Chapter 1

Walking up the stairs with Danielle, Barry could feel his palms starting to sweat. The only thing going through in his head was whether she wants him to kiss her or not. Every step forward was making him more nervous. Danielle is one of his closest friends and when she had agreed to be his date for homecoming, he was happier then he could ever remember.

Lost in thought, he didn't realize that she had stopped moving and they where already at her front door. Looking at Danielle he saw her staring at him, her eyes seemed to be asking, "you going to kiss me or not?"

Before he could answer her, a phone started to ring. The ringing got louder and louder; he closed his eyes trying to will the ringing to stop. When he reopened his eyes, he found himself in bed, the ringing of his alarm clock waking him from a dream he seemed to be having far too often these days.

Looking at the clock, he couldn't believe it was only four in the morning. Wanting nothing more then to go back to sleep and finish his dream, he hit the snooze button. Hoping this time it would end differently and he would finally have the courage to kiss her, something he hadn't had eight years ago.

Just as he was starting to fall asleep again, the ringing of his alarm clock kept telling him to get his lazy ass out of bed. Finally turning off the alarm, he got up and quickly put on some clothes. Thinking to himself, "Today is my first day of a much needed vacation. A few days in Vermont skiing is just what I need to help me forget that bitch Jasmine."

Barry was doing his best not think about her and how he spent the last seven years of his life with her only to find her cheating on him with a co-worker five months before they were to be married. After he broke things off with Jasmine, he started having dreams of Danielle, something he hadn't done in a number of years.

Banishing any thoughts of Jasmine away, Barry tried to concentrate on his upcoming ski trip. Of course, that didn't work as Jasmine was supposed to be going with him, along with Jack and Susie, whom they were meeting up there.

As Barry opened the door to leave, a streak of lightning flashed across the sky in greeting, soon followed by a loud clap of thunder. He stood there for a few seconds watching the rain.

"A thunder storm in February, what luck. Would it really be worth it to drive four hours to ski in this shit?" he wondered. "Oh well, skiing in the rain wouldn't be much fun but it sure beats sitting here thinking of Jasmine. Besides maybe it will be snowing up in Vermont instead of raining."

Four hours later, Barry was pulling into the Stratton parking lot. Even up in the mountains it was still raining. The only difference was that here, everything that the rain touched turned to ice. After checking in and getting his room in order, he quickly put his ski clothes on still hoping to be one of the first on the mountain. He carried his skis and poles outside and after putting them on skied down to the closest lift. There where only a handful of people on the mountain today. Seemed most sane people wanted nothing to do with the horrible icy conditions.

For the first hour, Barry only saw about a dozen people on the mountain, and there was one who always managed to catch his eye. She had on tight white snow pants with bright pink stripes and a yellow jacket. She was such a contradiction to the gloomy weather, and plus she stood out like a sore thumb as she seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Half the time when he saw her, she was in the process of falling down and the other half she was already sitting in the snow. Even though she didn't have a clue how to ski, she was still the cutest snow bunny on the mountain.

It seemed that every other time he got on the lift he would catch a glimpse of his snow bunny. She could be cute but it was hard to tell given all the gear she had on, the only thing you could see where her eyes and that was behind tinted goggles. While he was unable to see what kind of body she was hiding under all that gear all he could say for certain was that she had a nice ass.

The entire morning the weather at Stratton had been terrible, the rain never let up and the ice was really starting to build up. As soon as the rain hit the ground or clothing it turned to ice. Barry was now a skiing icicle and every time he moved he could hear the ice crack on his jacket and pants. All of his clothing was covered in a thin layer of ice and he couldn't help but wonder why in the hell he continued to ski. Why not just call it a day and go warm up? Every time he thought of going in and warming up by the fire he would start thinking of Jasmine, and how he had to call off their wedding because that stupid slut couldn't ... Just block it out, that was all Barry could do now. So he continued to ski, knowing that in time the pain would go away. It just wasn't going away fast enough.

As he got back on the lift he saw a sign saying the mountain would be closing at 12:00, looking at the clock on the lift he realized he only had 5 minutes, enough for one more run down the mountain. Looking around he realized that he was the only person still skiing. It seemed everyone else had their fill of this shitty weather and called it a day. "Oh, well," thought Barry, "at least I got in a little skiing today."

Enjoying the solitude of a terrible day, Barry was going to savor his last run and knew that he'd be back tomorrow since today was only the first day of his three day vacation. Making his last run count, Barry was taking his time, exaggerating his turns and enjoying the fact that he was probably the only person on the entire mountain. He stopped at the side of the trail and was enjoying what little view there was due to the low clouds and rain when he suddenly heard someone yelling.

He turned around and there was his snow bunny barreling right for him with no intention of slowing or turning away. He heard her yelling, "Look out! Move!"

It was too late. Barry had just enough time to put his arms out before she barreled into him. He managed to catch her but he couldn't stop her, she was moving too fast and she ended up knocking him down. Together they slid down the hill.

