At an undisclosed state park in Wyoming. Summer 2019. I was 19 at the time, working as a mapping technician for a state park near my hometown in Wyoming. It was one of the larger parks, although being rather off the beaten track we didn't get as many visitors as some. Due to this we didn't get much funding, so there were usually only three or four people working there at any given time.
At this point in the summer it was just me, my boss and a half retired plumber who usually only came in when something needed fixing. This meant a lot of the time it was just me and my Boss. Now at the time I was still pretty shy so I wasn't exactly great at making conversation most of the time.
My boss, Laura, was a divorced mom in her early 40s, and due partly to the nature of her job, having to go into the field regularly, and partly due to going to the gym every morning was in pretty stunning shape for a woman her age.
Normally I wasn't attracted to women over twice my age, but something about the way Laura looked at me made me feel like she was one of very few people who truly understood me. I had a girlfriend in high school, but it didn't end well, and honestly it never felt like she really took the time to get to know me. I guess I can't blame her, being at a time when everyone is trying to figure themselves out makes figuring out a whole new person a big ask. But with Laura it was effortless. She knew who she was and what she wanted and her determination and self assurance was intoxicating to the sexually naive me.
One day she called me into her office
"Hey Ben, as you know I am heading into the park tomorrow to check the park border signs and permits on Starshine lake."
"Yeah of course do you need help preparing anything?" I asked.
"Well actually I was going to ask if you would come with me. You see Tom's wife is sick so he won't be able to come, and as you know park policy prohibits workers from going into the park alone. Of course since you will be performing official park ranger duties you will be paid extra for this trip."
I wasn't about to turn down extra money, and a free camping trip.