Snow Angel

"Another nine minutes and then you have to get your lazy butt out of bed," I told myself, as I hit the snooze button on my alarm clock one last time.

Nine minutes later the clock radio sprang to life once more. The familiar country music that normally greets me each morning had been replaced by the harsh reality of a winter storm warning being broadcast from the National Weather Service.

The monotone computerized voice of the broadcast made it sound even worse.

"Snow starting by 10:00a.m. with six to eight inches of accumulation expected by 5:00p.m. Rush hour tonight will be extremely difficult with interstates and main highways expected to be snow covered and dangerous. Total accumulations are expected to reach twelve to eighteen inches by noon tomorrow."

I always get a little nervous when the weatherman uses phrases like, "The biggest snow storm we've seen in 25 years," and "Blizzard like conditions expected." Here in Cincinnati we get a fair amount of snow, but snowfall of more than twelve inches and "blizzard like conditions" are descriptions that are only used a few times each century in this part of the country.

As I stepped into the steaming shower, my thoughts shifted to my schedule of meetings for the day. Maybe my afternoon schedule would be a light one and I could reschedule some meetings and bail out early before the brunt of the storm hit. No such luck. As the steaming water poured over my face, I suddenly remembered the three o'clock meeting the CEO had insisted we have today.

Anticipating that the evening rush hour was going to be a mess, I packed the trunk of my car with what I affectionately call, "My winter survival gear." The list of essentials included a pair of hiking boots, a parka, a hat, a scarf, and most importantly, a snow shovel. I wanted to have all the necessary equipment and personal protection I needed just in case my car decided it preferred the side ditch better than the road.

The drive to work was an uneventful one. The wind was starting to pick up and a few snow flurries danced through the air, but nothing significant enough to impact the morning rush hour.

Unfortunately, this was one of the few times the weatherman was actually right. By ten o'clock the snow was starting to arrive, exactly as predicted. By noon it was snowing so hard I could barely see the traffic on the highway just a hundred yards away from my office window. Schools were closing, businesses were shutting down early and by three o'clock the office was as vacant as a Sunday afternoon.

I live about 20 miles north of the city and I knew that in another two hours the drive home would be a rough one. Most of the drive is interstate, but the last three miles would be country roads. With "blizzard like conditions," drifting would be a real problem. I had already decided that if things got too bad, I would just get a hotel room and spend the night in the city. My wife was in Atlanta for the week visiting her sister, so I really had no compelling reason to get home if things turned ugly.

The meeting with the CEO wrapped up about four thirty and we all decided it would be wise to call it a day and head home before things got any worse.

The parking lot was a mess as I weaved my way from the office door to my car, trying to step in previously created footsteps and avoid the stinging cold of frozen snow trickling into my shoes. With six inches of snow piled both on top of my car and on the parking lot beneath my feet, I decided this might be a good time to change out of my work shoes and into the hiking boots I had packed earlier in the morning. No need to ruin a good pair of dress shoes and risk frostbite in the process of cleaning off the car.

In the ten minutes it took me to get the snow brushed off my car, my face and ears were already stinging from the frigid cold. I had not heard a weather report since the morning, but I'm sure the wind chill must have been well below zero.

With the snow now removed, the windshield cleared, and the engine warmed up, I was ready to see just how well the all wheel drive in my Cadillac STS really worked. When I bought the car a few months earlier, I debated if the all wheel drive option was worth the extra money. Today I was certain it was.

The six inches of snow on the parking lot crunched beneath the tires as I headed toward the street, but seamed to offer no real challenge for the all wheel drive.

"Pretty impressive," I thought to myself, as the Cadillac easily navigated the snow.

I had just turned out of the parking lot onto the street when I heard the traffic report coming on the radio: "Northbound I-75 is closed due to a jack-knifed semi, just north of the I-275 interchange."

Damn; that was my primary route home. It wasn't the only choice, but in these conditions, it was certainly the preferred route. Option "B" would take me through some pretty rural areas. On a sunny summer day, this is a nice scenic route. In blizzard conditions, it would be a two hour, white knuckle drive. Option "C", the hotel room, was looking better all the time.

