Making It Home For Christmas?

"Thanks, my dad and I restored it." Emily beamed with evident pride. "You can stare at it later; I don't need to freeze my tits off." She said with a laugh.

Emily -- A little later

Emily wasn't sure why she was so attracted to Devon. He was cute, tall, and muscular, with a neat black goatee and shaved head. That didn't always work out for guys, but he seemed to have the correct head shape for it. His skin was a walnut in color. Perhaps it was the confident smile or his evident skill as a photographer; whatever it was, she wanted to spend some time with the man. The gym was nearly vacant in the early afternoon. Devon had changed into his new workout fare and was running laps around the track that encompassed an upper level around the gym.

The way he filled out the tight t-shirt he was wearing didn't hurt. Nor did he cute smile or warm brown eyes. His affable and upbeat attitude was another plus, even with his truck being destroyed and him being stranded. Maybe, just maybe, it was his incredible ass.

Emily took another look in the mirror, studying her form in the squat rack. A couple of years ago, she absolutely hated the exercise, but there was no denying how much it had improved her body. When Emily went through the academy, Em had taken to the different hand-to-hand combat skills they had been taught. In the ten years she had been a cop, she had to employ those skills exactly once with an ornery drunk. Outside of the target range, she had been fortunate to have never had to pull her gun or taser from their holsters.

Though she had not really had a purpose of using her sparring skills on the job, she had continued to learn martial arts outside of work. Emily enjoyed the burn of a good sparring match or hitting the heavy bag. The boxing was saved for last in her workout, wanting to keep that for a treat at the end. She could pour a week's worth of frustrations into canvas, stuffing, and sand. When she started, it had been an outlet for seething anger at an ex-fiancé. The wound still festered; it was a good reason why all her relationships had been short-term since. It was also the reason she never went back home.

Maybe it was the transient nature of Devon's stay in her town that had her idly daydreaming about him. He had no ties to the area; they could perhaps have some fun before he was sent on his way. Or maybe it was the lack of potential suitors in the city; anyone her age was either married or intimidated by her line of work.

Emily went through a circuit of leg and core exercises from the squat rack before moving to the dreaded treadmill. She set the incline high as she pushed through a couple of miles, intensifying the burn in her legs. Her forgotten headphones left far too much time to think.

Emily fantasized about Devon as he reclined on a bench press machine. She could stop the treadmill then disappear into the locker room. Em would reemerge sans clothing and walk over to Devon. She doubted Jim, the bored front desk clerk, would mind seeing her naked in the myriad of mirrors cladding the gym's walls.

Wordlessly, Emily could look him in the eyes, watching him drink in her body. She would pull off his shorts and straddle him. From the bulge in his workout gear, Devon had to be working with a big cock. Vividly, she could imagine riding him, relishing in the views reflected from the mirrors. They could take the afternoon playing on each piece of equipment until they had spent all they could.

The treadmill beeped, starting the cooldown. Walking over to her gym duffle, Emily equipped her boxing gloves and addressed the heavy bag. Her mind cleared as she practiced punches and kicks against an unchanging opponent. Endorphins flooded her system, bringing a pleasant calm over her. Emily must have been at it for several minutes when she finally glanced over to see Devon doing curls with dumbbells nearby. She couldn't help smiling as he stole glances at her.

Devon was again on the track when she finished her workout. "Ready, or are you going to walk a few more laps?" Emily inquired as she stepped onto the path beside him.

"If you didn't scare me before, looking at you against the heavy bag makes me never want to cross you," Devon replied, not stopping. "Just a couple more cooldown laps and I am done."

"Good, you want to grab some lunch? Maybe after a shower, I got a bit sweaty."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Devon said with a laugh. "Glad I bought a couple of changes of clothes. I am getting pretty hungry. What's open?"

"Artie's or my place." Emily couldn't believe that she was inviting a stranger over to her home. It was her sanctuary; in all the time she had lived in the town, she had rarely asked a cute guy to her house. What was it about him that had her so horny and trusting?

"Let me buy you lunch at Artie's. You have already done so much for me." Devon said with a cocky grin. Emily was a little miffed that he had not taken her up on a home-cooked meal, but perhaps it was too early to reveal too many of her secrets.

