It was the week of Christmas and the college was out for the holidays. Barry, Roger, and Eric had chosen to stay behind instead of going home. Barry didn't want to deal with his asshole stepfather. Roger's dad had lost the money for his airfare at the casino. And Eric's parents were spending the holiday in the Bermuda's.
On this particular day, Barry and Roger were in their dorm room watching porn when Eric burst into the room.
"Hello, bitches!" Eric said in his typical sarcastic manner. "Watching porn again, losers?"
Roger smiled. "Just watching another one of your mom's flicks."
Barry rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Eric?"
Eric puffed out his chest. "I've come bearing gifts. You know that Naughty or Nice party they have every year in Christmas Village?"
Roger shrugged his shoulder. "Yeah, I think I've heard of it."
"Yeah. Isn't that the adult party they have? That's supposed to be off the hook."
Eric held up an elegant red card with gold embossing and white lettering. "Exactly! And yours truly has an invitation to this year's event! And I can bring two guests!"
"What?! How the fuck did you get invited?"
"Yeah! Mommy and Daddy buy your way in?"
"Dunno, don't care. All I know if I've got a golden ticket and I'm inviting you two losers to go."
"Isn't that way up in the mountains? And, like, 4 hours away?"
"So? You got something better to do?"
*****
Two days later the trio found themselves in Eric's Lexus driving north. The further they went, the worse the snow got. A four hour trip quickly turned into six.
Eric squinted into the darkness and blinding snow. "Fuck, man. I can barely see!"
"Maybe we should just turn around and go back."
"Fuck you, man! We've come this far. We have to be getting close."
"How far into the mountains is this place?"
Suddenly, there was a flash of an object in the headlights.
Eric yanked the steering wheel. "Oh shit!"
"Watch out!"
"Gah fuck!"
The car spun out of control. The three men yelled as the car slid off the road and bounced down an embankment, finally coming to a rest with a severe lean to the right.
"What the fuck was that?" Eric asked once they came to a stop. "Was that a deer?"
"Looked more like a moose," Roger offered from the passenger seat.
"Or a reindeer," Barry said from the backseat.
Eric and Roger's heads snapped around.
"A reindeer?!"
"What? Are you twelve or something?"
"Naw, man, I'm just sayin'. It was fucking huge! And, I swear, it looked like it had some fucked up antlers or something!"
"It was a moose, I'm telling you."
"I don't give a fuck if it was Sasquatch." Eric held up his phone. "Fuck. No bars."
"Nope. Me neither."
"Nope. Nada."
"Fuck," Eric sighed. "Let's see if we can get this thing back on the road."
The men all fell out of the passenger side doors into the blizzard and surveyed the situation. They took turns behind the wheel while the other two pushed and shoved on various points of the car. But it was no use. They climbed back into the car wet and shivering.
Eric looked at his dashboard. "Fuck, it's almost empty. I don't have enough gas to keep this running all night."
Barry pointed into the woods. "Hey, are those lights?" The lights looked dim and far away.
"What? You think there's a house over there? Or Christmas Village?!"
"No way there's a fucking house out here! And the party would have way more lights than that."
"Man, I'm telling you, that's a house!"
The three men pondered their situation. The decision was made.
*****
After a 20-minute trek through the thick forest and ever-deepening snow, the forest finally gave way to a clearing. There before them was a grand old house that looked like it was from a Dutch village. Between the snow, the light glow of the lights, and the inviting nature of the villa, it looked like a postcard. But the men were too cold to appreciate the view as they raced to the front door.
Eric grabbed the thick iron knocker and banged on the ornate wooden front door. Their eyes widened when the door creaked open. Even frozen and shivering, they couldn't believe the stunning blonde goddess standing there on the other side of the door. Tall and lean, her long blonde hair fell across her shoulders and down a red silk robe with fluffy white trimming that was so short it barely reached her thighs, showing off her long tan legs. The heat rushing out of the house felt like a tropical breeze.
"My-my-my c-c-c-car-r-r-r-r sl...sli-i-i-i-d-d-d-d of-f-f-f-f-f..." Eric said through chattering teeth.
"Oh my goodness! Baby, it's cold outside! Come in! Come in!" The three men rushed past the beauty into the house. "Come with me. You can stand next to the fireplace and warm yourselves."
The house had a warm glow about it. Christmas music could be heard in every corner. It smelled like gingerbread. The men practically leapt into the large fireplace that was filled with a roaring fire and huddled in front of it.
"I apologize for how I'm dressed," the blonde said with a bashful smile. "We don't get visitors here very often and I was just settling in for a long winter's night."
"Oh! Ha ha! Don't...don't worry about it!"
"No! You're fine. No problem."
She giggled. "So, why were you boys dashing through the snow on such a dreadful night?"
Eric spoke up. "We were going out to Christmas Village when something ran out in front of me and I went off the road."
"Oh! You were going to the party?" she asked.
"Oh yeah! You know about it?" Barry asked.
"Of course I do! I've been to the Naughty or Nice party