Hometown Girl Gets a Second Look

Stranded in a holiday snowstorm with a long ago high school crush

Adam always thought of himself as basically an average guy, maybe a little bit taller than most, maybe a little bit smarter, but certainly not a genius or anything like that. He had a decent enough job, a little money and a few friends, but no girlfriend, at least not since Sofia broke up with him four months ago.

It was the night of December 23rd, and he was driving home to Eagle Creek for Christmas. It was where his parents still lived in the house he grew up in. As a single guy who had never been married, he still thought of it as home, even though he hadn't lived there since the summer after his sophomore year. He wished he could have come earlier, but he couldn't get away at work. It would be good to be home. Mom always made her special rolls for the holidays. It made his mouth water just to think about those rolls!

.

A sudden storm was blowing in that night, a big low pressure front dropped down from Canada, hit the mountains and started dumping snow fast and hard. Adam had hoped to beat the storm, but now it looked like he was caught in the worst of it. The road was slow going. It seemed he was just about the only guy stupid enough to be trying to make it through the pass this late in a snowstorm.

Alyssa was driving into town that same night, coming from the same direction, north, over the mountain and through Wraith's pass. It was a narrow, mostly winding road, but 30 miles shorter than taking the long way around. The road was too narrow for truckers. It was just a thin squiggly line on the map. Only locals took it. Alyssa also grew up in Eagle Creek. Now the thirty-two year old prodigal daughter who had traveled the world, but was still single, she was also headed home for Christmas.

Tough going though it was, Adam and Alyssa might have made it if it hadn't been for the tree.

Adam saw it fall right in front of him through his high beams. It was a big one, at least 6 ft across, no way he could move it. They'd probably have to saw through it to clear the road. He started to back up his car to see if he could find a wide place to turn around when he saw headlights coming up behind him. The driver barely stopped in time, almost hitting him. He got out to talk to them.

The other driver was Alyssa Thomas. Out of all the people! Alyssa had been in his grade at school. He recognized her right away. Adam would recognize her anywhere. He'd had a crush on her through graduation, but his affections were never returned. He had confessed his feelings once, awkwardly of course, but at the time she had a boyfriend, and that's as far as it went.

Did she know throughout the years they were in school together that he "carried a torch" for her? They never spoke of it. Adam never made any other plays for her, either. She never gave him the slightest signal that she might be interested. She went through a couple other boyfriends during high school. She was never on the market for long.

There might have been a couple of other contenders in some other guys' minds, but in Adam's mind Alyssa was always the most beautiful, most desirable girl in the whole school, really the whole town, which was, for all practical purposes at the time, his whole world. He wanted her more than anything. He daydreamed about her constantly. He felt completely hopeless when it came to the chances of ever being with her.

So Adam hadn't had any other high school girlfriends. He only wanted Alyssa, and Alyssa was unobtainable.

They'd both gone away to college (different schools) and had barely spoken since high school graduation. He'd run into her at the drug store once when they were both home visiting from school and were out running errands. She said she was majoring in Communications. He was in Engineering. They'd waved a couple times when their cars had passed each other in their small town. That was all the interaction they'd shared.

Despite the limited contact, and despite the fact they were now both 32-years-old, even in the dim light of the darkened road, and with snow falling hard all around them, Adam recognized Alyssa almost immediately.

"Hey Alyssa!" He could see she was startled to be recognized, and she did not yet recognize him. "It's Adam, Adam Franklin."

"Oh Adam!" Clearly she was relieved to encounter someone familiar, even if she hadn't recognized him. "Sorry I didn't recognize you. It's so dark. And oh my God! I almost hit you! What's going on?"

"Just around the corner there's a tree down across the road. A big one. Nobody's getting through there until they can get a crew out to cut it up. I was just backing up to try and find a place to turn around."

"Oh crap! I was just trying to get home for Christmas. Probably you too, huh?"

"Yeah, I thought I could take the short cut and beat the storm. Looks like I guessed wrong."

"Well...that makes two of us. Hey, I saw a mailbox just a little ways back, so there's probably a road. I'll back up, and then you can turn around in front of me and I'll follow you out, OK?"

