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short ten-minute walk over a flat stretch of ground to the thermal pools. There were eight of them within a hundred feet of where they stood, but six of them would scald their flesh and kill them upon entry. “How do you know which one to get into?” Sonia asked as she stood above the closest one, looking down into the bubbling water.
    “It’s all very scientific, really. The trick is to let the girl go first.” Stew laughed, holding up his hands to ward off an attack. “No, seriously. The two closest to us are the only ones that won’t burn us.” Stew could tell by their faces they weren’t convinced. He pulled off his shirt and hopped into the first pot, screaming his head off while thrashing wildly. After a second, he stopped splashing and fell onto his back, smiling up at them.
    “You asshole!” Sonia reached in and splashed him.
    “Come on people, the water’s fine.”
    Everyone pulled off their clothes and hopped in, probably the best eight seconds of Doug’s life. He had a brief mental debate whether or not to leave his white shirt on, but then what would he wear to bed? Besides, the sun was just about behind the hills. He waited however until Rowena had pulled off her shirt and stepped out of her shorts, watching with pure ecstasy as she hopped into the water. Doug stripped down to his black boxers and hopped in, sitting across from Rowena. The thermal pool was big, easily allowing them all to sit in the same pot with enough room to spare.
    “Mother nature sure knows her stuff,” Marco said with his eyes closed, leaning his head back against the damp earth. “Who found this place anyway?”
    “My dad told me about it.” Stew sat up and held out his hands for a story. “Back when he worked here like twenty years ago, he said he and a group of like thirty employees came out here and went skinny-dipping in the pots. Some rangers came and chased them all out. My dad said he and this girl he was with were running toward the Inn, totally nude.” Stew laughed, thinking about his now conservative dad doing something so wild.
    “So the rangers check on these often?” Doug took a nervous look back toward the trail.
    “Simmer down, cupcake.” Marco opened his eyes, shaking his head. “Just relax.”
    They sat in the thermal pools for two and a half hours, drinking beer and sharing stories. Doug couldn’t remember when he’d had such an awesome night. Stew and Marco accepted him and made him feel like one of the guys. But it was Rowena that made his night a true winner. He’d been sporting a major hard-on since he’d watched her strip out of her clothes and into her bathing suit beneath. Her breasts were almost nonexistent, but he loved them anyway. Loved how they looked in that tiny top, so small and perfect. Then he’d watched her ass in those skimpy bottoms, seeing the slight hint of her left cheek as she’d maneuvered herself into the pot. Doug had nearly jumped in to hide his raging woody. Watching her undress would be his fondest memory of the summer, unless something else came out of tonight; beer willing, of course.
    Stew led the group back through the woods over the trail, walking barefoot through the dark with the wind chilling their damp clothes. Once back at the campsite, Stew and Marco grabbed some nearby logs, stacked them neatly, and then enclosed the wood with twelve large rocks.
    “You can’t start a fire here,” Rowena told them as she took a towel and dried her hair. “That’s not a fire pit.”
    “It’s within a contained space.” Stew held the lighter below some dry grass stuffed beneath the wood. He blew on the grass, helping the flames spread until the wood caught. “Besides, with the whole park already burning, I think they have bigger problems on their hands.”
    They let the disagreement drop and took their seats around the fire. Three coolers had been set up; all of them loaded with cans of beer and ice. They had a ready feast of chips, crackers, candy bars, and