Eric awoke early with the feeling that he was being watched. In fact, he was. Josh was propped up on one elbow grinning at him. Eric smiled back remembering the activities from the night before as he ran his hand across a patch of dried cum.
Josh brashly reached over and tweaked one of Eric's nipples. Eric giggled and did the same thing to Josh. Touching each other in that intimate way sent a stronger surge of blood to their already engorged cocks.
The need to pee forced them to stop their playing around and find a tree. They held out long enough to apply bug spray to each other's body before exiting the tent. They had learned about the correlation between mosquitoes' appetites and exposed boy-flesh.
If yesterday had been beautiful, today was spectacular. In addition to the sparkle of early light playing on the water, there was a silver mist hovering above the lake making it appear shrouded in mystery. Again, the camera was out as Josh caught the beauty of the early morning.
Josh got braver than he had been the day before.
"Could I get a picture of you nude facing the lake -- just a rear view?"
"Okaaay," Eric stretched his response. "Again, it's fine if I can take one of you as well."
"No problem."
After the first couple of photos were taken, Eric turned facing Josh with his dick slightly pumped up.
"You can take this one too if you want," he said in a tone that betrayed his horniness.
Josh didn't have to be begged.
When it was his turn to be the model, Josh allowed Eric to take a full frontal shot too. Both were finding it difficult not to go completely hard.
The boys quickly put their underwear back on when the heard the zipper of their dads' tent opening.
Breakfast that morning was pancakes and bacon. It was the last of the bacon, so tomorrow's French toast would have to be eaten without any meat to supplement it.
Josh insisted on cooking the pancakes. He wanted to show that his skills were on a par with Eric's. He did a remarkable job of getting them done in the middle without burning the edges. He basked in the compliments he got -- especially the ones from Eric.
Scott suggested that the guys all make up cheese sandwiches for their lunches and pack cookies and granola bars as well. With individual lunches, they could split up, the men going one direction and the boys going another. It was going to be a laid-back day of paddling around seeing the area and fishing.
After hoisting the food packs up, the guys started off. If they could catch enough for dinner, they could put off having to face a meal of freeze dried food. While it might not be inedible, it couldn't hold a candle to fresh fish.
Ben and Scott headed off toward the west and Josh and Eric went east. In addition to their lunches, they all took along canteens and large plastic bag-like containers to bring back water from the more central parts of the lake.
From the studying he'd done to complete his fishing badge for scouts, Josh had learned how to read the signs where fish might logically be found during the day. He directed their canoe toward one such spot. He cast out his line and then patiently taught Eric to do the same. After several attempts, Eric was doing a reasonable job of casting too. Josh was so intent on helping Eric that he nearly lost his rod when it jerked suddenly. He managed to grab it in time and allow a bit of the line to feed out. Then he reeled it partially back in. From the force on the other end, he predicted that he'd snagged a big one. He kept playing the fish until it tired out. Finally he snatched it out of the water with his net. It was a large northern pike weighing several pounds. It would probably feed two people all by itself. He hooked it on a stringer which he attached securely to a crossbeam on the canoe.
Eric got a bite a couple of minutes later. Josh talked him through the process of wearing the fish down. This time, he kept a good grip on his own rod just in case.
The fish that Eric caught was a bit smaller, but still a good size. If this kept up, they would not be eating freeze dried food.
Their luck did hold. Before they were through, they had four decent sized fish. That was in addition to a couple of smaller ones they'd released to grow up for someone else to enjoy later.
They tied their canoe to a small tree on a little island and got out to stretch their legs. It looked like a good place to eat lunch and pee before trying to fish again. It felt good to lie back on the ground after eating. They got so relaxed that they decided not to do any more fishing that day.
After they paddled back to camp with their fish and containers of fresh water, they tied the stringer to a branch at the edge of the lake so that the fish would stay alive but wouldn't be able to escape. Then they beached their canoe.
Using the SteriPEN water purifier (which emitted an ultraviolet light and resembled a tiny Jedi light saber) the boys sterilized their drinking water. After that, they began looking for something else to occupy the rest of their afternoon.
They made up the chocolate pudding for dessert so that it would have time to cool. But, there was still a lot of the afternoon left.
"Hey, do you want to bathe while we have the chance?" Josh asked.
"Yeah, I guess. How do we go about it?"
