It was a rare weekend off. Thursday to Monday. Someone, maybe my rep, had booked me into this resort park, rented the motorhome, and hired a driver to drop me off there. It was a beautiful place in the wilds of northeast Alabama, on this beautiful lake. There weren't too many people around in the campground, which was good because I was sick of people.
Eighteen months of travelling here, there and everywhere, listening to my fans fawning over me and passing on little suggestions for their stories, made me want to puke. I needed this break from everyone, before I exploded. All I really wanted was a dirty weekend, either with my laptop or with a hot body, I didn't really didn't care which. I'd spent Friday wandering the paths and trails around the campground, finding two spots to lake watch, people watch and just empty my overloaded brain.
I'd eaten a little dinner Friday evening, listening to the campers nearby settle down for the night. I was feeling edgy, restless, just the way I was before a story took me away, so I went for a walk to one of my spots. I'd been sitting there for a while, listening, puffing on my pipe, when I heard someone coming close. I'd just taken a hit and was holding it, waiting for whoever it was to just walk on by, when that someone sat beside me. Startled, I let out my hit in a rush.
"Hi. Can I have some?" he asked, his voice like honeyed whiskey to my ears.
"You a ranger?"
"Nope."
"I guess." I handed over the half-filled pipe, feeling his fingers brush mine. In the flick of the lighter, I caught a glimpse of his face. Strong, handsome, sharp cheekbones, strong jaw, full mouth half hidden by a thick moustache. "What brings you here?"
"I came for a break. Work's kicking my ass." He said, letting the smoke stream out.
"Same here. What do you do?"
"A little of this, a little of that..."
"Ahh, a jack of all trades, master of none?"
"Oh, I've mastered a few things along the way. Here" He passed my pipe back. I took another hit, held it. "What do you do that you need to come to a place like this?"
"I travel extensively. Worldwide." I watched him nod, taking another turn with my pipe. In the brightening moonlight, I could just make out his broad shoulders and overall huge form.
My brain switched right into sex mode, figuring him to be just my size. We continued chatting about non important things while we finished that pipeful and a refill. He'd gotten comfortable enough with me to rest his hand on my thigh after passing the pipe back.
"I don't know what it is about this place but I feel like I'm in another world altogether." He said, stroking his fingers back and forth on my thigh, rising higher each trip.
"How?" I asked, refilling the pipe for the third time, lighting it, inhaling.
"A place like this almost brings history to the surface. I can almost see, and sometimes, hear the ghosts of this area. So much living was crammed into this area that it still echoes."
His hand rested for a moment, high on my thigh, barely brushing the hem of my shorts with his pinky finger, branding heat through me. He was leaning onto me, shoulder to hip, overshadowing me. I gave him a nudge, shifting him slightly, like shoving a boulder and feeling it rock forward and then immediately back onto me, making me laugh.