Fireside Love

by S. L. Sterling

  Seven days later, I buried my wife. I remembered it clear as day. I had wanted to go home after the funeral, but Addie said I needed to be at the celebration of life. I was with Addie, Phil, and Kristy, and a bunch of guys from the firehouse when Laura's best friend Kelley had walked in. She made her rounds before approaching me, her eyes filling with tears as she hugged me, sharing her condolences.

  "I'm so sorry about Laura," she'd said.

  I could still hear Laura's words in my mind, “I'm sorry,” for whatever reason. I'd be haunted forever by those words, and I hadn't even known what they meant.

  "Thank you," I said, my sister coming to my side to hand me a glass of water.

  "I told her not to go, you know. I told her you were the best thing that had ever happened to her, but she did it anyways," Kelley said.

  I frowned. "What do you mean? You told her not to go where?" I questioned as I stared at Kelley. I felt Addie's hand on my arm, but I shrugged out of it. Laura and I had been having relationship issues for the past couple of years. Things hadn't been good, but we had been working on it. We'd gotten in to see one of the best marriage counselors in our area, and he had said that with work we could fix us. We had promised one another that we would work on us.

  "She went to Scott's the night before," Kelley said almost like it didn't matter, or perhaps like she thought I knew.

  I glanced across the room at where Laura's ex sat, while Kelley continued rambling on. He had recently moved back into town, and they had connected one day at a coffee shop. She claimed that they were friends. I never really thought anything of it. I watched him while he sat there laughing it up with some friends. He must have felt me watching him because he glanced over at me, giving me a look of pity.

  Suddenly, a darkness that scared even me came over me. Addie and Kristy both stepped in between Kelley and me, sending her away. I didn't need to hear it from someone else. I now knew what the words “I'm sorry” had meant. She'd been having an affair with the man who sat three tables away from me. I knew our marriage was on the rocks, but for her to actually go through with it…

  Another car horn blared from behind and I glanced up, almost missing the cut-off for Serenity Lake. Perhaps this weekend will do me good, I thought to myself as I pushed the memory of that day out of my mind.

  I passed by the newly built hotel and continued on down the road when I saw the Country Winds Pub. My stomach let out a loud growl, so I pulled in and parked the car. The second I climbed out of the truck, I could already smell the clean mountain air. It was peaceful, the sounds of the city left far behind.

  I pulled the door open and entered the quiet pub. A few people sat at tables, but the bar was empty. I glanced at my watch. It was only nine, and honestly, anything with alcohol sounded good right about now. I walked on over to the bar and took a seat, looking at the menu.

  "Evening. Can I get you something to drink?"

  I glanced at the nametag on his shirt: Jesse. "Sure, Jesse. I'll take a beer," I said.

  "Did you want to try our own. It’s our Serene Pale Ale."

  "Sure, why not."

  While Jesse poured me a beer and took my order, I quickly sent off a message to Addie letting her know I had arrived and was just grabbing a bite to eat before heading to the cabin. While I sat there drinking down the cold beverage, I watched as a group of women came walking in and sat down at a table in the corner. They were loud and giggling and I smiled to myself when their drinks were delivered. They broke out in a toast to one of the girls.

  "You staying at the lake, sir?" Jesse asked as he set another full glass down on the bar in front of me, taking away my already empty glass. The first one went down way too fast, I thought to myself.

  "Yeah, up here for the weekend. A little R&R."

  "Well, you picked the right place. Where are you staying? Main hotel?"

  "No, my sister and I own a time-share not too far down the road, right on the lake."

  "Those are beautiful cabins. Is your wife or girlfriend already there?"

  "Nope, it's just me," I bit out, not really wanting to carry on that part of the conversation. "My sister couldn't make it with her boyfriend this weekend, so she offered it to me."

  "That was nice. Well, it's a fair walk, but the hiking trail starts at the end of the road and goes right around the lake. I highly suggest taking a walk through the trail. Snow is a little deep right now, but you can rent snowshoes at the hotel or at the ski hills."

