[Fiction] A winter's tale

[samskye1995]

My journey so far had taken over a day. It had started yesterday afternoon, with my dad dropping me off at the airport with my suitcase and gear, giving me a big hug and telling me to be safe and to skype him and my mom every now and then. I checked my luggage in at the desk and boarded the 6 hour flight from New York to Vancouver. I managed to catch some sleep on the plane before landing. I landed in Vancouver in the early evening and had to wait for 2 hours in the airport for the bus that would take me to my destination. I hopped onto it, dragging my belongings with me, along with a load of tourists. It broke down, predictably, no more than an hour into the journey. We waited for another bus for 2 hours, got on it and continued the journey North. Destination? Whistler.

We stopped overnight in a small town halfway to the resort. I collapsed into bed almost as soon as I had finished dinner. The next morning I woke up, ate my breakfast alone and checked the snow report on my iPhone. Excellent conditions with snow expected in the day, getting heavier overnight. Perfect. I dressed ready for the conditions - snow boots, two pairs of leggings, thermal underwear and a ski jacket covering my t-shirt.

The bus trundled on in the morning, heading onto ever smaller roads. The temperature outside, and inside the bus, was dropping, and I pulled on my beanie hat. I noticed suddenly that we were above the snow line. I smiled a broad smile and wondered how long it would be until arrival. The bus continued to climb and I spotted a few flakes of snowing falling past the window. Another hour and I recognized a few landmarks. I had been here many times before, but as a visitor. This time, I was coming to work.

We pulled into the village at around midday and the bus stopped somewhere in the center. I virtually sprinted off with my luggage and skis and began to haul my case to the place I had agreed to meet my new colleagues, with my skis resting on my shoulder. I wasn't even sure what my colleagues looked like, but guessed they would be wearing identifiable clothing from the resort.

The snow underfoot was compacted but still slippery. It was quite quiet in the square that I was crossing, and it was snowing lightly. The snowflakes stuck in my hair and melted on my cheeks as they fell. I made my way across the square, to where I could see a young man and woman in red ski jackets with 'staff' written across the shoulders on the back. I approached and smiled.

'Hi, I'm Shannon Lister, I'm here to meet Meg and Ryan?', I said to the pair.

She, a tall brunette with thick-rimmed glasses, spoke first, 'Hey Shannon, so nice to meet you! I'm Meg!'. She stepped towards me and gave me a hug. 'And this is Ryan, I think you two were talking on the phone earlier this week right?'. I could just about tell that Meg was Canadian.

I nodded as Ryan gave me his hug. 'Hey, I'm so glad to be here!', I said.

'Let's get inside, I'm frozen', Ryan said as he pulled away. 'Our rooms are in here, on the 3rd floor, the views are great!', Ryan added as we walked through the glass doors of a grand looking hotel. As we walked through the hotel, and took the elevator to the 3rd floor, we chatted about my flight and the journey, and about how long Meg and Ryan had been there. I learned that Meg was from Vancouver, and Ryan was local to the resort. Meg had arrived 2 weeks ago, and Ryan had been working there since the summer.

We got to the room, and Meg produced a key and opened it up. In it were two bunk beds. 'So Shannon, you're going to be sharing with Rhiannon, Phoebe and me, unfortunately you're the last to arrive so you're up top on that bed there', Meg pointed to the left hand bunk.

'Cool', I said, not expecting to have my own room anyway. Ryan left my case by my bed and excused himself. He said he had to get back to his duty on a ski-lift in ten minutes. Meg stayed with me while I unpacked a few things and pulled on some warmer clothes.

'So when do I start work?', I asked Meg.

'Tomorrow morning, we thought you might like to have tonight off before you start so we didn't put you in for a shift this afternoon', she replied with a smile. 'In fact I thought maybe you'd like a tour of the place. Have you been here before?'

'I've been to Whistler loads of times but we stay in our friend's chalet on the other side of the resort, so I've never really seen the town that much', I replied.

'Great news! I'll give you the tour, but first we'll start with this place'.

First Meg showed me the place I would keep my skis, which I had brought down with me. She then showed me the swimming pool and hot tubs that overlooked the slopes and some of the ski-lifts. I got shown the staff dining room, before heading outside and seeing some of the bars, clubs, restaurants and shops in the town. I had never really seen them before, usually my family didn't need to come into the center. Meg pointed out the best ones and the ones to avoid.

By the time we had walked around the whole town, it was 3pm and people were starting to head in from the slopes. I had taken a liking to Meg. She seemed very genuine, and I had found out she was a keen skier and snowboarder. I was glad I would be sharing a room with her.

'So what's the plan for this evening?' I asked as we got back to our room.

'Well, we were thinking of ordering in some pizzas and then having a bit of a party for your arrival!', Meg said.

I liked the idea of a party. I was also eager to make some friends, seeing as I didn't actually know anyone here. 'Sounds good to me, will Phoebe and Rhiannon be coming?', I asked.

'Yep, although Rhiannon will be joining us later as she has a date tonight', Meg said with a laugh.

'Oh yeah?' I asked, unsure if it would be too much to ask who the date was with.

'Yeah, she met this guy who's working in one of the ski hire places for the season, can't remember his name', Meg replied. 'I think she's just going for the free dinner to be honest'.

I laughed, 'been there, done that'.

'Haven't we all?', Meg laughed back. We went inside the hotel and Meg suggested grabbing a hot chocolate in the bar before heading back to the room. We sat on stalls facing each other next to a window that looked out over the pool and hot tubs.

'I'm so happy to be here, I'm so excited for the season!', I said smiling.

'Well we're very happy to have you!', Meg replied, taking a sip of her drink.

'Do you get along with Rhiannon and Phoebe?', I inquired, trying to get a feel for how the social dynamic was going to work.

'Rhiannon and Phoebe are great, and so is Ryan, we spend most of our free time together. You'll meet the rest of the guys later I guess, so I'll let you make your own judgement about them!', she smirked. I wondered what she meant but I decided not to pursue it with her.

We settled down to chatting about nothing in particular. 'I love your hair by the way, do you dye it?', she asked. I was used to the question, I had long, straight blonde hair, down to below my chest.

'Nope, it's natural! I love yours too by the way', I said honestly, looking admiringly at Meg's long, nearly black hair. It framed her sharp but kind looking face perfectly. She had green eyes and a pale complexion.

Once we had finished our drinks, we returned to our room. 'Hey Phoebs, this is Shannon', she said to Phoebe as we came in, who was lying on the bottom bunk of my bed wearing just a pair of grey thermal leggings and a black thermal sports bra, reading something on her phone. By the looks of it, she had got in, stripped off her jacket and ski pants, and was recuperating on the bed. The window was wide open and she looked hot and sweaty.

'Oh hi!', Phoebe said, standing up and offering her hand. 'I won't give you a hug, I'm drenched in sweat'. I shook her hand and noticed that she really was drenched in sweat. The blonde hairs that had escaped from her braid were stuck to her face and her pale complexion was reddened. 'I've just got back in so excuse the mess', she said, nodding at her ski gear on the floor, which was surrounded by specks of melting snow.

