Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Randall
I could tell it was still dark out even though I’d yet to open my eyes.
There were blinds on the windows in the loft, but the rest of the cabin was so open it seemed pointless to draw them, so I was used to waking up to the sun’s gentle urgency against my sleeping lids.
It wasn’t the sun that had woken me, it was noise from below.
I stayed still and remained with my eyes closed as I listened for my guest, unsure in my waking state where the noise had come from.
For a time, I heard nothing and thought I might have imagined someone moving around below.
Finally, I opened my eyes and could sense the flicker of the fireplace.
Eventually, he came out of the bathroom, and I heard him drop to the couch and rustle around.
I Imagined him curling up in the blanket to go back to sleep and thought it would be best to do the same.
True morning would be here soon enough, and then at least one if not two or three more restless days stuck alone with Austin.
Stuck with a man that I kept trying to call my best friend’s son, kept trying to imagine as a kid, but could only think of as the handsome stranger who had lit my snowy world on fire.
I lay still, attempting not to draw attention to myself while I imagined Austin on the couch in the room below me, wearing my sweatpants and nestled under a soft blanket. I felt bad that he hadn’t gone upstairs and contemplated whether I should have woken him after the movie.
I wondered what time it was and dared to slowly, quietly reach over for my phone.
Of course, the thing was on its charger and pulling the phone pulled the cord, causing it to push my smartwatch off the nightstand and onto the carpet with a thud.
All of which may not have amounted to much more than a little rustling above Austin’s head if I hadn’t panicked. “Shit!”
It was a little after four in the morning. Not quite a full night’s sleep, then, but I’d had worse. Only, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to disturb Austin, and with the open floor plan, I really didn’t see how I could get up or do anything without waking him back up.
I hadn’t really thought about guests when I’d bought the place.
I’d been focused only on how beautiful It was.
It was tucked into the woods on one side and a cliff’s edge on the other, with an amazing view of the neighboring Mount Pheasant across the valley.
Me being me, having guests sleep over never once occurred to me.
I’d just have to lie there until Austin woke up and was ready to start his day, I decided.
Of course, that thought had me thinking about how much I needed to use the bathroom.
I lay there debating, finally deciding that Austin had done the same downstairs, and that it was reasonable to get up in the middle of the night for a trip to the loo, as my prior countrymen would have said.
I tiptoed down the little hallway purposely not peeking over the railing and invading Austin’s privacy.
It was going to be a long couple of days.
I exited a few moments later, noting how truly quiet it was, even the wind taking a momentary break.
I think that’s why I startled so violently that I jumped at the sound of his voice.
“Did I wake you?” he said softly, likely so as not to surprise me, but at my embarrassing little display, he began to chuckle.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just figured we were both awake, and we didn’t need to tiptoe around each other.
If you're one of those guys who only half wakes up to take a piss in the middle of the night, ignore this conversation and go back to bed.” I stood where I was and didn’t respond for a beat, so he finished, “Good night, Randall.”
“Not asleep,” I croaked, and the wind picked up at that moment so violently that the windows in the loft rattled. I may have jumped again.
“I’m awake,” I tried again as I scurried to find my bathrobe and slippers.
I made my way downstairs. “Did I wake you?”
“Definitely not. This wind’s a bitch. I can’t believe it hasn’t let up. The snow did for a little bit, according to the weather app, but it’s going to start again later this morning.”
I came to a stop in front of the couch, facing him where he sat with the blanket over his head like a hood.
It was utterly adorable. He leaned forward, which confused me for a moment, based on my proximity, as I thought he was leaning closer to me, closer to my …
I almost turned to go, but Austin put his phone on the coffee table and yanked the blanket out from around him before he sat back in the seat, tossing it over his legs instead.
I hadn’t moved, and I could feel the heat of the fireplace behind me, trying its best to chase the chill from the big open room.
Though maybe it was the heat I felt travelling from my gut to my hairline at the thought of Austin’s head being in such close proximity to my cock.
Austin took me in, his sparkling brown eyes glancing up and down, making my body temperature rise even more.
He flipped the excess blanket next to him and patted the couch.
“Plenty of room for two.” He’d said it matter-of-factly, not at all seductively, but that look had seemed to be saying something else. My pulsing cock agreed.
He patted the couch again and ignored my lack of action in favor of starting a conversation.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep last night. I mean, I’ve seen that movie a million times, but still. It’s been a long week, getting through finals, then everything we went through yesterday.”
I snapped out of my weird state, brushing off his look and deciding it had been my imagination as I sat, a little further away than where he’d suggested, and stretched the blanket to cover my legs.
We both watched the flames dance. “I don’t miss those days. You must have been so relieved to be done and on your way home, and now we’re stuck here for days with nothing to do.”
“Stuck in a cabin made for a king with a full refrigerator and a magnificent view. I am not complaining. And I’m sure we’ll find something to keep us occupied.
” He had this amazing talent for saying things that dripped with innuendo as if he were ordering dinner at a restaurant.
Completely innocuous innocence. Or else I was just hearing what I wanted to hear since I found the man sitting next to me remarkably enticing.
Innuendo or not, I ignored his comment completely. “We’re going to need more firewood.”
“Done. I filled the other carrier last night and left it outside along the wall, right by the door.”
“We should charge our phones though, and”—I got up, headed to the kitchen, and removed a plastic tub from the bottom of the pantry cabinet—“these.” He turned and looked at me over the couch, hooking an arm over the top.
He tilted his head in question. I’m glad he didn’t ask outright what they were, because somehow, I knew the question would imply I’d pulled out a bin of sex toys even if his words were basic and monotone.
I really had to get those thoughts out of my head.
“Portable chargers,” I said quickly, definitely not thinking about the similar tub I had in a cabinet in the downstairs bathroom. “Hopefully, we can keep the phones going when the power goes out. I’d hate for your parents not to be able to get in touch with us and having to worry.”
“Yeah. Yup. We’re both up now, so let’s get prepared.
” He stood and clapped his hands, ready for action.
“With the way the wind is howling, I can’t believe we still have power.
I’m sure it was the wind that woke me up.
” He was at my side and hovering over my shoulder to investigate the contents of my electronics bucket.
From way too close to my ear, he said, “Or maybe it was that dream I was having about the god of thunder.” His words sent a shiver down my spine that I had to work to make not noticeable.
“Right. I’ll get these charging.”
“You’ve got quite the collection.”
“David did loads of golfing. Always carried one in his bag. Was always losing or misplacing them and just buying another instead of looking for the ones he already had.” He was still looking over my shoulder as if the bin held the secrets of the universe.
I was afraid to turn my head; he was that close.
“These are just the few that ended up with my stuff.”
“I’ll start the coffee, then I’ll unbury that bag of firewood. Maybe we should collect another? Just in case?”
Mercifully, he had moved out of my personal space to the opposite counter, where the coffee machine and my electric kettle sat.
I thought about how I usually only had one cup of coffee first thing in the morning as Austin filled the pot almost to the top.
I had picked up the tea habit during my time overseas, and after my morning coffee, it was tea all day for me.
“Beans are in the cabinet above you, along with a grinder,” I offered as I took my bucket of goodies and went to the living room.
I heard him mumble, “Fancy,” as I worked to put some distance between us. I could have plugged in the chargers in the kitchen area, but I needed to get away from my guest.
The ledge in front of the fireplace extended the length of the wall on both sides, and one end had an outlet nearby.
I often kept a charger for my phone in that very plug.
I set the bucket down and pulled out an extension cord with multiple plugs in it.
I stacked the three portable chargers that were in the bucket and searched for corresponding wires.