I looked out my window, taking in the endless miles of snow-covered pines. My mind kept going back to my cousin in her bikinis. It was a damn shame it was too cold to expect another dose of such eye candy.
#
The sun had just dropped below the horizon when dad pulled the Explorer off the country road and onto the gravel drive to the cabin complex. Snow crunched under the tires, despite someone’s earlier effort to plow it clear. I couldn’t help but feel a little buzz of nostalgia when the cabins came into view — warm yellow light pouring out of the windows while strands of Christmas lights festooned the porch and dozens of smaller trees in the yard. A handful of other vehicles were parked out front.
Before we were even out of the truck, two of my uncles and a cousin came out to greet us and help carry stuff in. I grabbed my suitcase and a bag of presents and followed the train inside where warm air infused with cinnamon from baking cookies hit me with another shot of nostalgia and reminded my stomach it was dinnertime.
As expected, we were mobbed by the little kids, at least four of them, while my aunts and uncles and cousins all greeted us and offered to take the food and gifts off our hands. I shook hands, hugged grandma, and gave the little ones their obligatory hair mussings. Avery got the same treatment and did a convincing job of acting like she was happy to be there.
“Ave!”
I looked up and saw Kaia standing at the end of the hall, just out of the fray and looking amused. My cousin was tall and lean, mussy shoulder-length brunette locks framed her warm smile and twinkling eyes. While she wasn’t in a bikini, the black tights and figure-hugging red sweater were more than sufficient to ping my libido. I tried not to stare or be disappointed that she’d homed in on Avery and not me.
“Hey cuz!” Avery said, slipping out of her boots just in time to accept Kaia’s engulfing hug.
“Thank god you’re here,” Kaia said in Avery’s ear. I was just close enough to hear it over the din of the other reunions.
“To your rescue?” Avery said with a smile.
“You have no idea,” she said.
Kaia then broke the embrace, turned on me, and gave me the same bear hug treatment. I was completely caught off guard, since I couldn’t ever recall getting such attention from my cousin before. Certainly nothing in the last few years. I did my best to hug back, silently cursing that my hands were full.
“Good to see you too, Alex,” she said as she pulled back and gave me a once over. “You’re looking good.”
I was? I felt myself flush a bit under the compliment, all the while hoping she couldn’t sense some of the wildly inappropriate thoughts I’d been having about her over the last hour.
“Thanks. You too.”
“C’mon,” Kaia said, this time to both me and Avery. “Let’s get you settled. We’re all in New House this year.”
It was a relief to get out of the press of bodies and noise. There were so many helping hands, I didn’t feel any guilt about not sticking around to unload the rest of our stuff from the truck. In minutes, they’d have gifts under the tree and food sorted and packed away.