'Nice to meet you', I said, 'looks like we're bunking together'.

'Uhuh, you're up top I'm afraid, unless you want to swap?', she asked. I shook my head. Phoebe was around my height, but more strongly built than me. She had strong features but was very pretty. In her state of undress, I could see that she was quite muscular for a girl, although not unattractively so. I could tell from her accent that she was definitely American, and I guessed she was from the North-West. Meg excused herself and slipped into the bathroom, leaving Phoebe and me alone.

'So what are you working as?', Phoebe asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed with her elbows on her knees, leaning forwards.

'I'm employed part-time as a lift operator, and part-time as a ski instructor', I replied. 'How about you?'

'I'm the same, although teaching snowboarding. I guess we might get put on the same lift shifts', she said. We made small talk as I looked around the room and began to unpack my things. The room was not exactly luxurious, and was obviously kitted out for staff. The walls were wooden, which gave it the look of a sauna. It was pretty small as well. There was a closet and a set of shelves, either side of which were the bunk beds, that were no more than 6 feet apart from one another. At the foot of my bunk bed was the bathroom, the door of which opened the other way into the empty space between the other bunk bed and the door to the room. On that wall was the only window. I liked the room though. It was cosy. It was cute. It was homely. It was also messy. Meg, Phoebe and Rhiannon had clearly not paid much attention to keeping the place tidy. There were socks, thermals, helmets and other ski-related paraphernalia scattered around the floor. There was a box of tissues by the other bunk, and a cell phone charger by the closet. A mostly-finished bottle of wine was located on one of the shelves, which I moved to put my clothes on.

'Yeah sorry about that!', Meg said as she came out of the bathroom. Picking up the bottle of wine and pouring it down the sink. 'Bit of a heavy night last night, I'm afraid!'. She took off her ski jacket and threw it on her bed.

I continued to unpack my suitcase while we chatted. Meg laid on her bed, after offering her help. There wasn't much space in the closet left, but I managed to hang up a few dresses and a spare pair of ski pants. As I got to the bottom of my bag and picked up my underwear, I realized that there were no drawers in the room. I looked at the shelves to see if the other girls had put their underwear on them, and on seeing that they had, I placed my panties and bras next to another pile, in the only remaining space.

'Better not get mixed up!', Meg said with a wink. Phoebe laughed, noticing that Meg's and my underwear had ended up next to each other. I smiled, and thought about just how familiar we were all bound to get over the next months. There would clearly be no hiding anything from each other in such a small space.

I stowed my suitcase under the bunk bed with my laptop and valuables in there. I looked out the window with a smile.

'I'll bet you want to hit the slopes for a run or two before the lifts close don't you?', Meg asked.

'You read my mind exactly!', I said.

'Come on then, let's get our stuff on and get out there', Meg said, walking over to Phoebe's bunk where she was lying. She gave her arm a tug pulling her half out of the bed.

'Hey, knock it off I'm shattered!', Phoebe said.

'No excuse loser', Meg replied and pulled her fully out of the bed and onto the floor.

'Alright, I'll do one run, that's it', she said, pulling on her pants and jacket again. 'Eww it's so wet and sweaty!', she complained.

Within 10 minutes we were all ready in our gear and were in 'the bootroom' - the place where all the skis and snowboards were kept. It felt good to have my ski boots on, and I was raring to go. Outside, Meg and I strapped on our skis and made our way to the nearest ski-lift while Phoebe ran down with her snowboard.

As we waited for the chairlift, Phoebe spoke to Ryan who was operating it. 'You've met Shannon right?'. He nodded and waved at me.

'Good to see you're so keen!', he said as the chair swung round and we were carried off up the lift.

On the way up I began to remember all the runs, where all the nasty black slopes were, and where the cafes were located. We looked down on good skiers, watched a young kid wipe out on a jump and commented on how good the snow had been in the first few weeks of the season. I felt at home already. Meg and Phoebe were welcoming and inclusive and I felt like I shared something in common with them.

As we got off at the top, Meg asked, 'now obviously this is your first run of the season, so maybe we should avoid the blacks?'.

'Yeah, we'll save the blacks for tomorrow but let's do something at least a little challenging', I replied, eager to prove myself.

Meg led us off to the left of the lift, down a well groomed but moderately steep blue. She had incredible form and looked so graceful on her skis. Phoebe and I followed, weaving in and out of each other and dancing round the trees and chairlift supports. It felt so exhilarating to be out in the fresh air, doing my favorite sport. Meg slowed to a stop on a ridge at a crossroads, 'doing ok Shannon?'.

'Loving it!' I said, lifting my mask up.

'We can carry on down here now or turn left and go down a narrow steep bit if you'd prefer?', Phoebe pointed out as she arrived behind us.

'Let's do the steep bit', I said, and we set off left, through a gap in the trees. It truly was steep, and narrow, and I had no choice but to let the gradient take me. Phoebe was clearly in the mood for competition, shooting off in front of me, with Meg taking it more cautiously behind me. We burst out of the trees and onto an open section that leveled out a bit, before dropping down to where we had taken the ski lift.

'You're a pretty good skier!', Phoebe said as we arrived at the lift and waited for Meg.

'Thanks, you're an amazing snowboarder!', I replied. Meg pulled up behind us, digging in her skis and covering us both with the snow that kicked up.

'Looks like someone is in the mood for a race!', she said, poking Phoebe with her ski pole. 'And I thought you said you were shattered!'

'Whatever, but yeah I'm up for a race!' she replied. We got back on the chairlift and were told that this would be the last chair of the day.

'Right, last place gets a forfeit yeah?', Phoebe said as we climbed.

'Sure, if you're up for that Shannon?', Meg said.

'Yeah totally!', I said with a smile, wondering what the forfeit could be.

'Loser has to buy the first round of drinks tonight!', Meg suggested.

'And skinny dip in the pool after it's closed tonight', Phoebe added. I was slightly taken aback, but thought the idea sounded fun.

'You're such a bad girl Phoebs', Meg said without looking at Phoebe.

At the top, we all agreed that the loser would be the last person to touch the trail map next to the chairlift. The route would be the same as we had just done. We lined up together, in a line, at the edge of the slope.

'Ready girls?', Meg asked.

'Ready', I said.

'Ready', Phoebe affirmed, 'you know what's on the line ladies!', she said with a giggle.

'Three, two, one, go!' Meg said, and propelled herself off with her poles. I managed to get a good start, but Phoebe, being a snowboarder, took some time to get up to speed.

I followed Meg's lines, expecting her to take it more easy on the steep narrow section, where I would be able to overtake her. As I made a turn, I chanced a look behind me and saw that Phoebe was coming up fast. As I looked back, I had to take evasive action to avoid hitting a child who had stopped in the middle of the run. That slowed me down and Phoebe was soon directly behind me.

