Emma is willing to play the long game

After tuning down Emma's offer of drinks Ria and I went home. And I thought our marriage dodged a bullet.

But for how long?

One of the good things Ria has brought into my life is the habit of doing charitable work. My father-in-law is an entrepreneur and, excluding a couple of falls from grace, is a successful one. He is also big on the idea of sharing his wealth through acts of philanthropy. Although Ria and I don’t have the means for extravagant gestures, when the situation presents itself to do good, we try and take it.

So when I got an email from HR about a charity hike up the three highest peaks in the UK, I signed up and started collecting donations for friends, family and colleagues.

I love the outdoors and hiking. But Ria is more a creature of comfort so since being married my hiking days are few and far between. So, the chance to do it with work was a no brainer for me.

I dug out my old walking boots from the airing cup boardand prepped my kit.

I missed the pre hike meeting the week before D-Day. Therefore I wasn’t a 100% sure of the makeup of the group. But by all accounts it was only half dozen or so.

On the day of the charity hike Ria dropped me off in the office car park pre-dawn, 3am to be exact. It was early October, so the very end of the hiking season and Winter would soon be on its way.

A light frost shimmered in the pools of light from street lamps. I reached over and gave Ria goodbye kiss and left the warmth of the car. She asked me, “Is Emma doing the walk?”

“I don’t know. I missed the meeting, didn’t I?”

“Hmmm.”

“I haven’t talked to her about it.”

“Relax Dan.” Ria grinned under the light of cabin lamp. “ But be careful and good luck.Send me photos.”

“Will do.”

I paced through the cold nocturnal air and climbed on the luxury minibus. I was one of the last onboard, but the cab was quiet, and most were already dozing.

All except Emma. Her beaming smile lit up the dark cab like the dawning sun. Despite wearing a waterproof coat and quick-dry trousers she still looked utterly delightful. It was as if she lived her life in a permanent state of readiness to impress.

Still grinning Emma shuffled across the seats to make room for me. “I’ve been keeping the seat warm for you.”

“Thank you. But I hope that doesn’t mean you’ve also trumped on it.”

“Dan!” Emma snorted a laugh then suggested, “But then, if I did It would surely smell of roses.”

“I wouldn’t put money on it, Em.”

The minibus roared into life and we were soon driving northwards.

I, as most did, fell asleep as soon as the coach hit the motorway and raced northbound. It would end up being a long day. And prove to be a very eventful one.

Possibly life changing.

When I woke in the pale light of dawn I felt a weight on my side and smelt rich perfume. I turned my head to see Emma nuzzled into my side, gently snoring. Her rhythmic breathing was almost purr-like. She sounded content at using me as her pillow.

I didn’t mind and let her rest, enjoying her warmth.

If this was the closest I’d ever be to waking at her side in aromantic sense, I was going to live every second. So I didn’t sleep another wink and watched the dawn burst over the horizon, forming a carpet of red across the horizon. I may as well have been watching my heart bleeding for someone unattainable.

Yet I felt at ease. For I knew she wanted me.

I hadn’t always been a hit with the opposite sex. Quite the opposite really. So anyone reading this story who is getting the run around by some chick, or is yet to find a romantic interest. Relax my friend. It will happen.

Love comes to all who try.

During my late teen and early twenties I did everything possible to get laid. But the women I feel for were never truely interested. And even if they were I would find some way of fucking up any chances that did come my way.

Then in my mid-twenties I met Ria online. A woman hotter than any I met before but more improtnatly was genuine and honest in her intentions. She also took a chance on me and suddenly all my self-doubt vanished.

And now here I am, ten years later and full of confidence. I’m married and now have a former lingerie model on my arm, content to sleep on my shoulder. One who just a few months before begged me to sleep with her… I’m actually in the position to turn down sex with a beautiful women.

If only my old fat and spotty self knew this. I wouldn’t have had so many sleepless nights in my youth.

~

Approaching the Lake District of Cumbria in Northern England Emma finally woke. She let out a yawn and looked embarrassed as she noticed she had used me as her pillow. “Oh dear… Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Hope you slept well.”

“Like a child.” Emma smiled at me then looked out the window at the passing traffic. “Where are we?”

“Cumbria.”

Emma then checked her smartphone, and scrolled it a little. “The weather for England looks OK, but for Ben Nevis this afternoon, less so. A cold front is closing in.”

“To be expected at this time of year.”

“A risk of low cloud and snow showers at higher levels. Do you think it will be cancelled?”

“Shit. I hope not. Raised almost a grand for this.”

~

The guide was also aware of the weather update. In order to beat the weather the guide changed the itinerary which we all voted on. It was then agreed that the coach would drive all the way to Ben Nevis first. The highest mountain in the whole of the UK. Then we would come back south to climb Scafell Pike and finally Snowdon in North Wales.

Frustratingly because we got caught in traffic on the Glasgow ring road it was mid-morning by the time we reached the highlands of Scotland. Still, the excitement built as we closed in on the impressive but daunting peaks. But once in the shadow of Ben Nevis our confidence drained away like frost under the morning sun.

We alighted the coach into the cool highland air, and after a brief stop at the carpark toilets we began the hike. The weather was a mixed bag of sun and cloud with the only consistent being the bellowing wind. It was not a gale as yet, but nevertheless it was a harsh welcome to the highlands of Scotland.

We each had to have a walking buddy and Emma and I were paired up. She was every bit as fit as I was and we were soon out in front. Her long slender legs give her the gait of a pro-athlete.

We had a map but only needed to follow a well-trodden mountain trail. On the lower slopes we hiked through sparse woodland which soon gave way to windswept farmer’s fields populated by weather beaten highland cattle.

