Author's Notes: This was originally a submission from the 2013 Winter Holidays Contest on Literotica. I'm reposting it once again for my reader's enjoyment.
***
Part 1
Will you hold me sacred? Will you hold me tight?
Can you colorize my life; I'm so sick of black and white?
Can you make it all a little less old?
I can do that...
-Meat Loaf, "I'd do anything for love" (1993)
Emily brushed the snow off of her jacket as she entered the main doors of the lodge with her friends. The blowing snow had picked up just a bit right as they arrived. "I don't see why we had to take separate cars," Emily said as she watched her three friends shuck off their coats to hang in the nearby closet. Her brow furrowed with confusion as they each then took their car keys and tossed them into a large bowl in the entryway that already had a lot of sets inside.
"Come on, Emi, your turn," her closest friend, Samantha prompted her. Behind her Jenna and Danielle wore big, knowing smiles.
"Is this for sobriety or something?" Emily asked. She had no intention of getting drunk tonight. If anything, she'd maybe have one drink and be done with the whole evening.
"More of the 'or something' category," Jenna giggled.
Rolling her eyes, Emily tossed her keys in amid the cheers of her friends. She ditched her coat in the closet and followed them out into the main area. At first she was overwhelmed by the loud holiday music and myriad of decorations all over the place. Outside, the mountain lodge looked a bit unassuming with its wooden exterior jutting up two levels out of the serene area covered with soft, newly fallen snow. The inside, however, was decked out with miles of tinsel, enough wreaths to cover every door in a small town, and more mistletoe that she'd ever seen in her life.
Milling around the lodge, and sashaying across the designated dance floor, were a few traditional Santas, each with a sexy Mrs. Santa on his arm; a few buff Santas that looked like they could double as holiday Chippendale dancers; and way too many sexy elves-both male and female-than she could count. At one end of the large hall, stockings hung on the mantle above the huge fireplace; at the other end, a giant tree that had been fully trimmed stood proudly next to two story windows, showing the snow covered pine forest beyond; a silent reminder as to just how cold it was outside.
By the time their little quartet had arrived, the party was already in full swing. Off in one corner, a woman dressed in Mrs. Santa lingerie was tending bar. Tables to either side had rows of eggnog waiting to be taken. Emily hesitated at the entryway, feeling woefully out of place in the little black dress her friends had convinced her to wear for the occasion, stating that she really needed to get out more. In her opinion, the dress, which left her shoulders bare, showed way too much leg and cleavage. Judging by the abundance of lustful looks she was getting from the guys, and even a couple of girls, she was probably alone in that opinion.
Her friends grabbed her by either wrist to haul her over to the bar for a drink to get her to loosen up. Emily ordered a fuzzy navel and fended off a few advances and a couple of outright propositions as she quickly made her way to a dark recess under an overhang where she could sit with her back to the wall and watch the party with morbid fascination. There, in her quiet little nook, she could observe and feel relatively safe. Her friends hardly noticed her departure as they took their drinks and disappeared into the crowd. More power to them. She just wanted to stay out of sight and out of mind while she silently gauged how long she would need to stay until she could call it an early night and drive home to her college dorm room.
As Emily sat and sipped at her drink in silence, she began to notice little things happening around the massive room. It wasn't long before she got a sinking suspicion that this was more than just a mere winter holiday bash. First, it was the couple that started necking on the faux fur rug in front of the roaring fire. Then there was the couple feeling each other up on a couch by one of the widows. And when she saw two pairs of stockinged legs, both decidedly female, sticking out from underneath the Christmas tree, her jaw dropped. There was little imagination required to figure out what was going on amongst those fake presents.
Emily was aghast at the sheer brazenness of it all. Then, a few minutes later, something even more unexpected happened: she found herself oddly turned on by the spectacle, growing damp between her legs. Subconsciously she rubbed her knees together and clenched her loins causing the soft material of her black thigh high hose to make a gentle swishing sound. Her skirt rode up a little bit and she tugged it down further over her thighs in hopes that no one would notice. Her breasts swelled inside of her dress and her nipples stood on end, demanding attention, as her eyes darted from one sexual escapade to another. She let out a little gasp when she noticed that Jenna and Samantha were now engaged in some very close and very intimate dancing out in the middle of the floor.
"Enjoying the show?" A deep voice laced with amusement off to her right suddenly asked, shocking her out of her newfound voyeurism.
