It had been a long tough summer. My company had assigned me as usual to be the lead on major development project. For the past four months I had worked seven days a week, twelve plus hours a day. It seemed all I did was work and sleep. I seldom even had the energy for a stress-relieving jack off. The big celebration party and large bonus check after the successful completion of the project had done little to help me recover my wits.
As I sat at my desk trying to get through yet another inane e-mail memo, Brent Philips stepped into my office. He clearly had a mission on his mind. Brent is Vice President of Operations for our firm and though not really my boss, as he is one of the four top executives that run the place he is my superior. More importantly, Brent is my best friend, the only person in the world I share all my deepest feelings with.
“Damn, buddy! You are a mess. How many times have I told you not to let this place chew you up?” Brent said in his usual cheery boisterous way.
His smile always lifted my spirits. There was a clink as the key he held dropped onto my desk. The quizzical look on my face was all Brent needed to launch into an explanation. He told me that it was the key to his mountain cabin in West Virginia and he had already cleared my calendar for as long as it took for me to get myself back in fighting form. I had joined Brent on many trips to the remote cabin. A man could get completely lost out there; all the latest amenities but not a soul around for miles. I started to protest, but Brent was hearing none of it.
“Look, Jason, you are on the edge, closest to burn out I have ever seen. Fucking company isn’t worth it, nor are you much good to the company like this and I am not letting my best friend in the world wig out. I love you bro, now get out of here and go retool! Grab some underwear, socks, a hiking outfit or two, pajamas if you are embarrassed to be naked in front of the squirrels and get the fuck outta Dodge for a couple of weeks!” Brent said in a clearly concerned tone.
I knew he was right and that cabin would be a good place to forget the world for a few days anyway. I grabbed the key, stood and walked around the desk. Before turning for my office door, I impulsively grabbed my friend and pulled him into a tight embrace. The lump in my throat prevented me from voicing the thanks and other emotions I was feeling for him at that moment. So I kissed his cheek and quickly left the office, a little afraid of the feelings I was having toward him.
The drive to the cabin took about four hours and was uneventful. It was already twilight when I pulled onto the long gravel driveway that led through the woods to the clearing where the isolated cabin stood. The sound of my car startled a herd of deer that were grazing on the long grass of the front lawn. The cabin appeared almost as an apparition, out of place in the pristine surroundings as if some otherworldly wizard had plunked it down through the opening in the forest canopy. Though I had visited Brent’s cabin many times, its sudden appearance in the middle of nowhere always managed to startle me.
I jumped out of my car, surveyed the surroundings and filled my lungs full of clean mountain air. I knew immediately Brent was right about my need to get away and this was about as away as one could get. I grabbed my small duffle and the couple bags of fresh food I had brought along from the city. Brent told me the beer cooler was full, the bar stocked and he always kept enough canned and dried food in the cabin to get through to the spring thaw. I entered the cabin and as always marveled that Brent had managed to build a getaway place with every modern convince where one would expect only to find the cabin of a reject from a scene in Deliverance. I through the perishables into the frig and then stripped down to my boxers. It was unusually warm for October in the mountains and since I was all alone I decided I would be comfortable.
After getting the cabin windows opened to air out the place I remembered the large Jacuzzi and decided that was just the thing to relieve the stiffness of the drive. The tub was in the corner of what Brent always referred to as the recreation room. Besides the built-in large tub there was a comfy, overstuffed, reclining love seat and beautiful walnut regulation pool table. The carpet was plush with large pillows scattered about. On the wall opposite the tub was a unit with a complete set of state of the art audio/video equipment, including the biggest high definition television I have ever seen. I knew from a past visit that the extensive video collection included some choice pornography, which I knew would come in handy later.
As the water filled the tub I slipped off my boxers and climbed the built in stairs next to the tub and then lowered my tired body into the warm swirling waters. Almost instantly, I began to feel the tension drain away. I took the remote and clicked on the stereo. I was surprised to hear the mystical soothing sounds of Sting’s Desert Rose instead of the loud rock-n-roll Brent usually played. I shut my eyes and my mind began to wander. As the line, “I dream of love as time runs through my hand” played I tried to recall who it was Brent had mentioned bringing up here last. Oh yes, the new accountant, Susan Patterson. It seemed Brent eventually managed to get all the single women in the company up here and a few of the married ones to. I never could figure out how he maintained a professional relationship in the office with all of his bedmates. Whatever Brent had, he should find a way to sell it; hell I had more then once wondered myself what it would be like.
It was just like Brent to let Sting do his seducing for him. I imagined Susan stretching out one of her long silky legs and running he toes up Brent’s chest as Sting sang, “I close my eyes, this rare perfume; Is the sweet intoxication of her love.” I see him take her foot and raise it to his lips and gently take her toes between his lips while Sting croons, “This desert flower; No sweet perfume ever tortured me more than this.” Just as Susan stands reveling her nearly perfect nude form, Sting almost whispers, “Is the sweet intoxication of the fall,” and suddenly all was quiet.