  "Sounds good."

  "There are some hot girls here this week staying in some of the cabins," he said, nodding to the group of women in the corner.

  I nodded, glanced over at the women, and raised my glass to the bartender to order one more beer. Jesse flipped the TV on behind the bar for me, brought me my food and another beer, and set the bill on the counter in front of me. I had just finished my last bite and threw some cash down when another group of about twenty or so walked in.

  The tiny pub got louder, and my quiet little haven was soon blaring music so loud I could barely think. I drank down the last little bit of the beer I'd been nursing and waved a thanks to Jesse and headed out to my truck.

  It was snowing much harder now as I made my way up the road to the cottage. I had to slow down to find the end of the driveway. I pulled my car in only to notice another vehicle was already parked there. I frowned. Perhaps I had the wrong cottage. I checked again, feeling rather irritated that somehow the cottage had already been rented out to someone else. Perhaps Addie had the wrong weekend, I thought. I was just about to pick up my cell phone when I caught sight of the Tweety Bird decal on the back windshield of the car that was parked in front of me. That was Kristy's car. I'd know it anywhere because I had been the one who put the decal on. It had been a gift from Addie for Kristy's twenty-third birthday, and as soon as she opened it and saw it, she had pleaded with me to put it on.

  "What the hell is Kristy doing here?" I mumbled to myself as I opened the truck, grabbing my duffel bag, cooler, and box of food. There was no way that she would come up here without Addie's permission. Which made me wonder what my sister was up to.

  I made my way up to the front door of the cabin. I could see a light on inside, and I cautiously opened the door. I was immediately hit with a wave of heat. It had to be almost ninety degrees in the room. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, letting the cool air into the cabin.

  I set my things on the floor just inside the door and stepped into the front room, removing my coat and placing my keys on the table. I glanced into the living room, and there, sprawled out on a blanket in the middle of the floor, was Kristy. No wonder she hadn't asked who was here. Two empty bottles of wine lay over on their sides on the carpet, half of a glass of wine sat on the table. She rolled over and the blanket fell away, exposing her. She lay there in a short T-shirt, her tiny ass framed by purple cotton panties. I chuckled to myself at the sight.

  I took my shoes off, wiped the sweat from my brow, and shut the fireplace off before walking over to where she slept on the floor. She couldn't stay on the floor all night.

  I went into the bedroom that was just off the living room and pulled down the covers on the king-sized bed. Then I went back and scooped her up off the floor and into my arms. Her head fell against my chest, and she murmured something in her sleep that I couldn't understand. I looked down at her, her cheek resting against my chest as I carried her into the bedroom. I lay her down gently and pulled the covers over her. She softly mumbled something else that was completely incoherent and fell back into a deep sleep.

  I shut the bedroom door and then cracked open a window and removed my shirt before unpacking the cooler that Addie had sent with me. Then I picked up the blankets off the floor and looked around. I had forgotten that the cabin only had one bedroom. If I was going to stay here, I would need a place to sleep. I checked the couch and realized that it was a futon and laid it out flat. I flicked the button open on my jeans and let them drop to the floor. Now I stood in my
boxers trying to figure out how the hell I was going to fit on this futon.

  First, I lay down on my back, hanging my legs over the railings, thinking it might not be that bad. After a few minutes, I could feel the circulation in my legs dulling. Several more minutes later, I had shifted and tried lying diagonally across it, only to be annoyed that half my legs lay off the mattress. Finally, in a huff, I threw the blanket off me and got up.

  Fuck it, I thought and headed for the bedroom. "We are friends and two grown adults," I whispered to myself. "Surely, she won't mind sharing the bed with me for one night." I grabbed my duffel bag and pulled my grey sweatpants out for the morning.

