With my bags unpacked, I finally felt settled and comfortable. I sat near the little kitchen island, basically a kitchen cart with one bar stool, and enjoyed the silence for a bit. It was kind of lonely, being in the cabin all alone. A part of me wondered what Ben was up to. Our encounter at the general store left me longing to see him again. He is probably at home with his girlfriend or out at the local bar tonight with his fellas. Before my mind could wander anymore, I suddenly felt cold. I noticed out the window that it was getting dark outside and the temperature was probably dropping. It occurred to me that I needed to start a fire to warm up the cabin.
My aunt never had an actual heating system, she still loved the old school wood burning heater. I walked outside to the front porch to check for wood but didn't see any. I remembered how the cashier recommended that I buy wood, so I went to the trunk of my car to grab the bundle I purchased. I opened the trunk and it was empty. I was puzzled, and slightly panicked, searching the whole car in a scurry.
"Umm...where is the wood?" I said out loud. Obviously just dead silence out in the woods with no one responding. I started to think back and realized that after I loaded the car, I saw Ben and got nervous. I had rushed off without grabbing the firewood from the store. I can't believe how easily I got distracted. It was already dark, so gathering wood was out of the question. I quickly thought I better call the store and see how late they were open. I reached for my cell phone out of my pocket, of course, no signal. I went on the porch to see if I could get better reception, again no luck. I remembered that my aunt still had landline over in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen, grabbed the phone and to my surprise it had a dial tone. I grabbed the receipt from the counter and dialed the number listed at the top.
"Hello, this is the General Store. How can we help you?"
"Yes, I was in the store earlier today. I purchased some firewood but, completely forgot to load it up on my way out. I am so embarrassed. What time do you close tonight?" I asked.
"Well, honey you are out of luck. We are closing here in 10 minutes. We usually stay open longer but with the storm coming in we are closing early. I can write your name down and you can swing by tomorrow."
"Oh no," I said softly, "I am out in my cabin and have no firewood. I only have a wood burning stove to heat my cabin. I am scared I will freeze tonight without it. Is there any way I can pick it up tonight still?" I hoped that I could convince the man to help me out.
"Hold on one-second ma'am, I will be right back. Let me see what I can do." The wait for the man to come back to the phone felt like an eternity.
"Miss, are you still there? I have good news for you. I am going to have my grandson bring it to you. He said he wouldn't have a problem dropping it off to you on his way home tonight. We don't want you freezing tonight, especially with this storm coming in. I will get your address and you can expect him in the next hour or so."
"Thank you so much you are a lifesaver." I was so happy they were willing to help me. Small towns are always known for their hospitality, this is the perfect example of why. Now that I knew that was taken care of, I was free to start cooking some dinner.
I wanted something to warm me up so I got started on some beef stew. Chopping the veggies helped to pass the time while I waited for the firewood to arrive. I glanced out the window and noticed some snowflakes starting to come down. It was so beautiful, seeing the first snowfall of the season. I guess everyone was right about the incoming storm. As I dumped the last of my ingredients in and gave it all a big stir, I heard a knock at the door. It startled me for a second, but I headed over to the front door, knowing it was my firewood delivery. I reached for the knob and pulled it open.
"Ben?" I stood there in shock for a second. What on earth was he doing here? How did he find me? I must have had a puzzled expression on my face before I could say another word, he butted in.
"Hey, I have your firewood. My grandpa said that some lady forgot to take hers and desperately needed it tonight. I'm guessing that lucky lady is you?"
"Yes, thank you. I don't know how I forgot to load it up. I was so thankful when the general store said they could have it delivered to me." As I was talking, I noticed behind him that the snow was really coming down now.
"Well, I need to start unloading this, where should I put it? Is the porch ok?"
"Yes, that would be perfect." As he turned around to head to his truck, I watched him walk away. Damn his butt looks good in those jeans, I thought. What are the chances that this would happen? I thought how funny this was, I was just thinking about him in the kitchen earlier. He took a few trips back and forth from his truck to the porch before he was finished.
"That looks like way more wood than I purchased."
"Yeah, since my grandpa owns the store and I was doing him a favor he said I could take some extra for me tonight. I can see that you don't have any so I gave it all to you. Figured you could use it. A girl out in the woods all alone shouldn't have to chop her own wood." He teased.
With a smirk, I fired back, "Well thank you for the extra, but just so you know, I am perfectly capable of chopping and gathering my own wood."
