Hidden in the Snow

"Hey, honey, did you girls fall asleep back there?"

Julie's brain was clicking on and off, constantly switching between the darkness of sleep and the vivid lights of reality. She heard her mother's voice reaching out to her in the background, but it sounded far away and faint, like the sleepy sound of waves breaking on the beach. Last thing she remembered was pulling out of the airport, her head resting against the car window, watching incoming and outgoing flights. And then her eyes just closed. She always enjoyed the soothing sensation that came with sleeping inside a moving vehicle: the icy glass squeezing against her cheek; the light vibrations absorbed through her temple; the way her teeth and car engine chattered in unison. It was almost orgasmic in a way.

For how long have we been driving?

Julie wondered dreamily

. Ten minutes? An hour?

Time and place were still a blur as she slowly detached from the realms of her dreams. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of pale blue skies above the faded color of green. They were the colors of winter in Vermont.

"What... did you say something, Mom?" Julie asked with sleep still thick in her voice.

"I asked if you girls were asleep back there," Debra replied, already knowing the answer was yes, by her daughter's weary voice.

Julie slowly tilted her head to the left, her neck giving a soft cracking sound as she turns. She saw Bailey, with her knitted ski hat pulled down all the way to the tip of her nose, sleeping next to her. Julie balled her hand into a fist and lightly punched Bailey on the shoulder. It was a soft whack; the kind that would only disrupt the lightest of sleepers. Bailey shrugged her shoulder, but otherwise kept on sleeping.

"Bailey's asleep," Julie said dully.

Krystal, the woman sitting at the driver's seat, looked at the rear view mirror and smiled at the sight of her little girl, Bailey, cuddled at the back. Well, Bailey was hardly a

little

girl anymore. After all, they had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday last May, but it was more comforting for Krystal to think of her as one. Grown up or not, she was still her Little Hellraiser. Maybe now more than ever.

"How long 'till we get there?" Julie asked impatiently, wriggling her slender pelvis on the car seat while trying to shake that immense feeling of tiresomeness.

"About twenty more minutes or so," her mom answered. "If we're lucky."

"

If

we're lucky," Krystal repeated. It was winter season, and even worse, it was tourist season. It was a pretty calm day, weather-wise, so they weren't expecting any closed roads, but both Debra and Krystal knew that once they reach Stowe the main roads will be clogged with out-of-towners.

Julie shifted her head back to the window. The snow was piling up at the shoulders of the road. The forest was draped with a thick blanket of white, looking like the polished cover of a Christmas poetry book. Birch trees stood erect along the route, frosty and naked of leaves. The skies above, gradually turning silver blue as the morning bled into the early noon hours.

Soon enough we'll be at the lodge

, Julie thought drowsily.

No school, no papers, no exams, nothing except complete and utter relaxation

. And with her eyes hypnotically mesmerized by the view, she began to sink into another deep sleep.

Making the trip up to Vermont has been a yearly tradition in Julie's family for over a decade. Her father, back when he was alive, bought a beautiful timeshare unit at Stowe, and every year, usually a couple of weeks before Christmas, they would pack their bags and leave their home in Long Island in favor of the family trip.

Julie still remembers how every year without fail, her dad used to take down his old pair of skis from the attic (even though by looking at their polished surface, one would assume they were fairly new). He would look at her with that big smile of his that always complemented the dimple on his chin, standing tall and proud, telling her how much fun it will be at the slopes, though eventually he would spend most of his time watching football back at the lodge or going to whatever husband-wife activities her mom signed them into.

Aunt Krystal, her mother's younger sister, would usually join them on the trip. Krystal was the first of the two sisters to bury her husband. She was only married for three years, and her daughter Bailey was at the precious age of two, when her husband was involved in a horrible car accident. Sixteen years had passed and Krystal never remarried.

Five years ago, Debra suffered the same terrible loss, as her own husband, Julie's dad, suffered a deadly heart attack while he was sleeping. Much like her younger sister, Debra also remained a widow.

Today, Julie is twenty-two-years-old; she recently began her second year at Columbia Law School.