Danielle was getting nervous skiing down the mountain. She had seen on the lift that the mountain was closing and wanted to get down and out of this horrible weather as fast as she could. Not realizing it, she picked a trail that she thought would be an easy intermediate, but as she got half way down she realized it was way too steep for her. She tried to slow down, but with the trail covered in ice, she wasn't slowing down at all. If anything, she seemed to be speeding up.

She saw a curve in the trail up ahead and just prayed that she would at least be able to make the turn. As she came up on the curve she was just able to turn, but then she saw someone had stopped on the side of the trail. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of idiot would be out here today, besides her, of course. Unfortunately, he was only ten yards in front of her and she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid him so she started to yell, hoping he could move out of her way.

She saw him turn around and then his eyes widened in surprise, as he must have realized what was about to happen. He put up his hands and then they where both tumbling down the mountain together.

When they finally came to a stop, Barry couldn't help but smile as he had his arms wrapped around the snow bunny lying on top of him. Staring into her closed eyes, he couldn't help but think she looked familiar. Barry started to worry, as she wasn't moving once they stopped.

He wanted to say something smart and witty but all that came out was,

"Are you okay?"

Danielle was about to get off the mystery man, but when she heard him speak, suddenly she couldn't move. The sound of his voice brought her back to high school days and the unbelievable crush she had for one Barry Andrews.

For a second Barry thought she was going to get off him, but then nothing. Before he could do anything the snow bunny started laughing.

Hearing her laugh, Barry couldn't help but join in. Then it dawned on him why she looked familiar.

"Danielle ... Danielle Stevens is that really you?"

"Yes Barry, it's really me."

Before she could say anything else, Barry grabbed her to him tighter than he had been holding her before.

She had felt good lying on him before, but now that he knew who she was, holding her tighter just felt so right.

"As much I'm enjoying holding you and having you on top of me, I'm starting to get a little cold lying in the snow and all."

Danielle practically leapt straight up, saying "Sorry" at least ten times while helping him up.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you aren't hurt."

"I probably would be if you hadn't caught me. Thanks for that."

"I didn't have much of a choice. I heard someone yelling and saw this crazy snow bunny hurtling straight for me. I was lucky to get my arms out before you ran into me."

"Snow bunny? What the heck is a snow bunny?"

"Well that's a term used to describe a ... a ... remind me to explain it later. Right now how about we get our gear and get out of this rain."

"Sounds good to me."

It took a while to gather their skis, but once they had everything they slowly started back down the mountain. The first turn they came up to Danielle, had trouble with but she made it, though she wasn't so lucky on the next one. Before she tried to get back up, Barry was there pulling her up.

"My first time skiing, I fell so often I wanted to tie a pillow to my ass, so don't worry. It might take a little while, but I'm sure you'll get it as long as you don't get too frustrated."

"Thanks for the hand."

"My pleasure! By the way when did you start skiing? I didn't know that you knew how."

"Obviously I can't ski, but I'm learning. Truth be told this is my first time on skis."

"For your first time out you're doing pretty good, but a few lessons would probably help you learn faster."

"Is that an offer for free lessons with my own personal ski instructor?" she teased.

Barry swallowed hard and thought, "Is she flirting with me? She's never acted like this before." Aloud, he said,

"I'd be happy to help you, but for now let's get off this mountain. I'm freezing and have a ton of snow down my back thanks to a certain somebody."

Danielle could feel her face redden and just nodded her head. She only fell three more times, but they where mostly just so she could have Barry pick her up and hold her close.

Finally, they made it to the lodge. Setting their skis and poles aside, they went in and started taking off their coats and gear. As Danielle took off her hat and goggles, Barry would've whistled if he knew how. She was still blond, same beautiful blue eyes, and the kindest face he had ever known. As she removed her coat and snow pants, he got the full picture. The last time he had seen her had been at her wedding to Luke and she had looked good then. Now she was absolutely stunning. Now that Barry thought of Luke, where was he? He was always one to speak his mind before thinking.

"So where's Luke? I can't imagine you're up here by yourself."

Danielle's shoulders slumped and her eyes got a little moist. "I divorced his sorry ass five months ago."

Barry could tell there was a story in there somewhere "I'm sorry to hear that, he seemed like a nice guy. Trust me, I know how you feel. Jasmine and I broke up a few weeks ago."

For a just a split second, Barry could have sworn he saw a small smile cross Danielle's face. "As much as I'd love to discuss our past failed romances, how about we warm up with some hot chocolate and catch up? It's been too long since we've seen each other."

Just as Barry stood up, a lodge employee came over.

"I'm sorry, but due to the ice storm, we're closing the lodge."

"Ice storm? It's just raining out. Besides, this is a ski resort. Aren't you guys supposed to be used to bad weather and such?"

"I'm sorry sir, but the roads already have a half inch of ice on them and the plow trucks aren't making a dent in it. They've already closed most of the roads, including county route 30."