As we turned left into the steep section, Meg did not slow down. In fact, she pulled herself into a tuck and got as streamlined as she could. I did the same, desperate to pick up speed and not come last. Phoebe didn't manage to get the same aerodynamic advantage, but nevertheless came out of the wooded section no more than 20 yards behind me.

We flew down the flatter section, my eyes on Meg. We were all within 15 yards of each other now. As the flat section ended and we began the dive down to the chairlift, Meg came out of her tuck to make the sharp right turn. As she did, she lost balance and went onto one ski to correct herself. The mistake caused her to lose her momentum, and though she was still ahead when she had recovered, I overtook her on the next sharp turn, my right hand virtually on the snow as I leaned in. Phoebe took the turn even faster and overtook me as we exited.

Now it was just down to the last 100 yards. I made myself as streamlined as possible, and tried to get into Phoebe's draft. I didn't dare look behind me at this speed, but the sign with the trail map soon appeared in front of me, and, after Phoebe slapped it with her hand as she went past, I did the same with my ski pole, and turned sharply to a halt. Meg took another half a minute to arrive, having slowed up since she knew she had lost.

As her face came into view, I could see her smiling ruefully and looking embarrassed.

'Right, so I've got to get the round of drinks right?' she said sarcastically.

'And?', I added with a giggle.

'And?' she repeated with a sarcastically innocent look.

'Take a plunge in the nude!', Phoebe finished for her.

'Seriously guys?' she said, as we took off our skis and helmets and headed to the bootroom.

'Yep, those were the terms!', Phoebe confirmed.

'Ok I'll do it so long as no one else is around', she said. 'And as long as you guys come with me'.

'Sure', I said, 'but we didn't lose so we won't be stripping down'.

'It's going to be a bit cold don't you think Shannon?', Phoebe said mockingly.

'Yes, even now it feels pretty cold out here', I joined in.

'Shut up you two', Meg said jokingly, as we took off our boots inside.

I reflected on my first afternoon here. I had made what I thought would be two pretty good friends. I had settled in nicely, and was pretty happy with where I was staying and what I was doing.

Back in the room, I took my laptop and phone, and headed to a lounge and got a coffee, leaving Phoebe and Meg in the room. I skyped my parents and sister, called my brother who was away in Latin America, and whatsapped my best friends from back home. All the while, I couldn't wait for the evening, to let my hair down and relax after the long journey.

To be continued

[thewilds]

Nice start. Really though, Canadians working at a Canadian ski resort? Where's the Aussies? LOL.

[samskye1995]

I wandered back to the room when I had finished my coffee. It was dark outside now, and the time was approaching 7pm. As I entered the room, I realized for the first time that we would have to coordinate our showers carefully so that we all had enough time. Luckily, it seemed that Meg was already in there, as Phoebe was lying on her bed again and the shower was going. I noticed with surprise that the door to the bathroom was slightly open and steam was coming out.

'It's so that the smoke alarm doesn't go off', Phoebe said, seeming to notice what I was thinking. 'Hey, who cares, we're all girls right?', she said with a smile. Yeah we're all girls, I thought to myself with an inward smile. Phoebe had wet hair and I guessed she had already taken her shower. She was wearing jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt.

'You're next in the shower by the way', she said.

'Cool, thanks'

'You're a pretty awesome skier', she said as I sat on the floor to talk to her.

'Thanks, I started learning when I was like 5 years old', I told her, 'and I think I've skied every year since'.

'Ever snowboarded?', she asked.

'Yeah a few times but I prefer skiing. I also do some Nordic skiing every time I so on vacation up here'

'That's cool, I've tried it a few times but it's too much like hard work' she said. 'Can I have your number by the way?' Phoebe asked, handing me her phone. I punched it in and she called me. I entered the number as "Phoebs".

We chatted for 5 minutes about skiing and snowboarding until Meg came out of the bathroom, wearing jeans and a bra. 'All yours Shan', she said. I was surprised she called me 'Shan' but I quite liked it. I felt accepted by her. I looked her up and down. She was slim and lithe, about 5'10, a good 3 inches taller than me. Her wet hair was stuck to her face and shoulders. I sneaked a glimpse at her midriff, and saw that she was in great shape, not as toned as Phoebe or myself, but completely flat on her abdomen. She pulled a shirt out of the closet and buttoned it up, tying it at the waist just above her navel, which was pierced.

I grabbed a towel and a pair of jeans and some underwear, and got into the bathroom. It was steamy and hot, and the floor was wet. I turned on the shower, which ran hot straight away. I quickly got undressed and soaked under the warm water. After I had finished washing my hair, I gave my legs and underarms a quick shave and soaked for a few more minutes.

After toweling off and putting on some clothes, I left the bathroom and looked for a t-shirt on my shelf. I didn't feel at all awkward or uncomfortable in front of my new friends, especially as I had seen them both in the exact same state of undress. Phoebe was now sitting on the floor drying her hair with a hairdryer.

'I like your jeans Shan', Meg said.

'Thanks, it's the first time I'm wearing them' I replied. I opened the closet and looked in the full length mirror at how they fit me. I liked my physique. Blonde hair, medium sized chest, long toned legs and a pert rear. It all added up to a body that often got compliments, even if a lot of them were unwelcome.

'Did I miss Rhiannon?', I asked Meg.

'No, she didn't come back to get changed actually', Meg said.

'Is she not going to be a bit sweaty after the day?' I asked.

'Ha, yes, but I don't think she cares'.

'Oh yeah, you said he wasn't worth it right?', I remembered.

When I had finished dressing, I found my own hairdryer and joined Phoebe on the floor.

'So do I really have to do this forfeit?', Meg asked.

Phoebe stopped her hairdryer for a moment, looked in her in the eye, raised her eyebrow disapprovingly and nodded once.

'Fine, I'll do it, just get me drunk first yeah?'

'Speaking of getting drunk, why haven't we opened a bottle yet?', Phoebe asked. For a moment I wondered how they had got hold of alcohol, seeing as they were under the age of 21, then remembered that the drinking age in British Columbia was 19.

'Let's grab one', Meg said, and leaned out of the window. I wondered what was happening until she brought in a bottle of vodka that had clearly been kept on the window ledge in the absence of a fridge.

'Great idea', I said, eager to get some spirits inside me. Meg poured out some soft drinks into plastic cups and then added a good amount of vodka into each. I took my cup, thanking her, and winced at how strong she had made it.

Once our hair was dry, we chatted while sipping our vodka.

'Who else is coming tonight then?', I asked Meg and Phoebe.

'Rhiannon when she's finished her date, then I think Ryan said he would be coming up. Anyone else?', Phoebe asked Meg.

'No one else yet but I whatsapped Charlie and Johnny, and also Livy and Zoe'. There were too many names for me to remember now. I was kind of hoping that this event stayed small, so that I could get to meet everyone slowly without getting overwhelmed. 'Oh wait, Charlie and Livy have both said they can't come, and Zoe says she might meet us later'. Thank God.

We were now on our second drinks and the first lot of vodka had gone to my head.

'Shall we order our pizza then?', Phoebe asked.

