HOME | DD

Description
The fire cracked in front of me. It was the only sound that could be heard all around me and the only thing that I could see were the tall shadows that the fire cast upon the trees behind me. I smoked my cigarette and tossed the butt into the fire with a deep sigh as I wrapped the blanket around me tighter. She was only a fling. A one night stand. We had both known that before we even got started. Why was I having such trouble remembering that when I thought back on our time together?

I looked into the fire again as my mind started to flash back…

I arrived on the mountain early this morning. I woke up in my apartment in the city and looked over out the window. The sun was rising over the bay like it did every morning. A nature lover like myself should’ve been energized to see such a beautiful view. It was specifically why I had chosen that apartment upon getting the job that transferred me into the city in the first place but this morning it didn’t fill me with anything. It didn’t make me feel happy. It didn’t fill me with optimistic hope about the day ahead of me. It just made me want to roll over and forget about the world for a few hours… or weeks, whichever. I wasn’t feeling too picky.

I sighed as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I had slept terribly the night before and the thought of going to work and dealing with my co-workers had to be the least appealing thought there was. I sighed again as I climbed out of bed and headed towards the shower, dropping and stepping out of my silk pajama pants in one fluid motion letting them lie on the floor. I lived alone so it’s not like anyone was going to complain.

The hot water felt good on my body as I felt it cascading down in ripples. Leaning against the wall of the stall I felt the steam rise up and envelope me quickly. The water was scalding hot, even hotter than I normally liked it, but I didn’t mind today. My mind started to race with a million thoughts, each one going at it’s own version of light speed. It was as though my mind had so many things that it wanted to think about but I wasn’t allowed to know what a single one of them was. It wasn’t until I started to shiver that I noticed that the water had grown cold and I had stayed in the shower much too long.

Glancing at the clock I could see that even if I walked out of the house naked there would be no way I could make it to my office in time and so I picked up the phone and called in.

“Good morning, how may I help you?” The chirpy sound of my assistant, Becky, answered the phone. She was a sweet girl but there were some mornings when you just wanted to punch her in the face to get her to stop being so damn perky all the time.

“Hey Becky it’s me, could you please clear my schedule for the day? I woke up with a terrible head cold and I just don’t think that I could manage to make today productively worth it.” I lied terribly but tried my best to make it sound like I was stuffed up. I felt like a child trying to make myself sound sick to my assistant but in addition to being perky, she was also very anal about skipping work.

“Oh that’s too bad. You make yourself some soup and climb back into bed. Luckily your only important meeting for today was canceled just a few minutes ago and rescheduled for Monday.”

“Oh well that’s certainly a coincidence. I’ll see you on Monday.” I smiled inside as I felt a small sense of pride at fooling my assistant. Life was filled with losses so I always made sure to let myself enjoy the little victories in life.

Hanging up the phone I took a deep breath as I felt a small smile place itself on my face. I now had a three day weekend and suddenly I was feeling much better but then the question became what was I going to do with my new found freedom? I wandered around the apartment for a few minutes before I opened my closet and started to gather all my camping equipment. Spring was just getting started which meant that the temperatures were perfect for a nice little get away in the mountains. I didn’t have to stay for the entire weekend, just a day long hike with an over night stay in the woods would be good enough to recharge my batteries and get me ready for the weekend ahead of me.

I packed my things in record time and within the hour I was out of the apartment and into my SUV heading south. I was up on the mountain by lunch time and just as I suspected, found the area to be almost barren. Everyone else was at the office earnign their place among society… suckers!

Grabbing my pack and my camera I started to head up one of my favorite trails that I had discovered my first time up here. It was a little off the beaten trail and it was obvious that not too many people took this path since even an experienced hiker like myself had some trouble with it at times but it led to a very secluded lake that you could always count on being deserted.

I walked along the path and with inhale of the fresh mountain air I could feel myself growing more and more rejuvenated. I could feel the air permeate each cell of my body. I smiled as the birds sang and the sun shone down on me from above. I’d take this above breathing city air and listening to cars honking at each other any day of my life.

I snapped a few pictures along the way but mostly I was interested in getting to the lake so that I could set up camp. With the way things were going so far today I might even consider staying an extra day. It only took an hour or two to get to the lake. I didn’t bother looking at my watch to see how long I had been walking.

Finally though I cleared the brush and there before me was the beautiful lake that I remembered so clearly from the picture that I had framed next to my bed. It was my own little get away when I needed to escape for a moment while at home. I just looked at that picture and let myself escape in my mind to the beautiful landscape that I got to visit much too infrequently.

Walking around the lake though I suddenly found something that was even more beautiful the scenery. She was laying on a large, flat rock next to the water in a plain white bikini that hugged her body tightly. Her blonde hair was laid out flat above her head and her eyes were shielded by fashionable wire framed sunglasses. I almost lost my balance as I looked at her flawless body. Her legs were long and the sun was gleaming off her navel ring, shining into my eyes.

I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here, let alone someone as beautiful as her. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.

