he asked with a joking tone.
     "Mercilessly" Neil admitted, fanning himself for effect.
     Ruth laughed. "Poor, poor man. Got a lady fawning over you and
you bitch about it".
     Neil grinned "Look out, though. She'll be after you next."
     Dave cocked his head, then shook it. "Nope. I saw her for a bit
when I came back from the admin. She was hanging out with that black
counselor.. the tall lady who dyed her hair orange last year for the
show.."
     "Cynthia" Ruth said. Dave nodded. "Yeah Cynthia." Dave paused a
minute and tilted his head in fantasy "some dark chocolate..."
     Ruth kicked him playfully "She's out of your league." Dave
shrugged and continued "anyway, we walked back to the dorm together.
She wanted to tell me about some trail they dug last year, since I'm
supposed to be judging it. She never even batted an eyelash at me."
     Neil considered this. "Ruth wasn't with you?"
     Ruth shook her head "I was still in admin, I guess. I had to
fill out some forms for school. I'll get credit next year if I go to
vet school.".
     Neil snapped his fingers and jumped up. "Crap, I've got to turn
in my CPR forms before dinner or Mom'll dump my corpse in the lake."
     Dave and Ruth laughed and they all got up. "Hey, maybe we'll
see you after dinner. We're going to head into town with my
parents.".
     Ruth continued "they're kinda stuck here tonight, they don't
really want to drive back down this late."
     Neil nodded and headed out to grab his forms.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
     Neil met Mae before dinner and they walked toward the Cave
together. The night had gotten chilly, so Neil had grabbed a light
jacket. Mae hadn't changed, but the chill didn't seem to affect her.
Neil tried to judge her mood as they walked across the grass. She
seemed pensive, expectant, and he wasn't really sure what she
expected him to do.
     The first night dinner was a little chaotic, since it seemed
every counselor came early. Neil started to offer to get Mae's tray
for her, but decided not to. She seemed to get more and more tense as
they waited in line, and he eventually gave up trying to read her and
grabbed a tray. Dinner was some kind of pasta and veggie concoction.
It was excellent, as usual, but once in a while Neil wanted actual,
normal "camp" food while he was out in the woods.
     Mae sat across from him and didn't start eating until he was
well into his tray. She didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, so
Neil chatted with the counselors next to him, Harry and Jenn. Harry
was from England and taught English riding, which he insisted on
calling "Dressage" and everyone else insisted on calling "English",
at least in his presence. Harry was well aware of the jest and played
along, carefully correcting people who called it "English" and nodding
when anyone corrected him calling it "dressage". Harry was always
dressed in dumpy, loose fitting clothes and a short straw hat he
called a "boater". It was a real treat to see him at competitions,
where he would either wear impeccable riding dress or, if he was
feeling particularly fancy, a full tuxedo. Neil had never worn a tux,
and seeing the reaction of the female counselors to Harry's, he
wondered if he shouldn't look into it.
     Jenn was effervescent and fun. Many of the other counselors
called her "bubbles" when out of earshot of the students, and she
seemed endlessly amused by this. She was tall and lean with long
brown hair that she usually had in a long pony-tail. Harry seemed to
be listening intently to her discuss her time away from camp, but
occasionally he'd glance over at Neil with a weary expression and
shrug. Neil fought back an urge to laugh.
     As dinner wound down, Neil struggled for some way to salvage
the evening with Mae. He liked her, but it seemed like she was
expecting something from him without cluing him into what. It
agitated him a bit, but there wasn't any clear way to fix the issue.
She seemed to brighten at the oddest times. He'd ask for something
from her, like salt or a napkin, and she'd seem to sour as if it was
a bother. When he would get aggravated and demand things, however,
she actually brightened a bit. It was frustrating and confusing.
     When he offered to walk her back to her cabin she shook her
head and walked off alone, leaving him scratching his head. He looked
around for Dave and Ruth, but wherever they'd gotten off to was beyond
him. Finally, he just headed back to his cabin to crash in bed. It had
been an interesting first day.