Pete and Tracey Both Head West.

Based on a post by ron de, in 2 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.

 

 

The

campground where we were camped was next to a state park, and after

that lunch, I really needed to either walk around or take a nap. I

figured Tracey wouldn't like me taking a nap so I asked her if she'd

like to walk one of the trails in the state park. She laughed.

"My Joe would have taken a nap while I walked by myself, so this will be new to me. Let's go."

It

was during our walk I learned who Joe was and why Tracey was tent

camping. That was after I explained why I was driving around in a big RV

by myself. Tracey listened to my story and then smiled.

"That's

why Joe and I bought a tent and the Jeep. He'd worked for almost fifty

years before he retired at sixty-eight and was going crazy with nothing

to do. He liked history, and after six months of doing nothing, decided

we'd tour the country looking at historic places. He thought we'd

understand the older places better if we lived in a tent like they did

in the early days, so he went out and bought one. I wasn't too sure

about a tent. I mean, a tent doesn't really have walls or anything to

protect you, and if it's cold out side it's cold inside too. At least he

bought cots so we didn't have to sleep on the ground.

"Our

daughter and her husband moved from their apartment into our house so

there'd be somebody there to take care of it when we were gone. We

started from Milwaukee in April of last year and drove South. We got as

far as Shiloh in Tennessee. We'd walked around the battlefield most of

the day. When we were walking back to our Jeep, Joe said his chest hurt.

Half an hour later, he was having trouble breathing, so I drove him to

the hospital in Savannah. He passed away while they were trying to get

him stablized. The doctors told me he'd had a pretty bad heart attack at

Shiloh and had another one while they were working on him.

"After

I got Joe back to Milwaukee and had the funeral I had to decide what I

was going to do. I couldn't very well move back into the house because I

remembered the years when my mother lived with us and I wouldn't wish

that on anybody else. What I decided is to do what Joe wanted to do. I'd

travel around with my tent and visit the places he wanted to see. It

sounds weird, I know, but I thought maybe he'd see those places through

me.

"Anyway,

I did spend a couple of months with my daughter until the weather got

cold, and then headed back South where it was warmer. I spent the winter

camping in Georgia and Florida, and then started following the warmer

weather north. I was doing fine by myself until yesterday. If I'd known

it was going to rain so hard, I'd have gotten a motel room."

I said I didn't think any woman would like living in a tent. Tracey just chuckled.

"You

mean because I don't have all the comforts of a house like a kitchen

and a bathroom? Well, I like to cook, but I can cook just fine on my

little stove, and all the campsites I stop at have a central bathroom

with showers. I like sleeping outdoors in the fresh air and listening to

the crickets instead of in my house in Milwaukee in the stale air and

listening to the traffic go by. I would trade that for my tent any day,

now that I'm used to it."

We

talked about a lot of things as we walked along that trail, and I was

surprised at how easy it was to talk to Tracey. She seemed to like

listening, but she wasn't backward about giving me her opinions about

what I said. She thought retiring early like I did was a good thing. She

was five years younger than Joe and had been after him to retire for

years because he'd been diagnosed as a prime candidate for a heart

attack. She wanted him to relax and enjoy life and hopefully avoid the

heart attack that killed him. He thought he should keep working to build

up his 401K so they wouldn't have to worry about money.

She

thought it was perfectly normal for a woman to be camping by herself,

but she wasn't a big fan of the women's liberation movement. When I

asked her why, she shrugged.

"I

suppose it's fine if a woman wants a career before anything else, but

they're missing out on a lot by not having a husband and a family. I was

never sorry I was a stay at home mom. I liked being there when the kids

came home from school, and I liked fixing dinner for us every night.

Now, mind you, I didn't object when Joe wanted to go out for dinner on

my birthday and our anniversary, but I was happy doing all the cooking

the rest of the time."

The

more we talked, the more I liked Tracey. She was a very intelligent

woman with her own ideas about life, but she was about as down-to-earth

as a woman could get. By the time we got back to my RV, I was getting

really comfortable with her.

I

got a lot more comfortable when she started making dinner. I hadn't

actually smelled food cooking in a long time because I just used my

microwave for everything. The aroma of spaghetti sauce filled the RV and

it smelled like it was going to be fantastic.