“Why don’t you take a picture? It might last longer.” She said without looking at me, snapping me back into reality. I smiled after a moment when I realized that there was no anger or annoyance in her voice and so I pulled out my camera and proceeded to snap a picture or two of her laying there catching a smirk on her face through my shutter.

“Well aren’t we the literal?” She smiled a bit more as she sat up and climbed down off the rock, slipping her sandles on.

“Well, it would’ve been rude to refuse your invitation.” I smiled back at her.

“Touche” She replied as she kept walking. “Are you camping around here?” She asked over her shoulder as she kept walking leaving me to quickly catch up with her.

“Well I haven’t set up camp yet but yes, I was planning on camping around here. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here though. This has always been my little hidden get away.” I said as I walked beside her with my pack on one shoulder.

“Well you’re not alone there. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone else around here. Guess that means we’re going to be neighbors for a day or two. Hope you’re ok with that.” She said softly veering off towards her encampment on the shore.

I smiled to myself as I watched her walk away and then looked at my watch. It was already getting towards mid afternoon which meant that I needed to start setting up camp now while I still had the daylight to do so. I found a spot near the woods that was relatively flat and had a nice view of the lake. It only took a short time to get everything set up.

I took a deep breath as I wiped the sweat from my brow and pulled my shirt off. I wasn’t built by any means but I did at least know how to keep in shape and had an athletic build that reflected that. You couldn’t do any laundry on my abs but unlike most guys that I knew, you could actually tell that I had abs that weren’t going anywhere when you pushed on them.

Pulling out my ax, I tied my shoulder length hair back and began to chop some firewood from the fallen timber around the area. More often than not though I found my mind going back to that woman that I had met earlier. I wish that I had said more to her when I had the chance but I was always shy around women. Most of my gal friends would say that I was perfectly attractive and was a real catch if I just had a bit more confidence in myself but then again, they’re my gal friends. Hearing them say that is almost like hearing your mother say that she thinks you’re cool. It’s a sweet gesture but doesn’t mean much in the long run.

I sighed as I finished up the wood chopping and then shivered slightly a chill breeze blew past me. It was already starting to approach sunset. I looked out over the lake and smiled slightly as I saw the woman down by the shore gathering some water into a pot. Probably for dinner. Every part of me wanted to walk down there and just naturally spark up a conversation. She did seem interested when we spoke before but I might’ve misread her gestures.

I waved a little as I saw her look up towards my camp but I guess she didn’t see me as she didn’t wave back, that or she was just being polite before. Didn’t really matter either way. I wasn’t looking for someone when I got here. I was just looking for myself.

Description
The fire cracked in front of me. It was the only sound that could be heard all around me and the only thing that I could see were the tall shadows that the fire cast upon the trees behind me. I smoked my cigarette and tossed the butt into the fire with a deep sigh as I wrapped the blanket around me tighter. She was only a fling. A one night stand. We had both known that before we even got started. Why was I having such trouble remembering that when I thought back on our time together?

I looked into the fire again as my mind started to flash back…

I arrived on the mountain early this morning. I woke up in my apartment in the city and looked over out the window. The sun was rising over the bay like it did every morning. A nature lover like myself should’ve been energized to see such a beautiful view. It was specifically why I had chosen that apartment upon getting the job that transferred me into the city in the first place but this morning it didn’t fill me with anything. It didn’t make me feel happy. It didn’t fill me with optimistic hope about the day ahead of me. It just made me want to roll over and forget about the world for a few hours… or weeks, whichever. I wasn’t feeling too picky.

I sighed as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I had slept terribly the night before and the thought of going to work and dealing with my co-workers had to be the least appealing thought there was. I sighed again as I climbed out of bed and headed towards the shower, dropping and stepping out of my silk pajama pants in one fluid motion letting them lie on the floor. I lived alone so it’s not like anyone was going to complain.

The hot water felt good on my body as I felt it cascading down in ripples. Leaning against the wall of the stall I felt the steam rise up and envelope me quickly. The water was scalding hot, even hotter than I normally liked it, but I didn’t mind today. My mind started to race with a million thoughts, each one going at it’s own version of light speed. It was as though my mind had so many things that it wanted to think about but I wasn’t allowed to know what a single one of them was. It wasn’t until I started to shiver that I noticed that the water had grown cold and I had stayed in the shower much too long.

Glancing at the clock I could see that even if I walked out of the house naked there would be no way I could make it to my office in time and so I picked up the phone and called in.

“Good morning, how may I help you?” The chirpy sound of my assistant, Becky, answered the phone. She was a sweet girl but there were some mornings when you just wanted to punch her in the face to get her to stop being so damn perky all the time.

“Hey Becky it’s me, could you please clear my schedule for the day? I woke up with a terrible head cold and I just don’t think that I could manage to make today productively worth it.” I lied terribly but tried my best to make it sound like I was stuffed up. I felt like a child trying to make myself sound sick to my assistant but in addition to being perky, she was also very anal about skipping work.

“Oh that’s too bad. You make yourself some soup and climb back into bed. Luckily your only important meeting for today was canceled just a few minutes ago and rescheduled for Monday.”

