Aertheril Geschichten aus dem Elfenpalast
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The Last State Is The Best - Chapter 3 free porn video
Chapter 3 - On the trail
Lois was riding a beautiful palomino horse. And she was riding fast.
This should have surprised Lois, since she had never ridden a horse
before. But she was too scared to think about it now. For in hot pursuit
of her were three men. They wore black hats and black shirts. Their
horses were black. Lois watched enough Westerns to know they were the
bad guys. So Lois didn't have time to think about how she was able to
ride a horse, let alone ride so well with the pace the horse was making.
She had no idea what she did to get on the wrong side of these three
desperados. All she knew was that she needed to get away from these men.
She hoped her horse was as fast as he was beautiful. She needed to
outrun the horses being ridden by the bad guys.
The terrain was rough, and there didn't seem to be much choice of
direction. In the few cases where the trail did seem to diverge, she let
her horse do the choosing. Wasn't Trigger, Roy Rogers' horse, a
palomino? And wasn't Trigger supposed to be the smartest horse in the
world? Lois could only hope that her horse shared the same horse sense.
She leaned forward, keeping low with her head near the horse's mane, the
way she had seen many times on television. It reduced the wind
resistance, made her a more difficult target should they start shooting
and it gave her the opportunity to keep whispering words of
encouragement to her horse.
The trail started getting narrower and Lois saw that she was entering
into a canyon. As she began to go in deeper, she looked around and it
seemed familiar to her. Was she back in the Virgin River Gorge? But she
didn't see a highway. Could she have somehow been transported back in
time? And were the three men chasing her because of a case of mistaken
identity? She realized that those questions were irrelevant now. Getting
away was the only thing that was important. Answers would need to wait
until later ... if there would be a later. Lois knew she was no match for
these three men if they should catch up to her. She was outnumbered and
unarmed.
But she felt comforted by the fact that she appeared to be in Virgin
River Gorge. After all, she knew that there was a way out of the gorge,
no matter which direction you were heading. So even as it appears that
the canyon walls were closing in on her, she was not worried about
getting through to the other side. She had seen this same situation
before in her car just yesterday. All she needed to find was that quick
left-right-left switchback in the trail and she would be through the
gorge.
Only this time, the trail seemed to end. Neither Lois or her horse could
find the opening. She heard the hoof beats of the villains' horses
getting closer and closer. She turned her horse to face them. She was
just about to raise her hands over her head in surrender.
Suddenly there was the noise of another horse behind her. Where was it
coming from? Had she missed an opening? And was this friend or foe?
A silver gray horse sped by her in a cloud of dust. Its rider was a
solidly-built man, wearing a tan vest, blue-checked shirt and a white
hat. He barely passed Lois when he raised a pistol in each hand and
fired. Two of the bad guys immediately dropped to the ground. They never
had a chance to draw a weapon. Apparently they didn't know there was an
opening in this part of the canyon, either. They were caught off guard.
The third villain immediately raised his hands in surrender.
The man in the white hat shouted, "Get off your horse slowly and keep
your hands where I can see them." And then, after he dismounted, a
further instruction, "Now real slow like, undo your gun belt and drop it
to the ground. Then raise your hands again and walk toward me."
The voice sounded familiar to Lois, but she couldn't quite place it. She
urged her horse forward at a slow walking pace. She knew her horse was
tired. She also didn't want to spook her rescuer or his horse.
She was just about even with the man in the white hat, who kept his gaze
fixed on the surviving villain. She was almost to the point where she
could get a look at his face ...
"She's got a ticket to ride. She's got a ticket to ri-i-ide. She's got a
ticket to ride and she don't care. My baby don't care. My baby don't
care. My baby don't care ... (fade to the voice of an announcer)
"It's 6:03 and that was the Beatles on KJUL, the jewel of Las Vegas.
Good morning! It's the start of a new work week here in the valley. Keep
your dial set here, and we will make it a good one."
Lois cleared struggled to get her bearings and clear her head. She
hadn't been transported back to the past. She was in a dream. It was a
far more logical explanation. Why hadn't she realized it moments ago?
She reached over and lowered the volume a bit on the clock radio. Was
this day was starting the way the last one ended: another missed
opportunity to connect with her dream man? Lois never put much stock in
dreams, but the symbolism of this one was a little unnerving.
Oh well, she had something to do today. What was it? Oh yes, the tour.
She needed to start getting ready. As Melissa had said, nine o'clock
rolls around awfully fast.