Devon -- A little later, back at Artie's Coffeeshop

Emily had Devon's undivided attention. The way she filled out her workout gear had been distracting at the gym. He did his best not to gawk at her in just yoga pants and a tank top. She filled out both very well. Some guys might not have been into a woman so visibly strong as Emily, but he was endeared by it. Devon could see that her attack of the heavy bag was not showing off; instead, she had the form of someone that was really into it.

"Have you always lived here, or are you a transplant from somewhere else?"

"I moved here from Kansas; we used to vacation up here every summer when I was a kid. Straight down I-70 most the way and then a few hours northwest to the middle of nowhere." There was a peek at her electrifying smile again.

"Where in Kansas?"

"Lenexa, my parents and brother still live there. I haven't been back in years, but the family comes out here most summers. Every other Christmas was here, but COVID last year and my brother's first child being due soon mean that they haven't been here in a while."

"Why aren't you headed their direction for Christmas?" Devon questioned between bites of

"It's always so snowy this time of year. I am afraid if I go home, I won't make it back for a while. We may be a sleepy town, but they need me." Devon couldn't get over her unique eyes. They did look like they were concealing some pain over not going home, but he wasn't going to pry with a woman he had just met.

"I guess that's pragmatic." He couldn't help a hint of sadness in his voice; the holidays were for family.

"So, you were driving your truck back home when you got stranded. Are you moving back to Kansas City?"

"I'm from Belton, Missouri, actually. I don't meet a lot of people that know where that is. I think so; I am not one hundred percent sold yet. I do know I am getting away from the coast; if I ever want to buy a house, it will have to be somewhere else."

"Housing prices that bad in Seattle?"

"I am a project manager at work with ten years experience, and I still have to have a roommate to afford a decent apartment. That's getting a little old."

"Looking for a new job, then?"

"No, work from home is becoming permeant in my department. I can live anywhere with decent internet."

"That's fun, one of those things about my job, it can never be work from home."

"Nope, that would be really hard to do remote. How long have you been a police officer?"

"Ten years, I was pre-law in college, but something about law enforcement called to me. I might still go back to school after I get my required twenty-five years."

"My dad went that route; he only had to do twenty in KC at the time. He's an electrician now."

"So that's why I don't scare you off." Emily gave him a sly smile.

"That and your gorgeous eyes." Devon smiled at her.

"Heterochromia." She replied without emotion.

"I thought that was when someone had two different colored eyes, like the famous pitcher."

Emily sipped her coffee, not making direct eye contact. "That's one form of it. I have the form where the center of the iris is a different color than the outside. Central Heterochromia."

"It doesn't have any vision side effects?"

"Nope, not for me at least. I still have perfect 20/20 vision in my early 30s." There was that unshakeable confidence again.

"So, you're a sergeant; I didn't think that small departments really had sergeants."

"Not usually, but we kind of cheat a little." She said with a smirk.

"How's that?" He sipped his decaf coffee. Artie had cut him off from the caffeinated fare. Tell him that his teeth would be vibrating when he tried to sleep.

"Our department covers four mediums size cities in the area. One other is dependent on the summer tourism season, like us. The other two have ski resorts. They have some summer guests, but not like the surge that we have. Since our busy seasons are opposed, we can share resources as a large combined department." Emily smiled over another sip of her coffee.

"Smart, how did you get lucky not to have to ping pong over to the ski resorts during the winter?" Devon leaned back from his computer, keeping his eyes on the beautiful young woman.

"Seniority. Let the younger guys and gals chase the overtime; I was never one for skiing or snowboarding anyways."

"Wait, you're from Kansas but don't like snow; why would you move someplace snowier?" Devon couldn't help looking shocked.

"I like the snow, just not skiing. I prefer walking in it and the quiet that it lends to the area. It's just peaceful up here, mostly. Until a semi decides to strand a cute stranger in my town." She smiled and batted her eyes a little. Devon blushed; it had been far too long since he had been called cute by anyone.