  I opened the door slowly and approached the bed, laying my sweatpants on the chair that sat in the corner on my way past. I pulled the covers down and eased myself onto the mattress, careful not to disturb her. My body instantly sank into the soft mattress. I lay there staring up at the ceiling, Kristy sound asleep beside me, and started laughing to myself. This was so not the way I'd ever imagined myself sharing a bed with her. Of course, out of all the years I had known her, I never ever should have thought about sharing a bed with Kristy to begin with. Not only was she Addie's best friend, but I should have thought of her more as a sister than anything else, but my body and surging hormones had other ideas.

  I closed my eyes, my mind wandering to the purple panties she was wearing, and I looked over to the side of her bed. The moonlight coming through the window was enough to outline the soft curve of her hip. I felt my cock start to stir, and I covered it with my palm to try to stop the raging hard-on that was forming. It had been years, and I was sure I was over thinking of her this way. My body, however, let me know that I was not.

  5

  Kristy

  I opened my eyes, blinking more than once, trying to clear my blurry vision. My mouth was dry and my head was pounding. That’s what I get for drinking two bottles of wine, I thought to myself. I didn't recognize the wall I was looking at, and I had to think hard about where I was. I rubbed my arm. I was freezing, and I reached for the blankets to cover myself up. I had just closed my eyes when I remembered I was up at the cottage. The last thing I remembered was lying on the floor, watching TV while drinking wine. Why couldn't I remember crawling into bed?

  I rolled over onto my side and saw someone lying beside me, his hand over his face as he gently snored. I thought nothing of it and laid my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, but then the realization hit. Who the hell was in bed with me? I pulled the covers over my head quickly and then ever so slowly poked my head out to look and see if I could tell who it was that was lying beside me.

  I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The blankets lay resting on his hips, those deeply carved V lines prominent against the blanket. My eyes traveled up to his solid eight-pack, then to his large, bulky chest and strong shoulders. I didn't need to see his face to know who it was. I had been dreaming of licking those lines and running my hands over his chest since my teen years. I tore my eyes away just in time for his arm to move. I bit my bottom lip as I looked up to see Austin, his eyes closed, his face relaxed.

  "Are you okay? You're not going to be sick are you? If you are, there is a bowl on your side of the bed. I'd prefer you get sick in that than on me." His deep, sexy, sleepy voice filled the room.

  I jumped. Oh God, he was awake. What if he'd seen me checking him out? I could feel the panic rising, but then I realized it was impossible as his arm had been covering his eyes the entire time.

  "Kristy?" he questioned.

  "I'm okay. What the...what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice shaking.

  "I should be the one asking you that. Addie sent me away so she could get wild and dirty with Phil this weekend." He shivered at the thought.

  I let out a tiny giggle at his reaction. "Addie told me I could stay here this weekend." As I spoke the words, I realized that she must have planned this in some way.

  I glanced around the room, noticing his sweatpants on the chair in the corner. I lifted the blanket to see I still had my T-shirt and panties on, and I silently thanked God. I wouldn't want to have done something with him and not remembered. "How did we end up in bed together?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Austin chuckled. "How about you come with me and I will demonstrate," he said, kicking the covers off him and getting out of bed.

  As he stood, I couldn't help my eyes running over his body. They wandered from his broad shoulders down his muscular back and landed on his tight ass. I wondered what it would be like to dig my fingers into his back, then I thought that there was no way I should be having thoughts of my best friend’s brother.

  "Are you coming?" he asked as he got to the bedroom doorway and turned around looking back at me.

  I went to kick the covers off and get up out of bed when I realized I was in the shortest T-shirt I owned. I quickly threw the covers back over me and sat there. I had no idea why I was suddenly embarrassed. Austin had seen me many times in a bathing suit, which was far less than I had on now.

  "Don't be embarrassed. I already saw it all." He laughed.

  I wanted to die. Who the hell knows how he found me last night, I thought to myself. I sat there for a few more minutes, while he wandered into the living room, then I kicked the blankets off and stood up, pulling on the hem of my T-shirt to try and cover everything as I followed after him.

