The sun had just cleared the horizon, and I could already tell that it was going to be a very hot day. I was in total bliss, however, and couldn't convince myself to move at all. Neither of us spoke, but Cooper gave my hand a gentle squeeze every so often, as if he was reminding me that he was there. I listened as his breathing slowed to its normal tempo, and my heart seemed to have slowed to its regular rate as well. Everything was perfect. The sky was now blue above us, dotted with puffy white clouds. The slightest breeze caressed my naked body and ruffled my hair. The world around us gradually came to life as we lay there, soaking in the morning sunlight.
I had just begun to doze off when I felt Cooper move. I peeked at him through squinted eyes. He sat up, stretching his arms high above him. His muscles rippled beneath his skin as he moved. The hair in his armpit caught my attention, framed by muscles and tendons. He turned and met my gaze, then ran his eyes over my body--slow, deliberate, and unashamed. I shivered, resisting the urge to cover myself. He placed a hand on my chest, then leaned down and kissed me. I closed my eyes and smiled as I kissed him back.
He straightened up. "We've lost a lot of time, what with the rain and... everything else. We're going to need to move fast if we're going to make it back without adding an extra day."
I knew he was right. I remembered that we had yet to reach the highest peak on the trail. "How far are we from the high point?" I asked.
"If we make good time today, we should get to it sometime tomorrow. Either way, it's going to be a long one today."
I groaned and stood up, offering Cooper a hand. He took it and hoisted himself to his feet.
I met his eyes, and said, "Thank you for this morning. It was really nice of you to set all this up. And... that was hella hot."
Cooper grinned. "Couldn't have happened without you, bud." He winked, then added, "You handled it like a champ." He slapped my bare ass for emphasis.
I looked down at his crotch. His dick hung limply over his plump balls. He saw where I was looking, and laughed, moving his hips so that his junk swung from side to side.
"Don't worry, it's not going anywhere," he teased.
I rolled my eyes and bent to gather up the blankets. Cooper let out a low whistle behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find him smiling stupidly at my ass.
"Dude. Shut up," I laughed.
"You're just jealous that you don't get to enjoy this view with me."
I knew that I was pretty thick back there, because my buddies had teased me about it before. This wasn't anything like the teasing I was used to though. Cooper somehow managed to use a teasing tone when he spoke to me, while making it perfectly clear that he was being serious. I wasn't really sure how to respond to that kind of compliment, so I just smiled, shook my head, and headed back towards the tent.
"Let's get this show on the road," I said over my shoulder.
Cooper wasn't far behind me. We broke camp and found some clothes (although we both opted to go shirtless), and then we backtracked to the trail and were on our way. As I had predicted, the day quickly became hot, and we were both glistening with sweat within the hour.
I noticed that we were less discreet about looking at each other. Cooper caught me admiring his body more than once, but I didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed. I also noticed that I could smell Cooper on me. It was like some of his masculine musk had stuck to me. I would catch a whiff of him every so often, even when he wasn't near me. Every time I noticed it, a sort of warmth spread through me. It was a reminder that we were connected in a deep, intimate way. Sure, we were friends--surprisingly good friends, in fact. But I had to admit that the events of that morning had changed the way I looked at Cooper, both figuratively and literally.
Just days before, Cooper had been an enigma. That mystery had been exciting to me, and had certainly drawn me to him. And yet, I was no less excited by the sight of him now, just because I knew that he had two brothers and a sister, or that he had studied civic engineering at the university, or that he hated seafood. As he lost some of his mystery, he managed to maintain that same powerful hold over me. I was enthralled by everything he did. The way he moved, the way he spoke to me, the sound of his laughter. My every interaction with him felt like the first.
I idly watched Cooper as we hiked, still lost in thought. I found myself fixated on his massive shoulders, accentuated by the straps on his backpack. They flexed just slightly, one after the other, every time he took a step. He had his thumbs hooked behind the straps, making every muscle in his arms strain against his tanned skin. I let out a shaky breath, and dropped my eyes.
The day was beautiful, and passed quickly. We made rapid progress along the trail, and we were both in high spirits. We hiked in silence for much of the time. This was partially because we were out of breath, but words also felt a little unnecessary. There was no pressure to make conversation just for the sake of making conversation.
I was happy to find that we would be camping next to a lake again that night. I was eager to wash off the sweat and grime that had built up over the last couple of days. We reached our destination later in the day than I would have liked, but I didn't mind. It wasn't dark yet, and the still air was very warm.
"We should probably pitch a tent while it's still light out," I said once we had selected a campsite.
Cooper was even more excited to get into the water than I was. "Let's just sleep under the stars again, man. It's going to be dark before we know it, and I've probably got an inch of dirt on my ankles."
I glanced at the sky to check for clouds. "Ok... I want to get a swim in too."
We carelessly dropped our packs on the ground, then I took the lead as we jogged down to the water's edge. The sky was quickly changing from blue to orange, and I paused on the lake's edge to admire its reflection in the water. I heard Cooper come to a stop behind me, but he didn't say anything. I jumped as I felt a sudden movement around my waist. I looked down in confusion, and found my shorts around my ankles. I looked back at Cooper, who was doing his best to act casual. He was already nude, standing there with his arms folded.
He finally met my eyes, then started to laugh, "What are you waiting for?"
I gave him a playful shove, then stepped out of my shorts and shoes and dove into the water.
Cooper followed me with a splash, then stood facing me, offering me the soap. I took it from him, my eyes glued to his naked body. I took a step closer, so that our faces were just inches apart, and began to lather up his hairy chest. His breathing got noticeably louder, but he didn't respond otherwise. I could feel his chest expand with every breath as I moved my hands over his skin. He just stood still, watching my face.
I ran my fingers through the hair on his chest, slowly spreading soap from his neck to his nipples. I then moved down his torso, feeling his abs, before moving to his underarms. At that point, he squirmed and stepped away from me. A mischievous smile spread across my face.
"Are your armpits ticklish?"
"No," Cooper answered, a little too loudly.
