“You did!”
“You didn’thaveto add it.You could have pretended you didn’t remember.”
“Jem, what are we talking about right now?”
“You could teach gay dudes to like lady bits.Or at least, you know, put up with them.”
“Oh my God.”
“Bi dudes do it all the time!They’ll stick it anywhere!”
“Jeremiah!”
“They will!”
“In the first place, that’sgotto be bi-phobic.In the second, bisexual men don’t ‘put up with’ lady bits—with women’s, uh, sexual organs.”
Jem made a face.
“They’re attracted to men and women equally.Well, maybe not equally.Maybe it depends on the person.”Tean frowned.“I’m not entirely sure how it works.”
“But you could definitely pay somebody else to fuck your wife,” Jem said.
Tean stared at him.
“If we’re going back to the green bean story,” Jem said.
Wind and snow scraped along the window.
“Uh, you know,” Jem said.“I think I forgot what we were talking about.”
“Thank goodness,” Tean said under his breath.
When they left the lodge’s lobby, the storm—if anything—had grown even more intense.The wind hammered at them.Snow spun through the air so hard that it stung Jem’s cheeks, and he had to squint to protect his eyes.The drifts covering the walkways were even deeper now, and Jem held on to Tean as they fought their way through the snow.
Now that Jem had been this way before, he knew where to look for the signs, but even so, he almost missed their turn.The storm was nearing a whiteout, and he couldn’t see more than a few yards ahead of him—less when the wind shifted, and the snow came spiraling in toward his face.
When they reached Tafton and Nora’s chalet, it was barely more than an impression against the graying darkness of the storm—a darker shadow that suggested a shape.A light showed in one of the windows, but it was weak against the gloom.Jem checked the number on the sign and then hammered on the door.His glove padded the blows, making them quieter than they should have been, and the storm swallowed up the rest of the sound.
Ten seconds passed.
Jem’s teeth were chattering.
He hammered again, shouting, “Tafton!Nora!Open up!”
Still nothing.
With a mentalfuck this, he jiggled the handle.
To his surprise, the door swung open.
Motioning for Tean to follow, he stepped inside.When Tean shut the door behind them, the sudden quiet almost made him dizzy.
The chalet had honey-colored floorboards with matching log veneers on the walls.The furniture was reclaimed wood, copper accents, upholstery that ran from leather to faux fur.Everything was done in what Jem thought of as fall colors: browns and creams and a touch of burnt orange.Overhead, the high ceiling showed exposed rafters and beams.No loft, and maybe a tad smaller, but otherwise obviously from the same design as Brigitte and Gerald’s chalet.A lamp at the far end of the room provided the only light; beyond it, a darkened hallway led toward what Jem guessed was the bedrooms.
“Hello?”Jem called.“Tafton?Nora?”
Silence.
