4
Handsome Strangers
I doubtedthat lock would do much for the flimsy, hollow door it was in, but it made me feel a modicum better. I peeled off my panties and jog bra and got in the shower.
Initially, the hot water felt like nails on my cold skin, but as I began to warm, it was a godsend, plain and simple, and after about ten minutes, I began to feel like myself again. When I was done, I wrapped myself in a towel and took a seat on the edge of the tub, trying to figure out what to do next.
Before I had to make any decisions, though, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Bianca? Tyler here. We have some sweats for you to pull on while your clothes are drying. They’ll be huge on you, but they are warm and dry. I had them on the radiator while you were in the shower.”
Holy shit. These guys were angels, plain and simple.
“Thank you, Tyler,” I called through the door.
“No worries. I’ll leave them right outside the door for you. And hey, can I open a bag of your chips?”
I burst out laughing at the strangeness of the situation. “Yes. Just leave me a couple.”
He laughed, too.
When he was gone, I reached outside the bathroom door and grabbed the pile of clothing he’d left for me. I pulled on a T-shirt, sweatpants and a zip-up hoodie, and a pair of very large but also very thick wool socks. I might have looked ridiculous, but I was warm and cozy and happy to be indoors.
I emerged, ready to face my hosts.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I said, looking at them.
While I’d been in the bathroom, they’d hung up all their wet clothes, put their boots near the heater next to mine, and were relaxing in chairs and on the bed with the TV on.
The blond-haired one popped out of his chair, offering it to me. “I can sit on the bed with Tyler over there. You take the chair.”
For the first time, I got a look at the guys. What the hell were they doing in the middle of bumfuck nowhere?
Same thing I was doing, I supposed.
Austin was the tallest, now wearing glasses, and even through his lenses I could see he had some very pretty brown eyes with long lashes. Guys always got the good lashes.
Randy, the blond, had a sexy little chin dimple, visible even through his facial scruff.
And Tyler was a Prince Harry look-alike if ever there was one. I’d never been big on ginger dudes, but I could make an exception for this one.
For all of them, actually.
We looked at each other for an awkward moment.
“Hey, can I have some of those chips?” I said.
Tyler tossed me the bag. “Well, they are yours. Anyway, Bianca, crisis averted. Looks like you are going to live to see another day.”
“Mmmm,” I mumbled, my mouth full. “Thanks to you guys.”
I let my eyes fall closed. After the warm shower, and now that I was bundled up in a bunch of clothes and toasty warm, the crunchy saltiness of the chips was heavenly. I looked around for the bags of food, and after opening a water for myself, I gestured toward my loot.
“Help yourselves guys,” I said. “It’s just junk food, but sometimes that’s exactly what ya need, you know?”
Austin rifled through the bags. “Don’t mind if I do,” he said, grabbing a semi-warm burrito.
“Sorry this happened to you, Bianca. It sucks. But don’t worry. We won’t throw you out in the middle of the night. If you need to crash here, we’ll figure out a way to make it work.”