by Krista Wolf
By the time Boone rolled off me I was swollen and full. I glanced down and noticed a small river of come, running out of my pussy.
“Damn, guys...”
I stretched out like a cat, growling in contentment. Relishing the welcome warmth of the fire on my naked, unblemished skin. Any last shred of modesty I might’ve still had was long gone. I was theirs now. They were mine. We somehow belonged to each other, all four of us, clothing and nakedness be damned.
I felt a hard body spoon up against me from behind. When I turned with a smile I saw Jeremy. He looked down and yawned adorably.
“Can we all agree it’s time to sleep now?”
Thirty-Eight
SHANE
It was bizarre, waking up to the smell of food. My stomach lurched. My nostrils flared. Every nerve ending in my body tingled at once, with some heightened sense of awareness I never even knew I had.
“Is… is that…”
“Rice and beans,” Boone said, stirring some strange metal pot near the fire. “Lentils, actually. But who’s keeping score?”
In lieu of a spoon, he was stirring with a piece of splintered wood. He could’ve been using a spent fuel rod from a nuclear reactor for all I cared. I was still eating it.
“Holy shit… is it ready?”
My stomach growled now, so loudly we both heard it. Boone looked at me and smiled.
“Almost.” He nodded casually over my shoulder, to where Morgan and Jeremy were still spooned against one other. The fire was low, but not out. “Should we wake them?”
“Nah. Just save them some.”
Boone nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
I looked at the strange flared pot again and realized it wasn’t a pot. It was definitely metal though. Brass or something. Decorated fancily around the edges.
“What is that?”
“A spittoon I think, from the old hotel. Some kind of cuspidor.”
“Ewww, gross!”
He laughed. “Still want your share?”
“You fucking know I do.”
“Then don’t shoot the cook. It’s all I could find.”
I watched like a hawk as he separated the food into four equal portions. We ate it directly from the wide brass receptacle, scooping it with our fingers, wolfing it down even though it was piping hot.
It was the best fucking thing I’d ever eaten in my life. Ever.
“We got any more of this?”
“Yeah sure,” Boone joked. “Down in the pantry, right between the steak and the lobster tails.”
I almost went back at him. Almost. In the interests of camaraderie, and having just shared the same girl in some mind-blowing sexual quadrangle, I kept my cool.
“There’s a little more downstairs,” he finally admitted. “But not much. I have no clue how old this stuff is, by the way. The labels on the bags were so ancient they’d rotted off.”
I chuckled. “Probably for the best.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
Somewhere behind us, Morgan sighed softly. We glanced at her together, then back at each other.
“So…” I exhaled, addressing the elephant in the room. “Last night…”
Boone squinted back at me. “What about it?”
“What about it? Are you serious?”
“I thought we agreed we’d let her decide,” he shrugged.
“We are.”
“So what’s the problem?”
I started to say something then stopped, biting my tongue. To be honest, I didn’t know what to say. Somehow I wanted to resolve everything right now, to make everything clear and understandable. It was the way I worked. I needed order, structure, start and end dates. I hated leaving things unfinished.
But Morgan…
I thought it would be easy, after the way things started between us. I’d gone down the mountain after her, and I’d gotten her too. Nevermind the avalanche. Nevermind that we were trapped here indefinitely. All that mattered at the time was that we’d be stuck here together, and as byproduct of that happy accident, we’d grow closer together as a result.
And then Jeremy.
And then Boone.
“So when she gets up, we say nothing?” I asked. “We just go on like last night never happened?”
“Oh it happened,” said Boone, licking the last of the rice from his fingers. “No going back on that.”
“But—”
“Listen, I know you want an answer right now,” Boone interrupted. “Like last night was some sort of competition between the three of us, and a winner needs to be declared. But trust me, that’s not how things are. That’s not how she works.”
I glanced at her again, her pretty face framed imperfectly by a wild mane of sleep-tossed hair. She looked even more beautiful with her eyes closed. Peaceful and serene and—
“If you push her now,” Boone went on, “she’s going to freak out again, and rightly so.” He put the bowl or cuspidor or whatever it was back down on the mantle. “Right now, she needs us all. And if the weather doesn’t get any better, and they give up all hope of rescuing us? We’re gonna need her even more.”
He pointed to the opening, which wasn’t even an opening anymore. It was a smooth wall of snow now. Unscarred, unbroken. Just a lighter color patch of snow than the rest of the stuff spilling in from every shattered window and broken doorway.
“Fuck.”
‘Yeah,” Boone agreed. Just outside, the wind was shrieking more loudly than ever. “My thoughts exactly.”
Thirty-Nine
MORGAN
I stirred exhaustedly in one of the sleeping bags, cocooned up tightly in its warmth. For a moment or two I was groggy. I wasn’t even sure where I was. Then memories of last night came flashing back, in bits and pieces that were all too stark and real.
HOLY. SHIT.
“Hey sleepyhead…”
I turned and there was Shane, holding something in his hand. That something looked like a large, steaming bowl… of fragrant food!
