Page 50 of Snowed In with You

‘Like, having a wank.’

‘Why would you be having a wank?’ she laughed.

Nate pulled back the duvet and snuggled in beside her, draping his arm over her naked waist. He was far too close, considering Lucy’s morning breath, but there was nothing she could do about that other than clamp her lips together and breathe through her nose.

‘I wouldn’t,’ said Nate. ‘I don’t need to, obviously. But I thought that if I took too long, she might think I was.’

‘Wouldn’t she think you were just diligently washing?’

‘I don’t know. I wasn’t prepared to risk it.’

‘Right,’ said Lucy, noting that Nate’s anxiety clearly wasn’t just restricted to flying and avalanches. They were both quiet for a moment, enjoying the luxury of being together, with nowhere else to be.

‘Incidentally,’ said Lucy. ‘If wanking is on your agenda, I’d be happy to help.’

‘It’s definitely on my agenda,’ said Nate. ‘In fact, it’s my entire agenda for the rest of the morning.’

Lucy shivered as his hand trailed down her ribcage to her hip, bringing her out in goosebumps as he pressed himself against her.

‘We might be rescued this morning,’ she said, weaving her fingers into his to prevent further activity until she’d at least cleaned her teeth.

‘That would be very disappointing,’ said Nate, kissing her shoulder. Lucy noted that he didn’t suggest moving his agenda to Bristol, presumably because Sasha would be there. It felt weird not knowing what was happening outside this tiny bubble, and feeling so disconnected from everything.

‘Oh wait,’ said Nate, sitting up suddenly. ‘That reminds me. I have news.’

‘What?’ said Lucy.

‘Apparently Gunther got the generator going for a bit earlier. But then something else went bang.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. I saw Willem in the kitchen when I was getting coffee. He was awake, so he went out with Gunther and tried to help.’

‘So there was electricity and Wi-Fi and everything?’

‘Yeah,’ said Nate. ‘For about half an hour.’

‘Shit,’ said Lucy. ‘That’s annoying. I could have checked in with Jonno and charged my phone.’

‘We were both asleep, but Alex was all over it, apparently. He uploaded their engagement video and let his TikTok followers know he’s not dead.’

‘Did any of them think he was dead?’

‘Apparently there was some kind of panic about him being missing, because he hadn’t been online for thirty-six hours. Somebody had started a crowdfunder for a helicopter rescue.’

‘Why am I not surprised?’ Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Jonno would have definitely followed Alex on TikTok or Instagram by now, in case he posted any updates from the Guntherhütte.

‘Did Gunther or Monica manage to get any information about our rescue?’ she asked.

‘Yeah. Gunther spoke to a couple of people in the village, the signs are good for rescue today. Monica’s going to brief us all in the bar in an hour.’

‘OK, great.’ Lucy thought about the list of people who would be wondering if she was all right, and it was very short. Jonno, obviously, and the others from LUNA and Titan who were probably enjoying being on the fringe of all the drama. Presumably her mother had messaged, and was either in deep denial or permanently on hold to the Swiss Embassy. But other than that, she was pretty sure nobody was crowdfunding for a helicopter rescue for her.

‘So what do we do for the next hour?’ said Nate, detaching his fingers from hers and restarting manoeuvres down her left hip.

Lucy laughed, sitting up and leaning over him to grab her coffee. She took a gulp, feeling inexplicably, ridiculously happy, then immediately having a panic response to such an unfamiliar emotion.

‘You know this is just an extreme holiday romance, right?’ she said, trying to keep her tone light.