'Always hungry aren't you Phoebs?', Meg replied, pulling up a menu for a take-out place on her phone. 'What do you like Shan?' she asked me.

'I'll eat anything, but I might not manage a whole one', I replied.

Phoebe cheered, 'that's what she said!'. Meg scowled sarcastically at her and I blushed a little.

'You know what I meant!', I corrected myself.

We placed our orders and an extra for Ryan who still hadn't arrived.

'I want Ryan's if he doesn't come!', Phoebe said. I took my chance to get back at her with a similar joke.

'I bet you do!', I said with a smirk. Phoebe took the joke well and laughed along with it.

'The funny thing is, she actually does!', Meg said, with a smile on her face and without looking up from the phone.

'Oh shut up you bitch!', Phoebe retorted, stepping across the room and pushing Meg backwards playfully.

'Wait have I missed something?', I asked, slightly confused.

Both laughed and Meg explained, 'Phoebs has a bit of a crush on Ryan'.

'I so don't!' Phoebe said, returning to her bed. 'He's cool and we hang out but I don't like him like that!'

'So do!', Meg jested.

'I guess he's hot', I said, keen not to be left out of the conversation. 'I mean he's pretty cute looking'

'I agree', said Phoebe, 'but that doesn't mean I have a thing for him!'

'Whatever!', Meg joked.

Meg's iPhone pinged as she received a message. 'Speak of the devil', she said, 'Ryan's on his way up now'. We decided between us to clear up the room a bit before he arrived. This involved pushing clothes under beds, stuffing ski jackets into the closet and pulling the sheets over the beds untidly.

Ryan knocked on the door and pushed it open.

'Evening guys, how are things?'

'Good thanks, we've ordered you a pizza as well, I hope you like pepperoni?', Meg said as he sat down on Phoebe's bed next to her.

'Yeah perfect, who's shout is it?', he asked.

'I got these, you can pay me back later I'm not worried', she said.

'Cool, how were your last runs of the day? I noticed you guys practically racing down the hill on your last go? What was the rush?', he remarked.

Phoebe scoffed and Meg smirked. I almost spat out my mouthful of vodka and pepsi.

'Care to explain Meg?', Phoebe asked provokingly.

'Err, go on Shan, you tell him', Meg looked embarrassed.

'Hey what's going on?', Ryan asked with a smile.

I laughed before explaining, 'well we were racing, in fact we were racing to not be the last one down the hill, because...', I tailed off, wondering if Meg would mind me telling him.

'Because? Let me guess, there was a forfeit?', Ryan guessed correctly.

'Uhuh, to buy the first round of drinks in the bar, and also...', I looked at Meg who nodded, 'and also to skinny dip in the pool once it's closed tonight!', I blurted out.

Ryan gave a slow smile and looked about him, 'and who lost then?', he asked, and I sensed an eagerness to know that what was poorly concealed.

'I did', Meg said behind him, and Ryan made eyes at Phoebe and I.

'Too bad', Ryan said with a laugh, putting his hand on Meg's knee and giving her leg a shake. 'You'll just have to be quicker next time'. Ryan really was cute, and if Phoebe had a crush on him I could see why. I offered him a drink and he accepted. He had dark brown hair, that was neither long nor short, styled to stand up at the front. He had a strong jaw and big brown eyes. He was easily over 6 feet tall, and built as you'd expect a skier to look, lean and powerful, but somehow graceful in his movements as well.

I filled up everyone else's cup at the same time, and we toasted my arrival. Meg's phone pinged again, and she announced the arrival of the pizzas in the lobby downstairs. Ryan offered to go and collect them.

'So, now that the pizzas are here and we've had a bit of a warm-up drink', Phoebe said, 'I reckon it's time to play the newbie game!'

'The newbie game?' I asked, wondering on what it could be.

'Yep, nothing scary before you start worrying. It's not some weird initiation or anything! Every time a newbie joins the group, we play a game of "I have never" to break the ice and get to know them, and for them to get to know us too', she explained. I had played the game before with my high-school friends. 'But of course, it's a drinking version! Whoever has done the thing that is said, has to take a drink, got it?'.

'Sure', I answered.

'Now, is there anything that you don't want to say in front of a Ryan, because I totally understand if there is?', she asked. I appreciated her concern, but there was nothing I could think of that I would be embarrassed to tell a guy that I would be fine telling to a girl.

'Nope, not that I can think of', I replied.

'Great, nothing off limits then!', Phoebe sat back and took a drink.

'She's such a nosy, filthy slut!', Meg said, half in warning, half to wind Phoebe up.

The pizzas arrived and Ryan was told that we would be playing the game. 'Great!', he said, 'I guess we're going to get to know you pretty well then Shannon!' he said, turning to me.

We tucked into our pizzas as Phoebe asked the first question. 'I have never been in a relationship for more than a year'. Meg took a drink, but Ryan and I didn't. 'Interesting!', she said, and took a bite of pizza.

Meg was next, 'I have never been caught getting naughty with a girl in my room by my roommates', she said, looking Ryan in the eyes. He groaned and took a sip of his drink. 'You next Shan', she said.

'Ok, I have never lost a ski race and had to skinny dip as a forfeit!', I said, getting into the cheeky spirit of the game. Meg feigned disgust that I had singled her out, and took a long swig of her drink. To my surprise, Ryan did too.

'Wait, when?', Phoebe asked Ryan.

'It was last year, me and Charlie', he laughed. 'Ok, I have never kissed a person of the same sex'.

Phoebe took a sip of her drink, and Meg did the same.

'Both of you, score!', Ryan said laughing.

Back to Phoebe, who said, 'I have never cheated on someone'. No one drank. 'At least we have some morals', she remarked.

'I have never slept with someone who is foreign to my country of birth', Meg said. I hadn't, and seemingly neither had Phoebe. Ryan looked up, appearing to be thinking.

'One drink for each nationality?', Phoebe suggested with a wink.

'What are you saying?', Ryan laughed, and made a deal out of drinking five times from his cup. The last sip drained the cup and he passed it to Meg to refill.

'Really?!', Phoebe asked, astonished.

'Yeah', Ryan looked sheepish, though it was easy to tell that in male company he would have been boasting about it.

'What nationalities then?', I asked, curious.

'Um, American, British, Australian, French and I think Dutch, but she may have been German', he said, counting the nationalities on his fingers.

I watched Phoebe closely for a reaction, to confirm that she might have feelings for him. She seemed more surprised than disappointed.

Having had easily more than 5 shots of vodka by this point, I could feel my inhibitions disappearing, and I boldly asked, 'I have never had a one night stand'. It was true, I had never.

Naturally, Ryan raised his eyebrows and drank. Phoebe also tutted and drank, but Meg just smiled.

'Come on Ry, your turn now', Phoebe said.

'Ok, I have never seen anyone in this room naked', he smiled. No one drank. 'Really?', he said, genuinely surprised. 'I guess that's all going to change tonight hey?', he turned to Meg and winked, who blushed and looked down.

