A Different World Ch. 03

It was early August before I saw Edie again, though we were speaking on the phone almost every day. I was glad I lived in an area where I could use a cell phone. If I lived where my parents did, the long-distance tolls would have eaten me alive.

It was funny. Having spent the weekend with Edie, and scratched the itch only left me wanting more. Had we lived closer this would not have been a problem, but Pittsburgh was well over 300 miles from Clifton Forge. We couldn't just meet for lunch or go out to a movie any time we wanted. Instead, we had to plan another weekend, meeting in the middle so neither of us had to spend an entire day driving to and from our meeting.

That didn't mean I didn't miss her. On the contrary, she'd touched my very soul. Edie had become like an addiction. When I couldn't have her she was all I thought about. Funny thing was, I'd get offers from other women when we played gigs. But I turned them all down. I wasn't interested anymore. I'd seen perfection in Edie, and nobody else interested me no matter who they were or what they promised.

Finally, after a couple of weeks, I sought out my father for some guidance. I told him I'd met somebody, but she lived in another state. "The bridesmaid?" he asked. I nodded. "Well," he continued, "Only you can make that choice. You know how this family feels about that type of relationship. We've accepted Jason's wife as one of the family, and we'll do the same for you. Can't guarantee what the rest of the world will say, but if you pursue her, we'll accept you as a couple. One question, though. Are you doing this for the right reason?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, Jason has always kind of set the pace for you. Do you love this girl, or are you just following his lead? Because if you ARE following what he did, it isn't fair to toy with her feelings. Just make sure you are truly in love with this girl before you hurt her. She's Von's friend, so if you get tired of her and drop her, there will be consequences in this family."

I assured him that I was in this for the long haul. Truth be told, Edie ruled my thoughts, and I missed her terribly. I wished she lived closer, we could be together more often, but I had to accept the long-distance relationship.

"One more thing," Dad added, "you need to realize that she's from a different world. Not only is she of a different race, she's a city girl. You two are going to have to make major adjustments to each other if you want this to succeed. Eventually, you'll have to make some sort of compromise if you want to get married. If you move her down here, she may not be accepted. You'd be uprooting her from everything she's ever known and moving her into a hostile environment. And if you decide to move to the city you're going to have to give up your job and pension, all the stuff you worked so hard for, to move to a place you don't understand. That's something you have to work out between y'all."

Honestly, at this point marriage hadn't crossed my mind, but I could see where he was coming from. We each felt the pull of the other, even at this early stage. Dad was, as usual, right. At some point being apart would be too much to bear. One of us would then have to give up all we'd known and worked for. And I'd probably be more accepted in her world than she would be in mine.

We talked almost every night on the phone, our conversations becoming raunchier as time went on. I went through quite a lot of tissue listening to her voice, and I could tell by her heavy breathing and the soft buzzing I heard that she was doing the same.

I next saw Jason and Von at Grandma's birthday party in late July. We were all sitting out on the back porch on a scalding hot day, drinking Kool-Aid Von had made. It was strong and sweet, sweeter than anything I'd had before. It was like drinking a bag of sugar.

Her pregnancy was well along, her belly filling out nicely. They excitedly talked about the baby, and how it had kicked Jason in the head as he lay on her belly. I had a good laugh at that.

But I also couldn't resist embarrassing them again. It was a family tradition for me to embarrass Jason. Von. However, never showed a hint of embarrassment, throwing it back in my face. Today was no exception.

At the wedding reception, Von had sung some quite explicit songs, and I asked her if they actually did that, making a joke about the baby being the result. I even made a crack about Jason licking the chocolate tootsie pop, as my cousin Sally laughed along. Jason, as usual turned even redder than his normal skin tone. But Von coolly flipped my question back on me.

"I hear you got offered some tootsie pop too," she laughed. "Did you take Edie up on her offer or did you chicken out?" Speechless, I turned as red as Jason. "Mmm hmm, thought so," she continued. "Boy got nothing to say now." Sally was almost doubled over with laughter but Von was not done yet.