"Well we don't want to get too much soap in the lake, so we'll go skinny dipping first. While we're down by the shore, we'll fill the two cooking pots with water. Then, we get maybe 10 yards away from the shore, soap up, and rinse each other off. When we're pretty free of soap, we can go back into the lake and have a second rinse. There won't be enough soap left on our bodies to pollute it."
"Okay, I'm game," Eric said.
Soon two cute, naked boys were wading into the water. It was colder than they had anticipated, but the bright sunshine helped them keep from freezing.
When it came to the soaping part away from the shore, Josh reached over and washed Eric's back. Eric wasn't especially surprised at the body contact after having his nipple tweaked that morning. It certainly felt nice. He returned the favor without hesitation. Then they poured water over each other giggling as they did.
Back in the lake again, they splashed around until they felt refreshed and a little chilly. They got out and spread out their towels on the large rock formation turning on their sides to face each other as they lay down.
"Are you checking me out?" Josh growled, as if offended.
Eric might have taken him seriously but for the grin he was unable to suppress.
"Yeah, just like you're doing to me!" Eric replied laughing. "Well, how do I rate?"
"I'd have given you a 10 last night and a 9.5 this morning. I'd still give it an 8.5, but I think it shrank.
"And yours didn't?" Eric laughed again.
"That lake water sure can teach a guy about humility," Josh agreed.
"It looks fine to me," Eric said in a squeaky voice that he knew was making his nervousness obvious.
"So does yours," Josh responded in a similar vein. "May I touch it?"
"Hell yes!" Eric answered with more enthusiasm than he'd intended to.
Both boys reached out tentatively to feel the other's stiffening tool. The experience seemed as natural as a smile and as forbidden as the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden all at the same time. Either way, they were certainly responding to each other's touch.
Josh suddenly pulled back and looked guilty.
"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that?"
"Why not?" Eric asked.
"Because I'm leading you to do things that I want to do, but you might not. I didn't mean to. It's just that you're so cute."
"Josh, if I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't. I think I'm the one who asked to see your dick last night."
"Yeah, but I started that too."
"Josh, look at me. Do you like me?"
"Yeah!"
"Does it feel good to do this together?"
"To quote you: `Hell yes!'" Josh said with a wan smile
"Okay, then it IS good."
With that, Eric reached over and began to jack Josh's cock with a gentle, but regular, rhythm. Josh's eyes turned glassy and his breathing became ragged.
Somewhere in the recesses of his lust-filled mind, he realized that he should be giving Eric a hand too. He moved closer running his hand over Eric's ball sac and up toward the tip of his sticky erection. Eric let out an appreciative moan.
Being stark naked on a huge rock in the wilderness under a sunny sky with the possibility of being seen by someone paddling close to the shore was a powerful aphrodisiac. It took a very few strokes to bring them both to mind-blowing orgasms. They literally lay there shaking when it was over.
Josh was beginning to look guilty again and Eric didn't know what to say. So, he simply leaned over and kissed the other boy on the lips. Josh was startled for a second and then he kissed back.
"Wow! Thanks for making me feel better," he said. "I have never, ever felt anything to compare with what we just did!"
"I haven't either. Oh God, I'm going to hate it when this trip is over!"
The boys lay back on their towels holding hands and looking at the fleecy clouds overhead. The warmth of the sun made them drowsy. Pretty soon, they fell asleep.
Eric awakened with a start about a half hour later. He saw a canoe heading their way and assumed it was their fathers returning, although he could not tell for sure from that distance. He gently nudged Josh who woke up smiling. Eric couldn't resist leaning over to kiss his lips once more.
"Oh God this is a great way to wake up!" Josh sighed dreamily. "I'm beginning to think that you want this as much as I do."
"I do, believe me! Now, we'd better get up and put something on if we don't want to explain to our dads what we're doing out here naked." Eric cautioned.
"It wouldn't be a big deal. Dad and I go skinny dipping when we're camping if no one else is around."
"Yeah, but I'll bet you don't have dried jizz on your abs when you do!" Eric teased.
"Whoa, you're right! We'd better get back in the water. I don't care if they see us naked. That's natural, but they might not think it's normal for two guys to be jacking each other off!"
The boys got back into the lake. The water in the shallow area had warmed slightly from the sun and it didn't feel all that much chillier than some swimming pools they'd trained in. They were climbing out when their fathers pulled into the cove.
"Hold it right there, boys, I want to get a picture of you getting out of the water," Ben said. "Move a little closer together so the composition is better."
