Natasha had had enough. It seemed that no matter what she did, somebody was unhappy.

She'd tried talking to a number of friends about it, trying to get their ideas and input, and they all seemed to say the same thing. Upon further reflection, she decided that they were right. She needed to spend a little more time taking care of herself instead of dedicating so much of her time to other people. She'd lost herself in the attempt to create an image that fit what she thought they wanted of her and had, in the process, lost herself.

"Who am I?" she found herself saying more often as the months progressed.

The obvious answers were, "a wife, a mother, and a professional." She knew, deep down inside, that those titles weren't who she really was. She took great satisfaction in the last two, but they didn't satisfy the need to be herself. In each of those positions, she needed to be somebody foreign to her natural mindset. Though she was a responsible person, those two titles wouldn't allow her the freedom to break out of the responsible mold often enough to feel free.

Her marriage was falling apart.

For years, she'd done her best to be the wife that her husband expected. More importantly, she tried to be the wife that her parents expected her to be. She took care of the household needs after she got home from work. Her family was taken care of and were generally happy.

But Natasha felt empty. Nobody was taking care of her and she didn't have the time to dedicate to recharging her batteries.

One can only go so long on empty batteries.

Her reverie was broken by a coworker calling out, "have a great weekend," as they walked out of the door.

"You, too!" she called after them, glancing at the clock.

It was almost 5 o'clock. Time to start packing up and preparing to leave the office.

Right after she clicked the "Shut Down" button on the computer, she heard the inevitable: "Hey, Natasha. Can you take care of this for me?"

Stifling the groan that started deep inside, she turned in her chair to see who'd come into her cubicle. It was the worker who never seemed to recognize the end of the workday. They always put in extra minutes and expected the same of everyone else.

"What do you need?" asked Natasha.

"Will you make seven copies of this and collate them for me? I need them by midday on Monday," was the response she got.

Evaluating the project quickly, she noticed that she could probably get the job done on Monday morning, especially if she could get help from others in the office.

"Do you mind if I take care of it on Monday?" she asked, hoping that she didn't have to stay too long.

"I guess so," she heard in response. "If you're sure you can get it done. I don't want to have to go to my meeting without these copies, though."

She hated being manipulated like this. Too many people tried to make you feel guilty for leaving the office on time. They seemed to forget that most people had a life.

She almost caved, but then realized she'd had enough.

"Sounds great, then," she said with a smile. "Leave it here and I'll have it for you by midday on Monday."

With that, she felt a burst of elation at having the strength to not cave to manipulation and she finished packing up her things to leave. It was sad, she decided, that she had to relish these very minor victories.

As she left the office, her mind started to look ahead at the weekend. It was a long one, what with the holiday on Monday, but she couldn't think of anything that she could do to celebrate.

Well, she could think of lots of ways to celebrate, but she knew that she was expected to be home the entire weekend, taking care of the business of making a home.

Her mind balked at the idea of another long weekend stuck at home.

She started to daydream again as she walked to her car. She would love to be away, to leave the hustle and bustle of her daily routine, to just be whomever she wanted to be without worries.

It was several blocks later when she awoke from her daydream and realized that she wasn't headed home. Apparently, the daydream had been so strong that when she left the office parking lot, she'd turned toward the airport rather than home. Her first instinct was to make a u-turn and head the direction she was "supposed" to go after work so she could get home to take care of her husband, kids, and home.

Natasha started her turn signal and was checking mirrors to make her u-turn when she spotted herself in one of the mirrors.

"You deserve this," she said to herself.

Without a second thought, she turned off the turn signal and pulled back into traffic. She drove straight to the airport, her heart beating faster as she realized what she was about to do. She'd not taken a nice vacation in a long time and she was due.

Leaving her car in the long-term parking, she caught the shuttle to the main terminal. She looked at the departing flights and saw one leaving within the hour for a resort location in southern California.

"Why not?" she asked herself. "Sounds like just what I need."

She bought a ticket for that flight with a return flight scheduled for Sunday night. Without luggage, going through security was extremely easy and she found herself at her gate with plenty of time.

It was at that time that a certain sense of reality set it. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her home number. Her husband answered, obviously flustered.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be home right now! Your kids need food and my dinner should be just about ready."

That was exactly what she needed to hear. She wasn't sure she was doing the right thing, but hearing her husband get on her case and insist she come home to take care of him was just what Natasha needed to solidify her resolve.

"I'm not going to make your dinner tonight," she responded. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to take a vacation. Take the kids to their grandparents' house if you can't handle them. I'll be back Sunday."

She hung up the phone to the sound of her husband sputtering. He was floored, having never received that sort of response from Natasha. She felt empowered and it felt very good.

Natasha turned off her phone to avoid being bothered and went to the nearest kiosk to buy some snacks and a book. She used to love to read and just never had time any more. Well, this weekend, she was going to enjoy a really juicy romance novel.

Returning to the gate, she opened her new candy bar and started to nibble on it while she began at page one of her novel. The author was very good and Natasha found herself caught up immediately into the story. She was just wondering how in the world Annabelle was going to get Chet to notice her when she heard that her flight was boarding.

Reluctantly, she marked her location in the book and closed it, then walked over to join the other passengers filing onto the plane. Everybody seemed fairly excited to be getting away for the weekend and their feelings built as they all felt the others' excitement.

She exhaled and felt tension ease from her body after Natasha sat in her seat. She buckled the seat belt and leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes, and just let the week flow from her.

The flight was a quick one and as she left the plane, she began to wonder just what she was going to do next. She headed to the car rental location and rented a compact, figuring that would save some money. The rental company had a map available showing hotels in the area and took the offered copy. Opening the map, she found a hotel fairly close to the airport that looked like it would be perfect for her getaway vacation.