I headed in the direction of the back road path with the attitude, "What do I have to lose?" Worst case, if the roads were too bad I could simply turn around and head for a hotel. It was the middle of the week and there were no big events in town. There would be plenty of hotel rooms available if I needed one.

I was cruising along at a pretty good pace thinking, "Okay, this doesn't seem so bad. Maybe I can make it home after all."

That thought had barely passed from one side of my brain to the other before I saw the string of brake lights in front of me. Traffic quickly slowed to a complete stop. I sat there for about five minutes before the car in front of me started moving again. We moved about two car lengths and then stopped again for another five minutes. Another twenty feet and then we stopped again.

Thirty minutes later we were still in this stop and go pattern. I had made my mind up that it was time to turn around and head for option "C". Unfortunately, I was sitting right in front of a curve in the road and I couldn't see if there was oncoming traffic. I would have to wait until I inched my way around the curve to safely turn around.

Once I got around the curve, I could see the problem. There was a large hill in front of us and cars were having trouble making it up the slick roadway. It was a pretty steep rise and the incline was about an eighth of a mile long. One car would attempt to make the climb, and the car behind it would wait until the car in front successfully capped the hill before proceeding.

The four wheel drive SUV's made it up the hill with no problem. The front wheel drive cars did some slipping and sliding as they attempted the climb, but they eventually reached their goal. The rear wheel drive cars weren't so lucky. They would try to get a running start, but about half way up the hill their momentum would stop and they could go no further and had to back their way down the hill for another try.

After the first or second attempt, most gave up and turned around in the road and headed for another route. Although the hill was too steep and too slick to climb, there was enough traction for them to safely back down the hill.

There was a black BMW about ten cars in front of me at the head of the line. Like the cars before it, the driver got as much of a running start as possible and headed up the hill. The car made it about half way up the hill before its momentum stopped and it began backing down the hill for another try. The second attempt was no more successful, nor was the third.

By the forth attempt, the cars behind the BMW were starting to honk their horns, trying to get the driver to recognize that the only option was to turn around and go the other way. It was pretty obvious at this point that the black BMW had met its match.

You could tell the driver was a little frustrated as the car came backing down the hill, considerably faster this time. As the BMW reached the bottom of the hill it was going too fast and had to swerve into the other lane to avoid hitting the next car in line. The BMW swerved a little too hard and got the left rear tire off the road.

One by one the ten cars in front of me made their attempts to climb the hill while the BMW sat on the side of the road spinning its tires trying to break free. This was pretty dangerous now since both lanes of the road were occupied. One lane was occupied by the line of cars trying to climb the hill. The other lane was blocked by the BMW stuck in the ditch.

If one of the cars climbing the hill needed room to come back down the hill, there would be no place for it to go except crashing into one of the other cars. Being a good Samaritan, I pulled out of line to see if I could help the driver of the BMW get the car out of the predicament it was in. The car was barely off the road, so it wouldn't be too hard. A little shoveling around the one tire that was spinning in the snow and it should come right out.

The driver was still frantically spinning the tires when I knocked on the passenger window of the car. As the window rolled down, the driver quickly wiped the tears away from her cheek.

"You might want to take your foot off the gas pedal," I said in a soft and calming voice.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just a little flustered at the moment."

"Not a problem," I said, "I completely understand. I've got a snow shovel in my trunk. Let me shovel you out and we'll get you back on your way."

"I couldn't let you do that," she said. "It's freezing out there. If you'll let me borrow your shovel, I can dig my own way out."

I gave her one of those, "you have got to be kidding" looks as my eyes scanned from her white satin blouse to the short green skirt that crawled half way up her thigh. Although I couldn't see her feet from the window, I was pretty sure a pair of high heels would have been her choice of footwear for such an outfit.

"Look," I said. "With all due respect Miss, I really don't think you're dressed to be shoveling snow in sub-zero wind chills."

"It won't take me five minutes," I continued. "I promise."