'Maybe, but it's not going to change for you!', she shot back, with a laugh.

'Yeah right, by the time we leave the bar you won't care!', he said. Phoebe seemed to be ignoring the flirtatious banter between the two.

We carried on for a few rounds, where I learned that Ryan had streaked naked in the village, Meg and Phoebe had both kissed other members of staff at the hotel, and the other three learned that I had had only two long term relationships. Once we had all finished our pizzas, we decided to go out to the bar. It was now just before 9pm, and the village was filled with people out for the night.

'Snowshack tonight right?', Ryan asked, as we stepped out into the cold. We were all wearing our ski jackets on top of our clothes. Ryan walked ahead with Meg, and Phoebe and I walked a few paces behind. I could tell by the way she was chattering incessantly that she was quite drunk. I wasn't really listening that much to her, until she began to talk about Meg and Ryan.

'Do you think she likes him?', she asked, slurring a little.

'Err, I haven't really thought about it', I lied.

'Do you think he likes her?', she asked.

'I'm not sure', now that wasn't a lie.

We walked along an undercover walkway, out of the snow. Outside it was snowing heavily now, and through my inebriation, I looked forward to the fantastic powder skiing tomorrow. We didn't have to queue to get into the bar, but had to show ID on the door.

We got into the bar and Ryan bumped into some friends, who we talked to for half an hour. Meg managed to get out of buying drinks, as Ryan's friends seemed eager to buy them for us. As inevitably happens in bars, we got separated from them, and Meg, Phoebe and I ended up on the dancefloor, on our own, drinks in hand. I couldn't quite believe that I had met people who I got along with so well so quickly. The hours flew by and I realized that I had drunk more than I was used to. I still wasn't as drunk as Phoebe, however. She drained her glass, took my hand and pulled me to the bar.

'It's my round!', she declared, and ordered two vodka shots from the barman. We picked them up and linked our arms round each others', and downed them. Phoebe's face was less than a foot from mine, when she said, 'so if I remember correctly, you've never kissed a girl before?', she said. Before I could respond, she put her right arm over my left shoulder and curled it round the back of my head, and leaned in with a devious smile on her face. Our lips touched, then locked, parted and suddenly her tongue was playing with mine. Something in that moment shocked me. Was it the alcohol, or did I genuinely have no desire to pull away from her? I could taste the vodka and pepsi she had been drinking all evening, and the smell of her perfume filled my nostrils. I felt a gentle bite on my lower lip. After what seemed like more than the 10 seconds that it really was, she pulled away, smiled the same devilish smile and said, 'now you have'.

I then became aware that almost every guy round the bar was looking at us, and a few were cheering. I knew I was blushing but what the hell, everyone was having fun.

We returned to the dancefloor, and danced for another hour at least, drinking water, before Meg suggested we leave. We made our way to the exit, headed back towards the hotel in the cold and the thick falling snow. All three of us were arm in arm. The water, dancing and cold had had a sobering effect on us, but we were still feeling giddy and excitable.

'Oh my God Meg, I almost forgot!', Phoebe said, stopping dead in her tracks.

'What?', I asked.

'Your forfeit!', she said laughing.

'Oh no, seriously?', Meg asked.

'Yes, no getting out of it!' she laughed.

We were near the pool now. The pool was accessible from the street level via a staircase, which was roped off and covered in snow, but we climbed it nonetheless. At 1am, the pool was deserted. We stood beside it, looking in. The terrace on which the pool was located was illuminated by huge lights on the floor level, and the pool had lighting in its walls.

'Well then, off you go!', Phoebe said with a giggle.

'Fine, I'll do it', Meg said stepping forward. I noticed that she didn't seem too reluctant. She unbuttoned her shirt and let it drop to the floor and kicked off her shoes. Her jeans dropped to the floor soon after. Standing behind her, I took a full view of her round buttocks, sitting atop her skinny legs. She was wearing a pair of blue Calvin Klein panties, and a matching blue bra. 'Ok, here goes', she said.

'Woah wait!', Phoebe said, 'that is not skinny dipping my friend!'.

Meg sighed and unclasped her bra and let it join her jeans and shirt on the ground.

'Almost there!', Phoebe said. Her voice was the only noise audible. Meg reached down to her panties and hooked her thumbs inside the waistband. She bent at the waist and slid them down her legs, stepping out of them. Meg was now completely nude. I could barely tear my eyes away from her almost perfect form. I noticed that on her right ankle she was sporting a small tattoo. Without saying a word, she sprinted forward and bombed into the pool, causing a splash that reached us.

Phoebe and I applauded. Meg was gasping, laughing and spluttering. She turned around and headed for the steps, her hair billowing in the water. As she pulled herself out, her hair clung to her face and neck and shoulders, and I saw her breasts for the first time. They were of a similar size to mine, not large, nor small, and perfectly formed, sitting pert on her chest. Her nipples were understandably erect. As she climbed the steps, I got a full view of her body from the front. Water was dripping down her body, over her breasts, down her flat stomach, round her pierced navel, and over her abdomen. I looked further down, and saw that she had a thin landing strip leading down to her intimate area.

To my surprise, she made no effort to cover up. In fact she approached Phoebe, laughing still and grabbed her t-shirt at her shoulders and attempted to pull it off. 'Help me Shan!', she said, giggling. I acquiesced and Phoebe did little to resist. Soon we had moved onto her jeans. I sat on her torso and held down her arms as Meg undid her zipper and pulled off her jeans. Before I knew it, Meg was onto my own t-shirt, and it was up and over my head before I knew it. We were all laughing and giggling. I stood up and from below, Phoebe pulled down my jeans. I stepped out of them, no longer caring, as Meg unfastened my bra and pulled it off. I felt the freezing air on my nipples and they instantly hardened. Phoebe stood up and I made to remove her bra. As he bra came off in my hands, I noticed that her breasts were slightly smaller than my own. They were still well-shaped though, and did not sag at all. I felt my thong disappearing from round my hips just as I did the same to Phoebe's. Unlike Meg, Phoebe had a triangle of pubic hair, with around half an inch shaved bare inside the creases of her legs.

Now as naked as the other two, I jumped into the pool, and was followed by Phoebe and Meg. We splashed each other, laughed and pushed each other under the water. I dived under and opened my eyes. I could see Phoebe's butt in front of me, and gave it a playful pinch. Like the rest of her body, it was toned and pert. She whirled round, giving me a full view of her naked front. She had toned abs and wide hips that seemed almost out of proportion.

I re-surfaced and noticed Meg was out and holding her phone. She climbed back in, 'get together girls, it's picture time!'. We huddled together with Meg in the middle, breasts below the surface to hide our modesty from the camera. She held out her phone in front of us and took a series of photos as we pulled faces and changed positions. 'They're going on Facebook!', she said.

Eventually we climbed out and I pulled on my thong and t-shirt like the others. Together we sneaked through the lobby of the hotel, up the stairs to avoid the elevator and ran down the corridor to our room. Once inside, we spoke for the first time since leaving the pool.