“Oh well that’s certainly a coincidence. I’ll see you on Monday.” I smiled inside as I felt a small sense of pride at fooling my assistant. Life was filled with losses so I always made sure to let myself enjoy the little victories in life.

Hanging up the phone I took a deep breath as I felt a small smile place itself on my face. I now had a three day weekend and suddenly I was feeling much better but then the question became what was I going to do with my new found freedom? I wandered around the apartment for a few minutes before I opened my closet and started to gather all my camping equipment. Spring was just getting started which meant that the temperatures were perfect for a nice little get away in the mountains. I didn’t have to stay for the entire weekend, just a day long hike with an over night stay in the woods would be good enough to recharge my batteries and get me ready for the weekend ahead of me.

I packed my things in record time and within the hour I was out of the apartment and into my SUV heading south. I was up on the mountain by lunch time and just as I suspected, found the area to be almost barren. Everyone else was at the office earnign their place among society… suckers!

Grabbing my pack and my camera I started to head up one of my favorite trails that I had discovered my first time up here. It was a little off the beaten trail and it was obvious that not too many people took this path since even an experienced hiker like myself had some trouble with it at times but it led to a very secluded lake that you could always count on being deserted.

I walked along the path and with inhale of the fresh mountain air I could feel myself growing more and more rejuvenated. I could feel the air permeate each cell of my body. I smiled as the birds sang and the sun shone down on me from above. I’d take this above breathing city air and listening to cars honking at each other any day of my life.

I snapped a few pictures along the way but mostly I was interested in getting to the lake so that I could set up camp. With the way things were going so far today I might even consider staying an extra day. It only took an hour or two to get to the lake. I didn’t bother looking at my watch to see how long I had been walking.

Finally though I cleared the brush and there before me was the beautiful lake that I remembered so clearly from the picture that I had framed next to my bed. It was my own little get away when I needed to escape for a moment while at home. I just looked at that picture and let myself escape in my mind to the beautiful landscape that I got to visit much too infrequently.

Walking around the lake though I suddenly found something that was even more beautiful the scenery. She was laying on a large, flat rock next to the water in a plain white bikini that hugged her body tightly. Her blonde hair was laid out flat above her head and her eyes were shielded by fashionable wire framed sunglasses. I almost lost my balance as I looked at her flawless body. Her legs were long and the sun was gleaming off her navel ring, shining into my eyes.

I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here, let alone someone as beautiful as her. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.

“Why don’t you take a picture? It might last longer.” She said without looking at me, snapping me back into reality. I smiled after a moment when I realized that there was no anger or annoyance in her voice and so I pulled out my camera and proceeded to snap a picture or two of her laying there catching a smirk on her face through my shutter.

“Well aren’t we the literal?” She smiled a bit more as she sat up and climbed down off the rock, slipping her sandles on.

“Well, it would’ve been rude to refuse your invitation.” I smiled back at her.

“Touche” She replied as she kept walking. “Are you camping around here?” She asked over her shoulder as she kept walking leaving me to quickly catch up with her.

“Well I haven’t set up camp yet but yes, I was planning on camping around here. I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here though. This has always been my little hidden get away.” I said as I walked beside her with my pack on one shoulder.

“Well you’re not alone there. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone else around here. Guess that means we’re going to be neighbors for a day or two. Hope you’re ok with that.” She said softly veering off towards her encampment on the shore.

I smiled to myself as I watched her walk away and then looked at my watch. It was already getting towards mid afternoon which meant that I needed to start setting up camp now while I still had the daylight to do so. I found a spot near the woods that was relatively flat and had a nice view of the lake. It only took a short time to get everything set up.

I took a deep breath as I wiped the sweat from my brow and pulled my shirt off. I wasn’t built by any means but I did at least know how to keep in shape and had an athletic build that reflected that. You couldn’t do any laundry on my abs but unlike most guys that I knew, you could actually tell that I had abs that weren’t going anywhere when you pushed on them.

Pulling out my ax, I tied my shoulder length hair back and began to chop some firewood from the fallen timber around the area. More often than not though I found my mind going back to that woman that I had met earlier. I wish that I had said more to her when I had the chance but I was always shy around women. Most of my gal friends would say that I was perfectly attractive and was a real catch if I just had a bit more confidence in myself but then again, they’re my gal friends. Hearing them say that is almost like hearing your mother say that she thinks you’re cool. It’s a sweet gesture but doesn’t mean much in the long run.

I sighed as I finished up the wood chopping and then shivered slightly a chill breeze blew past me. It was already starting to approach sunset. I looked out over the lake and smiled slightly as I saw the woman down by the shore gathering some water into a pot. Probably for dinner. Every part of me wanted to walk down there and just naturally spark up a conversation. She did seem interested when we spoke before but I might’ve misread her gestures.

I waved a little as I saw her look up towards my camp but I guess she didn’t see me as she didn’t wave back, that or she was just being polite before. Didn’t really matter either way. I wasn’t looking for someone when I got here. I was just looking for myself.