Page 68 of Oblivious Roommate

Cass had the presence of mind to place the keys in the pocket of his jacket instead of burying them somewhere in the backpack, but when we enter the space, it feels icier than the air outside. On the upside, there’s no wind pulling me left and right, and no rain pouring down on me, so I shut the door behind me and exhale.

“That was… intense,” Cass says, and moments later his cell phone illuminates our faces.

I look around. “This feels like we’re in a zombie game and about to be murdered.”

I try my flashlight again, but the battery must have run out completely. I’m trembling when I take off my backpack, and Cass finds some candles on a rickety table.

“Okay, we’re here. Maybe much later than planned, and on the verge of hypothermia, but at least we reached our destination, and I can start taking care of you,” he says and lights a thick candle.

The cabin consists of a large room with a double bed on the far side, and a cooking area close to where we stand. There is no television, but books are sprinkled in a few spaces among trophies and dated decor. There’s an odd aroma in the air, a bit like damp wood, but since I spot no leaks, I figure it’s the result of the wooden building being old and left unheated for most of the year. Whatever, we’ll only be here for a day.

“Ooh, look, they left wood in the fireplace,” Cassian says with an amount of enthusiasm that feels inappropriate when we’re in such a miserable state. But maybe he just wants to pump us both up with hope for a bit of warmth.

He approaches the stone structure which has planks and logs piled up in its mouth. Bits of newspaper are tucked between the wooden chunks, and Cassian hurriedly lights several of them before glancing my way with a grin.

He’s irresistible when he smiles, but I still throw my wet jacket at him.

“I can’t wait to be warm again,” I say as the fire begins spreading and illuminates the room with a yellow glow.

Cassian rolls back to his ass and lies down on the floor with a laugh. “I’ve provided!” His eyes glint my way. If my legs weren’t covered with icy mud, I’d crawl on top of him to share warmth.

“Did you now? Better provide snacks.” I shake my head as I pull off my soaked boots. Maybe they’ll dry until tomorrow. I have to reluctantly admit that with the fire burning, the cabin is evolving from a home for ghosts and murderers to a cozy place I’ll gladly spend the night in.

Cassian rolls to his knees and gets up, shaking his backpack. “Why don’t you wash all that mud off with an icy shower, while I get us something to eat?” he asks, and when he kisses me, his lips feel shockingly hot on my cool skin.

My shoulders sag. Of course there’s no heating. “I suppose I should be glad there’s a shower at all, huh?”

On the bright side, I do have pajamas packed, which will be warm and dry after I wash in liquid ice. I even hang my T-shirt and pajama pants on the back of a chair and put them close to the fire so they’re nice and toasty by the time I get back.

“Don’t mind me, you can get naked before you go,” Cassian says, spreading a large woolen blanket on the floor, close to the fireplace. I suppose it would take a bit too much time for the heat to reach the table in the far side of the cabin. And an indoor picnic is actually kinda cute.

“Oh, can I now?” I grin and peel off my soaked T-shirt.

The past few days have been heaven. I’m still getting to grips with being allowed to touch him, with him being my lover, but everything seems easy with Cass. I might be taking baby steps into gayness, but I know him. There’s just a new dimension to our relationship now.

Cass whistles and pulls something out of his pocket. I don’t know what it is before a coin floats through the air to land under my feet. “That’s what I’m talking about!”.

I kick it back to him, laughing. “Really? A quarter? That’s all I’m worth to you? What if I take off this… sock?” I balance on one leg while peeling the damp wool off my foot. My toes feel like blocks of ice, and when Cass grabs the bare one into his rapidly warming hands, I exhale with relief.

He frowns, massaging my flesh. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe a dime?” he asks with a smirk and pulls away before I can slap him.

“I’m guessing you’re not into feet then?” I snort and pull off the other sock. “I think I could sell feet pics. My niche would be: outdoorsy, smelly, woolen socks and blisters.”

Cassian hangs his damp jacket on the wall, close to the bright fireplace, and turns my way, displaying his chest under that sexy muted green Henley shirt. Damn, I love him in those. “Sounds like an untapped market.”

I take off my muddy pants but no longer make a show of it. I do want to get the cold shower over with and dry myself.

“I fell for an outdoorsy man in Timberlands, so who knows? Maybe I should focus on feet instead of college.” I laugh and head for the door that will probably lead me to the bathroom.

“We gotta get funding for that national parks trip somehow. Might as well pimp out your feet.”

I’m facing away from him, but all of a sudden my mind fills with the image of my foot against Cassian’s hard cock, and I need to run before I get all flustered.

I’m not into feet. My mind is weird like that.

Describing the bathroom as neat would be generous, since the shower curtain features a random dot-and-streak pattern and is torn in one place, but there’s also a toilet that hopefully works fine.

“I’m going in!” I yell to Cass as I take off my underwear and brave the shallow basin of the shower. It is clean, I’ll give the owners that.