It was snowing heavily and Hazel wondered if the bus would make it all the way home. It had struggled round the country roads and the steep hill was the final straw. The bus ground to a halt. The driver asked if anyone was able walk home; otherwise he advised people to wait on the bus until the recovery team came. Luckily for Hazel the bus had stopped a few yards from the end of her fiancé's parent's street. She would be able to stop there until the snow cleared, or stay the night if needs be. It was well past six o'clock so everyone was bound to be home.
Even though it wasn't far to walk Hazel was soon covered in snow that started to melt over her coat and jeans, leaving her wet through. She knocked on the side door - lights were shining behind the curtains so someone must be home. She was attempting to brush some of the snow off herself when Jack opened the door.
"Hello!" he said, cheerful as usual, "What are you doing here?"
She stepped inside. Hazel was a good looking girl of twenty-one: 5' 4", auburn hair and with a 36-28-32 figure. Even in her winter clothes she looked good - if anything the cold made her eyes sparkle more than usual and brought a flush of colour to her cheeks.
"The bus broke down at the end of Dove Street - I thought I'd see if I could stay here for awhile, until the weather calms down a bit." She started to unwind her scarf and take off her coat.
"Well, you're more than welcome to, wouldn't want you out in such horrible weather. But I don't know if Matt'll be back tonight - he just rang to say he'll probably be staying the night in a hotel near work. And Rosemary's stuck round at her mother's house."
"Oh." Hazel's face dropped. Matt was her fiancé and Rosemary was his mum, and Jack's wife. "It's ok then - I'll ring my mum to come and pick me up."
"Don't be silly, I couldn't get the 4x4 out earlier so I don't think there's much chance of anyone coming to pick you up. It might have cleared by the morning and anyway, you can sleep in Matt's room."
Hazel wasn't altogether displeased at the thought of spending the night alone with Jack. Although she knew that nothing could ever happen she had harboured a secret attraction to him for a long time. At 48 he was still very good looking, sharing much of the same facial features as Matt but with the benefit of having grown into them over time. Much as she liked Matt's flat stomach, trim waist and muscular sportsman's legs there was always something which attracted her to older men. Perhaps it was the extra weight they carried, the broader shoulders and the sense that if someone like Jack really did want to have her, there would be nothing she could do to stop him.
"But what about my clothes?" Hazel was stood in an ever-increasing puddle of melted snow. "I don't any spare ones with me."
"Just a minute, I'll go and get you Matt's dressing gown."
Jack soon returned, holding out a maroon coloured towelling gown.
"Here you go. Take your clothes off here and I'll put them in the tumble drier. No point trailing water through the house. I'll leave you to it."
Hazel took off her jeans, jumper, t-shirt and socks, leaving on only her matching white bra and pants. She pulled the dressing gown on and tied the belt around her waist.
"Done!" she shouted.
Jack re-entered the room, took her clothes from her and perfunctorily shoved them in the drier. Whilst he was in the living room he had been considering how this situation was exactly like one of his fantasies; one where Hazel was trapped in the house with him with no-one else around. He had often thought about what he would do to her; what he would have her do to him. The mere thought of it was beginning to turn him on - it was a long time since he had bedded anyone near the age of twenty-one. Seeing her in the kitchen with only the robe on, with dampened hair that was just beginning to curl and roses in her cheeks did not help the situation. He tried to stop himself having thoughts about the soft, young body that lay beneath the dressing gown.
"Right then; there's a bottle of wine open in the fridge if you want a glass. In fact, bring the bottle with you into the living room."
There was nothing unusual about Jack asking her if she'd like a drink; they had often sat outside on a summers evening with a glass of wine while Rosemary did the garden or Matt mowed the lawn. She poured a glass, picked up the bottle and went to sit on the settee. Jack was sat in his usual chair, flicking through the TV channels.
"This is cosy, isn't it?" He coughed. "Anything you want to watch in particular?"
"No not really; I'll let you choose," Hazel replied.
They both sat watching the TV for an hour, gradually getting through the bottle between them. The wine made Hazel bolder - alcohol always went straight to her head.
"It's not fair," she pouted, "Your chair's next to the radiator - I've only got a dressing gown on. I should be sat there."
"Come and sit here then," said Jack, looking at her with a smile and a challenging look in his eyes. Both knew that they had been to this line before but neither had ever dared to cross it.
"What? Swap places you mean?"
"No; there's plenty of room for us both to sit here. And I'm sure you're not that heavy."
"Fine - don't blame me if I squash you though!" She went and stood in front of him. "Are you sure about this?"
He nodded. Both knew that this was about more than sharing a chair, but to have said it aloud would have made the situation all too real.
