This may become part of a short series, if there's enough interest from readers to continue the story. Let me know in the comments, and please vote if you enjoy my writing. Thanks!
__________
My wife and I had been going on ski vacations with the same group of friends since we were in college. But as we had gotten older, gotten married, and started having kids, the trips became fewer and farther between -- until eventually, they stopped all together.
Up until this point it had been about 8 years since our last group ski trip, and this year, my wife and some of the other ladies finally decided it was time to bring the gang back together. After a lot of coordinating and months of planning, only three of the families could make it work -- Bob and Erin, Tom and Rachel, and Carly and I, along with ten kids between us all, ranging from 6 to 12 years old. We rented a massive house in Vermont that included all the amenities you could want -- a hot tub, sauna, play room, bar, and a bunch of bedrooms that could comfortably accommodate up to 16 people.
Although I was looking forward to hanging out with our friends after so many years, there was one person I was less enthusiastic about seeing -- Rachel. Rachel and my wife had been good friends, roommates, and soccer teammates in college, which is when Carly and I first started dating. The more time I spent with Carly, the more I was exposed to Rachel, and the more I realized that Rachel and I would never really gel.
Rachel, like Carly, was pretty and athletic and popular. The problem was that Rachel knew it, and unlike Carly, she could be catty, superficial, and extremely argumentative. And for whatever reason, she particularly chose to be argumentative with me. We could never see eye to eye on anything, except of course, for how much we both loved Carly. Initially, I thought Rachel's attitude toward me was out of jealousy of Carly, or being overly protective of her friend. But the more I got to know her, the more I realized that it was just her personality and something she and I couldn't really work out.
In the end, Carly stopped trying to force a friendship between us. She accepted that we could both love her, even if we couldn't necessarily stand each other. That was Carly. She always saw the good in people -- which of course, was one of things I loved about her.
So, out of our mutual love for Carly, Rachel and I had an unspoken agreement to do our best to stay cordial and friendly with each other, especially in group settings. Still, when we were alone and out of Carly's earshot, Rachel found ways to poke at me with little comments and digs.
To solve for that, I avoided being alone with her like the plague. And for years, with our large group of friends, it worked. But with just three couples, even with all the kids, I really hoped we could avoid confrontation.
"Honey, I'm sure you and Rachel will be fine," Carly encouraged me. "Besides, it's a big house, and you'll hang out mostly with the guys."
"Yeah," I tried to agree. "Tom's a good guy... I don't know how he puts up with Rachel, honestly."
"Don't worry... Erin and I will keep Rachel busy. And besides, with the kids and skiing, no one will have any time or energy to argue."
I loved Carly's positivity and grace. And she was usually right about things like this. So when we first arrived to the house, I greeted everyone with warm hugs and kisses, including Rachel. And for her part, Rachel seemed warm and genuine as she hugged me back.
The rest of our first night at the house went well. The kids and parents were all exhausted from the 4+ hours of driving, and everyone just wanted to veg out watching a movie after a big family-style dinner. After we got all the kids settled into the great room, the parents moved to the smaller family room downstairs for some adult beverages.
The house Carly had found was pretty incredible. It felt more like a small hotel. It was three stories, with a well-stocked kitchen that opened to a massive great room in the middle of the house. A large stone fireplace in the middle of the great room divided the house into two wings. On either side of the fireplace was a palatial panel of floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the wintery valley below. As the sun set behind the mountains across from us, it cast a silhouette of shadows onto the ski trails. The headlights from the snowcats were the only sign of life, as they worked their way up the mountain, grooming the steep slopes we'd be skiing on the next day.
There were ten bedrooms stacked on two floors in one wing of the house, and the other wing held all the amenities like the sauna and play room, as well as a family room with a smaller fire place, tv, pool table, and - most importantly - a wet bar.
The three couples made our way down to the bar and spent most of the night catching up, watching college football, and playing pool... and of course, drinking. By midnight, everyone had gathered their kids and gone to bed, and I found myself alone.
I sat quietly, relishing the peace and tranquility of the silence for a few minutes before starting to clean up the cans of beer and seltzers everyone had left out. I figured it would make it easier on everyone in the morning if we started the day with a clear space. Through the stairwell, I heard someone walking down the hall. I hoped I hadn't woken anyone up. I assumed it was one of the kids going to the bathroom. I went back to cleaning up, trying to stay quiet so as not to wake anyone else.
After a few minutes, I heard the stairs creaking, and the light in the hallway turned on. I was shocked to see Rachel step into the room.
"What are you doing?" She asked annoyed. Her bare arms were folded across her tank top, low across her chest like she was covering herself up.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you... I was just trying to clean up a bit." I whispered back.
Rachel scowled at me. "You didn't wake me."
"Uh... well, okay," I shrugged back. I wasn't in the mood to spar with her at the moment, and went back to tidying up.
I was grateful when Rachel walked away, disappearing back up the stairs, and presumably back to bed. But after a few minutes, I heard the stairs creaking again, and Rachel reappeared into the room. She had thrown a sweatshirt over her tank top, and without saying a word, she started to help clean things up.
I suddenly wished I had gone to bed sooner. Working quietly was awkward. Especially since I had worked so hard to avoid being alone with her for so long.
"You don't have to do that," I broke the silence first.
"It's fine. I couldn't sleep anyway. Tom is snoring away and the kids all ended up in our bed...
I chuckled a little. "That sucks." I could suffer through a little small talk for a few minutes, i guess.
"Yeah..." She said slowly, as she fluffed the pillows on the big couch. "So I was just going to sleep out here."
"Oh... um, okay." I replied.
As Rachel bent over to rearrange the pillows on the couch, I realized how thin the material of her pajama pants were. I couldn't help but stare as the fabric stretched over two perfectly round ass cheeks, framed in a red lace thong. Like my wife, Rachel had maintained her athletic college figure, even after having three kids. But that's where their similarities ended. Where Carly was short and blonde, Rachel was a tall brunette. Rachel was also more voluptuous than Carly, with larger breasts and an ass to match.
Obviously, I had noticed the differences between Carly and Rachel's bodies before, and would be lying if I said I hadn't at least imagined what she might look like naked. But her personality had always been a major turn off for me, which I just couldn't get past. Besides, I really did love my wife, and there was nothing I would ever do to jeopardize my relationship with her.
At least, that's what I thought.
Rachel's voice brought me back to reality and I quickly looked away. "Well, who would've thought you'd be the one cleaning up all by yourself!"