At hearing this, all three of them looked outside and couldn't believe what they saw. Everything that was outside had at least an inch of ice on it. Trees that once stood 50 feet tall where now bent over by the crushing weight of ice on their limbs. The skis they had put down just a few minutes ago where already encased in ice. In an eerie way it looked kind of beautiful. Barry was pretty happy he had a place on the mountain and didn't have to try driving in this. After the hard time he had up getting up here, he wasn't looking to drive on any icy roads for quite some time.

"Well, I guess we better get going then."

Barry looked down at Danielle, realizing she hadn't said a word the whole time the lodge girl was there.

"Is something wrong?"

Danielle was staring at her hands. "It's nothing."

"I've known you for years Danielle, so I can tell something's bothering you. What's the matter?"

"I'm staying in a small B&B in Manchester and took a shuttle up here. With the roads closed, I can't get back."

Barry just started to laugh, "Is that all? I'm renting a place right on the mountain, so you'll just have to stay with me tonight."

Seeing Danielle staring back at him he realized what he had just said, and quickly added, "Jack and Susie where supposed to come up here with me and Jasmine, but they bailed last second, leaving me with a two bedroom condo all to myself. You're more than welcome to it."

Danielle was back to staring at her hands, not saying a word. Before she could say anything, Barry interrupted her thoughts, "I know what you're thinking, Danielle, and no, you will not be imposing, yes there's plenty of room, and yes I really would like to spend time with you. We have a lot of catching up to do. So what do you say we get going before it gets any worse out there?"

Danielle just nodded.

When they went outside, they couldn't believe how much ice had accumulated since they went in. Their skis had a thin layer of ice already and were stuck in place. At first, when Danielle tried to pull them free, they wouldn't budge. She dug her feet in and pulled as hard as she could and broke the ice holding the skies, but in the process was thrown on her butt since the ground was also covered in ice.

Barry tried his best not to laugh and that lasted all of two seconds before he was rolling with laughter at Danielle's antics.

"Oh you think that's funny, huh? Let's see you get your skies free and not fall on your ass."

After seeing her fall, Barry braced himself the best he could, and just as he was about to pull the skies off felt two hands on his back pushing him down. Of course Danielle was the one doing the pushing and again because of the ice, she slipped and fell on top of Barry again.

Laughing, Barry said, "That's twice now you've thrown yourself on top of me and I haven't even had so much as a kiss yet. Just what kind of guy do you take me for?"

When they both stopped laughing Barry helped Danielle up and she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I always thought of you as a perfect gentleman Barry, and don't you ever change."

Now it was Barry's turn to blush, he quickly turned away, grabbing his gear and hoping she didn't see just how much of an effect that little kiss had on him.

"I'm staying just up the trail here. Let's get going before we both turn into icicles."

Finally making it to the condo, Barry opened the door and holding it open for Danielle said "Why don't you put your stuff over here in the closet, and I'll make us some hot chocolate. You can sit on the couch there while you wait if you'd like."

Barry started to make the hot chocolate and couldn't help but glance at Danielle every chance he got thinking "she's just as beautiful now as she had been in high school". Barry couldn't believe that she had barely changed in eight years.

As Barry stared at Danielle he noticed her start to shiver. Realizing he forgot how cold she must be he put down the milk and walked over to the couch, pulling her up off of it.

Danielle was shocked by Barry's sudden movement. They were both standing only a few inches apart, staring at their entwined hands. It felt so intimate, and for a few moments Barry forgot why he had pulled her off the sofa. Feeling her cold hands made him want to hold her till she warmed up but now was not the time.

"You're freezing. Let me show you your room and the bathroom so you can take a hot shower and get warmed up."

"You're just as cold and it's your place, so why don't you go first? You can take your shower and then I can take a bath and not use up all your hot water."

Barry was about to argue but he was freezing too and knew that if she took a bath first it would take an hour before there'd be enough hot water for him.

"Well ... if you're sure you don't mind, I'll try to be as quick as possible so you'll have some hot water for your bath. I'll have hot chocolate ready for you when you come out."

Barry couldn't believe his day. The girl of his childhood dreams was here with him alone. Hopping in the shower he couldn't help but think that in just a few minutes Danielle would be in here relaxing in the hot tub. He thought of her smooth body surrounded by the warm water, her breasts floating in the water ... before he knew it he was rock hard. He thought about rubbing one out but he couldn't bring himself to do it with her in the next room. Instead he just washed up as fast as possible, leaving her as much hot water as he could.

After getting out of the shower, Barry wrapped a tower around himself and headed to his room. Danielle was sitting on the couch waiting her turn in the bathroom when she heard the door open and she couldn't stop herself from staring at Barry. She had seen a picture of him at the beach once without a shirt but that had been when they were seniors in high school. He was too skinny back then weighing at most 145 pounds and standing about 5'10" and yet he still looked good, now he had put on some weight and added more muscle. As Barry left the bathroom he looked at Danielle and saw her staring, hell she was practically drooling. Barry started to smile and wanted to say something cool and sexy but all that came out was, "The bathroom's all yours now."