By

the time Tracey said everything was ready, I was starving. When she sat

a plate of spaghetti smothered in sauce in front of me, I'd have gorged

myself even if I hadn't been hungry. Tracey's spaghetti was better than

any I'd had in a restaurant.

We

talked a little after dinner, but Tracey said she wanted to get an

early start the next morning, so we turned in about nine. Well, Tracey

turned in. I spent the time trying to first read a book and then trying

to watch a movie. I wasn't successful at either because I kept thinking

about how nice it was having Tracey there and how that would change when

she left.

I

thought about asking her where she was going next, and then decided

she'd just think I was trying to follow her to convince her to do

something she didn't want to do. Truth be told, I would have been

following her, though just for the company and not anything else. That's

what I told my self, but I knew she'd never believe me. I was still

thinking about some way to end up camped in the same campground the next

night when I finally fell asleep.

Tracey’s Breakfast Arts.

I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon frying and hot coffee. Tracey smiled when I walked out of my bedroom.

"Just

thought I'd send you off with a good breakfast again. You really should

eat better breakfasts so you'll have energy until lunch."

While

we ate, I wanted so bad to ask where she was headed, but I didn't.

After we ate, Tracey washed everything and then took her skillet and

what was left of her bacon and eggs and bread to her Jeep. I helped her

take down her tent, roll it up, and stick it in the back of the Jeep.

When we were done, Tracey smiled.

"This has been a change for me. Maybe we'll meet up again some time. Where are you headed next?"

What I'd planned was to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora. When I told Tracey that, she shook her head.

"I'm

going there too, but first I'm going to The Knife River Indian Village.

They have a collection of Hidatsu and Mandan Indian relics that Joe

wanted to see and it sounds interesting. You ought to go there too. It's

not quite as far from here as Medora, and there's a campground for RV's

and tent campers in Stanton, and you can walk from the campground to

the village."

It

was a surprise that Tracey asked me the same question I'd debated with

myself about asking her. As a result, it took me a while to answer, and

Tracey grinned.

"You're not saying if you will or won't. Does that mean you don't like my company?"

I shook my head.

"No,

I like your company. I just didn't figure you'd want me going where you

went. It does sound interesting though, so I'll detour to Stanton and

stop there too. I'm in no hurry to get to Medora. What's the name of the

campground?"

Tracey said she was going to the Downstream Campground in Hazen instead of the one in Stanton.

"It's

a Corps of Engineers campground, so it's a little better than the one

in Stanton and there are some other things to see there too. You should

probably make a reservation though. This time of year, it might fill up

pretty fast."

Tracey

drove off while I made a reservation with my cell phone Having her

there for two days had used up a lot of my fresh water, so I stopped by

the dump station, emptied my black water tanks, and then filled the

fresh water tank. That done, I programmed the campground address into my

GPS and started driving.

I

stopped to fill up at about lunch time, and while I was eating the fast

food burger, I realized how much better Tracey's chicken salad had

tasted. I also missed her sitting there and talking while we ate. It was

strange in a way. For so many years I'd live by myself and didn't think

I really missed not having people around. Now, I did, or at least I

missed having Tracey around.

When

I got to the campground I stopped at the office, paid my site fee, and

got a map to my campsite. All the sites were back-in sites, but with the

rear facing cam on the Thor, that wasn't a problem. Within fifteen

minutes of shutting off the engine, I had the Thor leveled, the

extensions out, and the electricity plugged in. My plan was to find out

where Tracey was camped and ask her if she'd like to go into town for

dinner.

I'd just locked up the Thor when Tracey came walking across the road.

"I see you found the campground."

"Yes, but how did you find me so fast? I just got here."

Tracy grinned.

"I

cheated. I made my reservation after you did and I told them we were

traveling together and asked for a space close to you. I guess I drive

faster than you do because I stopped at a grocery store on the way and

I've had my tent set up and have been watching for you for half an

hour."

I chuckled.

"I can drive as fast as you drive, but it takes me a while to get up to speed. Why did you ask for a spot close to me?"

Tracey looked at the ground.

"Well,

I kinda liked when we took that walk and I thought maybe you'd want to

take another one after dinner. I got the stuff for dinner when I stopped

at the grocery store, that is, if you'll let me cook for you again."

