What a week! Some weeks seem to fly by, but this one was excruciatingly slow.

I'd been working at this office for almost three years. We had moved over here from our main office to be at the client's beck and call. It was nice to have fully billable hours on my timesheet, but sometimes it was tough.

Lately, it had been harder to really throw myself into the work. As an engineer, I like to design things that will be built. It's exciting to see my designs take shape and then start working the way I had planned. Unfortunately, the project we moved to this office to design was being put on hold. Being lower on the totem pole, I never did hear the exact reasons for the delay, but I could piece together the snippets of conversation I heard. It appeared that the various groups stopped working as well together to fund and direct the project and other alternatives became more enticing to some members of the group.

We still came in to work on a regular basis and we worked to finish up the final aspects of the design, but our hearts just weren't quite as into it as they had been.

I needed to get away.

Over the past several months, I found myself flirting with some of my female coworkers. I considered it harmless fun, but constantly worried that I might be taking it too far. Still, it was fun to get those chuckles of pleasure from the ladies. Part of me hoped that one of them would take the bait and we'd be able to start dating, though I suspected that was never going to happen. I always seemed to be the "friend" instead of the potential lover.

Standing and talking with Patrice, I shared my feelings about how tough this week had been and how much I wanted to get away. She got excited at the idea of doing something away from the office and we discussed what we wanted to do, dreaming about all the options available to us and some that weren't. We weren't talking about doing things together, just about some of the things we wished we could do. Of course, the idea still crossed my mind that maybe she'd like to go with me.

Patrice had beautiful, expressive eyes that often seemed to hint at hidden passion and with the suggestion of possible shared pleasure. Her breasts were quite large and looked like they would be a lot of fun. I had fantasized about playing with her body numerous times.

After chatting with Patrice for a bit, I went back to my cubicle to finish up for the day. I was anxious to get away from the office and to start my weekend. On my way out the door, Patrice came up to me with a smile on her face.

"Call me this weekend. We'll get away together," she said.

My jaw dropped a little and I could feel some movement in my slacks at the idea. I managed to recover fairly quickly and said that I would do that.

All night, visions of what we would be doing together passed through my mind. I love to fantasize about things, though I rarely have the confidence to follow through on them. I worry too much that I'll be denied and that we'll have awkward feelings from then on whenever we see each other. That doesn't stop me from thinking up all the ways I want to satisfy all these ladies in my life.

With all those fantasies flowing through my mind, I soon found myself needing some release. While sitting on my couch, I slid my hand into my shorts and began massaging my erect cock. I'd had enough practice at this and knew just what I needed. It wasn't long before I was reaching for a kleenex to catch the results of my release, while images of Patrice in the throes of ecstasy flashed through my brain.

When I woke up in the morning, my thoughts again turned to fantasies of Patrice. Lying in bed, I once again found myself stroking my thick member, reliving some of the ideas that I'd explored the previous night. Thoughts of her in various positions and always full of passion and desire increased my excitement to the breaking point. The orgasm that rushed through my body was incredibly intense. My eyes slammed shut and my breathing became incredibly ragged, my cum shooting out onto my stomach, my mind again full of Patrice in orgasmic bliss.

After recovering, I cleaned myself up and took a shower to start my day. I felt rather satiated from my strong orgasm and was able to concentrate on what I was doing to get ready. I thought through my options of where to go and what to do to get away.

Finally deciding that the day was perfect for getting up into the mountains, I started to gather the necessary items for the trip. I figured it would be fun to get away from people so I grabbed my topo map and compass, along with my day pack, which I filled with water bottles, snacks, matches, poncho, extra socks, camera, etc. I'd seen weather change fast in the mountains and wanted to be prepared for anything.

On a whim, I thought I'd take Patrice up on her offer. I didn't expect her to want to follow through on it, but since she'd said to call, I figured I'd best do that.

"Good morning," I said.