True to my word, five minutes later I had the snow shoveled away from her rear tire and she was able to pull back onto the road. I once again tapped on the window and she lowered the glass one more time.

This time instead of my eyes focusing on the tears trickling down her cheek, they were immediately drawn to her shapely legs that were even more exposed than before.

"Damn," I thought to myself, "Very sexy."

Despite the cold wind blowing in my face, there was a subtle warmth tingling in my pants as my cock began swelling at the sight of this fine lady. I'm not sure if the warmth on my face was the potential embarrassment from the situation in my boxers, or if it was just a case of windburn. Whichever it was, I was feeling a little flushed.

"Listen," I told her. "I'll stop the traffic in the other lane long enough for you to get turned around in the road. There's no way you can make it up this hill so you're going to have to go back the other way."

I let the driver of the first car in the other lane know what we were doing and two minutes later, my damsel in distress was turned around and ready to head the other direction. By this point I had also decided to give up trying to get home, so I also turned around and headed the other direction.

The black BMW was in front of me as we both headed back toward safer ground. When we got to the corner she turned on her right turn signal to indicate she was turning into the parking lot of a small strip mall. She rolled her window down, stuck her arm out the window, and motioned for me to follow.

As I pulled up beside her, she opened her car door and started to get out. I had a perfect view of her legs parting as she exited the car. Damn, that was one incredible pair of legs. The green skirt opened just enough to let me see her black panties hiding below. Once again, I felt something stirring in my pants.

Just as she reached my window, those high heeled shoes succumbed to the snow beneath them and her feet went flying out from under her. I jumped out to give her a hand and make sure she wasn't hurt.

It was quite a sight. She was trying to get up but her feet kept slipping. When I reached down to offer her a hand, her skirt was flipped completely up and there was nothing except a pair of lacy black panties between her tender skin and the freezing snow. I would have loved to have been able to just stand there and stare, but instead I helped her to her feet.

I quickly brushed the snow off her back side as gentlemanly as I could. I would have loved to have spent more time brushing her ass off, or better yet, reaching under her skirt to brush off her panties, but I managed to avoid the temptation and stick to my manners.

I put my arm around her waste and helped her back to her car. She grabbed hold of my own waist and held on for dear life. When we reached her car, she climbed in the driver's side and I walked around to the passenger side and climbed in.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. "That was quite a fall."

"I'm fine," she said, "Just a little embarrassed. Make that a lot embarrassed," she corrected.

"I really hate to bother you again," she said, "But do you happen to know another way to get to the Hilton from here? I have no idea how to get to the hotel except for the way I just tried."

"It's not too far from here," I told her. "Got a pen?"

I grabbed a business card from my wallet and wrote the directions on the back.

"You shouldn't have too much trouble," I told her, as I handed her the directions.

"It's four lane most of the way and I'm pretty sure there are no big hills this direction. If you have any trouble finding it, give me a call on my cell phone. The number is on the front."

Two hours later I was checked into a hotel of my own and warming up under the flowing heat of the shower. My cell phone was ringing as I stepped out of the shower and reached for the bath robe on the back of the door. The number on the caller ID was not one I recognized as I picked up the phone to answer it.

"Hello, this is Brian," I answered.

"Hi Brian," countered the friendly female voice on the other end of the line. "This is Julie, the ditsy blonde you had to rescue twice today. I just wanted to say thanks one more time and make sure you made it home safely."

"Well, to be honest," I said, "I decided to just grab a hotel room in the city tonight instead of braving the elements any longer. So, yes, I'm safe and sound. Just not at home."

"Really," she said, her voice perking up a bit. "Seeing that we are both stranded here with an evening to kill, how about letting me buy you dinner to pay you back for all of your help today?"

My mind quickly flipped back to the sight of her lying in the snow with those long legs sprawled out and those black lacy panties displayed so perfectly. My growing cock peaked its head out of the terrycloth bathrobe as my mind wandered back to that erotic sight. How could I turn down an invitation from such a sexy lady?