The boys did as they were asked, thinking that this would preserve another special memory of their trip. They didn't dare turn toward the camera because both were beginning to chub up again. Sure, their dads had been teenagers once and might have sprung boners at a moments notice, but that was back in the Dark Ages and they would probably have forgotten how it was.
As Eric and Josh bent to pick up their towels, they gave the men more of a show than they had intended. They wrapped the towels around their waists and headed for their tent to put on fresh underwear. They decided not to dress any further than that for the time being while they washed out the skivvies they'd worn for two days.
Ben and Scott also thought that taking a bath was a great idea. After they showed off the two medium sized pikes that they'd caught, they stripped and got into the lake. Once they got adjusted to the temperature, they played around like a couple of kids. Their sons teased them about their immature behavior.
"You guys aren't grown up enough to tell us what to do!" Josh joked.
"If being a responsible, mature adult means that I can't have fun, then I, for one, am never growing up!" Ben exclaimed.
"I'm not either!" Scott agreed as he came up behind his buddy and dunked him.
"Why don't you get back in here and we'll show you who's boss?" Ben continued. "Unless you're a couple of wusses!"
Well, that got the boys' attention. They stripped off their underwear and cannon-balled into the water next to their fathers splashing them thoroughly. From that point, the water war was on. The young guys were doing their best to show that they weren't afraid to mix it up.
"We could show you how to chicken-fight if you want to get on our shoulders and try to knock each other into the water. But first you'll have to put your undershorts or something on because I don't want to feel a cocktail weenie against my neck and I'll bet Scott doesn't either."
"You'd better not insult this bratwurst or you won't be eating fish tonight!" Josh said grabbing his crotch.
"Jeez, go cover that `thang' up and get back in here!" his father laughed.
A few minutes later, the boys were in their underwear astride their fathers' shoulders trying to unseat each other. It was a battle to the finish. At the last minute, both teens fell into the water more or less simultaneously. The men called it a tie and both of their sons were satisfied with the decision.
Then Eric did something uncharacteristic in his relationship with his father. He went over and spontaneously hugged him.
"Dad, I want to make a formal apology for acting like a spoiled brat. You were right in insisting that I come on this trip. I've never had so much fun in my life. I didn't know you were so cool. I wish I'd gotten to know you better before. I've missed out on a lot."
Scott hoped that there was enough lake water on his face that it would disguise his tears, but Eric didn't miss them. It didn't diminish his new-found respect for the man who had given him life. In fact, it had the opposite effect. His eyes got misty too.
Father and son hugged until they nearly squeezed the breath out of each other. Ben and Josh stood smiling with their arms on each others' shoulders.
While the men finished bathing, the boys sat on the rock and cut thick fillets from the pikes, after conking them over the head with a piece of firewood. As soon as they got them skinned, they put the pieces in a pan of reconstituted milk to keep them fresh and help make the batter stick.
Josh did the first one with his sharp camping knife and he talked Eric through the second one. The teens took turns until all of the fish were prepared. Eric's chest swelled with pride when Josh told him how well he had done.
Scott got the shortening melting while Ben cooked the dried peas on the other stove. He shook the fillets in a plastic bag containing part of the seasoned flour/cornmeal mixture to coat them thoroughly. Then he fried the pieces quickly to keep them moist inside while making them crispy on the outside.
At the end of the meal, the guys all sat back rubbing their stomachs and declaring this to be the best fish they'd ever tasted. Everyone complimented each other because all had worked as a team to bring off this delicious dinner.
Later, they ate their chocolate pudding while sitting around the campfire. It tasted really good to them and the boys had seconds after their fathers reminded them that it would spoil by the next day.
Ben and Scott insisted that it was their turn to hoist the food packs up for the night. Ben managed to scoop out a bit of shortening and slip it into a plastic sandwich bag without the boys' noticing. Scott grinned at him and they both got hard thinking about what was to come later.
Author's note: I just received an email from Cameron! Those who read "Tales" will remember that I've been worried about him. After his mother kicked him out, he eventually hitchhiked his way to the West Coast when new friends are helping him get his life together. I'm really thankful!
Thanks also to the rest who have written since last posting: Baruch, Polar, Barry, Tim E., Jim W(e), Mikey, John M, Brandon and Ethan (young lovers!), Jian, Anthony L, Paul R, Rad, Jim C, and Michael (Paul).
A special thanks to my editors Tom and David for putting up with me!
Brandon and Ethan, the pic I sent goes with the early morning scene in this chapter.
Happy Holidays to all,
David