Few ugly words in this one, nothing too bad, though. Maybe a PG13 again.
Sara pulled on her shorts and T-shirt as she readied herself for their hike. No bikini underneath. After spending the morning frolicking in the buff she couldn't work up enough modesty to sacrifice comfort in service to the universal principal of undergarments. She smiled as she wondered what she would've thought if someone had told her five years ago, one year ago that she'd be spending the day naked on a Hawaii beach - with Greg Sanders, no less. She would never have believed them, yet here she was, having one of the best days of her entire life.
"I have the trail map." Greg held up a multicolored brochure. "Trail starts just over there."
The trail started easily enough, taking them through a stunning array of vibrantly-hued foliage and flowers. As they continued on, though, the trek became more difficult because they were slowly but surely climbing a small mountain.
"Okay, which way do we go?" Sara pointed ahead toward a 3-way fork in the path.
"I don't know. This isn't on the map, and it isn't marked."
"So what do we do?"
He shrugged. "Pick a path, I guess."
Sara studied the paths before her. "I don't know. It's probably the middle one, don't you think? That one looks like it's been used more."
"I'm not sure, but if we take it and it doesn't seem to be taking us anywhere we can always turn around."
"True."
From that point they seemed to be ascending quickly. The path forked a second and then a third time, each time leaving them on a narrower trail. At the fourth fork Greg looked at Sara and shook his head. "This is some kind of fucking labyrinth. We need to turn back. We definitely aren't in Kansas any more."
Sara opened her mouth to voice agreement when a flash of noise and motion shot out of the woods behind them, then turned and began barrelling toward them. "Oh, shit!" Greg grabbed her arm and began running through the woods. Never slow to take a hint, Sara took off running as fast as she could go.
"What... the hell... is that?" she gasped as they ran from the screaming mystery creature.
"Wild... wild boar. ... has tusks..."
After what seemed to be miles of running, the hooved fury seemed to have abandoned them. Greg stopped and looked around. "I think... think he lost interest."
Sara flopped down. "That's good. I think I'm about to have a heart attack."
"We are way, way off the trail now. I don't have a damned clue where we are."
Sara looked around. "Plus we really don't want to meet up with our friend Puumba back there again. What time is it?"
Greg looked at his watch. "5:23. Even if we knew exactly where we were going, which we don't, we'd have a hard time getting to the beach in time to meet the boat. I'm sorry, Sara. I seem to have gotten us into a real mess this time."
She touched his hand. "This isn't your fault, Greg. We'll find our way out. We may not be able to get back on our original path, but if we head downhill we'll get to the beach eventually."
"True. But in the meanwhile, we're spending the night in the park."
She looked untroubled. "Want to try and head downhill a bit before we set up camp?"
Greg hoisted up the backpack. "Good idea. Let's get moving."
Greg dropped the pack in the small clearing. "It's getting dark," he panted.
"Yeah. This is a pretty good place to set up camp, though."
He looked around. "Yeah. I think we're fairly close to the beach, which is good - although finding the exact spot where the boat picks up might be tricky." He pulled the tent out of the backpack and began the process of setup.
"Your aunt knows where we are, right?'
He nodded. "She's going to be worried sick by tomorrow morning. She'll probably send someone over to look for us." One more maneuver, and he stepped back. "But on a happier note, we have our home for the night. Milady..."
They grabbed the blankets and towels and climbed into the small tent.
"It's pretty comfortable at least." Greg pulled her into his arms and tucked the covers around her as he spoke. "And we have plenty food and water for tomorrow."
Sara snuggled closer. "Yeah. This is actually sort of nice, for camping."
"Yeah. You're good to snuggle."
She giggled. "So are you."
"I could get used to this." He buried his face in her hair. "You're like a teddy bear, only you smell better."
"That's certainly an unusual compliment."
"It's the truth. You know, I think I miss this more than anything."
"What do you mean?"
"Being unattached, not having a girlfriend, I miss the cuddling and the affection most of all."
"Yeah. I miss that too. Lately it seems like the whole game of dating has been more trouble than it's been worth. Vegas is an easy town to get laid in, but a hard one to find someone who wants anything deeper than a one night stand."
He sighed. "Depends on where you're looking, I guess." He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I like this a lot."
Sara sighed and drifted into sleep. She awoke the next morning to find Greg gently stroking her hair. He lay on his back, and she was on her side, one arm and and one leg draped over him. He smiled over at her. "Good morning!"
She should move off of him, she knew she should, but for the moment she was going to stay right where she was. "What time is it?"
"6:04 AM. We should head out in a bit."
"Yeah. We should."
Slowly they untangled from one another and crawled out of the little tent.