"You'll be one heck of a lawyer one day, Jules, I just know it," Debra had told her the day she got the acceptance letter from Columbia. She softly caressed her daughter's long raven hair, pride beaming out of her eyes. "And then maybe you could help your mom deal with some of these clients better than the bone-dead lawyers I now have," She told her giggling.

"Don't think you can afford me, Ma'," Julie fired back with a grin.

Debra pressed her hand over chest and gasped for hair, acting as if she was hurt, only to burst out with a gale of laughter a second later. She was indeed very proud of her Little Jules, always have been.

The group of four women took an early morning flight from New-York to Burlington International Airport in Vermont and from there they rented a Ford SUV, ("The big red one", as Bailey childishly insisted) to drive it up to the family's winter lodge in Stowe.

For the most part, it was a casual drive down Interstate 89. Krystal was behind the wheel and Debra was at the passenger seat beside her. The two sisters were mostly talking shop. Krystal was the owner of a large bookstore in Long Island and recently she launched an online version of her store with much success. Debra has inherited her late husband's successful real estate agency, where she once served as a founding partner and a secretary. Businesswise, the past five years, with Debra at the helm of the agency, had been some of the most thriving years the agency had ever known. Every once in a while Krystal and Debra would cut each other's sentences and say: "We really shouldn't talk

work

while on vacation," but that's where the conversation always seemed to sway back to. At the backseat, the cousins, Julie and Bailey, were both napping and having snow-covered dreams. Both girls grew up as close as sisters and even though the age difference drove them apart a bit as they grew older, there was still a strong and undeniable bond between them.

Once they got up on route 100, the narrow road began to overflow with cars. Vacationers of all sorts: families, young couples, students. They were all trying to beat the traffic and reach their designated vacation spot. By that point, all four were awake inside the vehicle; it was impossible to sleep with all the people honking at each other.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses blared out of the car-radio with its soaring guitar riff intro.

"Oh, I love this song! Volume up, Ma'!" Bailey cried out with excitement.

"Here you go," Krystal inched the volume up a tick. "Sweet Child of Mine to my sweet child."

"Ugh. Lame, Mom. Really lame," Bailey said coldly.

Julie looked outside her window and cautiously observed the swarm of cars, trying to picture the life stories of its travelers, a hobby she had picked up from her adolescent years when going on long car-rides such as this.

On the right lane: a blue Sedan, with a family of five. The Man, supporting a thick mustache, maybe twenty-five-years out of date, looked stone faced, even though his three kids at the backseat seemed to be raising all kinds of Hell. His wife sat motionless in her seat, fiddling lifelessly with her iPhone, paying no attention to the rambunctious pack at the rear. Julie unpleasantly smiled at the sight.

I could see this one becoming a great Condoms commercial

, she thought humorously.

Next to them she saw a white Ford Fiesta, with a young couple in it. The young lady rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder while the two were waiting for the traffic to die down.

Probably a weekend of unadulterated sex is waiting for theses two

, Julie thought.

I bet once they reach their lodge they'll be unzipping each other's pants, even before the car engine cools off. I sure can't blame them....

She thought of Jason, her ex-boyfriend. It had been four months since they separated and she hasn't dated anyone since. School work was keeping her busy enough, so there were was never any time to dwell on the fact that she lacks a partner in her life. But it always came down to moments like this, when she saw another young couple and the feeling of envy and deep longing crept up from the bottom of her throat to the side of her jaws.

She missed all the endearing aspects of having a boyfriend, but the thing she missed most of all was actually the sex, which was quite surprising for her. Julie was never the sex-monger (a term she privately uses on several of the girls she knows from university); she discovered sex much later than the rest of her friends, and when she did finally do it, it was never exquisitely unique or special. Just the basic stuff. But even that she missed — the basic. It was a feeling of emptiness that crawled from between her thighs and slithered sharply in between her legs; a deep yearning for something hard and stiff, slipping in between her tight creases, digging inside her and filling that tingling

void

.

Julie squirmed in her seat just from thinking about it. She pressed her thighs tightly together, grinded her teeth and tried to mentally dump a cold bucket of water over her head.

In the background, Axel Rose was still singing about his sweet love, with his screeching, high-pitched voice.

