The Virginity Mission Read Online Free PDF

him, see who you were.”
    I stare wide-eyed at him. “You’re protecting him?” Jason, to me, seems like the last man needing protection. He’s the ultimate tough man. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to protect him, much less a guy younger and beneath his rank.
    â€œNah, not protecting. Just checking things out.”
    â€œWhy?”
    Tim gives a goofy kind of smile and a bit of a shrug. “Me and the guys are curious. Just wanted to know.”
    It sounds like there should be more of an explanation but coming around a bend in the road we spot the rest of the group standing on a side track, drink bottles in hand. Our conversation is cut short and we join them.
    Jason’s men are curious about him talking to me. Is it so unusual for him to speak to someone? Or is it just that I’m a young female? Or part of the expedition? Or Tim could be just extra nosy.
    I don’t get the chance to find out. In a group as small as the eight of us, I don’t get another opportunity to speak with Tim alone. After another night in the rainforest I’ve almost forgotten the conversation. Not that anything happens in the night, it’s just that other things use up my energy.
    Finding a campsite each night is exhausting. We have to find a suitable area and cut down small saplings to clear a space large enough for us. Then there’s water gathering, wood gathering, fire making, dinner preparations, and the constant stoking of the fire or drying wood. Surprisingly the evening preparations are jovial, unless you have to do the water trip. We always camp at the top of a hill to avoid crocodiles and, of course, the water’s at the bottom. So if you’re on water duty, you lug all your gear to the top, you grab all the wine bladders and water bottles, slide back down the hill, fill them and lug them all back up again. Some nights I questioned whether the need for water was important, but we never shirk the water task, it’s vital. I once tried filling the containers before I walked up the hill and lugging them along with my backpack…never again. The backpack weighs enough without the added weight of water.
    The three day hike stretches to a fourth day when we find a glorious waterfall. Tim goes back to camp to let them know we’re safe and close by. He’s been given three days leave and that’s all he’ll take. When he departs he says, “Don’t worry. I’ll report back that you’re safe.” Everyone thinks he’s being sweet, but the wink he gives me tells me that he’s reporting back not only to the expedition leaders but to Jason. A shiver runs through me. Will Jason care?
    Today is Christmas Day. We camped last night close to the top of the magnificent falls. As a present to ourselves, we’re staying here for the morning, swimming in the shallows above the waterfall before heading to base camp by mid morning. It’s warm and sunny—a perfect morning for lazing. The creek is wide and not overhung by rainforest, which is different to every creek we’ve seen in the last three days and we’ve seen enough of them on our odyssey. Here we can sun bathe, dry out and refresh.
    Another group has the same idea and there’s a party atmosphere. Christmas without wrapped presents but with fresh running water, sunshine and laughter. Gifts enough after three days without a bath!
    As much as I enjoy the sojourn at the falls, I’m itching to get back to camp. I’m trying to keep the Jason thing in perspective but the longer I’m away, the more I miss him. I don’t know him well enough for these feelings. I need the reality check of him not missing me, or not seeking me out. Or am I being too fatalistic? You should never become interested in someone and then have to leave. It causes too many jumbled emotions.
    We hike back to camp by midday and join the Christmas celebrations. Base camp is like a small town. There are