“How do you like your eggs?”
Unfertilized, I almost said, finishing one of the few dirty jokes I actually knew. It wouldn’t have been funny however, in lieu of last night. Even though I was on the pill.
“W—What is that?”
“Beans and lentils. They’re good.”
Anything would be good right now and I knew it. I was wide awake almost instantly, Shane shifting over to give me a seat on the hearth beside him. He handed me the bowl, and what looked like a shattered piece of some table leg.
“You can use that as a spoon,” he said, “but the rest of us just used our hands. No table manners around here. Wing it if you want to, just be careful of splinters.”
I tossed the makeshift utensil over my shoulder and ate greedily. The rice was dry, but warm and delicious. The very second the first mouthful landed in my belly I was in seventh heaven.
“The rest is yours,” Shane said. “Sorry but we ate without you.”
I glanced around. Boone and Jeremy were at the opposite end of the room, already dressed. They were clearing the opening again. Through it, I could see the snow falling just as heavily as ever.
“What the fuck…” I mumbled, not taking my eyes off the storm.
“I know, right? It’s like the weather gods have it out for us.”
I couldn’t talk, I was too busy stuffing my face. Too busy running through the events of last night, as insane and crazy as they now seemed in the light of day.
Did that all really happen?
I squeezed my thighs together, and could still feel my own swollen wetness. There was a hint of soreness there too, but it was oddly stimulating.
Yes, it most certainly did.
I sighed, not knowing whether to be happy or sad. On one hand, last night had been wholly amazing. The pinnacle of any of my sexual experiences by far, edged with an incredibly hot emotional closeness that should’ve seemed strange but somehow didn’t.
On the other hand, we still hadn’t been r
escued yet. Hadn’t even heard or seen anything even remotely resembling a rescue team, other than my now-questionable phantom helicopter.
“What now?” I asked, as the others came over.
Boone knelt down before me and I averted my eyes. I knew he was probably sporting his cute little half-grin, but for some reason I didn’t want to see it. At least not right now.
“You good this morning?”
“Of course I’m good,” I said quickly. “Better than ever.”
“Okay then. Because while you’ve been sleeping the day away—”
“I have not been sleeping the day away!”
Boone laughed dismissively. “Okay, fine. While you’ve been catnapping through the morning, Shaggy, Scooby and I have come up with a sort of a plan.”
“We have?” Jeremy piped in. I couldn’t tell if he was being funny or serious.
“Oh yeah.”
Shane grunted as I scraped the rest of the bowl clean. A plan sure sounded good to me. Almost even as good as eating breakfast.
“We’re going out there today, Shane and I,” said Boone. “For a few hours at least.”
My body stiffened. I didn’t like that at all.
“Maybe we’ll run into a rescue effort. Maybe not. Either way we’ll be shouting our balls off, and gathering firewood so at least we’re accomplishing something. The treeline’s not far from here, and I saw a lot of deadfall and broken branches on my way in.”
“But—”
Boone silenced me with a finger. “Don’t worry, we’ll be sticking close to home so we don’t lose our way back.”
Jeremy scratched at his goatee. “And what am I doing?”
“You’ll be helping the professor here fix the radio.”
I sneered back at him smugly. “The professor?”
“Yeah. That’s you. The prof—”
“I know it’s me,” I sighed. “But really?”
Shane stepped up, and he was grinning too. I was glad they were still getting along at least, even if the latest joke was at my expense.
“He’s right,” Shane said to Jeremy. “You’re a bigger dork than she is. You should definitely be the one helping with the radio.”
“For the record, he is not a bigger dork than I am,” I said proudly.
“You sure about that? We’re talking about a guy who plays Pokemon cards at the kitchen table during frat parties.”
“Yugioh,” Jeremy corrected.
“See? My point is made!”
“Alright, alright, he can help me with the radio.” I looked over at Jeremy and winked. He smiled back at me and dropped all further protest.
Together we dressed the others as warmly as possible, Jeremy giving up extra layers of his own clothing for the cause. With the opening cleared, they were finally ready. Or at least, as ready as they’d ever be.
“Hey,” I said again sternly. “You’d better both be careful.”
Almost out of nowhere, Shane’s arm slid around my waist. He pulled me tight against him and planted a big, unexpected kiss right on my lips.
“For good luck,” he grinned, before stepping out into the snow.
I was flustered, dizzy, taken aback — all three things at once. Then Boone kissed me too, even more deeply and passionately. When our lips finally came apart, my legs practically gave way.
“Even better luck,” he said with a nod.
Still in a trance, I nodded back.
Together Jeremy and I watched them disappear through the opening, marching out into the wind and snow. They were swallowed almost immediately by the swirling white. Only a few meager footprints remained to show they’d been there at all.
“Ahem. What about my kiss?”
I turned on Jeremy and stuck my tongue out playfully.
“You’ll get your kiss when the radio’s fixed. Now come on.”
“But I don’t know anything about radios,” he lamented.
I winced sympathetically on the way to my little makeshift workbench. “Then you’d better hope I’m as good as I used to be.”