"Sure," I said, "Sounds a whole lot better than spending a night in front of the TV. I'll meet you at the bar in the Hilton in about forty-five minutes."

Luckily I had packed an overnight bag just in case I got stranded in town for the night. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to the Hilton in this weather, so I quickly got ready and headed out.

The roads were continuing to get worse, but I still made it to the Hilton about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule. The bar was pretty empty so I pulled up a bar stool at the front of the bar where I could see Julie when she came in.

"Coors Light," I told the bartender, when she asked what she could get me.

About ten minutes later Julie came strolling into the bar. My jaw nearly hit the floor as she stepped into the bar with a big smile on her angelic face. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans with an off-white turtle neck. Both the jeans and the ribbed turtleneck were stretched tight enough to show her every curve, and this lady had some nice curves!

When I got up from my bar stool to greet her, she gave me a friendly hug like we had known each other all our lives. I was hoping she didn't notice the bulge in my pants when I got up.

"Wow," I chuckled. "You look pretty good when you're not lying in the snow."

"Oh my God," she countered, as she covered her face with both hands and shook her head sideways. "That was so embarrassing."

"Don't worry," I said. "It happens all the time. You're the third lovely lady I've rescued from a snow drift this week."

We both laughed and sat back down at the bar.

Julie ordered a glass of wine and we continued to chat. The bartender placed a cocktail napkin on the bar and sat the glass of wine on top of the napkin. When Julie picked up the glass to take her first sip, the napkin fell to the floor.

We both started to reach to the floor to retrieve the napkin and hit heads as we reached down.

"Sorry," I said as we bounced back up.

"I can get it," Julie replied. "You've already done enough for me today."

As she stretched to reach the floor from the tall bar stool, the low cut jeans Julie was wearing slid just enough down her hips to give me a perfect view of the thin burgundy string of her thong panties.

I think my heart was still stopped when she leaned back up. My reflexes were not quick enough to avoid being caught staring at her perfect ass. Julie didn't say a word, but I could tell by the grin on her face, that she interpreted my stare to be an unspoken compliment. She was certainly right about that one.

"I'm hungry," Julie suddenly blurted out, "You up for dinner?"

I don't know if she was teasing me for staring, or if it was just a coincidental choice of words, but I was definitely up.

"I have a suggestion," I said. "The roads are really bad out there tonight. What would you think about just having dinner at the restaurant here in the hotel this evening? I've never eaten here but I've heard it's pretty good."

"Sounds perfect," Julie answered. "I've already lost two battles today with the snow. I would prefer not making it three."

I paid the tab and we headed for the other side of the lobby where the restaurant was.

"Two for dinner," I said to the hostess as we approached the stand at the entrance to the restaurant, "Preferably a quiet booth in the corner."

I couldn't help but notice that the hostess looked like she couldn't have been more than sixteen. Sweet girl, but she didn't look old enough to be working at a hotel. Maybe they were desperate due to the weather, or maybe I'm just not a very good judge of age.

The corner booth was quiet and secluded, just like I had requested. Julie and I sat and talked while we waited on dinner. It seemed we had a lot in common. We were both in what we mutually agreed to call, "content marriages." Not really happy, but not unhappy enough to leave either.

For the next three hours we talked, laughed, ate, drank, and just had a good time. It was amazing how well we clicked. Several times during dinner we would catch each other in a moment of abnormally long eye contact. We must have both been uncertain if we wanted to cross that line because each time it happened, we would quickly break the eye contact and both glance away.

By eleven o'clock, we were the only two left in the restaurant and it was apparent that the staff was trying to subtly encourage us to leave so they could close up for the night. Taking the hint, I asked Julie if she cared to move to the bar to continue our conversation.

"Sure," she said. "I could use another drink, and the company isn't so bad either," she laughed.

When we got to the bar, the place was packed. Obviously everybody in the hotel had decided to stay in due to the nasty weather outside. We took a quick walk through the bar looking for a place to call our own. Not a seat in the place. Between the music playing overhead and the voices trying to talk above the music, the noise level was far too high for casual conversation.