Emily, caught completely off guard, squeaked and jumped in her seat. She blushed furiously and brushed a stray strand of her auburn hair out of her face in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner. Planning to take a quick sip to buy time, her hand darted out to grab her glass. When she fumbled, sloshing the contents, the man chuckled and sat off to her right. She strained, in the dim light, to see who it was. He was wearing a causal business suit and looked somewhat familiar; she'd seen him around campus before. "It's Cole, isn't it," she asked. The man nodded and smiled at her recognition. She let out an irritated huff of air as the adrenaline surge from being spooked subsided. "Don't you ever make any noise when you move around?"
"No, not really," Cole replied, his dazzling smile evident even in the poor light. He made it a habit to move around in such a way that no one ever seemed to know where he was. When he saw her sitting out of the way of the main floor, he couldn't help but come over to say hi in his own way.
His steel eyes seemed to dance with the lighting as he casually leaned back in the loveseat, his drink in hand, as he turned his attention to the dancing on the main floor. "You still haven't answered my question."
"No, I'm not, as a matter of fact," she said as she felt her face flush. His gaze returned to her, seeming to bore into her very soul.
Cole let out a harrumph. "Aren't you a terrible liar." He took a sip of his soda while he continued to look her up and down. She appeared the typical "girl next door," and looked out of place for this kind of party. The distant firelight caught the red highlights in her hair perfectly. She had curves in just the right places and it looked to him as if she were poured into the black dress. Her nice, full breasts and slightly flared hips were evident. He caught just the hint of garters running down her well defined thighs, holding her black hose up, and his cock bulged in his pants as he imagined what she was wearing underneath the dress. Not many girls these days bothered with garters. "I'd be willing to bet good money that you have damp panties right now," he commented, crossing his legs to hide his growing arousal.
"Only because the fire is keeping things extremely hot in here," Emily replied as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Hm, a deft parry, but the touch still lands," Cole said with amusement. "You're one of Sam's friends, aren't you, the quiet one always in the back of her little quartet?" Emily swallowed hard but managed to nod. There was something hypnotic about his gaze. "So what should I call you," Cole asked, searching for her name.
"Not interested."
Cole chuckled. "Okay, 'Not Interested', I must say that is a mouthful and will make future conversation a bit awkward." When she bit her lip and looked down at her drink he decided that he'd let the line out a bit to give her time. He rose to his feet, took her hand into his, and brushed his lips across her knuckles. "I'm going to go mingle a bit, but I wouldn't mind talking to you later. I will say this, Miss Not Interested, if you wind up with another man tonight, I will be extremely disappointed."
Emily felt a cold chill run through her body from his kiss. She couldn't help but shiver as her eyes met his. He was tall, at least six feet, and extremely handsome. Her insides melted at his charming smile, and she was slightly disappointed that he walked off, seemingly fading back into the darkness. He was the first man not to outright proposition her tonight and it made her curious. Should she be worried or should she be thrilled?
"Emi! There you are!" Danielle's voice called out. Emily's head whipped around and she saw her friend coming towards her from the opposite direction.
Danielle was beside her within a minute, locking arms, and prying her away from the lounge chair. "What are you doing hiding here? You should be out amongst the crowd, meeting people, making new friends, and maybe getting some before the party ends."
"But-But I've already met someone," Emily protested as she was drug from her safe spot, dropping her drink in the process.
"Oooooo..." Danielle squealed with delight. "Really? Where is he? Who is he?"
Emily stammered for a bit, unsure of telling Danielle who she'd met. "Uhm, some guy from around campus," she said. "I hardly know him," she quickly blurted out.
"Hm, but we might. Come on, give, did you get his name at least?"
Before she could answer, Jenna broke out of the crowd and joined them. "Oh my god, Emily I can't believe it. I just heard that Cole Grafton is asking around about you!" Jenna threw her arms around Emily and squeezed hard. "You are SO lucky!"
Danielle gaped at Jenna, "As in
the
Cole Grafton? No way!" she gave a playful dirty look to Emily. "Tell me the truth; was he the guy you met?"
Emily felt uncomfortable under her friends' questioning looks; they practically held their breath waiting for her to answer. She let out a tiny sigh of resignation. "Uhm... maybe," she gave them a weak smile; both squealed with glee.
"He is so hot!" Danielle gushed.
"He'd be so good for you, not like that last asshole you dated," Jenna added, practically bouncing up and down.
"You mean the last