Chapter 1 - Nick
The snow comes down and covers me as I stand at the bus stop.
I’ve been waiting so long that I’m starting to look like a snowman.
The chill in the air invades my bones and I think I’ll never be warm again.
Even with the hood of my jacket over my head, I’m still assaulted by the wind scratching against my face.
One of the worst things about living in the UK is how bad the weather is.
It won’t be like last year, full of joy and laughter and sex. Those days were very much gone in the past.
Eventually the bus arrives and I climb aboard and scan my ticket, make my way upstairs and huddle up on a seat. Thoughts of last year, swirling in my mind like snow, inevitably bring back thoughts of her.
We met in October, started dating in November, and by December we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.
I remember us walking home one night in the dark, looking at the Christmas lights twinkling on the houses and her taking my hand and dragging me into the park, stopping by the nativity scene.
She led me around to the back of it before bending over and yanking down her trousers far enough for me to see her pussy.
“Fuck me, Nick,” she said, looking back over her shoulder.
“Here?” I said, my heart beating fast and my head spinning, but also feeling my cock harden in my jeans.
“Yeah,” she giggled, reaching between her legs and spreading herself for me.
I am not impulsive, never have been. But the sight of her, wet and eager, made me almost change my mind.
“I don’t know, someone might see,” I mumbled.
She gave me that look, the one that made me think I disappointed her. The one I saw too often.
I removed my cock from my jeans and thrust into her, forgetting my worries, forgetting where I was, forgetting the cold. As I thrust into her again and again until I exploded inside her, I thought that once again she was right, and my indecisiveness had nearly held me back from enjoying myself.
Thinking of her tightness wrapped around my hardness makes me dizzy and only the ringing of the bus bell brings me around.
I stumble down the steps and step out into the snow, barely able to see my house in the blizzard.
Trudging through the snow saps my strength, and every step seems to take an age, keeping me from the warmth of indoors.
By January she was gone, with someone more decisive.
They met at the New Year’s party we threw.
While I was mingling with the other guests, he walked up to her, looked her up and down and said, “I want to fuck you, it’s decided.
” She liked the sound of that and let him fuck her in our bed.
Within days, she had moved her stuff out.
Last I heard, she was with some girl after her guy decided that as much as he liked her saying yes to everything, he didn’t like it when she said it to other people.
Looking back, it was obvious that she was no good for me.
But when you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to look at it objectively.
And having her not here this Christmas might mean a whole lot less sex and a whole lot more frustration, but at least I didn’t have to fake enjoying having all the other people in the house.
Eventually, I reach the front door and unlock it, doing my best to knock the snow from my feet before stepping inside.
The blast of heat warms me up and blows away the bad memories of the year before.
I hang up my coat, lock the door, and sit down in the hall on the steps.
I only mean to rest for a few seconds before taking my boots off but my eyes close and I nod off for a bit, in a dark dreamless sleep till suddenly my eyes fly open.
That’s when I see it. Halfway down the corridor, on a wall that was always smooth and empty, now had a plain white door where a door had never been before.
I blink, shake my head, but it still seems to be there.
I must be dreaming, it’s the only explanation. I’m asleep on the stairs and this is my imagination. But why would I dream up the door? And what’s on the other side?
I stand up and move towards it. It feels like I’m walking, but I know I can’t be since I’m asleep.
Carefully, I reach out and try the handle, not knowing what to expect. For a second it doesn’t turn, then slowly it moves and the door swings open.
On the other side of the door is a snow-covered forest with mountains in the background. Snow drifts out from the door and onto the floor.
My mouth falls open and my feet move beneath me as I step forward through the door and hear it shut behind me.
OK brain, you want me here? The least I can do is explore.
Then I notice a signpost, one with arrows pointing in every direction. And every one of them says “Winter Wonderland”.