"Ok, miss independent city girl. I would love to see you try" he fired back. His doubt in me, made me want to scream. But at the same time, I kind of liked the teasing.
"So, I am going to ask before I leave, because I don't want to have to come back and save you, do you know what you're doing when it comes to the wood burning stove? I would hate to see all this firewood go to waste or see this place burn down."
With a short pause and some hesitation, I replied, "It has been awhile, but I am sure I can figure it out." However, a part of me really wanted to just have him take care of it for me.
"You know, I believe you can take care of it, but, if you don't mind, can I come inside and get the fire going for you? Just so I know you will be okay tonight." As he said this, I thought to myself, the only fire I wished he was starting was mine.
"Well, ok then. If you insist. But just to let you know, I would have been able to do this myself, but so you can feel manly I will let you do it for me." As I said this, I moved out of the way and showed him into the cabin.
"What a great place you have here. Didn't this belong to Maggie Staunton? She passed away a few months back. The town was sorry to hear what happened to her.
"Yes, that was my aunt. She left me this cabin in her will. She wanted to make sure I had a way to get away from the city. She didn't like the idea of me getting sucked too much into the busy city life. She wanted me to slow down and smell the roses, you know?"
"Sounds like she was a smart lady. City girls are always going too fast and doing too much." His voice was so deep when he spoke, I could listen to him talk all night.
He worked his way over to the wood burning stove and started cleaning it out. I got him a wet rag to use and carried over some pieces of wood, while he was figuring it out.
I almost forgot about my stew that was cooking, so I ran over to the kitchen to give it a stir and to turn the heat down. As I gave it a few stirs I glanced outside to see that the snow was getting worse.
"I think your all set." Ben's voice startled me causing me to jump a little bit. As I turned around from the stove, he was standing there at the edge of the kitchen.
Jumping up a little bit, I replied, "Omg, you scared me, don't do that."
"Awe I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. You should be all set. You will just have to keep adding wood throughout the night. One or two logs every couple of hours."
It was actually comforting having him here. And it felt nice to have him take care of me. Something I wasn't used to.
"Thank you, it was starting to get really cold in here." We both stood in silence for a second, awkwardly staring at each other. I started to feel giddy inside. Was I getting a schoolgirl crush on him? Now what, I thought. A part of me didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to admit it, but I was kind of scared to stay here alone.
"Are you going to be ok here all night?" he asked. "The storm is supposed to be a bad one."
With some hesitation, "Yeah, I will be ok. I can't thank you enough for coming out and saving me. And again, you must think I'm so careless, but I assure you I am not. Today has just been a long day."
As he began to talk he stepped closer inside the kitchen towards me. I felt some warmth between my legs, with my panties getting a little wet. It had been awhile since I felt a man's touch, and it was all I could think about while looking in his direction.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I don't mind helping out, especially when I get to look at a hot girl like you." With a big smile and dimples on both cheeks, he looked deep into my eyes. His glance sent shivers down my spine. "What do you have on the stove? It sure smells good."
"Oh, I just threw some stuff together into a stew," I hesitated for a moment then asked, "as a thank you, do you want me to fix you a bowl? It's the least I can do since you have been so helpful. It should warm you up before you go back out in the storm."
"That actually sounds great. I have some more driving around to do tonight, and I haven't eaten much today."
"Ok, its settled then. I will get some bowls down from the cabinet. You can go ahead and sit down at the table over there. What would you like to drink? I have water, wine, and some soda."
"I will have what you're having, I am not picky" Ben replied.
The soup bowls were up in the cabinet, just over the sink. I grabbed the footstool and dragged it closer so I could get them out. As I was grabbing them out and about to step down, I felt my ankle start to give out under the wobbly step stool. Before I could grab the counter to catch my balance, I felt a pair of arms slip around my waist.
"Careful now, I have you," Ben whispered into my ear. I could feel his warm breath tickle my face as he spoke. His face was right next to mine while his warm body was pressed up against my back, holding me from falling. To feel him that close to me, sent a shockwave up and down my spine. His embrace made me weak at the knees, and I wanted to completely collapse into his arms. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing in the moment. I gained my composure and set the bowls down on the counter. With his hands still gently holding my waste, I turned around to face him. I was now about one foot away from his handsome face, staring at the outline of his lips. I wanted to press my lips against his so bad. He was staring back at me so intensely. I wondered what he was thinking. Was he feeling what I was feeling between us, or was it just me?