"Hey, you! What're you up to today? Are you getting away?" she asked

"As a matter of fact, I am. I'm heading up to Mt. Charleston."

"Wow ... sounds perfect for today!"

I got a little tongue-tied then. It was time to invite her, but I wasn't sure how it would play out. Finally, I threw caution to the wind.

"You suggested I call you if I was going out. Do you want to go?" I asked, holding my breath a little.

She didn't answer right away and I started to worry that she was going to turn me down and that I'd put that awkward thing between us.

Finally, she said, "yeah, I think I would like to go. Where should I meet you or do you want to come get me?"

I wasn't even sure where she lived. I live pretty close to the road up there, so it is almost always logical for someone to stop by and pick me up on their way. It never quite feels right for me to ask a woman to do the driving, though, being raised the gentleman that I was.

"How about if I come get you?" I asked. "Unless you'd rather drive to my house and then we can carpool up from here."

I heard her give a chuckle that I only rarely heard from her ... and that was when I would make a particularly daring joke that flirted with that sexual harassment edge at work. It kind of surprised me to hear it now, but I just chalked it up to her "out of the office" persona.

"I'll come up there," she said. "Just give me your address and any directions I might need."

I gave her the particulars and she said she'd be there in 45 minutes. I figure it usually takes people half an hour to get to my place so I was pretty impressed that she could get ready in as quickly as 15 minutes. She must have already been up and ready for the day.

To distract myself for the wait, I sat down at my computer and pulled up my favorite computer game. I can often get lost in the game, absorbed in the need to expand my civilization and protect it from invaders, while preparing to attack and destroy my opponents. I must have been a little distracted, though, as this time the game wasn't quite going as I'd hoped. I was on the verge of losing my town and could just barely keep up with the destruction of my forces by creating new warriors. Those were the games that required the most attention because I couldn't just sit back and enjoy the slaughter, but had to work hard at staying alive.

I was surprised out of my gaming by the doorbell. I'd even forgotten about my trip, so caught up was I in the battles on the screen before me.

Answering the door, I was shocked to see Patrice standing there in shorts and a fairly tight T-shirt. She had a day pack over her shoulder and hiking boots on her feet. Her legs shone in the sun and her smile radiated even more warmth. I smelled her perfume as she walked past me holding the door open for her. I was a little surprised to feel my cock give a twitch of anticipation, but then remembered the fantasies I'd been having and lost the surprise. Instead, I found myself standing in my living room at a loss for words.

Remembering our trip, I said, "I'm glad you found the place. I think I'm ready to go. Let me just power down my system and we're off. Do you want to drive up there or shall I?"

She gave me one of her enigmatic smiles and said, "I think you should drive. It will let me watch the scenery and soak it all in."

"Fair enough," I said, pushing the appropriate buttons to get my computer shut down. I checked to make sure I'd locked the front door then grabbed my items for the hike and ushered her over to the garage door.

I opened the door for her in my car and took her day pack from her to put it with mine in the trunk. I then settled into the driver's seat, pushing the button to open the garage door. We backed out and then drove off as the garage door closed behind us.

The trip up to the Mt. Charleston was magical. That feeling I always get when I leave the city and head into the mountains hit me hard. It had been far too long since I'd last ventured up here, but I hadn't realized just how much I missed it. Looking over at Patrice, I could see the trip was having the same effect on her. She had a big smile on her face and I could see her face smoothing out, all worries gone. She was feeling that euphoric sense of peace that one gets when they return to Nature after a sojourn among men. We opened our windows to let the mountain air waft around us and felt immensely rejuvenated by the currents.

I pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead and stopped the car. We climbed out of the car and got our day packs. I made sure the car was locked and we started over towards the trail.

The start of the hike was pretty easy-going. I'd expected that, having looked at the various hikes in the Mt. Charleston area on my software package back home. I knew pretty much what to expect on this trip, but I also knew that I wanted to leave the trail for a bit. I hoped Patrice was up for that. After a couple of miles, the terrain gets more rocky and the trail gets more elevation change. I could see things were starting to pick up, much like the software had said it would.

