I resisted, exhaled, then, in control again, I opened my eyes.
She took me by the jaw and pulled me to her. She kissed and nipped at my chin and around my mouth. With begging eyes, she implored me, “Please.”
I eased her leg down from around my waist to lie flat on the ground then I collapsed at her side. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her onto me. Her leg slid between mine, my throbbing cock now pressed against her sweat-slicked thigh.
I brushed the hair from her face and kissed her calmly. With her lying against me, I felt her heartbeat resonate in my chest along with mine, rapidly thumping at first, then the two beats gradually relaxed into a steady, uniform rhythm.
She took my cock in her hand. She stroked me slowly while her lips brushed softly against my cheek. The tip of her tongue ran against my skin, mimicking the motion of her hand up and down my shaft.
I leaned my head back. She dotted my heaving chest with kisses. “I can’t hold it back any longer,” I said.
“Then don’t.”
I put my hand behind her head and eased her tight against me. I spread my legs, and, meeting the strokes of her hand, I raised my hips and came.Even though I hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night, I hiked with new-found energy and enthusiasm. I was hiking with Holly from California. I was so happy and excited, I said out loud, “This is amazing.”
“Yeah, it’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” she replied.
I wasn’t talking about the landscape—though, it was quite spectacular—but I played along. I figured for a girl like Holly, a wealthy socialite known for going off on adventures and rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, that our night together was not as big a deal to her as it was for me. I didn’t want to scare her away with my enthusiasm; we’d only spent one night together, but for me, it was so intense I was already losing my head.
“We should be in Franklin in six hours,” she said. “I can’t wait to phone my family and write another report for my blog.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing this blog you keep mentioning. I wonder if I’ll be in it.”
She nudged my shoulder with hers. “It’s not that kind of a blog,” she said with a wry smile.
“What?”
She took my hand. “I’ll need to spend a few days in Franklin. I have some clinics to visit in the area.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got some things to do in the area, too.”
“You do? Like what?”
Like, look for my birth family. I had been so eager to share my story with anyone I’d come across, but suddenly, with her, I felt embarrassed. “Um, personal stuff,” I said.
“Hmm, okay. Too personal to share?”
I shrugged. “You wouldn’t understand.”
She let go of my hand. “Oh, that’s right, because you know me.”
I know you’re a wealthy socialite from California. So, I doubt you’d really understand much about an adopted kid hiking the Appalachian Trail, looking for his roots.
I considered telling her just to see her reaction but thought better of it.
“You’ve got me all figured out, don’t you?” she said.
I picked up on the tinge of hostility in her voice. I had offended her without meaning to. You’re blowing it already!
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean to be presumptive.”
“But you are.”
“But I am,” I agreed.
“Fine,” she said. But it wasn’t fine.
I had upset her, and she quickened her pace to walk a few steps ahead of me.
“Look, Holly,” I caught up to her and took her hand, “I’m sorry to upset you. I am. It’s just.…”
“Just what?”
I hated myself for what I was about to say, but I said it anyway. “Look, when this hike is over, you’ll go back to California, and I’ll go back to Massachusetts. I just would rather not get to... you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean. If you don’t want to tell me what you have to do in Franklin, that’s okay. I didn’t realize it was a big deal.”
“It’s just embarrassing, that’s all.”
We continued walking in silence. I kicked at the occasional loose twig on the ground, and inside my head, I was kicking myself. We were getting along so well. Why are you pushing her away? So, you don’t think you could ever be with a wealthy socialite but haven’t the last two days proven you wrong?
“Should we stop to eat,” she asked, “or keep on till Franklin where we can get a real meal?”
“I’m all about delayed gratification,” I said.
She looked at me out of the corners of her eye and cracked a smile. “Don’t I know it.”
We arrived in Franklin, famished. The town was much smaller than either of us expected. It was essentially a one-road town with a motel, Carolina Motel, situated near the lone stoplight, right where the Appalachian trail met the road that cut through town.