The first couple hours after Cooper joined me on the trail were quiet and a little awkward. Neither of us said much, and I noticed that we both avoided making eye contact with each other. We did say enough to decide how far we'd be going that day, and I was happy to hear that he wasn't in a hurry to finish the trail. We made plans to stop at the next lake, even though we would be reaching it in the mid-afternoon.
We finally got talking when we stopped to eat around noon. Most of the conversation was just first meeting material. We learned that our hometowns were a couple hours apart, in the same state. We even attended the same university, but he was two years ahead of me, and we had never even seen each other.
We had a surprising number of shared interests, but spent the better part of the day talking about our favorite backpacking trails, and the ones we hoped to do as well. I quickly felt more comfortable with Cooper as the day wore on, and the awkwardness I had felt when he first joined me was long gone by the time the lake came into view. We hurried to find a campsite, as both of us were sore and sweaty from the hike, and eager to get into the cold water. We chose a spot that was sheltered by trees, and large enough for both of our tents. We couldn't see the lake from the campsite, but I supposed we couldn't have everything.
Cooper set down his pack and made a show of sniffing his armpit. "Fuck, I smell terrible."
My stomach leaped a little, and I wondered if he was testing me. I tried to play it cool. "I'm sure you do, but all I can smell is myself," I joked.
"I'll set up camp later. I'm going to go jump in the lake." Cooper started trudging away, in the direction of the lake.
I threw down my pack and started after him. I caught up with him and gave him a playful shove as I ran past. "See you there, slowpoke."
He stumbled, then grinned and took off after me with a shout. I ran as fast as I could while being careful not to trip and fall as I crossed the treacherous terrain. When the lake was in view, I took off my shirt and threw it to the side without slowing. I awkwardly shed my boots, too, glancing over my shoulder to see how far behind Cooper was. He already had his shirt and boots off and was working on his socks, but was a good distance away. I paused long enough to get rid of my own socks, then ran again as I unbuttoned my pants. Cooper was close now--I could hear him stepping through the knee-high grass. I decided to risk it, and stopped moving long enough to drop my pants and underwear at the same time.
Not daring to look back, I made the final dash to the edge of the lake. I hesitated there, only to feel an immense force collide with me from behind as Cooper tackled me into the water. I thrashed my limbs as the cold water left me breathless. I surfaced, gasping for air, face to face with my new friend. His boyish smile faded as I splashed him then pulled him under the water.
As we wrestled in the clear water, I became more and more aware of how much of my skin was touching his skin. For whatever reason, that realization was incredibly exhilarating. Soon it was all I could think about. It was then that I realized I was rock hard. Even in the ice-cold water of that mountain lake, I had a raging boner. I quickly pushed away from Cooper, hoping he hadn't noticed.
Once I was a few feet away, I said, "I need to catch my breath!"
He chuckled. "Me too, man. You put up quite a fight." He winked at me, and my stomach lurched.
I glanced down and saw that my dick was clearly visible in the water. I groaned internally. Why was this happening to me? It's like I was 14 years old all over again. I tried to angle my body away from Cooper, just in case he could see from where he was. I treaded water until my body decided to behave, then swam to shore and dragged myself onto a boulder to bask in the sun. Before too long, Cooper did the same, choosing a boulder a few feet away. I watched him climb onto the rock, but quickly averted my eyes when he looked towards me. We lay there in silence for quite some time. I think he may have even fallen asleep.
It took a surprisingly long time to find all our clothes. I couldn't stop watching him as he searched through the grass for my socks, naked as the day he was born. I kept staring as we set up camp, gathered firewood, and started a fire. I had the strangest urge to be close to him. I missed the sensation of my skin on his, but I knew I couldn't just walk up to him and start feeling him up. I had to admit, that was tempting. I wondered silently what it would feel like to touch his biceps, or his chest.