"Yeah. That sounds good. We'll have to go all the way back to Highway 14. I hope we can make it. It's coming down pretty good now."

"I know! Please stay where you can see me. I don't want to get trapped out here."

"Of course."

"You should probably get out of the snow now. Let's get going!"

They turned around by the mailbox as planned and started to head back north on the road, Adam leading slowly, Alyssa following, but after they'd gone only about a quarter mile. Adam stopped. He could hardly believe it. Another large tree had fallen across the road, this one even bigger than the first. He stopped the car, got out, and walked back to Alyssa.

She rolled down her window as she saw him approach. She could see the tree too, illuminated by their headlights. "Oh my God, Adam! What are we going to do?"

"Do you have cell service? I got nothing."

She checked her phone. "Shit. I've got nothing too."

"Open your door please. I don't want to stand out here in the snow."

"Oh. Of course!" Alyssa unlocked the passenger side door and Adam got in.

"They'll have to clear the road, but I'm not sure how long that will be with a storm like this."

He looked at Alyssa. Even by dashboard lights he could tell she was still gorgeous, and even at a time like this, he couldn't help but notice. He'd had a couple of girlfriends in college, and one fairly serious girlfriend since. He had assumed he left his feelings for Alyssa in the past. He had rarely even thought about her in recent years, but even now, so quickly and under such circumstances, he felt something starting to return.

"What are we gonna do?" She was holding it together, but he thought he could see a little fear creeping in around the edges. Honestly, he was a little afraid too, but he tried not to show it.

"Looks like we might have to spend the night in our cars. Good thing your heater works!" He smiled at her. She returned the smile. "How much gas have you got?"

She looked at the gage. "Uh...under a quarter tank. Maybe more like an eighth. I knew I had enough to get home and figured I'd fill up in town. Do you think that's enough?"

"I don't know. I've got about a quarter too. We should probably stay in the same car, and run only one engine at a time. It'll last longer that way."

"Yeah. That makes sense." They were silent for a few seconds while they each thought about their potentially precarious situation. "It might take longer than a day to clear the road, mightn't it?" she asked.

"Sure seems like a possibility, depending on how bad the storm is and how many other places are affected, how much the crews have to clear...Have you got blankets, any emergency supplies?"

"Not really. I've got my coat. I've got some extra clothes. I've got some Christmas presents in the trunk."

"Any food?"

"I think I've got a granola bar somewhere, and a bottle of water. That's about it. How about you?"

"Pretty much the same. I do have an emergency blanket...and a box of chocolates I was going to give to my mom."

"If the snow buries the car that will kind of help keep it insulated, right?"

"Yeah, a little, but not a lot. And if it gets too deep you have to worry about suffocating too."

They were both serious now. Suddenly, Alyssa had a thought, "Hey, what about that mailbox back there? That means there's a house. We can drive back there and hopefully get them to take us in. Maybe they have a phone so we could call for help?"

"Yes! Oh my God, I'm so glad you thought of that! I don't know how long it would have taken me until I remembered that."

She laughed. "I'm sure you would have got it when we started getting cold."

He laughed too. "Yeah...maybe."

"OK. I guess I'll back up again and you can follow me. I hope I can see the road."

"Just aim for the middle clear space in between the trees. That's where the road will be. And if you can't see, stick your head out the window."

"Should we take both cars?"

"I think so. That way we have a backup in case one gets stuck. We don't know how far the house might be up that road, or what that road is like."

"Make sense. OK. Let's go. Sooner the better."

Alyssa backed her car up. It was slow going, but she did find the mailbox again. When she got there she stopped and got out. Adam rolled up beside her.

"I think it would be better if we leave my car here. If I know my dad, he'll have the Sheriff out looking for me, and it will help if they spot the car. There's a wide space next to the mailbox where I can park it."

"That's smart. OK. Park it and then we can drive up and look for the house."

Alyssa parked her car, and got a big coat, and a suitcase out of the trunk. Adam opened the door to throw her stuff in his back seat. They drove up the driveway in search of a house. The road felt to Adam like it probably wasn't paved, probably gravel, maybe not too much gravel at that. He was unsure of where to drive. There didn't seem to be any markers and visibility was bad. He ended up asking Alyssa to drive his car and follow him while he walked ahead to be sure of the path.