Forty
MORGAN
My eyes ached. No, that wasn’t right — they outright hurt. And they were crossing too, no matter how hard I squinted.
“Try it now.”
Jeremy flipped the switch and the radio’s speaker burst with static. Bright, beautiful static. Static louder and more pronounced than we’d had all day.
“Is that it?” he asked hopefully. “Is it—”
“No, not yet.”
Holding my breath, I gripped the microphone and pressed the transmit button. The static disappeared. I even leaned forward, ready to speak loudly and clearly…
Shit.
The green transmit button still wasn’t lit up.
“Damn. It’s not ready.”
Whatever I’d done so far was only partially working. We could receive a signal — if there were one out there to pick up — but transmitting still wasn’t within our power. And that was the important part. Getting help.
“Wanna take a break?”
He’d suggested two breaks so far, and I’d waved them both off. All I could picture was Boone and Shane, out there in the blizzard, getting stuff done. They certainly weren’t taking any breaks. Besides, it also didn’t help that Jeremy had given up most of his clothing. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt…
“You sure you’re not cold?” I asked. “You can go near the fire if you need to.”
The longer I stared at the stupid circuit board, the more I wanted to ogle my lover’s hard, beautiful body. Jeremy’s pectorals were like two corded pillows, tensing and flexing beneath the skin of his chest. I wanted to grab them, just as I had last night. Feel the muscles moving and shifting beneath my hands, as he held me fast and plowed into me over and over…
“I’m fine. Do whatever you’ve gotta do.”
I was tempted to send him back to the garage, to look for another screwdriver. The last one had left the building rather abruptly, embedded in the shoulder of an angry bear. It was probably miles away by now.
Jeremy shifted behind me and started rubbing my shoulders. His hands were warm despite the cold.
Concentrate, Morgan.
It was easier said than done, especially with my lover’s fingers kneading the tangled mass of tensed up muscle. My shoulders slumped, my neck giving way beneath the pressure of his awesome thumbs. I relaxed despite myself, feeling the tension drain away.
“Maybe you’re not as dorky as you think you are.”
I shook my head, not wanting him to stop. “No,” I said dreamily. “No, I definitely am.”
“Then maybe this radio’s too old to be fixed.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but maybe he was right. I was probably in over my head. Not seeing something that I should’ve been seeing, and without the help of the internet to look up manuals and schematics…
“Wait…” Jeremy said suddenly. The rubbing stopped. “What goes right there?”
He pointed downward, over my shoulder. Onto the circuit board, where a tiny but noticeable space existed between two black, multi-pronged components.
One of the transistors was missing.
I gasped, covering my mouth with one hand.
“What?”
Yes, it was definitely gone. Definitely not there.
“Morgan, what is it?”
“Help me look around!”
We got down on our hands and knees, searching the floor, digging around the entire area for a good fifteen minutes. When our search turned up nothing I dragged Jeremy upstairs, back into the room we’d first found the radio.
“Look, if you wanted to make out in here again that’s fine by me,” he smiled. “But we could’ve just as easily done it in front of the fire…”
“Stop joking!” I growled. “Help me find this thing!”
We scoured the shelf. Combed the floor. We even covered every square inch of space along the trail we’d carried the radio, while bringing it downstairs. But in the
end, nothing.
“Maybe it was missing when we found it?” he suggested.
“Yeah, maybe…”
“I’ll bet that’s why someone left it up on that shelf.”
I sighed again, letting my arms drop to my sides. I was too tired. Tired of squinting at tiny components, tired of crawling around on my hands and knees. Yet without that transistor, we weren’t going anywhere.
“Could we make one?” Jeremy asked abruptly.
My eyes lit up. It was a smart idea! It could actually work too, if we found the right materials.
I was about to sprint back to the garage when a pair of arms slid around my waist from behind. Jeremy pulled me against him, his body warm and welcoming against the frigid temperature of the room.
“C’mon,” I said, trying to sound urgent. “We need to—”
“In a minute…”
His hands slid further, dipping down across my lower belly. He applied pressure there, forcing my ass backward, against his crotch.
“You need a break,” he said, kissing my neck. I gasped at the heat of his lips on my skin. “I need a break…”
My own body betrayed me. Radio or not, I began melting into him. I felt so snug. So amazingly good.
“Here,” he said, taking my hand. He pulled it backward, behind me. Settled it deftly over the growing bulge in his ski pants. “Let me show you something…”
He rolled his hips against me, and my fingers clenched themselves around the shape of his manhood. God, how I wanted it. A little taste of last night.
Maybe we could take a break, I thought greedily. Just a tiny one. A quick reminder of what we--
CRASH!
We both jumped and bolted back out to the landing. Down below, at the end of the lobby, a bunch of snow-covered logs and sticks had been tossed unceremoniously across the lobby floor.
“They’re back!”
We took the stairs quickly, just in time for another load of firewood. Boone and Shane were barely visible in the gathering twilight, their bodies heaving as they dumped their bounty through the opening.
