It has been a very, very good day. But then, almost every day is a good day in the cool of the woods during the height of August in upstate New York. Several things worked together to make this day in particular a very, very good day.
First, they were away at camp - their weekend retreat from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It wasn't anything fancy, just a park model RV on a lot in a park with about 40 other families with similar set-ups, but private enough that they could call it their own. It was a short walk down to the lake, just far enough from the water to be protected from the thunderstorms that blew across the water in the late afternoons on the hottest days. Their lot was on the corner, with just enough trees to offer relief from the hot summer sun, but on the edge of a central clearing so they never felt like they were isolated.
The second thing that had made the day so good was the fact that their children had left early that morning with their grandparents, headed to The Great Escape amusement park. With the kids gone, they had slept late, had a late breakfast and lounged around and read the paper. Finally around noon, they went to town and did some shopping and had a nice lunch. Spending the day together, they had the chance to fall back into a comfortable rhythm with each other. No stress - they sat on the same side of the booth at lunch and talked in a low, conspiring tone that drew curious looks from the waitress. Later, they held hands while they shopped.
They returned to camp and ate a light dinner. At that time of year, it stayed light until almost 9:00. They played cards at the picnic table, sitting on the same bench. They had a few drinks, talking and laughing and just luxuriating in the chance to spend extended time alone together sharing each other's company.
It was a warm summer day, and they both had worn their camp "uniforms" - t-shirts and shorts. Their closeness together, with their bare legs below their shorts occasionally touching, their arms brushing when they reached for a card, got both of them thinking about possibilities for later that evening. Talking and laughing slowly turned to flirting and the occasional kiss, or caress. Just as it was getting too dark to play cards any longer, the kids arrived with their grandparents. They were exhausted from getting up early and the long day of walking in the sun from ride to ride and playing at the water park. Soon, talk of bed for the kids and going home for the grandparents led to a round of thank you and goodbyes.
The third thing that made the day unusually good was the fact that they would be sleeping in a tent behind the trailer tonight. This was a first. Their kids sometimes stayed in the tent, especially when they had friends come to camp with them. But their children wanted to stay inside this weekend, mostly so they could sleep late. It was much quieter inside the RV than outside in the tent, especially when the summer weekend mid-morning noise of lawnmowers began. It had been a long time since the two of them had slept together in a tent. Just the idea of it - being alone in a tent together - had a certain attraction to it. She had mentioned it several times to him during the day, hinting at the possibilities, things they could do with no children around to hear them.
She had him carry their sleeping bags, a pile of pillows and a small battery operated lantern to the tent earlier in the evening. After they had set up their bedding, she had kissed him there in the tent. It was a hot lingering kiss, she knew it would drive him crazy; that he would be thinking about it all evening. She had also carried out and left a small cooler with a couple of bottles of water and some ice, said something about the fact that they might get thirsty later, and left it at that.
Now that the grandparents had left, they got ready for bed and said good night to the kids. This routine was the same as any other night, but it felt different to them. Anticipation was building. As they said good night to the children and left the camper, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along to the tent. At the door, with a shared, hungry look they both understood, she held a flashlight while he unzipped the screened door and they stepped inside.
He re-zipped the door closed and they both took off their shoes and left them by the door. She sat down cross-legged and barefoot on the sleeping bag. They had two extra large sleeping bags, zipped together to make a sort of king-sized bag. It was slippery, silky, navy blue nylon on the outside, soft gray flannel on the inside. It was cool on his legs when he sat down to join her. She turned off the flashlight, and reached in the darkness to turn on the battery powered lantern in the corner. She adjusted it to its dimmest setting, somewhere between the brightness of a night-light and a single candle. After a moment, their eyes adjusted to the soft glow.
It was early, barely 10:00 pm, and they were both well rested from sleeping late that morning and the relaxing day together. Neither had any thoughts of going to sleep just yet. With a twinkle in her eyes, she asked him if he wanted to play some more cards. He shrugged.
She said, "I think you will like this game...."
They had joked earlier about playing strip poker. He sensed that she wasn't joking now.
He said, "Dealer's choice, dealer's rules. You have the cards, so what's your pleasure?"
No hesitation. "Poker. 5-card draw. Lowest hand has to take off an article of clothing. We keep playing until," she trailed off. "First one totally naked loses," she finished after a short pause.
She said it matter of fact, like she had rehearsed it. He wondered how long she had been planning this. She had to wait for an answer. He made a show of thinking it over.
When he finally answered, he said, "One thing -- you are wearing one more article of clothing than I am, you should remove one, just to make it fair. Other than that," and he smiled, "I think this qualifies as one of those 'win-win' situations."
She smiled back. Did a mental count of her clothing in her mind, considered her options. Finally she set the cards down, reached behind her, un-hooked her bra. She slowly pulled it out through one of her stretchy t-shirt sleeves. The way she did that trick - something about the way she moved when she did it -- made his breath catch in his throat. He was going to like this game...
She made a big show of shuffling the cards. As she did, he could see faint ripples of movement beneath her thin t-shirt. He began to notice that his camp shorts suddenly seemed a size too small. She held out the cards for him to cut. She dealt the cards one by one, snapping them against each other as she completed the deal. He watched her intently, watching her lean forward to give him his card, retreating slightly to place one in front of herself, rising and falling on crossed legs, her bottom coming slightly off the sleeping bag as she did so. He caught himself staring as she finished the deal, reminded himself to focus on the game. He wanted her to be the first one to end up naked.
She noticed him noticing her; may have slightly exaggerated the amount of movement necessary to accomplish dealing the cards, if she was being totally honest. She liked having his full attention like this. She snuck a peek at his eyes and saw him staring; was pleased with herself. Finally, they picked up their cards. He had nothing, a couple of unmatched face cards. He would have to draw something to keep all of his clothes on. She had a pair of eights.