Lois took a quick shower, to wake up more than anything else. To save
money, she had some single serve juice and breakfast snacks with her in
her luggage. She looked in the basket and found some tea bags. As long
as she could figure out how to make hot water in the coffee maker, she
was all set.
She turned off the radio and decided she better look at the brochure
that she received when she bought the ticket for the tour. She read that
there will be a stop for lunch that was part of the ticket price.
Because this was the summer version of the tour, they would not be able
to do as much hiking outside due to the heat. They would spend more of
the tour on the air conditioned bus. (It would have been the reverse if
Lois had been there during one of the cooler times of the year.)
However, they still cautioned the participants to bring water with them.
And the tour took 6 hours, plus travel time to and from the tour sites.
Lois decided she needed to do more shopping to get a couple of bottles
of water, some energy bars, and a small pack to carry them in. This tour
was becoming an expensive proposition.
Having finished breakfast, Lois put her new western outfit on again.
"Pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself," thought Lois. For this kind
of outing and in this heat, she kept her makeup light and simple. She
was grateful that she could get away with that kind of look now. She
fired up her laptop, checked her e-mails, the news and the weather. She
noticed that it was now 8:15. If she wanted to pick up those items and
have time to catch the van that would take them to the starting point
for the tour, she had better leave now.
She found a shop inside New York New York that carried the items she was
looking for. They were a bit overpriced, but you usually pay for
convenience. She considered getting a stay cold pack but at these
prices, she changed her mind. The water and the energy bars wouldn't
spoil.
She looked at the brochure again and found where she needed to go to
meet the van. On the way there, she spotted Melissa. Melissa noticed
her, too, and they waved to each other. Lois thought that Melissa would
make a good friend. Too bad she probably would never see her again after
this week.
Lois made it to the van on time. Three others from New York New York
would be going on the tour with her: a couple that Lois guessed were in
their 50's and a white-haired man who looked to be in his mid-60's. The
van trip was uneventful as it made its way just a few blocks off The
Strip. Similar looking vans had already pulled up and people were
getting on the bus for the tour. Many of the seats near the front of the
bus were already taken. Lois decided to walk to the back so she would
have room. It looked like the bus wouldn't be full and only couples were
sitting next to each other.
In a few minutes, the bus driver and another man got on the bus. He was
wearing a bright yellow polo shirt with a Bolder Tours logo on the left
breast pocket. "So that's Melissa's friend," thought Lois.
The bus driver handed the tour guide a clip board. The guide looked at
it for a moment and then reached for the microphone. "Welcome to Bolder
Tours. My name is Steve Palmer. It is my pleasure to serve as your guide
today. We have a full group of 20 today. That is the maximum size for
our tour because when we tour the inside of the dam, that is the limit
on the size of the group that can fit comfortably in the internal areas
of the dam and power plant.
"First stop will be Hoover Dam. We only have a few rules to adhere to,
but because of the heat and some of the places we will be touring ,
following these rules will be extremely important. Your safety depends
upon following these rules."
Lois wished she had taken a seat up closer, to get a better look at the
man and hear his voice better. She knew she heard that voice before.
Wait, was that the voice of her rescuer in the dream? She wasn't
certain. But she knew she would get a closer look at Steve before the
tour was finished.
Soon, the bus was pulling onto Tropicana Avenue and from there onto the
Interstate, passing the airport en route to Boulder City. There were no
sights to point out along this stretch, so Steve and the bus driver
talked off microphone while the tourists looked out the bus windows at
whatever there was to see.
Just after they passed the turn off for the Nevada Visitor Center on US
93, Steve stood up and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, you will notice that
we are leaving civilization behind us and the terrain is getting rough.
In a few seconds, the road will go through some sharp turns and we will
be descending down to the level of the dam. Currently US 93 is routed
along the top of the dam. It was designed that way, to carry a highway.
But it can never be wider than a two lane road. And in a moment, we will
hit a back up caused by the traffic crossing the dam, made worse by the
vehicle inspections. The overpasses we are going under are for a new
road which will connect to a bypass bridge over the Colorado River. You
will be able to see the new bridge when we get off the bus and are at
the dam. Unfortunately, it is not open for traffic yet. It is expected
to open around November or December. That will ease the traffic problem
tremendously."
A few of the people took out the cell phones and digital cameras and
started taking pictures. Lois had taken a lot of pictures of scenery on
this trip. She decided she would save most of her picture taking today
for the views of the dam and from the dam. And then, when they were on
the trail, she might take some more pictures if anything was
particularly interesting. She was still new to using a digital camera.
The old habit of being stingy with pictures because of the cost of film
and developing had not died yet.