There

was no way I could refuse her, nor did I want to. It was, I hoped, an

indication that Tracey liked me. I wouldn't let myself think any further

than that though. I couldn't. Thinking there might be more and then

finding out there wasn't would have crushed me.

Dinner

was pork chops, broccoli, and a pasta salad with a chocolate cake for

desert. Tracey hummed to herself the whole time she was cooking. I sat

on the couch and watched her.

She

seemed to be having the time of her life. I know I was. She looked like

she belonged in my tiny little kitchen in her shorts, tank top, and

running shoes. That was a feeling I'd never had about a woman before.

Oh, I'd had the same fantasties most men have about this woman and how

she'd be in bed or that one and how I wished I could see her naked, but

not once before Tracey did I ever imagine how any woman would look in my

kitchen.

Dinner

was great. Eating with Tracey was even better. She seemed to be really

happy and that made me happy too. After dinner we walked along the shore

of the lake and talked until the mosquitoes came out in force. Then, we

went back to my RV for a movie on Netflix. That seemed really natural

too, both of us sitting there on the couch and watching a movie

together.

After the movie ended, Tracey yawned.

"I

think it's time I go tuck myself into bed in my tent. Are you coming

with me to see the "Knife River Indian Village" tomorrow?" If you are,

I'll come over tomorrow morning and fix breakfast."

I

couldn't bring myself to say what I wanted to say; that she was welcome

to spend the night again. She'd have thought I was asking something I

wasn't asking, and I didn't want to risk losing her as a friend.

"Sure. I'll be up and have the door unlocked at about seven if that's not too early. I'll have the coffee made too."

As

I fell asleep that night, I was wondering if there could be more with

Tracey. She seemed to like me. I knew I liked her. She was just plain

fun to be with, but I thought maybe she more than liked me. I hadn't

been around a woman socially in so long it was hard to tell, but she

seemed to walk closer to me than on our first walk, and when she talked,

she kept touching me on the arm.

The Breakfast tradition continues.

Breakfast

was sausage patties and pancakes, and they were great. So was sitting

there and eating with Tracey. I'd thought we'd just go to the Indian

Village and then pack up and go our separate ways, but Tracey was full

of things we could do. After she rattled off her list, I figured it was

going to take us a couple of days.

Tracey

wanted to see Fort Mandan, the site where the Lewis and Clark

Expedition spent a winter. She said there was a replica of the orginal

fort there. She also wanted to see the McLean County Museum, the Sioux

Ferry, and the Garisson Dam Fish Hatchery. When I said she was cramming a

lot into one day, Tracey frowned.

"It sounds like you want to be rid of me."

I shook my head.

"No, I don't want that at all. I like seeing things with you. I just didn't think you wanted to stay more than a day."

Tracey smiled then.

"I made my reservation for three nights. Maybe you should do the same or you might end up sharing my tent with me."

On our way out of the campsite in Tracey's Jeep, I did just that. When I came out of the office, Tracey grinned.

"Did you get the same spot?"

"Yes I did. I reserved three more nights, just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

"I don't know. Just in case it takes us longer to see everything than two more days I guess."

Tracey put the Jeep in drive and grinned.

"So maybe you do like me a little."

Becoming travelling Buddies.

The

Indian village was interesting and so was Fort Mandan, though I thought

there was more to see at Fort Mandan. As we toured the different

buildings, Tracey kept pointing out things to me. Sometimes, she didn't

know what those things were and asked me if I did. It was that way at

the carpenter's shop and at the blacksmith's shop. It was fun telling

her what this tool was used for or how the carpenter or blacksmith would

have used them. She was surprised that all the logs were vertical

instead of horizontal and asked me why. I didn't know, but one of the

rangers explained it to us both. It was because they could build long

walls that way without needing really long logs and the fort needed to

be pretty big to hold all the men in the expedition.

While

we were close, we also went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive center.

That was interesting too. It was almost one by the time we got through

all of that, so we drove back to the campground.

Tracey

fixed lunch for us both in my RV and then suggested we take another

walk. We were down on the river bank when Tracey looked out over the

water and then sighed.