After an hour it felt like we had climbed over every style in Scotland. But the true climbs still loomed nigh.

Now out in the open we could see the trail for miles ahead, but the mixed weather meant that the hiking trail was empty of other hikers. It seemed our group was the only one taking on the challenge. It made me feel that maybe we were being a little foolhardy.

But at least I had Emma for company.

Walking at Emma’s side we talked at length about life and love. Wanting to know more about Peter who I met a few weeks before at the concert, and what she found attractive about him, I asked, “Pete, he seemed… young at heart.”

“He is like an excitable pup, isn’t he?”

“I hope he doesn’t shit on the carpet like one.”

“No. Not yet.” Emma laughed. “Although he told me once that after a heavy session in his local pub, when he got home he pissed in his cupboard thinking it was the toilet.”

“Nice.

“Next time he stops pver, I best smell my clothes before putting them on the next day.”

I sniggered along as I continued, “How old is he?”

“Thirty five.”

“Oh. He looks a little younger than that. Good genes.”

“He’s a single dad of a six year old, called Molly. She’s cute.”

“You’ve been introduced. Things are moving quickly.”

“Yeah. Briefly. Nothing too formal.”

I felt a little better about Peter. It was as if I was Emma’s older brother, vetting her love interests. “Still. He must be taking you seriously. What’s he like as a person?”

“Fine. I mean, Is he the one for me?” Emma looked at the overcast sky as if she was searching for answers. “I’m not too sure. “

“Oh.”

“Pete is a nice guy. But for now, if i’m honest, he’s just a welcome distraction from my inner sadness.”

I suddenly relised Emma has depth. “Wow. That’s deep.”

“I am.”

I rubbed her back, feeling the bones of her strong spine. Emma responded by leaning into me. Giving her a friendly squeeze I admitted,“You’re quite a woman, Emma.”

“Thanks.”

“Happiness is never far away. “

“On top of that mountain, maybe?”

“Perhaps when we get back down for lunch.”

After two hours of power marching the inclines suddenly became steeper and the hike became more of a climb. This was the real challenge. The real Ben Nevis.

Our struggle was rewarded by dramatic views of rivers and lochs sandwiched into a steep rocky valleys. We passed a small tumbledown stone cottage which looked abandoned. Perhaps now used as hikers rest. I elbowed Emma.”Fancy living there, in such isolation.”

“Maybe you’d have the isolation you need to finish that novel you’re writing.”

“Perhaps.”

“I’ll say it again, enjoyed the romance you wrote, Growing Pains. Your muse, whoever the real Jessie is, what happened to her?”

“She married and has a family of her own..”

“Does she know you wrote a book about her? It’s quite an honor.”

“Erm…” I paused to have a look at the panoramic view of the rolling hills and mountains. “No. But I showed her an early draft, which was just a short story back then” I laughed. “ But to be honest she just corrected me on the facts. In fact she fucking wrote her own version in reply.”

“Really/”

“ I never saw her after that. Not because of the story, but because I just couldn’t let our differences lie. Although she did email me out the blue, once. But I didn’t respond because I had already moved on with Ria. I suppose I didn't want unsttle myself, or Jessie for that matter. We had a passionate relationship.”

“Well, maybe you could write about me next? And my ups and downs.” Emma chuckled. “You seem to like complex women.”

“Maybe… one day I will.”

Sadly, behind schedule, we had little time to take in the magnificence of the views as we scrambled over rocks and boulders. But if we had taken the time, we would have seen what was blowing in off the North Sea.

A winter storm.

But mother nature’s wrath was soon upon us. And the cloud dropped on top of us in minutes. Consuming us and everyone else on the mountain.

Our line of sigh was cut to just twenty meters, then ten…. Then five. The mist felt cold and damp. Emma clung to me and pulled me to a stop. She looked around and everyone was gone, sending her into a panick. “Where is everyone?”

“They were behind us. I’m sure they will catch up.”

Emma dug out the two-way radio but she then cursed. “My water bottle leaked over it.” She shook off the water, then spoke into it. But there was just static, “It’s broken.” She changed the settings. “I can’t hear anything. “

“Don’t worry, Em.” I glanced a my smartphone but there was no signal. “Let’s not panic. They’ll be following the same trail as us.”

“Let’s go back the way we came, and meet them half way..”

I understood the logic of course. But we were now blinded by the cold damp mist ore than two thirds up a perilous mountain. “Don’t you think we should wait? There are steep drops and cliffs in every direction. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the others reach us.”

“OK.” Emma looked forlorn. “But let’s eat our lunch while we wait. I’m famished.”

We perched ourselves on a granite boulder beside the trail and ate our sandwiches in whistling gale. The seconds felt like minutes. The minutes hours. Not a single soul came to our rescue.

Emma held on to my arm and snuggle into my flank while chewing on a morsel of bread and cheese. “Dan. I’m getting worried.”

“I’m cold.”

Emma reached out and wiped my chest before looking at her gloved hand.. “Is that, snow?”

“it is.”

“It was only due this evening.”

“It’s Scotland.”

Within minutes the snow was blowing drifts. It was difficult to talk so I scrambled off the boulder then took Emma hand. I shouted over the gale, “Em. We’re not cut out for this and need to find cover. Come with me. Lets go back to the cottage, the others may be riding out the storm inside.”

Showing blind faith Emma jumped off the boulder into my arms. I held her close, as she wrapped her long legs around my waist. Our eyes were locked. My heart raced.

But I about stopped myself from kissing her sweet lips. We needed to find safety.

~

Looking for authors to join in this story. All fetishes are welcome. Will Emma get what she wants or will Dan still be a faithful husband to Ria? You decide.

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