I knew the trip was a bad idea.
We had talked about renting the cabin in the mountains for ages, my husband Mike and I, and our neighbors Malik and Sala. They were Senegalese, although both of them had grown up here -- their parents emigrated around the same time and became friends. Likewise, we and they became friends after moving into the neighborhood at the same time, when Sala and I were both pregnant. We joked about our kids growing up together and ending up married just like they had done.
And now that they were toddlers, we joked that they were twins -- our son and their daughter each had an unruly mass of curls, although he was even lighter-skinned and blonde than either Mike or I, and she was as dark as her parents.
We didn't just joke about the kids ending up together. Privately, Mike and I teased each other about being attracted to our neighbors. Not that you could blame either of us. He was tall and athletic and handsome, with an easygoing charm. She was practically a supermodel -- tall and slender, with high cheekbones and flawless skin I was very, very jealous of. She kept her hair shaved almost to the skin, which just showed off her beautiful face even more. The four of us were very flirty when we were together, but none of it went further than that.
So no one thought twice about Malik and I driving up together. Our offices were near each other, and our spouses worked from home, so they were going to drive up together with the kids. I was a little worried about the blizzard that was supposed to be on the way, but Mike reassured me it'd be fine. The cabin had a fireplace, and a hot tub, and the kids could play in the snow for the first time.
Except that's not how it went. It was snowing hard, and the driving was rough on the interstate. When we got off the highway, we crawled along, as the last thing I wanted was to end up in a ditch. By the time we were getting close to the cabin, it was already dark. Finally, all that was left was a steep road up to the cabin. I shifted down to first gear, I went slowly, and inched the car up the hill. But halfway up, we started to slide. I panicked and hit the gas, and that just made the tires spin and the car slide backwards even faster. I pumped the brake, turned the wheel this way and that, but it was no use. We careened back down the hill, until I heard a crash, and suddenly I was looking down at Malik -- the car was tipped at a 45 degree angle.
To his credit, he stayed calm. He told me to open my door and try and climb out -- his was completely blocked by snow. I pushed hard on the door, but I pushed too hard and slid out of my seat and fell into a snowbank. The snow closed in over my head, and I had a panicked moment when I didn't know which way was up and wasn't sure I could breathe. Until I felt strong arms wrap around me and pick me up. Malik steadied me and I held onto him for support. Rattled by everything that happened, I started sobbing uncontrollably. I had crashed the car, I was covered in snow which had soaked me to the skin, it was pitch black out, and I didn't really even know where we were.
Malik stayed calm. The cabin was just at the top of the hill, we just needed to climb up and get indoors. I could already feel the frost biting me, and I knew he was right. If I didn't hold it together and get somewhere warm, I'd freeze to death.
The walk up the hill wasn't easy. Both of us slipped and slid back down a few times, and we were both freezing and soaking wet by the time we finally found the cabin. But we barely found it -- it was completely dark. The storm had knocked out the power. No hot tub, no electric heater, no phone service, no way to get help. It was barely less cold inside than it was outside.
The enormity of it all hit me. "What are we going to do?" I asked, weakly.
"First things first, we're not going to freeze to death." He sounded a little nervous, but was a lot more confident that I was. "I know how this is going to sound, but we have to take all our clothes off. These wet clothes will start to freeze, and then that's it. We have to get naked and dry off."
Malik was an EMT, so I knew this was his medical training kicking in and not some ploy. And I was too cold to argue. We put our wet coats, boots and sweaters in a pile in one corner of the room. He didn't hesitate to start unbuttoning his shirt. I had seen his smooth, muscular chest plenty of times, and I won't pretend it didn't get me a little excited every time. Even this time, with much bigger things to worry about.
There was no point in being self-conscious, I reached to unbutton my blouse. But my fingers were numb and blanched white from the cold, and I couldn't get a grip on the buttons. I again had that sinking feeling that everything was going wrong and it was my fault.
I felt a hand on mine. "Let me help," Malik said softly. I stood there trembling as, one by one, he undid the buttons and peeled my wet shirt off. Not all of that trembling was from the cold. I was acutely aware that my wet bra was practically transparent, and my nipples were sticking out like bullets from the cold.
"I--my bra... I can't..."
He just nodded reassuringly. I stood perfectly still, heart pounding in my chest, as he reached behind me and expertly unhooked my bra. I made no move to cover myself as he pulled the fabric away from my bare breasts. I wasn't shy about being topless around other women in the locker room or the sauna, but the last time a man other than Mike had seen my breasts was before I met him.
It was only to stop from freezing to death, I told myself. I hooked my numb fingers around the waist of my panties, and slid them down my legs. I had gotten a wax only that morning, expecting a romantic evening with Mike once we got here. I felt extra naked as my sex was fully exposed. I saw Malik take a long look, drinking in the sight of my nude body, and again, I made no effort to cover up.
"Well, no more wet clothes." I tried to sound as nonchalant as I could.
"It's just so we don't freeze, I promise." He was warm and reassuring as ever. But he never took his eyes off of me, even as he slid his boxers down his legs. His penis was shriveled from the cold and not much to look at, but I wasn't going to hold that against him -- Mike was a grower too. But when he said "towels," and turned to find the bathroom, I couldn't take my eyes off his ass. He was built like a marble sculpture, and I was as transfixed by his body as he had been by mine.
We toweled off and I felt, well, still cold as fuck, but the shivering had stopped and I could feel my fingers again. We talked for a while, mostly worried about our spouses and the kids -- were they trapped in the snow? Had they turned back? Were they okay? There was no way of knowing, and nothing we could do about it from here. It was weird to be just chatting idly, stark naked, but I stopped being self-conscious soon enough, as we get into practical matters: We had to try and get the car moving in the morning and get someplace with cell service.
In the meantime, there was nothing to do but go to bed. Malik agreed that getting under some blankets would be the best thing for the cold, so we retired to separate bedrooms.
That lasted about ten minutes. My bed had two thin blankets and they barely did anything against the freezing temperatures. I wrestled with the implications of what I was about to ask, but honestly, not for very long.
"It's fucking freezing in there. I think we need to huddle together for warmth."
In hindsight, I don't know why I didn't wrap myself in blankets before I asked. Instead I stood in Malik's doorway naked, blankets bunched up under one arm. He looked my body up and down, and I think we both knew we were heading for trouble. But maybe that's why I didn't cover myself up. On some level, maybe I wanted a little trouble.
"I think that's a good idea. I'm still shivering under these blankets."
"These blankets are shit."
He laughed.
"Well, more of them can't hurt." I piled mine on top of his, and then slid under the covers next to him. I lay on my side with my back to him, and he pressed his body against mine and put an arm around my waist.
"Oh my God, you're so warm."
"Body heat is a remarkable thing."