"To my rescue again, you might be good to keep around you know," I said. Before I could say another word, the timer for the soup cut through the silence in the air. Ben slipped his hands off my waist and grabbed my hand to help get me down. I ran over to the stove and turned the timer off. I prepared our bowls and poured us each a glass of soda. We sat at the little table in the corner of the cozy kitchen and started to have some small conversation back and forth.
"Sorry, I don't have any beer, I've never really been a fan of it."
"Let me guess, martinis and cosmos for the city girl," Ben commented with a laugh.
"No, I mean, yeah, and I like wine too. So, what is your story, Ben? Did you grow up here? Do you have a girlfriend?" As I let that last question out, I felt my cheeks get a little flush with color. I was blushing at the fact I asked him that.
"Well, I am from around here. Been working at my grandpa's store since after college. He wants to teach me the ropes so I can take it over someday. It wasn't what I originally set out to do, but I love it now. A girlfriend, no. I broke off an engagement last year and have just been focusing on work for a while. What about you? Is there a guy waiting back at home for you?"
"Nope, single since last summer and have been focusing on work. I work for PR company in the city and want to make partner in the next 5 years."
"Well, that sounds like a plan then. You plan on keeping this cabin or are you going to sell it? He inquired.
"Um, I don't know if I would be able to sell this place, it holds a special place in my heart, but I am not sure how often I will be able to come here and enjoy it either."
"Well, I hope you don't sell it. If you come back and visit, hopefully, we might bump into each other again."
The only bumping I could think of right now was us in bed. I don't know what is wrong with me, all I could think about was jumping his bones. Our conversation back and worth seemed to flow easily and I didn't really want it to end. What were the odds, that I would end up in my aunt's cabin, on a snowy night, with a handsome guy eating dinner with me? It was like a fantasy, straight out of a romance novel.
Staring me straight in the eyes, which gave me chills, Ben stood up from the table. "Well Brooke, thanks again for the dinner. It tasted great. I better start hitting the road before conditions get too bad to drive around."
"Your welcome. Yeah, I wouldn't want you to get stuck. The snow is really coming down. I hope you don't have too far to go."
I stood up and grabbed our two bowels and set them over in the sink. Ben started putting his jacket back on and I followed him to the front door. He looked so good, with his black snow hat on and his five o'clock shadow now even darker. He had such a great smile and his green eyes, I could gaze into for days.
As he opened the door he paused and turned around. He started to lean in towards me. I hoped he didn't see my lust drenched eyes, looking at him, but I couldn't hide it anymore. I was longing to feel his lips against mine. I wondered how his tongue would feel caressing mine. In the midst of my fantasy, I felt a warm kiss on my cheek and then he pulled away.
"Thanks again Brooke, please be careful tonight. I don't want to come rescue you again." He laughed a little while saying that. A kiss on the cheek, I was so disappointed. Was he teasing me on purpose, or was I the only one here feeling the spark between us.
"I will be fine here, I'm worried about you driving in this weather. Be careful and have a good night." I hope he didn't hear the disappointment in my voice as I said goodbye. As he stepped out onto the porch I was watched him walk away into the night and hop into his truck.
After all of that, I felt exhausted. He had me all worked up inside. I needed to relax a bit so I decided to start a bath. The antique claw foot tub was centered in the tiny bathroom taking up most of the space. I hoped the hot water heater, had warmed up by now so I had enough water to fill the bath. I went over and started to prepare the water.
While that was filling up, I went back into the kitchen to tidy things up. I wanted to conserve some energy so I went around the cabin and turned off the few lights while lighting a few candles here and there to fill up the darkness. I poured a glass of wine and headed back into the bathroom. I closed the door and started to undress. Making a pile on the floor with my clothes, before I knew it I was standing there naked by the tub. I saw my reflection in the mirror, the curves of my body lite up by the flicker of the candles. I worked hard to stay in shape, too bad Ben wasn't here to see my toned body. I took a step into the tub, the water felt great, and slowly slide my body under.
As I lay there, I couldn't help but think of Ben. I was still all hot and bothered from earlier. The warm water soaked into my skin and helped me unwind. As I lay there I imagined how it would feel, him rubbing my body and satisfying the hunger between my legs. All of this was really turning me on. It had been a while since I pleasured myself, so I thought what the heck. I took my right hand and slide it between my legs. I started to caress my lips slowly. Massaging them soft then hard. I slide my fingers between them, spread them out and started to play with my clit.