Chapter Two
Brody
“Yes, Mom.” I tuned her out, knowing how disappointed she and my dad were with me.
First, it was because I was gay. Or rather, everything about me that seemed different from other boys my age.
I hadn’t told them why until I’d graduated high school and was getting ready to leave for college.
Recently, it was because I had to work over the holidays, just like last year and the year before that.
I didn’t have to work. Not this year. In fact, I planned to have a nice, relaxing Christmas break away from family and work.
Neither needed to know that. I had become an expert at lying to both.
I’d fooled my parents into believing I was straight for many years.
Until I didn’t want to pretend anymore. They still had me feign being hetero while my homophobic relatives were over.
Hence why I did everything possible to avoid being around them.
“I know, Mom. I will miss them, too.” Not at all, especially Aunt Jannie and her Yorkies that barked at everyone and were not house trained.
She always complained I shouldn’t have been allowed to play video games as a kid and should have been forced onto the football field instead.
The same games that got me interested in coding and led to my job as a senior programmer for a gaming company, which I was paid well for and had better benefits than anyone in my family.
“It’s too bad you won’t experience a real Christmas in that warm state that doesn’t get any snow.”
I could hear the sneer in my mom’s voice, even though I’d told her many times that California got snow in the mountains.
Besides, there was plenty of snow all around the cabin I’d checked into after a long bus ride to the Winter Wonderland Wilderness Lodge.
While the bus had only taken me to Pinevale, Oregon, and I’d had to wait for a shuttle van from the resort to come pick me up, I didn’t want to be anywhere else.
I loved the snow, had since I was a kid, and planned to take advantage of many of the outdoor activities happening at the lodge and in the village.
“Yes, but I’ll try and get back after the game is released.” Or not, since there wasn’t a game and it depended on whether I longed to endure their brand of concern for me and my life.
“Okay, well. Merry Christmas, and don’t work too hard.”
“Merry Christmas.” I hung up before she could add any more guilt to the conversation. I didn’t want to think about them at all during my stay.
After taking out a change of clothes and laying them on the bed, I tucked my suitcase into the far corner of the cabin.
I didn’t want to trip over it in the middle of the night since I wasn’t familiar with the layout.
Then I headed into the bathroom for a shower.
The bus ride had been very warm, but, after getting off at my stop, the cold hit me immediately, and I ended up with a bit of a chill.
I planned to start a fire using the instructions in the online welcome package from the lodge.
Not wanting to leave it unattended, I decided to shower first.
In the roomy herringbone-tiled stall, there were bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and an apple-and-cinnamon-scented body wash.
That meant I didn’t need to use any of the toiletries I’d brought with me.
At least, not right away. If I liked them, I planned to see if I could get more from housekeeping or the front desk.
It took a bit for the water to warm up. Once it did, stepping into the spray felt like the wonderland this place promised to be.
I let it cascade over my head and fall down my body, rinsing away the sweat from the bus ride.
The pressure was perfect from the large square rainfall showerhead, and the steam from the heat quickly condensed on the stall doors.
I washed my hair then after working the conditioner through my strands, I used the body wash to get rid of the grime.
It smelled delicious and made me hungry for an apple pie.
Switching to the handheld, I rinsed off before returning to the rainfall to warm up just a tad more.
With one final breath of the hot steam, I turned the water off.
While I didn’t look forward to getting a fire lit, I wanted to sit by it afterward and figure out what to do for dinner before planning my activities for the next day.
Maybe I should have waited to shower, but I hoped I wouldn’t get too dirty with the fireplace.
I stepped out onto the floor mat when I suddenly noticed someone else in the bathroom with me. I froze, unable to scream or move in any way.
The guy was taller, wider, and seemed more muscular than me, even under his hoodie and jeans. I didn’t know what to do as he glowered at me with his fists clenched, seeming angry rather than intent on taking advantage of my nudity. “Who are you, and what are you doing in here?”
My body began to shake, as much from fear as not being able to dry off, and the water droplets on my skin quickly cooling off. “I, um…I was having a shower. In my cabin. Number 77.”
He seemed to growl as his eyes narrowed. “77 is my cabin. You’re in my cabin.”
“No, I…” My sudden burst of bravery quickly disappeared, but I couldn’t let him kick me out of my own cabin. I’d reserved the place and paid for it. “I have the documents saying this is my place for the week. I was given a key to get in.”
“So was I,” he snarled.
Obviously, since I remembered locking the door and tucking away my key card. Yet he’d still gotten in. “Maybe there was a mistake…at the front desk.” I started to shiver. The man stood between me and the towels. “We can get it figured out. I just need to dry off and get dressed.”
It was then he seemed to realize I was naked and stepped back, which made my self-confidence plummet. If I’d seen a naked man in front of me, I would have at least looked him up and down, but I hadn’t even gotten that from him.
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll wait out there. Hurry up, and we’ll go to the main lodge to get you a new cabin.”
Heck, no. I was the one who had checked in first. I wasn’t giving up this cabin. But I refused to argue with him. I would go with him until he got assigned a new cabin, and then I would come back and start the fire to warm up all over again.