The bus was crawling along the road now. Lois noticed the number of high
voltage electric power transmission lines increasing significantly. That
was a good sign that they were approaching the dam. She reached into
her bag, retrieved her sunscreen and applied some to her face, and put
on her hat.
Finally, the bus driver put on the turn signal and made a left turn into
a parking lot next to a large building. Steve got off the bus first,
while the bus driver stood by his seat, looking back at the passengers
slowly standing up, gathering their gear, and shuffling down the aisle
to exit the bus. As Lois got closer to the exit, she could hear Steve
greeting the passengers and asking their name. She presumed that he was
making sure everyone was present and accounted for, and that he would do
the same each time they got off and on the bus. As she got closer, she
thought once again, "That voice. Where have I heard that voice?"
As she reached the front seat, the bus driver smiled at Lois and she
returned his smile, not sure if he was being friendly or if he was glad
because Lois was the last one getting off. Lois presumed that he would
not be taking the tour. Once she reached the pavement, he would probably
close the door to the bus and either read the paper or nap - unless he
knew somebody inside the tourist center that he was keen on seeing.
Lois turned the corner to go down the steps to exit the bus and she was
shocked. "You're the uhhh ..."
"I'm the what, young lady?" said Steve.
Lois was grateful that Steve interrupted, because for some reason, she
almost said that Steve was the man from her dream. But she had time to
recover and say, "You're the man I bumped into last night at Gallagher's
Steak House."
Steve smiled and said, "Indeed I am. And because I have a check mark
next to every other name here, you must be Lois Simmons. Steve Palmer.
Please to meet you - formally this time." Steve extended his hand, which
Lois accepted and shook briefly and lightly. She had the feminine
handshake thing down pretty well by now. Lois thought that Steve must
have memorized the passenger list. He didn't even look down to his
clipboard to look for her name. That impressed her.
Gathering the group around him, Steve quickly went over the rules for
this part of the tour. They were pretty simple here: everybody pretty
much stick together as a group and no wandering off out of sight. And
there was a reminder about the dry heat and the fact that you don't get
the same clues about overheating as you would in a place where it is
humid and you start to sweat. In other words, keep yourself hydrated,
even if it doesn't feel like you need any water. Steve asked if anyone
needed to buy water inside the visitor center, but everyone was
prepared, so off they went along side the road to the dam.
The group reached a point on the circular sweep of the top of the dam
where they could see Lake Mead. Steve stopped the group here. Lois had
expected it to be noisy because of the rushing of water, but it was the
breeze and the sound of traffic that required Steve to speak loudly. He
gave the basics of the dam: when and how long it took to build, how many
tons of concrete and how far it would reach if it was laid out as a
road.
He pointed out the white "bathtub ring" along the shores of Lake Mead,
explaining that it was caused by mineral deposits. He noted that the
lake level was near historic lows, so the ring was very high above the
water line right now. Someone asked if the low level was due to global
warming. Steve responded that the water level of Lake Mead is primarily
related to the amount of snow fall in the Rocky Mountains to the east,
mostly in Colorado and Wyoming. Snows had been below normal the last few
years, but Steve refused to speculate as to whether global warming was
the cause of that.
Someone else asked if Lake Mead was subject to tides and if so, did that
affect the bathtub ring. Steve explained that all bodies of water are
affected by tides, but the effect would be minimal compared to the
height of the ring. Steve had obviously given his tour guide talk many
times before, but he managed to keep it interesting by how he presented
the information and by good modulation of his rich baritone voice. Lois
was impressed with his vocal ability, especially since he had to speak
louder than normal to be heard. She knew very well that men were not as
accustomed to modulating their voices as women were. A few years
earlier, when Lois was practicing her female voice, a funny thought
suddenly struck her: how hard it would be for Ben Stein to sound female.
However, Steve didn't sound like a female with a deep voice. He still
sounded all male, and an interesting one at that.
Steve finished his talk for this point of the tour and asked everyone to
check the time on their watch or cell phone. He pointed to where the
group was to meet in 15 minutes: the entrance to the visitor center
inside the dam. Until then, they could walk around on the dam and take
pictures. He explained where they could cross the roadway and the
cautions they should take. He then reminded them to be back on time so
they could start the 10:30 tour promptly.
As the group dispersed a little to find interesting places to take
pictures without getting in each other's way, an observer might have
noticed Steve taking a long look at Lois, his body language indicating
that he might walk over to join her. But he couldn't catch her eye, so
after a minute or so, he started to observe where the rest of the group
members had gone, while he walked to the entrance to the visitor center
and the next part of the tour.