"Sally," she said, "Long as I known you, you been sitting here laughing at the things I do with your brother. But I bet you doing the same things too. Ain't she Bob?" Both Sally and her husband were embarrassed now. "Yeah, I bet y'all got some freak in you too. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong at all."

Later, Von pulled me aside. "Edie is my friend. We grew up together. She doesn't let just anybody into her life. Don't you dare hurt her. You do, we gonna have a BIG problem. Got it?" I nodded in mute agreement. I was not used to the fierce loyalty Von showed for her friends and family.

Afterward, as I talked to Edie on the phone and we made arrangements for our next rendezvous, she asked, "What's it like to go camping? You know, sleeping in a tent under the stars?"

"I like it," I replied. "Done it all my life. It's very relaxing for me,"

"Can we try it next time?" Edie asked. "I always wanted to try it but I'm afraid to do it alone."

We met up on a Friday evening near Elkins. I chose this place because Edie already knew how to get there, and the National forest was close by, with a campground within 10 miles. She greeted me with a warm hug and kiss that had me hard. I missed her so much. I'd never felt this pull from anybody else. And it was a wonderful feeling, being in the arms of the woman who filled my dreams.

She followed me over the mountain to the campground, which was perched on a bluff above the river in a hemlock forest. She insisted on helping me pitch the tent, then took the pads and sleeping bags I'd brought inside. She wouldn't let me in the tent while she made our nest, so I contented myself gathering firewood. Luck was with me, as I found several big logs in a vacant campsite, and enough smaller wood to get the logs started. The big logs would burn most of the night.

Edie called me to the tent. "Did I do it right?" she asked. I peeked inside. She'd made up our sleeping bags as though they were a bed. LED candles were placed in candleholders that wouldn't tip over and placed in the corners of the tent. "I'd have brought real candles, but I didn't want to burn the place down," she said.

Pillows! She'd brought pillows, a lot of them. I'd never camped with pillows before, instead using the duffle bag that contained my clothing for my pillow. The whole place looked somehow elegant. I was going to enjoy this.

I showed her how to build a campfire, and we cooked our dinner on the open flames. We'd placed three of the logs in an open sided box shape and filled the center with the smaller wood. Once started, the logs would slowly burn from the center of the box outward, dropping hot coals along the way. While the fire was still getting started, I laid a metal rack across the logs, and cooked some hamburgers in a skillet. I also made a pot of box mashed potatoes. "Sorry," I told Edie, "I don't have any gravy for those."

WE ate in a comfortable silence. Maybe it's just me, but everything seems to taste better cooked over an open fire. Maybe it was just the company. But as night fell and I watched the firelight dance across her face I felt all was right with the world.

We roasted marshmallows on a wooden stick, feeding them to each other well into the night. Finally, I put the food in the cab of the truck, saying, "I don't want the bears to get it."

A look of concern crossed Edie's face. "There are bears here?" she asked in a fearful voice.

"Yes, but they won't bother us," I assured her. "They don't like to be around people, and they don't like fire. But they will come around if they smell food. That's why I put it in the truck."

We crawled inside the tent, where Edie had turned on the LED candles. I watched as she sensually stripped out of her clothing in the flickering light, then removed my own. We embraced in a warm, passionate kiss, tongues dancing, hands exploring. She felt so good, her soft skin like silk. She smelled good too, with a fragrance that reminded me of a field of wildflowers in springtime.

Edie gently pushed me back into the sleeping bags. "I've missed you so much," she said. "All I could think about was this." She quickly straddled my hips, grabbing my erect penis and guiding it to her wet pussy. Sinking down onto my shaft she sighed.

"But the condom..." I protested.

'I'm on the pill," Edie assured me. "I did it for you. I want you to feel ALL of me. Enjoy the ride, baby." She began to grind against me, her body rising and falling in an erotic motion that cause her tiny breasts to bounce and jiggle. I couldn't resist reaching out and playing with her nipple with one hand, as the other gently squeezed her hip.