After checking into the hotel, she walked up to her room and lay on the bed. It felt like she was going to sleep very well. The room was quite clean and there were a few amenities there to help make her stay even better. She went down to the lobby to see if she could get a bathing suit, something to lounge in, and toiletries. They had a rather nice shop in the lobby with everything she'd need. Though she wouldn't normally wear a bathing suit as skimpy as the one she bought, she figured this was her getaway weekend and she could be whomever she wanted ... and she wanted to be a little more naughty than normal.

After returning her things to her room, she went down to the restaurant in the hotel and enjoyed a delicious meal. The steak was perfectly prepared and the trimmings added just the right amount of extra flavors to satisfy her every need. She didn't often get a chance to have wine, so she indulged a bit and had a couple of glasses with her dinner, enhancing the flavor even more.

"Now what do I want to do," she asked herself as she left the restaurant. She realized that she didn't have to take anybody else's feelings into account and that she could do absolutely anything she wanted.

And what she wanted to do was take a hot bath, read a good book, and hit the bed early. She felt funny, that doing that was something for an old person, but then she thought, "Screw it! This is my weekend and I will do whatever I want, even if someone else thinks it's weird."

She didn't notice while she was in the restaurant or while she was walking away that the eyes of many of the men around the area were watching her or stealing glances when they could. Natasha had the very dark hair and eyes that capture a man's attention and luscious breasts, which keep a man looking. Beyond that, she had a waist and hips that make a man yearn to touch and caress her.

None of that crossed her mind as she walked back to her room, though it definitely filled the mind of more than one man in the restaurant.

While she filled the tub with hot, steaming water, Natasha removed her clothing and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw flaws here and there, but decided she looked pretty good. She grabbed her book and stepped into the tub. She sighed a deep sigh of relaxation as she lay in the water. She could feel her body tingle all over from the heat of the water supporting her.

Normally, she could read a steamy story and not feel the need to touch herself, but the book she was reading had a particularly erotic part that caused her body to respond very well. As she became absorbed in the story, she began to feel that she was Annabelle and that Chet's movements were really happening to her. Her chest became flushed and her nipples became very hard and began to ache with desire. Her legs started to move, trying to apply pressure to her pussy, which had become very wet and was anxious to be filled.

Before she became aware of it, her free hand started to roam over her body, caressing her breasts and causing twinges of sensation to flow from her nipples down through her body to her pulsing clit. She began to respond even more to her story and caresses and her hand worked its way down her belly. Her legs parted of their own accord, allowing easy access to her hot, wet pussy.

When her hand slid down over her moist lips, she first became aware that she was touching herself. A twinge of guilt hit her, as she'd been taught that touching herself was wrong and she'd long worried that it would negatively affect her marriage. However, she felt so very good and, again, reminded herself that this was her getaway weekend.

Diving back into the story, she slid her fingers further down opened her lips, parting them wide and inserted two inside. As her fingers slid in, the nerves within her pussy exploded with sensation, causing her breath to catch and a slight gasp to escape her mouth. The angle was perfect and she felt her g-spot respond on its own as her fingers slid over it.

Slowly, she slid her fingers in and out of her, relishing the feelings coursing through her veins. Chet had begun to please Annabella orally and Natasha could feel his tongue dancing over her lips. As Chet moved his tongue up to Annabelle's clit, Natasha slid her fingers out of her pussy and up to circle around her clit. That motion sent intense shocks of pleasure up through her body and along every inch of her flesh.

To her surprise, Natasha began to feel the sensation of an impending orgasm build within her. She'd not masturbated to orgasm in years. It surprised her, but she felt far too good to stop. As Chet slid his erection into Annabelle within the book, Natasha again slid fingers inside of herself and it was as if she were making love to her fantasy man. Her hips began to gyrate to her fingers' movements and she knew that she was getting very close to her peak.

As Annabella arched her back in the throes of orgasm, with Chet holding her tightly against his chest, Natasha exploded with orgasmic bliss. Her breath came out in gasps and pants, her body tensed and her fingers danced over her pussy, rubbing each of those spots that felt so deliciously sensual to her. This was the first orgasm she'd had in a long time and it was an incredible feeling.

Finally, her breathing began to return to normal and her body tingled. She was aware of every tiny change in the water around her, feeling every minor wave as it caressed her sensitive skin. She set the book on the floor outside the tub and just closed her eyes, relishing the joy and sensation she got after a big orgasm.

After lying in the tub for a while, she decided it was time to clean so she washed her body, the memory of the orgasm still fresh in every cell of her body. It was the best bath she'd had in far too long.

After drying her body, she slid between the sheets on the bed. At home, she would sometimes sleep in the nude, but it wasn't really common. She liked the freedom from clothes, but felt that she didn't want her kids to come in and see her that way at home, so she had at least something on in bed. Feeling the freedom from clothes again, she felt very relaxed and refreshed.

Waking in the morning, Natasha felt very good. She'd slept so well that night and was very relaxed. She got out of bed and took care of her morning stuff, then decided she was going down to the pool buffet for breakfast. She put on her bikini and grabbed a towel and her book then headed down to the pool area.

The buffet was laid out in such a way that everything was appealing. Natasha realized just how hungry she was and grabbed a plate, which she piled high with fruit with some eggs and sausage on the side. Then she went over to an empty table and sat to eat. She felt the warm breeze flow over her skin while she ate and felt like she was in paradise. The food was even more delicious than it looked and she enjoyed it thoroughly.