Soon it was time for everyone to gather again. Of course, there was one
straggler, but before Steve needed to go off and search for him, he was
spotted running toward them. He got there and apologized, slightly out
of breath. Fortunately, Steve allowed some leeway, as there was usually
at least one person who was tardy. Steve checked one more time to make
sure that no one was claustrophobic or had a pacemaker or defibrillator.
Steve then handed out tickets that were part of the package that the
tourists paid for as part of their overall fee. He would not be going on
this part of the tour. A government tour guide would handle this
section. Steve would meet them in the Visitor Center when the 1 hour
tour was completed. He would keep track of the group as they roamed
through the Visitor Center at their own pace until it was time to walk
back to the building where the bus was parked. A box lunch was waiting
for them there.
Lois had a science and engineering background during high school and
part of her college days. So normally the tour of the power plant and
the opportunity to view the internal construction of the dam would have
interested her a great deal. And she did find it refreshing when they
reached the air vents that allowed them to feel the breezes coming off
of the river. But most of the time, her mind was wandering and she kept
finding herself debating how much interest she should show in Steve. She
found him to be a very attractive man on many levels. She had no doubt
that if she met someone like him back home, she would find a way to let
him know she was interested. However, this far from home and with her
leaving by the end of the week, she wasn't sure that showing an interest
in him would be the right thing.
With the tour of the dam and lunch completed, it was time to return to
the bus and head out for the second half of the tour. Lois debated
sitting near Steve during lunch and again on the bus. But she still was
unsure that she wanted to do that. And with that hesitation others in
the group who had questions for Steve maneuvered themselves into the
prime seats near him. A couple of times she thought she caught Steve
stealing a glance her way. But then she dismissed it. "He has to keep
track of where everyone is and how everyone Is doing," she reasoned.
Because of the afternoon heat, much of the second half of the tour was
conducted from inside of the bus as they skirted the north shore of Lake
Mead and rode through some of the surrounding countryside. But here and
there, they stopped for a few minutes to hike down a short trail to see
some of the local vegetation or geologic formations.
As Melissa had said, there was one trail that was a little difficult to
traverse. Lois was still hanging back as they climbed up this particular
trail. But when it came time to lead them back to the bus, Steve walked
past the group to bring them down the trail. So now Lois was in the
front of the line, right behind Steve. And that's when it happened.
Steve was intent on watching his own footing during this steep downhill
section. So this was one time that he definitely was not paying any
attention to Lois. But in a moment, he would have no choice. In
hindsight, Lois wasn't sure if she stepped on her own shoelace or caught
her toe on a little section of uneven ground. She only knew two things
for sure: she was distracted by being this close to Steve and suddenly
she was a lot closer to him. When she stumbled, she hurtled forward and
landed right on his back. Fortunately for both of them, Steve had at
least 80 pounds on Lois and he had reached a short patch of more level
ground to help stabilize him and break Lois's fall.
Somehow, Steve managed to maneuver so that he was now facing Lois and
held by her upper arms. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Lois replied. "I am just so embarrassed. When the hero and
heroine are being chased, it's always the woman who falls and delays
them. I always hate that part. And now here I'm the one who tripped over
my own two feet."
"As long as you are okay," Steve reassured her. "That's the main thing.
And now we are even from last night at the restaurant." They just stood
there without another word, looking at each other for a moment longer
than necessary. Then they both remembered that they were not alone and
backed off a step and went through the motions of tending to their
clothes. Lois had the feeling that if they had stared at each other for
another moment or two, the rest of the tour group would have started
applauding. Then she really would have wanted to dig a hole and crawl
in. Lois didn't realize that a couple of the other women on the tour
would have given anything to have traded places with Lois back there on
the trail, and wished they had thought of stumbling into Steve.
The rest of the walk down the trail and the remainder of the tour were
uneventful. There was no debating for Lois now. She was still so
embarrassed that she immediately went to the back of the bus. And that
was where she stayed until the bus pulled into the parking lot for Lois
to take the van back to New York New York.
Steve was thanking each tourist as they got off the bus. And when Lois
was the last one off, she heard the standard line: "Thank you for taking
a Bolder Tour. I hope you enjoyed your day with us."
Lois found it difficult to look Steve in the eye as she shook her head
yes and mumbled something in reply that was supposed to be a positive
response. But then Steve added, hoping to break the tension, "Young
lady, maybe we will bump into each other again while you are in Vegas."
Well it broke something, all right. All the emotional frustration that
Lois felt came pouring out, her eyes flashing. "Oh, a comedian, too. Is
that a bonus part of the tour, or are you performing in the lounge of
one of the casinos?"