"You

know, I had a lot of reservations about camping when Joe said he wanted

to start. I mean, I'd be giving up everything I'd lived with for all

those years and starting out living in a way I didn't know anything

about.

"Now,

when I come to a place like this and just watch the river go by or see

the birds singing in the trees, I don't know if I could ever go back to

that old life again. I see something different every day and I keep

learning about things I never knew before. It gets lonely sometimes, but

it's still worth it."

I said I didn't think she could possibly be lonely, and Tracey frowned.

"Why would you say that? Aren't you lonely sometimes too?"

"Well,

yes, but that's different. You had your husband before while I haven't

lived with anybody in years. Besides, I would think you have a lot of

men trying to meet you."

Tracey grinned.

"You

think men are just dying to make it with a woman as old as I am? Let me

let you in on a little secret. If a woman hasn't found a man by the

time she turns forty, she's probably not going to, at least not a man

worth having around. Most of those are already married, and a few of the

ones who aren't usually aren't all that interested in women, if you

know what I mean. The rest are going through their mid-life crisis. I

call it the 'I'm still the man I was at twenty thing', and they're

looking for girls, not women. They may talk to women as old as I am, but

the first blonde with little boobs and a tight little butt who walks

by; well, you can see them looking for a way to end the conversation."

I didn't think like that, and that's what I told Tracey. She just laughed.

"You mean to tell me that those young girls we saw today didn't do anything for you? I saw you looking at them."

"Well, yes, I looked, but no, I didn't want any of them. They were pretty, but they weren't women, not yet."

Tracey frowned.

"You mean you'd only want an older women; a woman like me."

I nodded.

"Well, yes."

Tracey grinned then.

"I've heard this line before. What you're really saying is you'd like to spend a night with me and then you'd be gone."

That upset me.

"No,

that's not what I'm saying. You're putting words in my mouth, and it

makes me a little mad that you think that. All I'm saying is you're a

nice looking woman and I thought men would want to meet you. I guess you

don't. I think we need to go back to the campground now."

Silent travels.

Tracey

didn't say anything on the way back and I didn't either because I felt

bad about what I'd said to Tracey. She probably did have men telling her

that. I'd jumped to conclusions and accused her of thinking that about

me when I didn't really have any reason to. What I should have done was

left out the part about her putting words in my mouth, because she

really wasn't. I was acting pretty immature and I was mad at myself for

being that way. I liked Tracey and didn't want to lose her as a friend.

It wasn't until we got to my RV that Tracey finally said something.

"Pete,

I'd planned on making dinner for us. Are you mad enough that I should

just go back to my tent or could you stand having me around long enough

to cook some burgers? I got some potato salad and other stuff to go with

the burgers and I'll never eat it all myself."

The look on her face told me she really wanted to do this, so there was no way I could say no.

"Tracey,

I need to apologize for what I said back there. What you said just

struck me wrong and I overreacted. I'd like it if you cooked for us

again."

I

thought Tracey would probably cook our hamburgers on my stove, but when

I helped her bring everything from her Jeep to my RV, she handed me a

small, portable propane grill.

"Joe

never liked burgers fixed on a stove, so we bought this little grill to

take with us. I'll set it up on the picnic table beside your RV and

we'll have real, grilled burgers."

The

hamburgers were great and so was everything else, but I think that was

mostly because Tracey was sitting there at the picnic table across from

me. It just seemed right, you know? I mean, not since I was first

married had I sat across the table from a woman, but it felt like it did

back then.

When

we finished eating, Tracey and I took all her stuff back to her Jeep.

She was putting the potato salad and other things that needed to be kept

cold in her little cooler, but when she opened it, she said, "Oh darn

it. I forgot to get ice. I'll have to go up to the office and get some."

I knew that wasn't going to work because when I'd checked both times I'd payed for my space.

"Tracey, they don't have ice up there. I checked."

Tracey sighed.

"Well,

I'll have to drive somewhere and get some unless; you don't have much

in your refrigerator. Could I put my stuff in there until morning?"

I

put the portable grill in her Jeep and then carried her cooler back to

the Thor. Tracey put all her stuff in my refrigerator and then smiled.

"Now

it looks like a refrigerator should look; milk, eggs, bacon, lettuce,

meat, and leftovers. It's what my refrigerator always looked like at

home. You should keep it that way. You'd be healthier."

