The Swing

Mark put the car into park and leaned on the steering wheel. The large oak tree in front of him framed the cabin that he and Steve split rent on for the week. It was a modest three-bedroom that sported an oversized living room and a wraparound porch. He liked the tire swing that hung from one strong limb of the old oak. It made the cabin feel welcoming right away. Behind the cabin and down the hill would be the small lake, with a boat dock and rowboat. Mark thought he could handle sitting on the dock with a beer, but the boat would be off limits.

He was not a water person.

“Are we there?” In the passenger seat, Julie stretched and rubbed her eyes. The drive out had taken a good five hours, and she had spent the last half of the trip napping. He did not blame her. She worked late hours as a bartender and pulled doubles the last few nights so that she would have extra money to shop when they went into town.

“This is it.” Mark opened the car door and walked around to help Julie out. He opened her door and held his hand out to her. She took it with a smile and pulled herself out of the car slowly, letting muscles that would be cramped from the drive slowly loosen and wake up.

Julie was a petite, slender girl – what Mark always thought of as his type. Nice breasts, not too large, just enough to cup them. She was just a little shorter than most girls, enough that Mark, at an even six feet, could pick her up to kiss her. Her pale skin contrasted with her dark, shoulder-length hair and deep blue eyes. When he first met her, he thought of her as a dark little angel. His opinion never really changed.

“It’s quaint.” Julie looked over the cabin’s rustic exterior. “You said no internet, right?”

“No internet. No cell service out here, just the phone line. All the luxuries and none of the technology.” Mark put his hands on his hips and breathed in the fresh air. In the distance, the valley gave way to mountains. About five hundred feet from the cabin, the woods began, and the closest cabin was another quarter mile away after that. “Complete privacy.”

Julie’s eyes settled on the tire swing. “It’s perfect.” She looked back at Mark, and the twinkle in her eyes made him stir. “Can I swing?”

Mark gestured to the swing. “As you wish, my lady.”

She giggled and skipped to the swing. She sat on it, letting her legs rest over the tire, and waited for him to come push her. “How long until Steve and Nicole get here?”

Mark gave the swing a good push, sending her away and back to him. “They pulled off at the last rest stop, so I figure only a few minutes.” Mark considered his friend’s strange sense of direction. Put him on a boat, and he could point north even on a cloudy day. Put him in a car downtown, and he could get lost finding 3rd Avenue from 5th. “Hopefully he remembers the landmarks to look for. I’ll never get his text if he’s lost.”

Julie laughed and leaned so that she could give him a quick kiss as the swing brought her back. Mark happily pushed her in the swing, occasionally stealing a feel of her breast, once slipping his hand up her thigh, then sending the swing spinning as momentum pulled it away. Julie chided him playfully. A car horn sounded in the woods, and Steve’s car pulled up next to Mark’s.

Nicole was the first out of the car, opening the passenger side door and jumping out to look at the cabin and the woods surrounding them. Steve cut the engine and followed after, coming up behind Nicole and putting his arms around her. Mark took hold of the swing to stop it, so that Julie could get off and greet her friend.

“You said it was tiny.” Nicole gestured to the cabin.

“It’s not huge.” Steve let go of Nicole as Julie jumped off the swing and walked over. Nicole was what Mark always thought of as classically attractive – long brown hair, bright blue eyes, and ample breasts. She had a pleasant hourglass figure, the type that could fill in a dress and turn heads. Where Julie had impressed Mark as the dark, mysterious type, Nicole had an earthy quality that made her look more like the girl next door than the girl in the club.

The two girls embraced, and Julie pointed back to the cars. “You boys get our bags. Nicole and I will start airing out the cabin.”

Mark nodded to Steve, and they walked around to their respective trunks. A week’s worth of luggage for two women was no small order. Mark hoped something cool to drink, beer maybe, might go along with that cabin airing.

******

The first two days of vacation had consisted primarily of settling in. The three-bedroom cabin only sported one bathroom, but by the second morning the four had a pretty good system worked out. Julie and Nicole were at least comfortable getting ready together, which saved some headaches. The two had been friends since childhood, so that was not really surprising. They made fun of Mark and Steve for not sharing the bathroom, but Steve hated shaving around other people.

The cabin came stocked with necessities, including lite beer. It was not any of their favorites, though, so they pulled straws to see who would go into town for more beer, and maybe a few other things on the grocery list. Nicole had pulled the short straw, and Steve quickly volunteered to go for her. Mark thought it was a sweet gesture. The two had been dating for about four months now, enough time for small things to be forgotten or ignored. Mark thought Steve taking Nicole’s store run was a good sign.