'That was the most exhilarating thing I've ever done!', I said, dropping my clothes I had gathered onto the floor, and climbed up to my bed.

'Same', Meg said, 'wait, where's Rhiannon?' she asked.

'No idea!' said Phoebe, 'I'll whatsapp her'.

We checked the time and got ourselves some water from the bathroom. Meg lay down on her bed, and Phoebe and I joined her. We took up the whole bed, side to side. I couldn't explain why we all got on the same bed, I suppose it was just one of those things that you do when you've had a bit too much drink. Phoebe flicked the light off and we lay in dark silence for a few minutes, wearing only our t-shirts and underwear.

'By the way guys', Meg said, 'did I see you two kissing at the bar earlier?'.

I blushed again. 'Yep, jealous?', Phoebe answered for us.

She laughed, 'no, I just knew it was a matter of time'.

I fell asleep, wondering what Meg meant.

To be continued

[samskye1995]

I woke up to the sound of Meg's alarm going off on her phone. I pulled my head under the covers and tried to block it out.

'Meg?', Phoebe said, shaking her shoulder.

'Meg?', she said again a little louder. Still no response.

'Meg?', this time she virtually shouted. Meg rolled over, reached for her phone on the shelf and turned it off.

'What time is it?', I asked, conscious that we could have slept longer than we should have.

'6', Meg said as she rolled over.

I had woken up in the same position as I had fallen asleep last night, lodged between Phoebe and Meg. Phoebe was spooning me, with her arm over my side. Meg was lying on her front. I thought about going to sleep, but I was wide awake now and decided it wouldn't be worth it. My hangover symptoms were nowhere near as bad as I had imagined, but I had a dull headache and my ears were still ringing a little from the loud music last night.

'Oh man, I need to get up', Phoebe said. She jumped out of bed and grabbed a bottle of water from her handbag. She was still wearing the clothes we had crept back to the room in last night - her t-shirt and thong.

'Wanna grab breakfast together Shan?', she asked.

'Sure thing', I replied, and swivelled my legs out of bed and sat on the side. Meg was fast asleep again. 'Should we wake Meg up?'

'Nah, she's not working until 11 today so she can sleep off her hangover. Hang on, where's Rhiannon?'

It was evident that Rhiannon wasn't in the room. From the looks of it though, she had been back at some point in the night as her sheets were not as they had been left.

We each pulled on some sweatpants and walked to the staff dining room. 'How did you sleep?', I asked Phoebe as we walked.

'Like a baby, but I had some weird dreams', she replied.

'Me too, must have been the alcohol right?', I said.

'Yeah, must have been', Phoebe said. We entered the dining room and I was glad to see a huge buffet style breakfast spread out in the middle of the room. We helped ourselves to pancakes, waffles, bacon and coffee, and sat down together on a table for 4.

'Perfect hangover food right?', Phoebe said as she tucked in.

'Uhuh, Meg's missing out', I replied.

'She wouldn't eat all of it, she's a vegetarian', Phoebe said matter of factly, 'but yeah, she's missing out!'

'Alright girls?', came a voice from behind us. I turned round and saw Ryan approaching with a plate piled high with pastries, cheese and meats. 'Did you have fun last night?', he asked as he sat down with us. Was it my imagination, or did he just wink at me?

'Yeah, you?', Phoebe asked. I got the impression that she was suffering badly from her night of drinking, and not in the mood for conversation.

'I did, I'm sorry we got separated, I would have bought you a welcome drink if we'd stuck together Shannon', he said, 'next time?', he added.

'Thanks, you don't need to though', I answered politely. 'Where did you go last night then?', I asked.

'Oh we stayed in Snowshack all night, it was a pretty good night to be honest, everyone was having a good time. I thought I saw you girls from across the bar actually, looked like you were having a good night too?'. He grinned with a mouthful of croissant. I felt myself blush. Did he see us kissing?

'What time did you leave?', Phoebe asked.

He laughed, 'like when the place closed?'. I was relieved that, although he may have seen us kissing, he almost certainly hadn't seen us skinny dipping in the pool.

Phoebe and I finished our breakfast, and walked back to the room. Although it was only 6:30, we needed to be ready to start our jobs by 7. In the room we put on our ski pants, thermals and jackets, while Meg slept, and Phoebe told me what I would be doing today.

'So today you're just on the ski-lifts', she said, 'and tomorrow I think you're giving some private lessons'.

'Cool, who am I working with today then?', I asked. She checked her rota.

'Ah, you're actually with Ryan!', she said. I was glad it was someone I knew. We left together and walked down to the bootroom, and grabbed our boots and skis.

'I'll take you to the ski-lift if you like, you're on number 5, which is halfway up the mountain, so you'll need to get the lift up to the top and ski down, I'll show you'.

We skied gently to the main ski-lift, which was already being de-snowed by some fellow workers, took it up to the top of the mountain, and prepared to ski down. It was a bright sunny day, with almost completely blue skies. Down the valley I could see low-lying cloud. It was bitterly cold though, and I was glad I had worn thermal leggings under my ski pants. We set off down the mountain. It felt great to have the cold air in my face, and I could feel my hangover symptoms lifting. I followed Phoebe all the way. I was impressed that she was equally good at skiing as snowboarding. The snow was untouched, and the run we took down was ungroomed. It was a powder-skiers paradise.

When we arrived at the lift, we stopped and Phoebe unlocked the control room. Inside we fired up the lift and put the radio on.

'Right, the lift I'm working on today is on the other side of the mountain, so I need to get to the top of this one and then ski down', we walked outside together. 'You know what to do with the chairs right?'. I nodded. 'Cool, I guess I'll see you tonight? Message me!', she said as she prepared to mount a chair. As it swung round, she dusted off the snow, sat on it and pulled the bar down. 'See ya!' she said.

I swept the snow off the chairs as they came round for 10 minutes, listening to pop on the radio until a skier came down the mountain. I could see it was Ryan from about 100 yards off.

'Hey Shannon, didn't realize I was working with you today!', he said as he pulled up outside the wooden structure.

'Yep, you've got the newbie today', I said with a smile.

'Cool, good to see you've made a start', he motioned to the chairs.

We set about preparing for the day and getting the lift ready.

'So you're from nearby?', I asked Ryan.

'Yeah I'm from about 3 miles down the valley, born and raised here'

'So what do you do for a living?', I asked, slightly confused at how Ryan could sustain himself for so long without an education or a full-time job.

He laughed, 'In the winter I work here, from like November to April when the season ends, and then I usually move down to Vancouver and work in bars and restaurants'.

'What do you want to do with your life in general?', I asked, inquisitive.

'Hey, I'm only 21, give me some time! I guess I'd like to eventually have a place up here, and run a ski-hire place or something. What about you?'

'I have no idea really, my dad owns a real-estate company in Boston and New York, so I imagine I might end up working for him'. I was always loathe to admit that, for fear that it might be color people's perception of me. The truth was that I had actually worked hard at school and ended up with great grades, and won a deferred place to study at Yale law school. Ryan just shrugged.