The pair must have sat in the coffee shop for a couple of hours talking, laughing as Devon kept working on photos. Artie had already offered to buy a couple of the prints. Devon told him he would send him one as a thank you for the hospitality. There was something about Emily that had Devon intrigued. It was too bad he was only in town for a few days; he would like to know her better.

Emily -- Monday afternoon

"Afternoon, Artie. How's business?"

"It's still snowing, so slow. But I make my money in the summer anyway. During the winter, it's all about not getting bored."

"Devon still around?" She accepted the cup of coffee that Artie already had ready to go. She was pretty predictable.

"You got it bad for him, don't you?" Artie smiled, something that had been rarer with the typically jovial bearded gentleman. She knew he was still worried about Bill not making it back for Christmas. Emily didn't say anything, trying to hide a blush behind a coffee cup. "You two hung around each other, flirting in my shop the last two days. He's cute, girl."

"Yeah, well, he's just passing through. I don't think he's interested in me." She couldn't help fidgeting a little, trying to straighten up her uniform.

"Oh, yeah, he is. Bill thought he was just passing through as well, twenty years ago. You never know, Em."

"I do want to make sure he can get home safe."

"He was on the phone with dealerships all morning. He left with his camera to take a walk an hour ago. I think he's just here until the snow clears."

"Ah, well. Probably for the best, I'm not very good at getting guys to hang around for long." She shrugged and blushed slightly. Emily was usually better about putting on a brave face in uniform, but Artie was one of her closest friends in town.

"I think that's a bit on you, Em. Don't misconstrue what I am saying; I am not blaming you for what happened. What that jackass did ten years ago sucks, but you got to stop running from it. It's not going to just magically go away someday. Forgive yourself." His kind eyes were always worried about her.

"Never knew a guy that stuck around after they found out. Or didn't expect certain things from me." She couldn't help fidgeting again.

"You gotta keep trying." Artie put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I know Artie, I know." She looked down, embarrassed for a few heartbeats. "Any good news about Bill?"

"Not today. He's not going to make it back by Christmas. The doctor wants to check him out again on Christmas Eve. His heart rate is staying a little high for their liking." Artie's eyes suddenly teared up a little. "It's probably just as well; my family is not going to make it down from Cheyenne. They've got three feet of snow out of this storm, and it's still coming down."

"Then you are coming over to my place for Christmas. We can be lonely together."

"As long as you don't cook this time." Artie smiled.

"I just burnt the turkey that one time. I can cook, normally." She put on her best-offended look.

"You going to the town Christmas party tomorrow?" Artie readjusted the row of pastries yet again; he just couldn't stay still even if there was hardly anyone else in the shop.

"Maybe, are you going?"

"You know me, I am just a social butterfly, plus they contracted me out for the cookies."

"Then I'll be there," Emily said as she headed out the door. All she needed to do was take her police cruiser back to the office and head home for the evening. What tiny amount of paperwork she had to do was already done. Her town was quiet in the snow, not even any accidents worry about today. It helped that the snowfall had the highway into town closed.

On her way home, she felt an unusual compulsion to drive through downtown, along the river. It looked so calm a languid this time of year. A far cry from the raging rapids that would be summoned from the snowmelt come spring. Her vision was suddenly drawn to a figure attempting to claw himself up the bank. It was Devon, and he was soaking wet and still not out of the river.

Emily stopped her truck by the side of the road and flicked on her flashers as she leaped into action. "Devon, are you all right?" She cried out, closing the distance between the two. His camera was on the bank, and he was trying to pull himself out of the icy water but kept slipping. Emily had to take a few steps down the bank to help the man. A blast of freezing cold rippled through her as her foot went into the water, splashing to mid-shin and filling her boot. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him out of the water and onto the shoreline. More water sloshed over her as he landed bodily beside her, soaking her uniform.

"Jussttt aa litttllle wwweettt and ccccollddd." His teeth chattered; hypothermia was a genuine concern. They were about a mile from his hotel; he would have been in real danger had Emily not driven down this direction if he had even managed to get out of the river.

"Get in the truck; we need to get you warmed up, now." Emily picked up his camera and helped him get in the truck as quickly as possible. "Get that wet clothing off now. That cold water is going to sap all the heat out of your body."