With alcohol and other sundries bought and stocked, the vacation was finally fully underway. Mark and Julie had enjoyed their second day mostly in the bedroom. Yesterday evening, they joined Steve and Nicole on the back porch, where the hot tub was churning and ready. The four enjoyed the relaxing heat and motion of water across their backs and legs. Mark had found it especially enjoyable. Julie had been studying the Kama Sutra lately, and wanted to try a new position that left him with a strained muscle in his upper thigh. The heat and water jets quickly soothed it, and he felt relaxed.

And then, it happened.

Mark was sure, thinking about it now, that this was the first time. Their first day had been Steve’s store run and everyone resting from the drive. Last night had been the first time the four of them were together to truly relax.

It had been subtle, so much so that Mark had almost not caught it. Nicole’s eyes lingered a moment longer than they should have, and nothing else. Mark had passed it off as his own weariness and imagination. This morning at breakfast had been different. Mark had volunteered to cook breakfasts for everyone on the vacation – at least assuming everyone showed up together at the kitchen. He was not going to do multiple meals. He was a cook, working his way through culinary school, and he prided himself on his omelet creations.

Nicole volunteered to set the table for them and, as he finished plating, took them over. As he handed her the last plate, his own, Nicole’s hand brushed over his. Her touch was soft, with the barest wiggle of her fingers across his knuckles. It was enough to be arousing, and when he looked up at her, the look in her eyes was unmistakable.

And brief. She took hold of the plate and smiled at him. “Thank you so much for making breakfast. Now come sit down. We all waited for you.”

Nicole took her seat next to Steve, nuzzled up to him, and gave him a quick kiss under the ear that drew a smile to his face and brightened eyes that had been full of sleep.

Julie leaned in and kissed Mark on the cheek, squeezing his hand as she did. “You are so sweet to cook for us. You don’t have to, you know. You are on vacation too.”

Steve took a bite of his eggs. He swallowed and shook his head. “Mark likes to experiment on people. When we were kids, I was the one who had to try all his mud pie creations.”

Nicole rolled her eyes and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “No, really. Don’t be mean.”

Julie looked up at Mark from the corner of her eye. She already knew most of the stories of him and Steve growing up, and he could tell she was testing to see if he would admit to it.

“So this one time,” Mark broke into Nicole’s laugh, “I found this really sweet-smelling grass. I thought it would be really cool to use, so I picked some. As I’m going along, I see these huge mushrooms; one of them was bigger than my hand. They had beautiful red caps with these white spots on them. I thought I had found a gold mine. I had visions of Alice in Wonderland in my head. I was going to make magic mud pies.”

Nicole stared from Mark to Steve, who held his forehead and shook his head, and then back. “You gave your best friend ’shrooms?”

Mark held his hands up. “I had no idea what they would actually do. We were like seven. Our moms were freaking out. Steve was babbling about something – I can’t even remember what it was anymore.”

“I was talking about how butterflies were just flying caterpillars and that the moths were grub worms trying to take over their territory.” Steve now had his face in his palm. “The doctor told my mom I would be fine. Mark was smart enough to just pinch a little of the cap to put into the mud pie. I had to drink some lemony water for two days and watch non-violent cartoons until the effects passed.”

“I think I was grounded for a month. My mom was furious, telling me I could have caused her to go to jail for life.” Mark took a bite of his omelet before continuing. “They still don’t let us live it down, telling every girlfriend they meet.”

Nicole frowned and looked at Steve. “She hasn’t told me yet.”

Mark caught himself and hoped he did not just say something stupid.

Steve patted Nicole on the arm and kissed her cheek. “Because I begged her not to and told her I would come over and mow the lawn for her for the next year.”

Nicole’s face softened. “Aww, you poor thing.” She ran her fingers through Steve’s hair and nuzzled his cheek with her nose.

Mark rolled his eyes.

“Besides, Mom likes you.” Steve took another bite of his breakfast.

Julie turned her face to Mark. “Your mom told me.”

Mark leveled an even glare at Steve, who shrugged his shoulders innocently. Mark sighed and looked at Julie. “My mom is evil incarnate and enjoys embarrassing me. You know she likes you more than me anyway.”

Julie laughed and pushed his shoulder. The four of them shared more tales of childhood antics as they ate breakfast. They spent the day exploring the woods around the cabin, fishing on the pier, and just enjoying the relaxing day. The laughter at breakfast left Mark feeling at ease, and when he caught more looks from Nicole, he knew he was not imagining things.

It could, he thought, just be that she found him cute. Mark was faithful to Julie, but that did not keep him from checking out a cute girl when they were out sometimes. Maybe this was just her way of checking out someone she thought was good-looking. He hoped so, anyway. She and Steve looked like they were happy, and it was nice to see him with someone that he did not mind showing affection to openly. He hated to think that what he was seeing was just on the surface.