'Not the life for me, but hey it'll be well paid right?', he said in response. 'How old are you by the way?'

'I've just turned 19, last week in fact'

'You should have said! I think that's an excuse for a party!', he said.

We made small talk for the most of the morning. People came and went on the lift without any incidents. I took the time to study the rota for the next 2 weeks, and noticed that I had shifts with Ryan, Meg, Phoebe and Rhiannon, among other names that I recognized, and others that I didn't. I took a photo of the rota on my phone.

As I talked more to my Ryan, I realized that, despite his tough-guy image, he was actually pretty smart and sensitive. He was also very attractive, there was no doubting that, but he wasn't my type.

Before I knew it, the phone in the cabin rang, and the instruction to close the lifts down came. We took note of the last chair that had people on, and waited for it to come round again.

'Good work today Shan', Ryan said as we closed the cabin door at locked it after shutting everything down.

'Thanks, I did nothing though right?', I laughed.

'True, but you did great anyway', he said. We clipped into our skis and pointed down the mountain.

'So last one down has to skinny dip right?', he winked at me.

'Wait, what?!', I asked, not realizing that he was joking.

'Relax Shannon, I'm kidding!', he said, 'did Meg do it though?'.

I wasn't sure what to say. Should I say we all did it? Might he think I'm flirting if I do? 'Yes she did, brave girl!', was all I said. His eyes widened and he seemed to be genuinely surprised.

'No way!' he said, 'and you watched?'.

'Err, yeah, me and Phoebe watched', I said. I wasn't wrong, we did.

He chuckled, 'wow, wish I had got separated from you guys now!', he said with a cheeky grin.

We set off and skied down the mountain, down to the base, and up to the entrance to the hotel. By now it was nearly 5pm. 'Guess I'll see you tonight then?', he asked.

'Sure, I don't know what Phoebs and Meg have planned but I'll let you know!'

We left our skis in the bootroom and waved goodbye to Ryan. I walked up to the room and opened the door, to find someone I didn't recognize chatting to Meg.

'Oh hey, you must be Shannon!', the girl said as she stood up and walked towards me. 'I'm Rhiannon, nice to meet you!'.

She gave me a hug as I returned the greeting. She was a pretty strawberry-blonde-haired, brown-eyed girl with a few freckles across her face. She stood around the same height as me, and had a similar build - skinny but athletic.

'Rhiannon was just telling me about her date last night', Meg prompted.

'Oh yeah I heard, how did it go?', I asked, taking off my ski pants and jacket and my thermal top. I sat down on Meg's bed wearing my grey thermal leggings and sports bra.

Rhiannon laughed, sitting down on Phoebe's bed, 'it was painful!', she explained, 'he was kind of boring, a bit weedy, and definitely not my type! I don't think he'll be getting a second go!'.

'You stayed out a long time though, you won't here when we got back last night?' Meg asked.

'No our date finished around 10, then I needed to get some enjoyment out of the evening, so I found Zoe and Charlie and we went out drinking. I got back at about 2pm, by which time you were all passed out on the bed', she smiled. 'So what's the plan for tonight then guys?', she asked.

Meg groaned, 'I think I need a quiet one after last night, I wasn't in a good way this morning'.

'How about we have a girls' night then?', Rhiannon suggested. Meg and I both agreed.

'We could watch a movie on my laptop and just chill out', she said.

Some time passed before Phoebe returned from her shift. When she did, she questioned Rhiannon on her date night, refused to believe that it went as badly as it actually did, and said that the girls' night sounded ideal.

Before dinner, we all decided to take a shower. We all went down together to the dining hall, smelling clean and fresh and sat and ate dinner as a 4.

'So what should we watch tonight?', I asked as we were finishing our desserts.

'I'm not fussed', said Meg.

'I've got the new Magic Mike?', Rhiannon said with a giggle.

'That sounds like an appropriate one!', Phoebe said, 'or should I say inappropriate?' she winked at no one in particular.

We returned to the room in a good mood. In the room we took a blanket from my bed, and took our pillows and propped them up against Phoebe's bed, and put the blanket over us.

'Oh wait girls!', Rhiannon said. She produced a bottle of white wine from her rucksack.

'Perfect!', said Meg, 'but we don't have glasses?'

'Let's share', Phoebe said, seemingly unworried.

Rhiannon pulled her MacBook out and opened the film.

To be continued

[sarahsarah]

I don't usually comment on stories, but I have to say this is a great start. I feel invested in the characters with some very good build. For once, a detailed story that doesn't feel too rushed. Keep up the good work. You certainly have my attention.

[tallishguy]

Awesome start to the story !

[Ethan2cu]

sam - just got caught up. great story so far. I love the way you write. so detailed. very good story telling skills.. my thoughts? some spontaneous hookups. making out on the chair lifts, showering together, staff should be ripe for game of truth or dare.

[b0ris]

I'd like the "naked in the snow"-aspect fleshed out a bit more, but that is just my fetish talking. You don't have to listen to that.

Just keep on going as you were, it is great!

[samskye1995]

Sitting in the dark, watching a movie with my new-found friends, sipping wine, was just about the best evening I could have hoped for on my second night in Whistler. The movie wasn't quite to my taste, so when we had finished the first bottle of wine, and the movie was only half-finished, I volunteered to go get another bottle.

'Are you sure Shan, we'll pause the movie?', Meg said as I stood up.

'No it's ok, I'll be quick anyway!', I replied.

I made for the door when Rhiannon said, 'wait Shannon, Ryan owes me a bottle of vodka that I bought for him, he said he's got it in his room, go fetch that!'

'Where's his room?', I asked. Rhiannon explained and I headed down the corridor, down the elevator, through some more corridors until I found room 348. I knocked.

'Yep!', I heard Ryan's voice from inside. I pushed open the door and stepped in. The room was almost identical to ours. The door to the bathroom was on my left, and ahead was one bunk bed. But as I stepped round the corner, everything seemed to slow down. Ryan was completely naked, standing in the middle of the room, facing away from me. He turned as I was expressing my shock, and, on seeing me, went wide-eyed, mouth open, and covered his modesty with his hands. Although it all happened in less than 2 seconds, it was enough time to see more of Ryan that he would probably have wanted me to see. And despite my efforts, instinct had taken hold and I had caught a glimpse of Ryan's entire naked frame. He was neither tanned, nor pale, and not hairy in the slightest. His upper body was devoid of hair in fact, and his leg hair only started below his knees, which made his almost perfect triangle of trimmed, dark pubic hair all the more noticeable. He was muscular in a toned way, with a subtle six-pack, a toned chest and shoulders and biceps that were large in proportion to the rest of his frame. From the fleeting glimpse that I caught, I gauged his flaccid penis to be around 5 inches. His testicles were hairless.

'Shit', he said, standing awkwardly with his hands over his package.

'Shit', I replied.

'Shit', he said again. He turned round and grabbed a pair of underwear from his bed, and pulled them up his legs. 'Shit I thought you were Charlie!', he said, with an awkward laugh. His rear was also hairless and pert.

