Threading the Needle Ch. 11 - Sex Stories

Threading the Needle Ch. 11

... other until it began to feel a little awkward, and then let go. There was movement down by the rafts and it was clear that lunch was finishing. Everyone wanted to get back in the river. The biggest rapids were yet to come. Rikki ran her hand along Winnie's arm, silently giving her one last thank you, and then the two of them climbed down the rocks to rejoin their crews.

As Winnie passed by, Lena put her hand out and stopped her. "What was that? Is everything okay with Rikki?" she asked. While at first she kept a wary eye on them, it soon was clear that they had some sort of personal conversation. She could see that Rikki was upset about something, and it wasn't their horseplay. Her genuine concern for Rikki came through to Winnie.

"It's not my place to say, Lena, but don't bug her about it either, please," Winnie said, looking over at where Rikki was checking her boat. "She'll tell you when she's ready. There's not much either of us can do about it."

"Okay. I'm dying of curiosity, but I'll let it alone," Lena said. She began checking her own boat, trying to put it out of her mind. "It's funny," she thought. "Indigo kind of said the same thing about us and Liz. There isn't much we can do about it. I hope Rikki's problem isn't as bad as with Liz."

The rest of the trip down the river went fairly fast. There were fewer slow spots after lunch, and while there was some time for water fights, the order of the boats changed. Rikki and Lena's boats were no longer right ...

... by each other. Rikki didn't find any chances to try for revenge. She was having too much fun to worry about it. The biggest rapids were all after lunch. Her crew got a little better, but she did most of the work. She didn't mind. It was a chance to prove to herself once again how good of a guide she was becoming.

"It's one place I'm in control of," she thought again, as she guided the raft over to the ramp at the take out. It wasn't the best day she ever had on the river, but it was exactly what she needed.

Unlike last week when Lena didn't leave until the last float was done, the three women were done early. Since none of them was in charge, they only had to help with the gear for their float. Once that was done, they were free to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Rather driving up to the little faux Bavarian town close to their campgrounds, they instead stayed in the town by the takeout. It was an easy walk to the downtown area where there were many wine tasting rooms for the various local wineries.

While rafting was popular with the local merchants, raft guides were not as well liked. Unlike the rafting customers, guides didn't often spend much money, other than in the taverns and restaurants. Even there, they were usually cheap. Making the rounds of the wine tasting rooms was common for that reason. Over the years, many of the wineries developed a hostile attitude towards guides who sampled but never bought.

To avoid the reaction, the three women planned ahead. ...