Julie gave the young couple in the white Ford one last, somewhat resentful look.

Enjoy your all your wonderful sex and titillating orgasms. That's one thing I don't need to worry about this weekend.

*****

"So Jules, how's school going?" Bailey asked with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

The foursome had reached the lodge at 12:15 P.M. Both Bailey and Julie had each grabbed a random suitcase from the trunk of the car, carried it inside the lodge and dropped it on the hardwood floor almost as soon as they entered. And instead of helping their mothers with the rest of the luggage, they decided that crashing on the living room sofas was a much more welcoming choice. Both girls had their feet up on the couch and their arms tossed lifelessly to the sides, looking as exhausted as coal-miners after a long day of laboring in a stifling pit.

"School's hard work, man," Julie said. Her long legs stretched up on the couch. Her eyes were blank, looking at the wood paneled ceiling. "Law School is no cakewalk. But -- so far I manage."

Bailey opened her mouth to reply but then closed it immediately. Her eyes were thoughtful.

In those few moments of silence, Julie was able to survey the lodge. She had a lot of great memories there, enough to cover a few sets of photo albums. She was about eleven-years-old when she had first come to the lodge. Since then she had been there every winter of her teen years, up until the moment her dad passed away. They returned making use of the place last year, after a three years hiatus.

What Julie liked most was the peacefulness of the location. The house was buried deep within the secluded, forested area of Mt. Mansfield. By evening they were literally in the shadow of the mountains. The only way of getting to the lodge is by driving down a narrow dirt road lined with dense foliage and surrounded with wild shrubbery. With no other lodges or timeshares in the area, no one used the road except for them. As a child, Julie used to think of it as a fairytale house. As an adult, she simply sees it as the perfect escape.

Once you pass the front door to enter the house, the feeling of tranquility and coziness immediately settles in. The interior of the lodge was designed carefully with Old-World charm, giving the impression that you were not only miles away from home, but also years away from home. The floors were aged wood; the walls were honey-colored Maple paneling, completed with a rustic finish. The living room was remarkably cozy, with a wood-burning fireplace at its focal point. The four double bedrooms were located on a second deck, easily reached by a small flight of stairs from the main living room.

"Well, you're smart. I'm sure you'll do just fine," Bailey finally said. "Plus, you're in College, how can you really concentrate with all these good lookin' boys all over the place."

Julie smirked and nodded lightly."Yeah, I guess you're right," She told Bailey, not really buying into her own answer.

While there was a plethora of handsome and ambitious young men to choose from at Columbia, Julie also knew that Bailey's mind may have depicted a much more extravagant picture of this matter. Moreover, since the separation from her last boyfriend, Jason, Julie had made the conscious decision of putting studying as her main priority. Most of her social life was on hold and her dating life was nonexistent. A lot of the people looked at Julie as someone who was a little standoffish. It wasn't because Julie was the only girl to skip parties, but it was because Julie was the most noticeable one. Prior to Columbia Julie had a successful yet short-lived modeling career. One of the photographers described Julie's looks as mysterious and enchanting, and he was utterly disappointed to find out that Julie decided to pursue her dreams of becoming a lawyer instead of a model. And unlike the rest of her peers, Julie had devoted the bulk of her time in university in actual studying.

" ... after all that's why we're all here, isn't it?" she had once told her roommate and best friend, Audra, after declining to go to yet another student-party.

"No, we're here to snag some boys," Audra told her with a steady voice. "Besides I'm sick of boys coming up to me, asking: 'Hey, you're roommates with that blue eyed chick, right?'" She said in her best stoner voice. "'How come we never see her at parties,

duuude

?'" and then she took a drag from an imaginary doobie.

Julie burst out laughing. "These are the boys I'm missing? Potheads?" She said, still laughing and clearing tears from the sides of her eyes.

"Hey! Today's Potheads are tomorrow's leaders," Audra snapped back, sounding almost serious before her laughter gusted out in high pitch tones.

A gentle smile played on Julie's face; not the one in Columbia but the one who was sitting with her cousin in the beautiful and picturesque town of Stowe. As hard as she studied, she still had some fond memories from school.