After about 200 yards of slow progress, Adam thought he could see a building up ahead outlined against the dim landscape. There were no lights on. Yes, it was late, after 11pm by this time, but out in the country like this most people kept lights on, at least one around the garage or barn. This was concerning, he thought, but at least if there was a building, that meant shelter, and besides, maybe there were people there. Maybe it's just that the power was out. It wouldn't be surprising if another tree had taken out a line somewhere.

As they got closer, Adam got back into the car. There was a barn, and a house. There were no lights anywhere, not even the dim glow of an emergency lantern in the house. There were no vehicles in sight. Still, maybe something was parked in the barn or garage, and maybe the people were asleep.

They both got out of the car and walked the 4 steps up to the covered porch. Adam knocked on the door, normally at first. They waited for a response. Hearing none, then knocked louder, and then they banged loudly until finally, they decided that it must be that nobody was home.

"Adam, I'm sorry but we're going to have to break in."

"I think you're right. Let's hope there's nobody home. Out here like this breaking into someplace in the middle of the night we're likely to get shot!"

The older house was on a hill and in the back they found windows into a partial daylight basement. Adam could see that one was a sliding window secured only by a stick stuck in the track. Adam broke out a small pane on the old window, reached in, removed the stick, and slid the window open. He climbed through and then helped Alyssa climb in after him. He felt a little guilty that even at a time such as this, he couldn't help but admire the curve and shape of her ass as it stared him in the face while he grabbed her around the waist to help her down.

Once inside the basement, they used the flashlights on their phones to look around. Mostly, the basement appeared to be full of old junk, with a light covering of dust, and even a few cobwebs.

"It doesn't look like anyone has been down here in years," Adam remarked.

"Sure doesn't. Try and find a light switch." Said Alyssa.

Looking up, Adam saw a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling with a string hanging down. He gave it a tug, but the lights did not turn on.

"Just like we figured. It seems the power's out."

"Or they just shut it off to the whole house if nobody lives here."

"Let's look around upstairs."

Upstairs, on the main floor, they found not as many cobwebs as in the basement, but still a thin layer of dust covering dated furnishings.

"Looks like an older person lived here."

"Yeah. And maybe they died."

"Or they had to move to a nursing home, or something."

"Sure doesn't seem like anybody lives here now, and not for a while, either, like maybe even a year or more."

"But it looks like all their stuff is still here, so yeah, maybe a nursing home, or maybe the family just hasn't cleaned it out yet."

"Or maybe there's no family at all."

""Whatever it is, I'm sure happy we found this place."

"Yeah. It might even have saved our lives!"

"No shit! Thank you, dead old lady, whoever you are!"

"Adam!"

"Sorry. But seriously, we probably should build a fire." They looked over at a fireplace in the front room of the house.

"Yeah. I mean it's a lot better than outside, but it's still probably not more than 45 degrees in here!"

Alyssa exhaled dramatically and they both watched her breath slowly dissipate in the air. They laughed.

There was a small collection of 5 logs and some kindling near the fireplace. "I can get started on this if you want to look around and see if you can find a flashlight, or some candles, anything like that so we don't run down our batteries too much."

"OK." Adam got the fire started. Alyssa found a flashlight and a half-dozen candles in a kitchen cupboard.

Together, they set off to explore the house. Upstairs they found three bedrooms, all furnished, but only one of which appeared to have been used in anything close to recent years, with clothing, his and hers, still in the closets. In a hallway closet they found blankets and extra pillows that were free from dust. They also found another flashlight and a pack of batteries, expired and unopened, but probably still good for at least a little while.

Although the power was out, they were delighted to discover they actually had hot water! The stove, however, was electric. Poking around a bit, Adam discovered there was a propane hot water heater, with still some propane left in the tank, whereas the furnace was an old oil burner, and it looked like the oil had all run out. Someone had come through the house and at least cleared out the refrigerator and freezer, although he did find an unopened bottle of champagne there. Also, they found a pantry that still contained a fair collection of canned soups and a few other canned items too. On a top shelf in the pantry there was an old fondue pot and a dozen cans of Sterno.

