But damn, I'm dying to get my hands under that long black coat of hers to see what’s hiding beneath that fur collar and those leather boots.
My mind's in the gutter. It has something to do with the fact I haven't been laid in one hell of a long time. My cock springs to life at the thought of her and me here, in my cabin, and hell, maybe she will like the idea too. Fact is, her eyes sparkled when I asked her to dinner.
With a renewed sense of optimism, I decide to put fresh sheets on the bed. I choose the flannel ones considering it's nearly Christmas. Looking around the cabin, I realize it's depressing as fuck. The calendar says I have 14 days till Christmas, and there isn't a lick of decoration in sight. No tree, no lights, not a bauble to be found. I should have done better than this, but the truth is I don't even have a single box of Christmas decor in this cabin to pull out. Nothing to hang, to prove to Juniper that I am more than a burly man who lives alone.
I pull the flannel sheet on the four corners of my mattress as I consider stopping at the hardware store before dinner. I could buy some decorations, and after dinner, I could invite her back here – if all goes well, of course – and see if she wanted to spruce this place up with me. It could be a cute date idea.
It's not just that I want to get in her pants. It's that her smile brought something out in me. The way she laughed, the way her eyes brightened my day, I want to feel that way again.
With that in mind, I finish my tasks around the house, sorting the mail and putting logs by the fireplace. Then I wander the woods, looking for a good-ass pine tree to put in the cabin.
I find one about a mile in the forest. Nothing’s past that way except Tom’s shack, and I avoid that place like the plague. Truth is, some folks come to Alaska because they can’t make it work in society – that is Tom to a T. I wouldn’t get near his shack with a ten-foot pole.
I drag the perfect Christmas tree back to my cabin and nail it to a few two-by-fours. Then I set it in a corner, knowing the hardware store will have the decorations it needs to look festive.
I have a few hours before I'm going to meet Juniper, but I figure it might take me a while to round up Christmas decorations here in Polar Bear. Sure, we're a holiday-themed town, but it's hard to get anything this far up north.
There's a lot of snow on these roads, and the mountain hasn't been cleared in a while, but the tires on my truck keep me safe and secure as I wind myself back down that mountain.
As I head to town, I realize I probably should have made sure I was wearing a clean shirt. I’m going on a goddamn date, after all. I look myself over – I’m wearing red and cream plaid, flannel, dark denim, and brown leather boots. I suppose it will do.
And if it doesn't, well, I guess I could find something in town. Maybe I'll ask a clerk at the hardware store if she thinks I should change before the date.
I chuckle at the thought as I park my car and walk into the store. What would the employees here think of me if I started asking them if I looked appropriate for a date, considering I’ve probably only said a few sentences to them over the last five years? They might choke on their hot cocoas.
I grab another shopping cart and I guess this is really my shopping day after all. I begin to go up and down the aisles looking for anything that has a Santa Claus on it, an elf or a candy cane. I find a wreath and a few strings of Christmas lights, and a friendly-looking woman with gray hair and a red apron named Judy asks if she can help me.
I explain the situation. “I’m trying to make my house look Christmasy. I have a date, actually, and if she comes to my cabin, she might think I’m a real bachelor considering Christmas is in a few weeks. What do you think I’m missing?” I look down at the cart.
She grins. “Well, there's a nice start here, Jacob, but I think maybe you could use some yard decorations.”
I grin. “Yard decorations?”
She smiles. “We have some inflatable ones, a snowman and reindeer.”
“You think I should put inflatable yard decorations out next to my cabin?”
She shrugs. “Well, I don't know. We just have a huge inventory of them and I'm trying to get them off my husband's hands. You know how Charlie gets.”