"How 'bout you, Bai, got any boys in your life?" Julie asked her cousin out of genuine interest. It's been too long since they talked about such matters.

Bailey sat up straight on the couch. Her eyes were wide and very thoughtful.

"There was this boy... we dated for a while, but... you know, nothing too serious. It's over by now, so... you know, nothing that exciting on my front."

Bailey still possessed a childlike quality in her voice, Julie realized. It was almost adorable in a way.

"Well don't worry, Bai, you're a beautiful kid. You'll have no problem finding Mr. Right," Julie said and shifted upwards on the couch, leaning on her elbows. Then she smirked and added, "Just give the boys a little flash of your funbags over there, and they'll come flocking in," She said with a grin, gesturing with her head at the ample swell of Bailey's breasts.

It was rather noticeable that Bailey had really developed in the last couple of years. Even under her thick turtleneck sweater, Julie could see the two large bulges of her chest. In all honesty, Julie thought, there should be no problem for Bailey to snag some boys, as Audra would put it. Bailey had a cute round face, with a pink button nose. Her hair, hazel brown, was long and straightened down all the way to the small of her back. Her slender figure was heavily accentuated by her generous pair of breasts. Even the way her ass and legs were featured so prominently in those tight jeans, was enough proof that her young cousin had matured into an astonishing looking woman, which would most likely steal more than a few glances from men, if she hadn't already.

"Fuck you," Bailey retaliated with half a grin and flipped Julie the bird. "You think it's fun walking around with these two fuckers?" She cupped her breasts, lifting them up almost to chin-level. When she moved her hands away the large breasts fell in a mesmerizing tumble, swimming and shaking under the thick fabric of her sweater, until eventually settling into the normal position. Julie was wide eyed; she couldn't shy away from noticing it even if she tried.

"Probably mess up my game at the slopes too..." Bailey said in a low voice and looked down accusingly at her chest.

"

Pah-leez

... don't blame your suckingness at skiing on your boobs. Even without them you got no game."

"Oh!" Bailey's mouth hung open in a shocked and rather comical O. "You'll eat your words, bitch."

Debra and Krystal entered the lodge almost on cue. Both cousins traded glances with one another in an awkward moment of silence, and then burst out with laughter.

The two sisters, both carrying a few heavy bags at each hand, looked at each other perplexed, not sure what joke they had just missed.

"Well I'm glad to see that at least your laughing muscles are working, and oh-please, don't get off your sweet little asses and help your dear old mothers with the luggage. We can handle it just fine," Krystal told the girls as she made her way inside.

"We know, that's why we stayed here," Bailey said, slouching on the couch and throwing an amused look at Julie.

"You see these girls we have," Krystal looked at her sister Debra, with half a smile, and dropped the heavy bags she was holding on the hardwood floor. "No respect for the parents."

Debra nodded smilingly.

Julie watched her mom as she stood at the doorway; her body was draped with sunlight, reflecting blindingly off the snow that was piled at the threshold of the cabin. Julie thought that her mom looked like a shiny angel at that moment. Debra wore a deep blue sweater-dress over a tight pair of jeans. Her golden hair was twisted into a bun, showcasing her swan like neck. With the sunlight glaring on her face, it looked as if the lines under Debra's eyes and the faint wrinkles around her lips had magically disappeared, leaving her face looking as smooth as a Victorian porcelain doll. Julie wondered how she might look like in twenty-five years, hoping she would look at least half as good as her mother.

"Hey honey, open a window or something, so we can air out this place, would you," Debra said, and pulled on the neck of her sweater.

"Why? It's freaking freezing in here, Aunt Deb."

"Hey, language!" Krystal snapped at Bailey. "Plus, it's not that cold. We could all use some mountain breeze."

As Julie got up from the couch she noticed the bags they brought, tossed at the center of the room in a pile. One of them was her Swiss-Gear backpack, casually packed with warm clothes and necessities. She knew her mom brought two more suitcases, yet there were at least five more, so she figured her aunt and cousin brought the others.

"Sure you two brought enough luggage?" she mumbled humorously.

"Yeah, that's because Mom brought a whole case full of alcohol," Bailey said dryly.