"Yooouuuu jjjjussstt wannntttt to sssseee me nnnnaaakkkkeeddd." Devon tried to joke between the shivering. The fact that he was still shivering was a good sign. His attempts at jokes meant he was thinking pretty clearly.

Emily sped to the back of her truck and extracted a few blankets from her winter emergency kit. She needed to start warming Devon up now before hypothermia could get worse. "The boxer-briefs too. Worry about the socks last. We need to get your core warmed up."

"Pppppubliccc nnnnuddity." Devon protested but dropped his shorts onto the floorboard of her Scout.

"I'll let it slide this time." Emily gave him a smile and handed him a blanket.

"Wwwhhhatt aaabbbbouuttt you?"

"I wasn't in the water for several minutes. Let's get you someplace warm." Emily jumped in and sped toward her house. The cold water made her feet and hands numb, but she was far more worried about her passenger. "I guess you are going to get that home-cooked meal at my place anyway."

Devon -- A couple minutes earlier

Devon felt so stupid; he was just trying to get the perfect angle of the town's oldest rail bridge as the sun that kept peeking through the snowstorm disappeared over the mountains. He was well away from the water when his foot slipped off the stone he was standing on. Devon thought he set his weight so he would fall into the snow if his footing faltered, but he didn't count on a layer of ice beneath the snow. In an instant, he was primarily submerged in icy water. His camera was the only thing that stayed clear of the river. The burst of cold felt akin to a flurry of electricity slamming through him before the dread replaced all the heat in his body.

Heart rate accelerating, he started to panic; even if he could make it out of the water, how could he get to heat before it became a problem. Devon desperately tried to claw himself out of the water a few times. Each attempt was rebuffed slick bank. When he finally was able to get his hands on a rock, his hands wouldn't grip; he was too cold. Actual fear for his life started to lance through his brain. One more time, then we are going to calm down and try something else. He told himself. He strained one last time when a figure appeared beside him and helped pull him out of the ice-covered water.

In a blur of motion, he was sat in the passenger seat of Emily's old Scout, clad in only a thick blanket. Emily tossed something in the backseat and sped him to her house. "Inside, on the couch. I'll make you something warm to drink."

"What abbbout you?" Devon's teeth were still chattering, but he was doing his best to control it. Emily had saved his life, no doubt about it in his mind.

"I just need to get some cider warming up, and then I'll get out of my wet clothes." The young woman seemed to be running on pure adrenaline, unaware that she was shivering.

"Should I be worried about you getttinggg ttttoo cold?" Devon stayed on the couch as ordered.

"No, your right." She walked into the living room and grabbed a fluffy blanket, and threw it on the recliner. Her wet coat, hat, gloves fell in a heap. She slipped off her boots and socks, then undid her chunky belt, quickly laying it on the island in the kitchen. Devon was shivering, but his eyes could leave her as she stripped in her living room. Off came her light brown top, seemingly unconcerned about her badge and other accouterments, probably colder than she was letting on. Her dripping wet bullet-proof vest joined the clothes and left her in an undershirt, rendered see-through by wetness sapping her body heat.

Emily slid off her pants and undies in a single move. She had long, muscular legs and a shaved pussy. Perhaps it was waxed, but he couldn't stop himself from staring as she whipped off her top and bra. Her breasts were far more prominent than her sports bra, or bullet-proof vest had intimated. Each topped with quarter-sized light pink areolae and very erect nipples. Every part of her looked toned and firm, with hints of abs. Devon was a little sad when she wrapped up in a blanket but wanted her to warm up.

"Wow, I was not expecting that." Devon couldn't help but smile. "You're beautiful."

"You're not bad yourself." She gave him a wink.

"Yeah, but you have a bedroom and more clothes. Most of mine are in a tree."

"I don't wear any when I am at home, surprise." She wrapped in her blanket and waddled into the adjoining kitchen and poured some apple cider into a saucepan, along with a couple of cinnamon sticks. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Explains why you keep the house so warm. Are you a home nudist?"

"I guess so, never really labeled it. I think there is a football game on if you want to watch that."

"Uh, sure."

"Your teeth stopped chattering." Emily smiled as she turned on the heat on the stove.

"Guess I got distracted."