"Well, I probably would if I wasn't traveling by myself."

Tracey grinned.

"What you need is a woman to go with you. She'd take care of the cooking so you wouldn't have to."

I sort of laughed.

"At

my age and the way I'm living, there's not much chance of that

happening. There aren't many women who'd like roaming around the country

in an RV."

Tracey smiled then, but it was a different smile than I'd seen before.

"Maybe you aren't looking where you should be looking. If you did, you might be surprised at what you find."

Well,

that confused the hell out of me. Was Tracey saying I should look at

her? It seemed that way, but we hadn't known each other very long and I

didn't think women were quite that straight-forward. If she wasn't

talking about herself, what did she mean? She still had that odd smile

when I answered.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you saying I'd find you; that you'd like to go with me?"

The smile changed to a grin.

"I don't know. You haven't asked me if I would."

I shook my head.

"I never really thought; I mean, I think we're friends now, but; well, that would be a big step for you to take, wouldn't it?"

Tracey touched my arm and sent a tingle up my spine.

"Pete,

what happened to Joe changed the way I think about things. You never

know what's going to happen to you, so putting off things you want is

not something I want to ever do again."

"Is that something you'd want; to travel with me, I mean?"

Tracey moved her hand from my arm to my chest and sent another tingle up my spine.

"If you'd like that I would."

I

didn't have a chance to reply because Tracey put her arms around my

neck and pulled herself close enough I felt her breasts pressing into my

chest a little. She smiled.

"I

can do other things besides just cook. Women need things just like men

do, you know. We just aren't quite as forward about it as men."

It

felt odd to put my arms around Tracey's waist. I hadn't done that in

years, but it just seemed to be the natural thing to do so I did it.

"You're being pretty forward right now, Tracey."

Her eyes sort of flashed when she smiled.

"I know I am, but you weren't doing anything except being nice to me. Sometimes, a woman has to take the lead."

"So, where are you going to lead me?"

Tracey

didn't answer me at first. What she did was kiss me softly on the lips

for a couple of seconds and then pull gently away and smile.

"That depends upon you, Pete. Do you feel like I feel?"

I

felt like a guy before that first time when I walked Tracey back to my

bedroom. It was that feeling of excitement knowing what was going to

happen but not quite believing what was happening was real. It got real

as soon as I closed the door behind us though. Tracey pulled her tank

top over her head and then grinned.

"You do the rest. I like it when a man undresses me."

My hands were shaking a little when I unhooked Tracey's bra and she chuckled.

"I think you're afraid of me."

I shook my head as the last hook slipped out of the eye.

"No, I'm not afraid of you. It's just been a very long time."

Tracey shrugged her shoulders and her bra straps slipped down her arms.

"I'm sure you haven't forgotten how, but if you have, I'll help you remember."

I

hadn't forgotten how. I was just still amazed that this was happening

to me. That turned into a need for Tracey when I unbuttoned and unzipped

her shorts. When they fell to the floor, I was looking at black mesh

panties that did nothing to hide the patch of hair on her mound. A

couple of seconds later, those panties were lying on top of her shorts,

and Tracey was unbuttoning my shirt. When she pulled it back over my

shoulders, she pressed her bare breasts into my chest and sighed.

"I've waited so long to feel this again."

She

kissed me again then, and this time, it wasn't like before. This time,

the kiss was a deep, open-mouthed kiss that made me catch my breath.

When her tongue slipped between my lips, I forgot all about being

worried that she was some sort of dream I was having. When she backed

away and started undoing my belt buckle, I forgot all about everything

except the sensuous woman in front of me.

It

had never been with my wife like it was with Tracey. My wife had been

agreeable to sex, at first, but never really participated much. She'd

just lay there while I aroused her, and when she was ready, she'd tell

me.

Tracey

didn't just lay there on my bed beside me. Her lips sought mine and

took away my breath again while her hands stroked my chest, my back and

my hips and she pushed her mound into my stiff cock. It really was a

first time for me, the first time I made love with a woman instead of to

a woman.

When

I cupped her left breast and stroked her nipple, Tracey shuddered and

then gently pushed my head down to that breast. When I kissed her

nipple, Tracey moaned and felt down my belly until she found my cock.