Edie was hot, and it showed in her movements. She rode me like a mad woman, and I held on for dear life. Her hips rose and fell faster and faster as she moaned her appreciation. The nipple play was the added stimulation she needed to bring her over the edge and she came with an uncharacteristically deep moan. Her body shuddered against mine as she collapsed against me. I could feel the tremors in her skin, and the rhythmic pulsing of her tight cavern as she panted against me. I took the initiative, and gently thrust into her trembling body as she lay spent on top of me.

"Give it to me, Kenny," Edie managed to pant out, encouraging me. Letting me know it was okay to finish. I was close, having held back just long enough to let her get off. She gently rolled her hips on top of me my thrusts became more urgent. And when I could hold out no longer, I let her feel the splash of my seed inside her for the first time. It was incredible to let go inside the woman who ruled my thoughts.

"Mmmm that felt nice," Edie moaned in appreciation.

"Just nice?" I asked. "It felt incredible to me."

Edie raised up and playfully punched me in the shoulder. "Silly boy. You know what I mean." We both laughed as we disentangled. I watched in awe as my sperm trickled out of her as she climbed off my body. The contrast against her honey brown skin was mesmerizing.

Snuggling against me, she told me, "I think I'm in love with you." We kissed in the flickering light and I ran my hands over her soft skin. Soon we were asleep. Edie was no longer afraid of the bears...

In the morning I awoke by myself. Poking my head outside the tent, I found Edie seated before the still smoldering fire, dressed in jeans and a denim jacket. I quickly pulled on my clothing and joined her in the cool morning air. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the trees, and the air was filled with the sounds of singing birds.

"Isn't this the most beautiful place in the world?" Edie asked me in awe. I nodded my agreement. This was my world. The forest was my safe place, my escaped from the pressures of everyday life. It always had been. Where I'd grown up, it was just a short bike ride or walk away. Places like this were home, and they always would be. I was glad Edie liked it too.

"Von would love this place," she said, referring to my cousin Jason's wife. Von was her best friend. "She loves birds, you know." No, I didn't know. As much as I knew Von, her interest in birds was something she'd never mentioned.

We left the tent where it was. We'd be back for another night. But first it was time to do some exploring. We headed east, deeper into the highest mountains, following 33, then the back roads of the National Forest. I didn't know just where we were headed. Every time we came to a fork in the road, I just took the one that looked more interesting. We wound through the forest, the trees punctuated by an occasional farm.

Eventually, we came to an open field overlooking a shallow valley. The creek headed through the open farm fields to just below us, where it disappeared into the hillside. The area was fenced off, so we didn't venture down to the creek. I didn't want to push our luck by trespassing on private property. I knew from experience that some farmers were very territorial about their land. We later found out this place was called the Sinks of Gandy. And yes, the creek did carve a cave through the porous rock, emerging some distance away on the other side of the hill.

We were now obviously in an area of very high elevation. Spruce trees dominated the forest. We drove past a small campground, next to a lake. Spruce Knob Lake, said the sign. Spruce Knob? Were we that close? Spruce Knob was the highest mountain in West Virginia, a place I'd learned about in school but never visited. Excitedly, I turned to Edie and asked, "Wanna become a high pointer?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"We are very close to the highest mountain in the state," I said. "Would you like to go there?"

"I'll go anywhere you want, Kenny," she said. "It's all so beautiful. And anywhere you are is special to me."

Luckily, the road to Spruce Knob was well marked, and we followed the signs to the summit. We parked the truck and climbed to the top of the observation tower. We'd approached the mountain from the west, climbing the gentle slope through the spruce forest. The tower got us above the treetops, where we could see the precipitous drop-off to the east, where the valley floor was several miles and 3000 feet lower. Further east, the ridges ran parallel to Spruce Mountain at diminishing heights, receding into a distant blue haze.

"how does it feel to be a high pointer?" I asked.

"This place is beautiful," Edie said in awe. "It makes Mount Washington seem small by comparison."

"Mt Washington?" I asked, "In New England?"

