It was their second day on the trail. They had made a base camp in the Three Forks Wilderness Area, in a mountain meadow about 200 feet from a rushing stream. Everything would be great if it weren't for the mosquitos. Dan and Eric had never seen such mosquitos. Even their smoky fire the night before had done little to keep the critters away. (Campfires were illegal in the wilderness area, but this was an emergency.) All morning they had walked around camp with mosquito netting over their heads, and every exposed place on their bodies was covered with foul smelling bug repellent.
This was their first camping trip together. Both young men were in their late 20s, and both were happily married. It's true that Dan had a few kinks that his wife was not enthusiastic about engaging in. In particular, he had a thing about spanking. But Eric seemed straight as an arrow, which was okay with Dan. He'd once dropped a hint on the general theme of spanking, but Eric didn't pick up on it, and Dan sure wasn't going to risk his new friendship by pushing something most guys would find crazy or perverted.
Dan had filled a "backpacking shower" with water and left it in the sun to warm up. After 16 hours of bug repellent (not to mention bug carcasses) on his arms, legs, face, and neck, he felt an extreme need to clean off. But to attempt to shower under current circumstances would be suicide.
The two men took a short hike, off trail, to the top of a granite escarpment. They could see for miles and miles around: an incredible scenery of lodgepole pines, aspens, mountain meadows, and the occasional lake, with sharp, glacier-carved peaks in the background. They were a good 12 miles from the trailhead, and hadn't seen a soul since they had left their car. As they got back to camp, a slight breeze picked up. Between that and the mid-day sun, the mosquitos had declined to levels that were pesky, but tolerable.
"I think I'm going to take advantage of this lull in the bugs to shower off," Dan said.
"You'll be eaten alive," Eric responded.
"You think so? Don't you think most of them have gone away?"
"Better than this morning. But there are still enough bugs to make your life miserable, unless you have some way to keep them off of you while you're washing. Once you wash off the bug repellent you won't have anything between your skin and the bloodsuckers."
Dan thought a minute, and spoke again. "I feel so filthy I'm going to take the chance. How about doing me a favor? How about if you wave the mosquitos away while I am showering? If it works, I'll do the same for you."
Eric agreed, cheerfully asserting: "It's your skin." The two of them searched the area for a good place to "install" the shower. They found a flat granite rock with a tree limb above. They tied the backpacking shower to the limb, with the nozzle hanging almost six feet from the ground. Dan got a towel and washcloth, and a small plastic bottle of biodegradable soap, which he would use both for soap and for shampoo. Quickly, he stripped off his clothes, stood under the shower, and started to lather up. It felt fabulous.
There were a few mosquitos around, but Eric shooed them away. He smashed a couple on Dan's shoulder and back. It felt kind of odd for Dan to be stark naked, with his fully clothed friend so close by watching him. But the arrangement solved the mosquito problem. Dan was about to shampoo his hair when he dropped the bottle of biodegradable soap. He bent over to pick it up, and while he was still bent over, he felt a sharp "smack" on his left buttock.
"Got him!" exclaimed Eric.
"Which do you mean," Dan joked, "me or the mosquito?"
Eric just laughed. Dan rubbed his butt where Eric's hand had delivered the hit. He couldn't see it, but there was a pink palm print on the spot. Eric couldn't help smiling. Dan wondered what was going on in his mind.
Those were dangerous thoughts. Dan felt a slight stirring in his genitals. Afraid that he might embarrass himself by popping an erection, he quickly finished his shower, dried off, and donned clean underwear and his shorts. "You want to give it a try? The water temperature is just perfect!"
"Hell, why not," Eric responded, and soon he was standing naked under the backpacking shower. Dan stood no more than two feet away, alert for mosquito attacks. That gave him an excuse to run his eyes over Eric's well-trimmed body. He particularly liked the way Eric's butt budged invitingly out from his slim waste and well-muscled legs, his fair-skinned bottom a contrast to his deeply tanned torso. But Dan was careful not to stare too hard. He didn't Eric to get the wrong idea.
A moment later, the soap bottle had slipped from Eric's hands, and he was bent over, in the classic position. Was it Dan's imagination, or did Eric wiggle his ass, ever so slightly, in his direction? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity. Smack! "Got him!" Dan exclaimed. A pale reddish hue appeared on Eric's otherwise creamy white bottom.
Eric looked him straight in the face, a slight smile playing across his lips. "I didn't feel any mosquito on my butt," he said.
"Well, you're lucky I'm more observant than you are," Dan said with a laugh. "Besides, turn about is fair play."
It wasn't much more than a minute before the soap bottle had slipped to the ground again, and again Eric's bare bottom was wiggling in Dan's direction, this time with the right buttock facing his way. Last time it had been the left. Dan decided to take this as an invitation. Smack!
"Now, I know there wasn't any mosquito that time, you bastard," Eric said accusingly. "Nobody gave you permission to slap my butt. You're a very naughty boy, and if you do that again, I swear when I finish my shower I'm going to put you over my knee and show you what a spanking really means."
Dan nodded silently, afraid that if he spoke his voice would give him away. But the soap bottle slipped to the ground again, and the tempting target again presented itself to his attention. He took aim, and again he brought the palm of his hand down sharply on the curve of Eric's naked wet posterior. Eric said, "You know what that means," but Dan responded with a spank to the other side. Eric made no effort to move out of range or to block Dan's arms. Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Didn't you hear me?" Eric wanted to know.
"I figure if I'm going to have to take my punishment, I may as well get my money's worth," Dan answered with a grin, now confident that his friend would not be offended by his extracurricular interests. While Eric rinsed his hair, Dan delivered a half dozen more well-placed blows to his bare buns.
Eric dried off, donned his clothes, and went over to sit on a boulder. "Get your butt over here, young man," he said.
Dan walked over, hanging his head.
"Unzip those shorts." Dan complied. Weighted down, as they were, with his pocketknife, compass, keys, and change, the shorts dropped to his ankles. He kicked them off. His hands moved toward the waistband of his briefs, but Eric interrupted: "I'll take care of that. You just bend over my knee and take what's coming to you."
As he felt his briefs sliding down below his knees and the sun and the wind on his exposed rear end, Dan knew this was one camping trip that would be worth the mosquitos.