Claire had joined a bushwalking club about 2 years ago. They regularly went on trips through the Blue Mountains, walking along the trails leading to the waterfalls in the area. Most of the time there was about 10-12 people booked in for the trips. She like the over-nighters, when they all took their tents with them and set up camp for the night. They'd build a fire at one of the campsites, but only when there wasn't a fire ban, and all sit around and talk until it was time to go to bed. They usually had early nights so they could get up early to watch the sun rise.
There were quite a few different types of people in the club. There were couples and singles. Gay people and straight people. Young and old. It was a club where you could get away from the staring eyes of people in the city and just be yourself. There were 52 members in total and all shared the same views of the club.
About 2 months ago, a new guy applied to join the club. Dave and his wife just moved to Katoomba, from Brisbane for a tree change. He went through the usual initiation and majority of the club members accepted him because he'd heard about the club and it's rules from a previous member who could vouch for him. There was a strict policy that had to be adhered to if you were to become a member:
'What happens while bushwalking, stays in the bush.'
Dave and his wife pursued different interests. She liked reading, going out for coffee and a movie with her friends, or dancing the night away at the local night club. She didn't like the bush because she was scared of spiders and snakes, but wasn't surprised when Dave told her he wanted to join the group. He had been a member of a few different clubs while they were living in Brisbane, so she didn't expect him to change just because they had moved to a different location.
There was an outing scheduled for late October when the weather was just warming back up again and Dave and Claire both put their names down. They had gotten to know each other quite well over the past 2 months at some of the outings and enjoyed each other's company. They were quite similar in some ways. Although Claire had never been married she'd had quite a few boyfriends over the years and could tell some juicy tales over their campfire sessions with the other people in the club. Dave and Claire had gotten quite close on more than one occasion after a few drinks by the fire and Claire secretly developed a bit of a crush on Dave, even though she knew he was married. Dave considered himself an honest man who would never cheat on his wife, but noticed a stirring in his pants a few times while he was talking to Claire. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on that attracted him to her. She had long brown hair that reached down past her waist. Her eyes were the darkest colour of brown he'd ever seen and there were a few times when he wanted to reach out and pinch her on the bum when she'd been walking in front of him, that's for sure.
Dave was at home packing all his gear for the camping trip when his wife Wendy came into the room.
"I'm going to miss you this weekend." She complained.
"You'll be fine. I thought you were going out with one of your girlfriends for a night on the town?"
"Yeah, I am. We're going to a place called 'The Shack'. It's supposed to be an old hippy themed place. It should be good." She smiled.
Dave picked up his sleeping bag and tent and tied them to the sides of his pack. He checked that he had enough clothes and turned around to see Wendy heading down the stairs to their living room. He followed her down, kissed her good bye and left the house.
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Claire was pulling her hiking boots on when her phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Hey Claire. It's Jenny. Are you up to anything this weekend? Cause if not, I thought we could go over to Barneys and have a few drinks tonight?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm just heading out the door now. I'm going on a camping trip this weekend."
"Again? Didn't you just go bushwalking last weekend?"
"Yeah, I did, but this time it's an overnight trip."
"Why are you so interested in bushwalking Claire? You never come out with us any more. What's going on?"
"I dunno. It's nice to camp out underneath the stars. It's so peaceful."
"Don't give me that crap. There's a guy there isn't there?"
"Maybe."
"I knew it! Why else would you submit yourself to muddy camp outs with all those insects flying around if there wasn't a guy involved? What's his name?"
"I can't tell you. What happens in the bush, stays in the bush Jenny. You know that."
"Whatever." She laughed. "Have a good time. I'll see you when you get back?"
"Definitely. Talk to you then." Claire hung up the phone and walked over to her bedside table. She picked up a lacy red bra and matching g-string. She thought about putting them into her bag but decided against it. What good would they do out in the bush when no-one would get to see them? She walked over to her walk in robe and pulled out some old clothes to take with her. She wished that she could afford to go out and buy some new clothes to take bushwalking. She knew that it was silly to want to take new clothes into the bush where they'd just get dirty, but now that she had someone to impress, she wished she had something just a bit nicer. She thought for a minute and walked back over to her bedside table. She picked up the bra and knickers she was holding before and stuffed them into her bag. As long as she felt sexy, what did it matter what she wore on the outside?
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Claire arrived at the designated spot and unpacked her gear from the car. Dave spotted her and came over to help her with her stuff.
"Ready for a long trek? I've heard that this particular track can get a bit difficult."
"I'm ready for anything." Claire said, staring into Dave's green eyes. She loved looking into his eyes. She felt like he was staring right through her whenever he looked at her. He pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and she felt a bit disappointed. Did he realize that she liked him? Or did he still have no idea? She followed him towards the other bushwalkers and they all greeted her and set off. She didn't realize she was the last to arrive, as there were only 6 people standing around waiting for her.
"Where is everyone?" she enquired.