Just before a particularly tricky part, we stopped for a breather. We'd been walking for a while and it seemed like a nice time and pretty place to take a break. I pulled out my camera and started to take some pictures of the trees and rocks in the area. It really was a pretty spot to be.

After shooting several shots, I heard a sound and looked over at Patrice. She was chuckling softly, but had such a pretty smile. I raised my camera and took and quick shot of her. The way the sun fell on her really made her glow. I was a little surprised she didn't duck away when I pointed the camera at her. Most women do that. I'd seen her do it many times.

"You get so absorbed in your photography. It's really fun to watch!" she said.

I felt my face get hotter and knew I was blushing. "I do really like photography. It is a way for me to extend the feelings I have being here beyond my heart and soul and lets me relive the experience later at home."

I couldn't remember a time when I'd said something so close to me, so full of my inner Truth. I was a little surprised and felt my walls start to go back up, protecting my inner self from those around me. Can't let people in or I might get hurt, right?

She gave me her warmest laugh and said, "I know exactly how you feel. When I'm up here, I get that same overwhelming feeling ... like the World is okay and that I'm a good part of it."

My walls crumbled again as I heard her share her Truth, the part that makes her keep going when she's lost in that concrete jungle down there. That's when I realized that we were bare up here. We weren't going to have any walls up here. Here, we were who we are. That realization sent chills up and down my spine. I am so protective of "me" and was excited to be able to finally share that with somebody who was sharing themself with me, but I was also scared half to death at the prospect of sharing "me" with someone without a net.

I turned back to my photography, unsure where to go from here. At the office, I would have been brave and would have teased her about how sexy she is or something along those lines. The real me, however, has been scared of stepping on toes. The real me gets easily lost when dealing with women. The real me has a bark that's far worse than his bite.

Her laugh sounded musical in the surroundings of the glen in which we sat. It fit so well with the beauty that surrounded me and gave me something of a soundtrack for the pictures I was taking.

When we were rested, we stood and got ready to continue hiking. I looked at her, noticing that she stood a little closer to me than usual, and said, "would you like to leave the main trail? I've got a good map and compass so we'll be okay, but I wanted to get away from the usual places we'd find people."

She grinned at me like I'd just asked her to join me at a nice restaurant and said, "sound perfect!"

We started walking off at a tangent to the normal path. It looked like a fairly easy hike that would keep us from the rockiest portions of the mountain, but might afford us some nice views. The topography on the map suggested it might be a perfect place to hike.

As we walked, I noticed that Patrice was walking a little closer to me than she had when we started out, which was even closer than we'd walk in the office. I started to wonder if maybe she was feeling some of the same opening of soul that I had felt earlier. Maybe she was starting to feel a stronger bond between us.

Our conversation on the hike varied through a multitude of topics. We did talk about work, though we were supposed to be relaxing on vacation. This time, though, it was okay. It was like we were far enough removed that we could talk about work in the abstract without really getting too caught up in it. We hit on relationships, on religion, politics, tastes in music and movies, as well as the genres of literature that pleased us most. I found that she was laughing a bit more at the jokes I'd tell. Every now and again, she'd reach over and touch my arm while she laughed, making that physical connection which ramps up the emotion felt at the time.

Part of my mind was telling me that the connection we were forming was more than just a friendship, but that part was instantly quelled by the protective side that refused to believe. Still, that part hoping for a connection wouldn't be completely silenced. The more we walked and talked and the more I saw her get close to me, the more that hopeful side blossomed within me, in spite of the protective side.

'What do I do now, ' I asked myself for the thirtieth time in the last mile. 'Is she interested in me or is she just feeling friendly? Should I make a move? What will happen if I make a move on her and she doesn't want it? I'm having such a good time! I'd hate to destroy that with my lustful desires!'