  "See, I came in last night, you were sprawled out on the floor, completely passed out. I picked you up and put you to bed, then I unpacked my stuff. I was going to sleep out here, but this piece of garbage is...well, just that." He chuckled and laid down on the futon.

  I let out a laugh as he tried lying down, his legs hanging over the end of the futon. I watched as he then moved to lie across it diagonally, and I let out another laugh at the fact that both his head and feet were off the mattress.

  "Not exactly what I'd call comfort," he bit out, getting frustrated as he tried bending his large frame in a position that wouldn't be comfortable even for me.

  I giggled again. I couldn't help it. He had always been cute when he got frustrated. "I guess not."

  "You guess not? Did you know there is a lump right in the center? How about you lay down on this thing. See for yourself."

  I shook my head, trying hard not to laugh at him, but I couldn't help it.

  "You really think this is funny?" he asked, sitting up. I noticed his eyes ran the length of my body and back to my face.

  A shiver ran through me. "It's freezing," I said, finally letting go of the hem of T-shirt and crossing my arms across my chest. I glanced up and noticed the window above the couch was still open a crack.

  Austin looked in the same direction. "Well, in all fairness, it was almost a hundred degrees when I got here. You fell asleep with the fireplace on. If I hadn't of shown up, you probably would have dehydrated. So, I saved your life." He stood and reached to slide the window shut. "Why don't you go crawl back into bed? I'll get dressed and go and see if that hotel has an available room, or I'll rent another cabin."

  I watched as he reached to grab his jeans. A funny feeling in my stomach told me to tell him to stay, but getting the words out seemed to be a little difficult. He had slid one leg into his jeans when I finally managed to speak. "Austin, just stay here."

  He stopped and turned to look in my direction, his eyes once again sweeping my body. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes. I wouldn't have offered if I weren't. Plus, you and Addie are the ones who pay for the time-share slot. It would only be fair if I were the one who left, not you."

  "What about sleeping arrangements?" he questioned, his eyes once again falling the length the of my body.

  "It's okay. It's supposed to be cold this weekend. You can keep me warm," I said, winking. What on earth had gotten into me? Ten minutes ago I had been mortified that he was going to get a full view of me in a T-shirt and panties, and now I stood here practically hitting on the guy. No, I was hitting on the guy. />
  I smiled and turned and went and crawled back in the soft bed and covered myself up. Once in bed, I lay there and listened hard to see if I heard Austin rummaging around, packing up his stuff, but the place was silent.

  A few minutes later, Austin appeared in the bedroom doorway. "I put the fireplace on," he murmured and approached the bed, pulling the covers down and slipping under them.

  Our eyes locked, and the next thing I knew, he raised his arm, inviting me in for a cuddle. I scooted over and pressed myself up against his warm body, a feeling of nervousness running through me as he brought his arm down around me and rested his hand on my hip. Perhaps this wasn't going to be a shitty weekend after all.

  6

  Austin

  I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sunlight was pouring through the slats of the blinds, and I glanced at my watch. I was shocked to find that it was already ten. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept that long.

  I moved slightly to roll onto my side when I felt resistance and heard Kristy murmur. I looked down to see her head resting on my abdomen, her arm around my waist. I smiled to myself and put my hand on the back of her head, ruffling her hair.

  "Good morning," I said, doing my best not to startle her.

  "Morning," she mumbled sleepily.

  "Would you like a coffee?"

  "Yes please," she said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked at me. She glanced down at what she had been using for her pillow, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink when she realized that it was me. "Sorry for using you as a pillow."

  I couldn't help but chuckle. She was too cute. "It's okay. I didn't mind. You stay here. I will get us coffee."

  I kicked the covers off and reached for my grey sweatpants in the chair and slid them on. I looked over my shoulder before I left the room. Kristy lay on her side facing me, and that was when I realized that she had been watching me dress.