"Oh, shit!" Chesa exclaimed about half an hour later. Everybody looked up at her.
"What?" AJ finally asked.
"We don't have enough sleeping bags and stuff for everyone!" Chesa admitted.
"So, we can go get some more from the attic." Brian suggested.
"This is all we have, unless you want to get them from the bed." Chesa suggested.
"OK, then, lets go." Amber said as they heard the wind blow outside. Chesa and Amber headed up the stairs, followed by Brian and Kevin. Chesa turned
the knob and pushed on the door. It was open about an eighth of an inch when it slammed shut. Chesa backed off quickly. He looked around at everybody giving encouraging looks. She tried to open it, but the door wouldn't budge.
"It's stuck!" Chesa exclaimed wide eyes, still fiddling with the door.
"Huh? Let me try." Kevin offered. Kevin tried also, but couldn't get it open. He and Brian even tried slamming on it, didn't work.
"So we are locked down here?" Howie asked.
"Looks like it." Amber replied with a sigh.
"There is a chain saw over here." Nick announced.
"Hell no! Their is no way I'm sawing down my door for blankets! No siree!"
Chesa exclaimed, shaking her head and walking down the stairs.
"How many blankets are there?" Rachelle asked.
"Almost enough. If I've done the math correctly, then their will have to be three pairs." Chesa replied.
"Three pairs? Yeah. Three couples, pairs, what ever you wanna call them, of people sharing." Chesa replied, "And since I don't wanna get on anyone's bad
side, Rachelle you can choose who will be coupling." Chesa ordered with an innocent smile. Rachelle rolled her eyes.
"Fine." Rachelle replied.
"Hey Rach, I'll double up with you." Kevin offered with a smile, Rachelle smiled back.
"OK."
"Awww! How sweet!" Chesa and Nick exclaimed in unison. Rachelle gave Chesa the evil eye.
"Chesa, you can double up with Brian." Rachelle announced with a devilish grin. Chesa gave Rachelle a quick dirty look, but so that Brian couldn't see.
"And Nick," Rachelle started switching her gaze to him, "You can double up with Amber." Nick smiled at Amber, who then smiled back.
"We are gonna have fun tonight, won't we Amber?" Nick asked.
"Nick! You have other people in the room!" Brian objected playfully.
"Oh shut-up, Bri!" Nick shot back. Brian giggled. Amber ran over to the large sleeping bag beside the fire place.
"I call this one!" Amber announced.
"I'll just take this one." Rachelle told everyone from one of the sleeping bags that she was sitting on. Chesa went and grabbed another piece of wood
for the fire and tossed it in. Chesa walked over to the last of the sleeping bags.
"I should have called the one by the fire before Amber." Chesa sighed loudly.
"Sorry! Ya snooze ya loose!" Amber piped up.
Chesa chuckled and got in the sleeping bag. Brian then walked over and climbed in with her.
"Good night everybody." Chesa said.
"Goodnight," They all echoed.
"Night Chesa." Brian whispered.
"Goodnight, Bri." Chesa replied, feeling her eyelids grow heavier and heavier, and she was soon asleep.
Rachelle felt a chill run up and down her spine, and shivered.
"Are you cold?" Kevin whispered, careful not to wake anyone.
"Yeah, a little." Rachelle replied. Kevin reached over to his bag and took out a big sweat shirt.
"Here, put this on." Kevin told her and handed it to her. Rachelle pulled on the sweat-shirt and felt a little warmer.
"Thanks Kev." Rachelle replied. Kevin put his arm around her shoulders as they both laid back. Rachelle again felt the chill, but she knew it wasn't from the cold.
"No problem." Kevin assured as Rachelle put her head on his shoulder and snuggled up close to him, they were soon asleep.
Nick smiled as Amber snuggled up closer to him in her sleep. "She looks so cute." He thought to himself and brushed a soft curl from her face. She shivered and Nick pulled the cover up to her shoulders. Amber relaxed and yawned. Nick kissed her forehead, then began to doze off.
AJ sat up, unable to sleep. He didn't like the idea of Brian and Chesa doubling up. He looked over at them. To his surprise they didn't have their arms around each other, not yet, at least. He sighed. AJ knew that Chesa could handle herself, but AJ had been all around the world, and even though she really wasn't, AJ felt that she was quite naive. AJ at one point had loved her the way Brian did, but that feeling was gone. This feeling was more of a big brother feeling, that type of closeness. "I just don't want her to get upset if this just turns out to be some fling of Brian's..." AJ tried to think about something else, but he just couldn't shake his train of
thought.
"Bone, are you OK?" Howie asked from a few feet away.
"Huh?" AJ asked, switching his thoughts, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine D." AJ replied and rested his head back onto his pillow.
"Hey." She replied with a smile, "Can't sleep?"
"Na, not really." He replied.
"Wanna talk?" Chesa asked. AJ hesitated, then nodded.
"Sure, come 'er." AJ replied as Chesa crawled under the covers and into the bag. AJ put his arm around her.
"So, what's up with the fearless Bone?" Chesa asked. AJ smiled.
"Ah, I've just been thinkin lately." AJ replied. Chesa glanced over at Brian, then back at AJ.
"Bout what?" Chesa asked.
"Life. You know?" AJ replied. Chesa nodded.
"About risks we take, decisions we will and have made..." Chesa sighed.
"How'd ya know?" AJ asked.
"I'm thinking the same thing." Chesa replied. A few minutes later she headed back over to her sleeping bag.