Her soft fingers gently stroked my length, then circled the head.

I

don't remember much else about the foreplay that night. It was still a

little like a dream, except there was no doubt in my mind that Tracey

was no dream. When I slipped a fingertip between the soft, hair-fringed

lips between her thighs, Tracey moaned and rocked her body into my

finger. She was already a little slippery, and just a few strokes of

that finger inside her told me she was ready. Tracey told me that with a

whisper too.

"Pete, I want you. Just start easy. It's been a while for me too."

I

did start as easily as I could. It took several short strokes before

our bellies met, short strokes that were the most incredible feeling I'd

ever felt. Even more incredible was the way Tracey rocked her hips up

to help me. I knew then that she wanted this as much as I did.

Our

lovemaking was slow at first and involved a lot of kissing and Tracey

stroking my back. As she became more and more aroused, she sped up the

rocking of her hips and I followed her lead. When she dug her nails in

to my ass, lifted herself up to my stroke and held her breath, it was

hard not to just lose it and let go, but I fought the feeling.

A

couple of minutes later, Tracey gasped and rocked her hips up even

higher and drove my cock a little deeper inside her, deep enough my cock

head slipped into something very wet and slippery that seemed to suck

at it when I slowly withdrew. I'd no sooner pulled almost all the way

out than Tracey moaned, "Oh God, Pete. I'm there. Don't stop."

My

next stroke caused her to gasp, raise up into that stroke, and then

hold her breath again. She stayed up for a couple of seconds, then

gasped and her thighs started to shake. I felt her nails in my ass

cheeks again and then her little cry as her hips started to rock up and

down. I couldn't hold out any longer and pumped into Tracey three times

while her contracting passage milked at my cock.

When

she stopped shaking and rocking her hips, Tracey eased back down on the

mattress and pulled me down until my chest flattened her breasts. She

kissed me until I had to stop so I could breathe and then whispered, "I

don't think I'm going to sleep in my tent tonight."

Well,

I could tell you about the next morning, but it would just be a repeat

of that night. Let's just say Tracey and I found something that night

and the next morning both of us had been looking for. I didn't realize

it before because I wouldn't let myself hope for something that probably

would never be, but afterwards, Tracey was something I didn't think I

could give up.

I told her that when we had breakfast the next morning. Tracey grinned.

"I was hoping you felt that way. I don't want to give you up either. So what do we do now?"

}|{

What

we did was get a hitch so I could pull Tracey's Jeep behind the Thor.

It's worked out better than I thought. It's a lot easier getting

groceries and supplies in her Jeep, and a lot nicer having her in my

shotgun seat while we're driving between places we want to see.

She's

there right now with her map, watching for the sign that will take us

off I-5 to Fort Vancouver. The GPS would tell me that, but Tracey likes

giving me the directions. Once we get to our campground, we'll set up,

have lunch, and then tour the fort. She's going to grill some steaks for

dinner and then we'll probably watch a movie. After that; well, this

morning, Tracey said she needed to relax tonight. Relax is the word she

uses when she means make love. She seems to need to relax about every

other night, and I'm not complaining.

Our

plan is to make our way back to Milwaukee in time for Thanksgiving and

Christmas, and then go south for the winter. Tracey has told her

daughter and son we're coming and they're planning on big holiday

dinners for both. She also told them she won't be alone. When I asked

her what they thought about that, Tracey just smiled.

"I

think my daughter understands. She said she hoped we'd get married, but

she didn't seem to be insisting we do before we get there. My son;

well, he and Joe were pretty close so Jimmy said he'd have to meet you

to see if you were OK before he decided. Don't worry, Pete. Jimmy's an

engineer too. You two will get along fine."

I

guess we'll see what happens. Tracey and I have talked a little about

marriage, but she's happy like we are, and so am I. I guess we'll see

about that later.

Well,

Tracey just told me the exit is coming up in a mile, so I have to

change lanes. Seeing the country turned out to be everything I'd hoped

for. With Tracey sitting there beside me, it's more like seeing life as

it was meant to be instead of what I thought life was. Retirement turned

out to be pretty great after all.

by ron de for Literotica.