"No," she replied, "In Pittsburgh. It's where everybody goes for a view of the city. But it's nowhere near as high as this. Is this the first high point you've been to?"

"No," I explained. "My brother Matt lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. One year I visited him, and we did four high points. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. They were all day trips. Virginia was a bit of a hike to get to, but the rest you could drive to within a mile of the summit. That makes this my fifth high point. We were going to do Georgia as well, but we ran out of time. But I've never been here before."

We wandered down the mountain, and found 33 again, winding upward through the Germany Valley to the summit of North Fork Mountain, then descending to the town of Franklin. We found a nice little diner there and ate a late lunch before turning back west. At Edie's insistence, we stopped at a grocery store in town, where she bought some boneless chicken breasts, some oil, flour, potatoes, and a variety of seasonings. "I'ma make dinner tonight," she said. "Special dinner for a special man. You deserve it."

Once back at the campsite, I went off in search of firewood while Edie got started on dinner. I was fortunate to find a log not too far away and returned to the camp for the axe I had in the truck. Soon, I had chopped the log into manageable chunks, and the woodchips made great kindling. By the time I got back to camp with all the wood, Edie had cut the potatoes into French fries, and was busy breading the now thawed chicken.

I soon had the fire built, using the newly cut logs for the outside of the fire, and using the woodchips and some small branches and twigs to ignite the remains of the logs that we'd burned last night. Once it was roaring, Edie placed the cast iron skillet I'd made the burgers in last night on the rack. She'd filled it with oil, and as soon as it was heated enough she dumped in the chicken. As that cooled, we made the fries as well.

Sitting down to eat, I remarked," Edie, this chicken is great. I've never had anything that tastes like this before."

Edie grinned. Her eyes lit up. She was so beautiful when she smiled. "It's all in the seasonings," she said quietly. "I'm glad you like it."

Once again, we sat around the campfire in the deepening darkness, talking and just enjoying each other's company. After a while, I asked Edie if she wanted a snack. "Sure," she said.

"Then it's time to introduce you to a family tradition," I replied. "Mountain pies."

"What's a mountain pie?" she asked.

"Just sit back and watch," I said. Grabbing the ingredients from the cooler, I quickly assembled the first sandwich, buttered bread in the pie iron, with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese as fillings. I closed the iron and placed it in the coals of the fire to cook, checking it frequently until I had it a golden brown on both sides. I found Edie's dinner plate and, opening the iron, I dropped the cooked mountain pie on tit. Handing Edie the plate, I said, "Enjoy. But be careful. It's hot."

I watched her face in the flickering light while I got started on the next sandwich. Her eyes lit up as she bit into the pie. "Kenny!" she exclaimed, "This is really really good."

We ended up having three pies each. It amazed me that this tiny woman could eat as much as she did. It still does. She can eat as much as she wants but never seems to gain any weight. Sated, we put the food away and retired to the tent for our nightcap. I won't bore you with the details other than to say that Edie taste better than any food I know. She's downright addictive.

In the morning, I awoke to find Edie, outside the tent, once again enjoying the peaceful singing of the birds. "I always wanted to do this," she said, "But I never dreamed it would be this nice." I smiled at her, putting my arm around her. This was going much better than I had hoped. I never dreamed that a city girl would embrace my world the way she had.

After breakfast, we made the trip to the top of the mountain, where we spent the day hiking the bogs and observing the wildlife. All too soon it was time to go, so we retrieved her car and headed into Elkins for dinner. We ate in silence, neither of us wanting to admit that once we were done we'd have to go our separate ways. Outside, in the parking lot, Edie asked me," DO you love me?"

"I think so," I said. "You're all I think about when we're apart."

"Don't hurt me, Kenny," she replied with tears in her eyes. "I want you in my life. I don't let just anybody get this close. You're very special to me. I hope you feel the same." I held her close, assuring her that I did.

As she drove off into the setting sun, I realized I missed her already. But Edie was an enigma. One minute she could be enjoying herself. The next she would be a vulnerable, hurt little girl. If we were going to be together, I was going to have to find out why.

To be continued...