Steve put up his hands, palms facing outward and backed off half a step.
"Whoa, Lois. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that, honest."
"I've gotta go. I don't want to hold up the other people staying at my
hotel. I'm sure they're tired."
"Okay, bye now," was all Steve could say, sheepishly.
A little later, Lois regretted snapping at Steve. But it was too late to
apologize. The van was already halfway back to New York New York.
"Well, I guess I don't have to worry about him anymore. I've probably
blown it for good. Oh well, I will be back home in a few days and then
it won't matter."
But Lois could not let go of it in her mind. She regretted not getting
experience in these matters growing up and having to learn it on the fly
now. "The creepy ones were easy," she thought. "They come on too fast
and too strong and with such phony lines. But the nice, desirable men ...
well sometimes it seems as if they take forever to make a move." But
then Lois decided that she was probably the one at fault. She was so
afraid of giving too strong a signal and looking like a tramp that she
overcompensated and didn't give any signals at all.
With chagrin, Lois remembered a humorous article she had read in the
Wall Street Journal that used interesting ways of describing the
different levels in the corporate structure. Those at the top level
"Talked to God". At the next level, they "Listened to God." At the third
level, they "Talked to self," and at the next level they "Argued with
self." Finally, at the bottom level: "Lose argument." "Looks like I've
reached bottom," thought Lois. "I'm arguing with myself and losing!"
Meanwhile, as soon as Steve and the driver finished the paperwork for
that day, he got on his cell phone and called Melissa's cell. She heard
the ring she assigned to Steve's cell and picked up immediately. "Good
timing. I'm on break. How did it go?"
"Not good," he replied. He started to cut right to the chase, but
Melissa interrupted.
"I know how you guys are, wanting to just give the bottom line. But if
things went wrong, I want to hear every detail of what happened."
So Steve started out telling Melissa about how Lois sounded a little
flustered or nervous when she first got off the bus and realized that he
was the same person she bumped into the night before. But then it seemed
to him she might be avoiding him. Melissa asked if Steve sensed that
Lois didn't like him. Steve told her "No, when she walked past me a few
times, there seemed to be sort of a little half smile on her face. But
there seemed to be little question marks in her eyes, like she was
uncertain about something. But the rest of the time, well, she was just
distant."
Melissa chuckled when Steve told her about Lois stumbling into him near
the end of the tour. "Perhaps fate is lending a hand to the two of you,"
she said. And when Steve continued, describing that brief but intense
moment when Steve was holding her arms and their eyes locked, Melissa
let out a little cheer. "Then what happened?"
"Well, I remembered that we weren't alone, and she probably did to. I
let go and backed off a little. She also took a little step backward and
even though she had gotten a little color from the sun, I think she
started to blush."
"Awww, how cute. Then what?"
"We got back to the bus and she went all the way to the back again. I
was hoping that since she was going to get on first, she would sit near
me. Maybe she thought that once you had a seat, you had to sit in the
same seat all the way through the tour. I don't know. All I know is that
I hoped to get to talk to her once I announced that we had seen the last
site and were now on the highway back to Vegas. But she was in the back
again and it would have looked a little obvious if I had gone back
there.
"But then I figured, if she is going to be last off the bus, I can talk
to her a little bit then, knowing that I wouldn't be holding up any
other people behind her.
"So she came out and I gave her the official good-bye. She still looked
a little embarrassed. She couldn't look me in the eye and she was just
mumbling when she tried to say something to me. So I figured a little
humor would make her feel more at ease.
"You? You told her a joke? Uh oh ..."
"Hey! I didn't think it was that bad. I just said that 'maybe we'll bump
into each other again'. And she jumped down my throat."
"Oh no! You and your weird sense of humor. Okay, I admit that at the
right times, it is part of your charm. But Steve, you knew she was
embarrassed. No wonder she jumped down your throat. She was already
feeling bad about what happened.
"Hold on, Steve. I see the van pulling in on the security cam."
"Melissa, maybe you could talk to her? See how she is feeling? Maybe put
in a good word for me?"
"Give me a moment. Let me see if I can catch the look on her face."
"Okay."
"Hmmmm. Well, it looks like she is still trying to sort things out, if I
read her expression correctly. I don't think I should talk to her right
now. She needs some time alone to think things through. The good news is
that my feminine instincts tell me that you still have a chance with
her. But don't screw up again. Lois is probably a very vulnerable woman,
and with her, it may be two strikes and you're out. Here's what I think
you should do ..."
Geraldine
- 29.03.2020
- 7
- 0