"Jackpot!" Alyssa cried out excitedly when she found the food, and a way to heat it. Adam came quickly to see what she'd found.

"Thank God!" he exclaimed. "I don't know when I've ever been so happy to see a can of soup!"

"Me neither! I gotta admit I was getting a little hungry!" They laughed with joy over the treasure they had found.

That night they dined in front of the fire on soup that was only 8 months past sell date (still good!) and semi-stale saltine crackers, washed down with champagne. It was one of the most welcome meals either could ever remember eating.

The fire provided a little bit of much needed warmth, but the house was still chilly. They couldn't see their breath any longer, but they had to stay huddled in the blankets to keep warm. After all the exploration and gathering supplies and slowly heated soup, it was past 1:00 a.m. by the time they settled in front of the fire to try and sleep for the night. Outside, the wind howled and the snow continued to fall.

"Adam?" Alyssa broke the silence. "I'm sure you'd rather be at home safe and warm, and of course I would be too, but if I had to be trapped in the middle of nowhere with no power during the biggest blizzard in 20 years, I'm glad I'm here with you. It's a lot better than being alone. I just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you too! It was you who remembered the mailbox! I'm glad you're here too. We'll get through this together."

"Yes, I think we will. I'm sure my family will be worried sick, though."

"Mine too."

"Do you think there's any chance we're close enough to a cell tower to get a signal? Can we hike somewhere?"

"Honestly I don't know. We can try tomorrow. I checked that old land line receiver on the wall, but it was dead."

"Yeah. I checked it too."

"How much battery do you have left on your cell?"

"After all the flashlight time, and everything, I'm down to 12%. You?"

"I'm at 7%."

"Wait. It's late. The signals might travel better at night. Maybe we should try better elevation, upstairs, standing next to a window."

"OK. Worth a try."

They left the warmth of the fire and blankets and climbed the stairs to the highest floor of the house, then, standing next to a window facing south, they got a signal, half of a single bar. Each got off a message to their families. "Stranded on highway 10. Safe in a house." And then the signal was gone. One brief message successfully sent, and then their phones died trying to find the signal again to receive any reply or send more info.

"We were lucky to get even that one message."

"Yeah. At least now maybe my mom can stop worrying, just a little."

"They know the terrain up here. They won't be too concerned over no additional messages."

"Although they probably will picture us warm in a house with some family."

"Yeah. Well...better that way. They won't worry so much."

"True enough. That was a good idea to try, though! Thank you again. I wouldn't have thought of that."

"OK. I'll accept your thanks for that one." Adam laughed, and then Alyssa laughed too.

When they got settled in again down by the fire it was a quarter to 2:00. Alyssa broke the silence again. "Adam? I'm still a little cold. I think we could stay warmer if we laid together and wrapped the blankets around both of us, don't you?"

"Yeah OK. That probably would be warmer." Of course Adam was secretly thrilled. Before tonight, he could have honestly said that he was completely over the long ago crush he had on Alyssa. He rarely thought of her. But in the last four hours, it was surprising to him how quickly it had come roaring back. The sound of her voice, the way she moved, her smile, her eyes, just being in her presence. Seemingly out of nowhere, his feelings had come roaring back. Also, laying there near her, wrapped in blankets, but with her beautiful face softly lit by the fire, with the thrill of this adventure they were sharing, his dick was hard.

Should he say something? Should he warn her? Maybe she wouldn't notice. He still had his jeans on, and she had hers too. While he tried to think, Alyssa lifted his blankets and slid in next to him, wrapping all the blankets together around them. She was the little spoon to his bigger one. Her hair was in front of his nose and he couldn't help but inhale deeply to take in her scent.

"Your hair smells nice." He said it without even thinking.

"Jesus! I mean, thanks, but ... get some sleep. OK?"

"Sorry. It just hit me all of a sudden is all." He told himself he had to at least try to play it cool. "When it's light tomorrow we should be able to get a better look around. See what we can do to make this more comfortable. We might be here a while."