I own this little cabin up in the hills. Basically it's just a single room with bathroom and kitchen attached, enough for an occasional stay. I mainly use it when I'm trying to resolve a problem I've encountered in whatever project I was currently working on. Sometimes the peace and quiet lets me relax enough to either see a solution or point me to a method by which I can reach a solution. It had also, at times, sparked the sudden realisation that I'm being a moron and that my bright idea is totally outside the realms of physics as we know them, leading to the abandonment of a project as I move on to something more productive.
I don't keep anything of value in the cabin because some people are natural thieves who'll take anything not nailed down. I also never bothered to lock the door, working on the principle that I'd rather someone opened the door and walked in rather that have them break a window or break the door down.
I did get occasional visitors whether I was there or not. Generally hikers who were too stupid to check the weather forecast and wound up stuck in the hills during a heavy storm. A silly little tent wasn't much use during a big storm. And there were always the ones who didn't even bother with a tent, wanting to sleep under the stars.
I was up at the cabin working on the design of a new computer chip. This wasn't one of my bright ideas but a contract that I was being paid for, and well paid at that. It was one of those things where I wasn't going to guarantee a result as the client had some pretty whacky ideas as to what the chip had to be able to do. Still and all, I thought I had a pretty good shot of bringing it off.
I'd just put my work away for the night when I heard an almighty great crack of thunder. Coming through the thunder I also heard a wail of fright so I opened my door to see if there was anyone outside in need of assistance. There wasn't, as two small forms went barrelling past me as soon as the door was open wide enough to admit them.
"Good evening," I said. "Would you like to come in? Oh, you already have. Welcome to my humble abode. How may I assist you?"
Even as I was speaking there was another crack of thunder and the rains came tumbling down. From the sound of it, so did the hailstones. My visitors escaped drowning while walking by seconds. I turned to see what the winds had blown my way.
Two young ladies were looking back at, looking cute the way they were all bundled up. One of them was glaring daggers at me, apparently not appreciative of my sense of humour, or not wanting my presence in their refuge. The other was looking slightly embarrassed at having barged in on me.
"I'm Mark, famous inventor and all-round nice guy," I introduced myself. "And you would be?"
"I'm Lee-Anne and my friend is Heather," said the belligerent looking one. "What are you famous for inventing? I've never heard of you."
"Lee-Anne," hissed her friend. "That is so rude."
"No, no," I protested. "A fair and reasonably question. Amongst many things I invented the double barrel riot control water cannon. An extremely useful devise in the current political turmoil. It's most unfortunate that no-one seems willing to make them or buy them. Still, I do hold the patent."
Lee-Anne gave me an odd look. Really, it wasn't my fault I hadn't sold any of the cannons. The idea had seemed marvellous when I first conceived it. Of course, I was only eight at the time, but one must make allowances for boyish enthusiasm.
"Well, as I was saying, how may I assist you? You've picked very inclement weather to be wandering around the mountain visiting people."
"The weather forecast was for fair weather," Heather said. "We didn't expect it to rain and now we're stuck. Can we stay here until tomorrow?"
"Certainly. Um, what you see is what you get. That door has a mini bathroom behind it and that door has a mini kitchen. Can either of you cook? I can, in that the food is cooked and edible, but at times the edible description is a little flattering."
"What, you expect us to cook for you?" demanded Lee-Anne, sounding indignant. "We're supposed to cook because cooking is women's work and we're women?"
"Not exactly. I'm hoping one of you will cook because cooking is a chef's work and a chef I am not. My experiments in the kitchen are very exciting but, I have to admit, calling them edible might be stretching it at times. As to being women's work everyone knows that all the best chefs are men."
"I don't mind cooking," Heather said quickly, probably to stop Lee-Anne from saying what she wanted to. "I'm quite a good cook. What have you got? I can dig out some of our own stuff if you prefer."
"There are steaks in the fridge along with eggs and vegetables. Why don't you see what you can do? You can hang your jackets up over there."
They hung up their jackets and Heather vanished into the kitchen. Just Heather as the kitchen was a little too small for two people. Lee-Anne sat on the couch and glowered at me. For some reason she'd taken an immediate dislike to me. I shrugged and ignored her.
Without being bundled up in their jackets the two girls appeared to be about age twenty, give or take a year. Pretty enough in the way that healthy young women are always pretty. Neither seemed to be carrying any excess weight and the weight they did have was very nicely distributed.
I picked up a book and started to read, ignoring Lee-Anne. Typically, Lee-Anne didn't want to be ignored. No doubt if I'd tried to strike up a conversation she'd have ignored me quite happily.
"How can you live in a place like this?" she demanded.
"I don't. I actually reside in a very nice place in the city. This is just my weekend getaway."
"You're here now and it's not the weekend."
"Very astute of you," I said and nothing else.
"Not very big, is it?"
"Big enough for one," I pointed out. "I don't normally have visitors."
We lapsed into silence, Lee-Anne sitting their glowering and me relaxed and reading. I had no idea why she was feeling so hostile. It wasn't my fault that she'd got the weather wrong and I was giving them shelter and feeding them. Just feeling contrary, I guessed.
After a while Heather came out of the kitchen with steaks covered in a mushroom sauce and some vegetables. Very tasty it looked and sampling it showed that the looks weren't deceiving.
After dinner I cleaned up while the girls were busy talking quietly. When I stepped back into the main room Heather raised the question of where they could spread their sleeping bags for the night.
"Now that might be a trifle difficult," I told them. I went on to explain. "The table collapses back against the wall and the couch folds out into a large bed. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave any room for sleeping bags to be laid out. You're welcome to share the bed, of course."
Lee-Anne promptly jumped to her feet and checked first the kitchen and then the bathroom, having to concede in both case that they could not lay out their sleeping bags there. It was use the bed or try to sleep sitting on the floor.
This news led to a lot of desperate whispering between the girls. Maybe it was just my imagination but it seemed to me that neither of them was too enthused about sleeping in the same bed as me. Maybe it was my breath.
I used the bathroom and when I came out both the girls darted into it. While they were in there I took the opportunity to fold up the table and unfold the couch, grabbing the thick blankets that were stored in the built-in drawer. It could get very cold at night. When the girls came out of the bathroom I was lying back on the bed, mainly because there was nowhere else to be. Like I said, it was a small cabin.
When the girls came out of the bathroom I got quite a shock. I swear, if I had false teeth I'd have swallowed them. They were both standing there, beautifully naked. What the fuck, was my immediate thought? Heather was blushing and looking embarrassed and a little desperate. Lee-Anne was flushed, rather than blushing, and from the look on her face it was a combination of embarrassment and fury.
"Oh," I said with surprise. "I didn't realise you were together that way."