'Um', I said, not really knowing how to act. 'I'm sorry', I blurted out.

'No it's not your fault, I'm sorry', he said, turning back round, now marginally more dressed than before. 'Fuck, um, yeah seriously I assumed you were Charlie, he popped out to get something from the store'. He was looking at me, then the window, then the bed, unsure where to look.

'Yeah sorry, I should have said it was me', I apologized, wondering why it would be any better for Charlie to have walked in on him in the nude. Are they really that comfortable with nudity in front of each other? Do they just hang out naked in here? I could barely keep my eyes off his toned abs, and when I did manage to tear them away, they were fixed on the bulge in his underwear or on his chest.

There was an uncomfortable silence. 'Look', I said, 'let's just forget that happened, deal?', I asked. I definitely wouldn't be forgetting it, that was for sure.

'Yeah, deal', he said, his cheeks full of red. 'Er, so what did you come for?'

'Rhiannon said you owe her a bottle of vodka?'

'Oh yeah, sure, let me just get it', he walked past me and reached out of the window. My eyes were fixed on his butt in his underwear. 'Here it is', he handed me the bottle.

'Thanks', I said, moving towards the door. I opened it and stepped out into the corridor.

'Sorry', he said again, 'I...'

'It's fine', I said, unable to hold back a smile. I walked off down the corridor and heard the door shut behind me. I wondered what he must be thinking. I smirked and giggled a little. As I walked back to our room, I turned the sequence of events over a few times in my mind, and debated whether to tell the others or not. I decided not to.

The three girls cheered as I returned to the room. I shared some vodka between 4 plastic cups and Rhiannon topped them up with diet pepsi.

'We've decided to save the end of the film for tomorrow night', said Meg as I sat down where I had been sat, with my back against the bed.

'Ok cool', I said, not particularly bothered. 'What are we going to do instead then?', I asked.

'Well', Phoebe said, and trailed off, looking at Meg, who looked at Rhiannon.

'We thought now would be a good time', Rhiannon took a pause, 'to introduce you', she took another pause and looked at Meg.

'Yeah?', I asked, wondering what was coming.

Rhiannon wasn't forthcoming, so Phoebe took over, 'to introduce you to the newbie challenge'.

I laughed, 'ok and what's that?', I asked.

'Ok, well', started Rhiannon, 'there are five tasks you have to do, which all the newbies have to do', she stated.

Meg took over, 'the first is easy, you have to ski all the black runs in the resort, and I'm sure you can do that'. I nodded.

'The second is that you have to skinny dip in the swimming pool after dark', Rhiannon added. I gulped and looked at Meg and Phoebe.

'What?', said Rhiannon, realizing something was afoot.

'Ok actually she's already done that', Meg said with a giggle. I blushed a little as Rhiannon looked at me with her mouth wide open.

'When?!'

'Lat night', I said without making eye contact.

'And I missed it?!', Rhiannon said.

'Yeah, too bad!', Phoebe said, winking at me.

'Well it so doesn't count!', Rhiannon said, 'you'll have to do it again with me to verify it!', she stuck out her tongue at me.

'You also have to somehow get a picture of another resort employee, butt naked', Meg said.

'What?', I asked, aghast, 'how do you even do that?'

'It's up to you!', Phoebe said with a giggle, 'we all managed it!'

'Show me!', I said, unable to stop myself.

Rhiannon laughed, 'only when you've managed it yourself. Now, the fourth task is to take a one-finger selfie in the mirror in the corridor, by the elevators on the 1st floor'.

'Ok...', I said, waiting for the catch, 'what's a one-finger selfie?'

Phoebe laughed and took a big swig of her drink, 'it's a selfie where you're stark naked and the only thing you can use to cover yourself is one finger'

'Wait, all the guys' rooms are on the 1st floor!', I stuttered in disbelief.

'Yep, that's the challenge!', she replied with a snort, 'again, we've all managed it!', she winked.

My mind was reeling at the thought of it, but I pressed on, eager to know what the last challenge was.

'And number 5?', I asked with some trepidation.

'Number 5 is kind of easy for you, but embarrassing at the same time. You have to order room service from the hotel, and answer the door naked'

In truth, I had half expected this one. I smiled though, 'bring it on', I said.

'So, which one are you going to start with?', Phoebe asked. I could tell already that the vodka was going to her head by the way she winked at me.

'Well I can't really get a nude off a resort employee, or ski the black runs right now, and the swimming pool will still be in use, so I guess I'm going to have to do the room service one...'

'Or you could do the selfie challenge?', Meg suggested.

'I think it would be safer to do that late at night, no?'

'No, think about it, everyone's either out for the night or staying in their rooms, there won't be much going on down there'. It made sense, I hadn't seen anyone else in the hallways when I had walked down to Ryan's room.

'Ok, fuck it, I'll do it!', I said, feeling a bit nervous but more excited than anything.

'So who's going with her?', Rhiannon asked. I was surprised that Phoebe stuck her hand up so quickly.

'I will', she said, jumping up and grabbing the vodka to pour herself some more.

'Alright Phoebs, chill out!', Meg said, giving her a cheeky tongue. 'And remember, you have to show us the evidence after!'

I stood up, eager to prove myself and grabbed my phone from my bed.

'You'll have to show me where this mirror is Phoebs', I said, as we made for the door.

'Sure will', she said. We walked out the room and went to the elevators. My heart was pounding as Phoebe talked about nothing in particular. We stepped into the elevator and took it down to the 1st floor.

'So how do you even do this one-finger selfie?' I asked Phoebe, only now realizing that I didn't understand how it worked.

'So basically you get naked and stick a finger out in front of you. If you get the right angle, your finger blocks your pussy, and the reflection of your finger blocks your nipples', she stuck out a finger in front of her to demonstrate.

We arrived at the hallway outside the elevators on the 1st floor. Sure enough, there was the full length mirror. And there was no one in sight either way up the corridors. I guessed that if someone was coming in the elevator, there would be at least 5 seconds between the elevator arriving and the doors opening for me to run. But where to?! If I ran up the corridor, there was every chance they might be going that way anyway. I had an idea.

'Phoebs, call an elevator. When it arrives, stand half in it so that the doors don't shut. If someone comes, we can run into it and escape'.

'Good plan girl, that's exactly what I did!', she said as she pressed the button to call an elevator. When it arrived, she stood in the doors. I looked myself up and down in the mirror. With Phoebe in the doors, she couldn't look up and down the corridor to watch for me. I would just have to risk it.

Heart pounding in my chest and shaking slightly, I pulled off my socks. I then pulled my t-shirt off over my head and began to pull down my pants. I looked over at Phoebe, who was watching me closely as she sipped on her drink, not speaking. I took a quick glance up and down the corridor again. I unclasped my bra behind my back. Although I had been naked in front of Phoebe only last night, this felt completely different. She had been naked too, the setting was entirely different and we had both been pretty intoxicated. Does she even remember what happened last night?!Now I was going to be naked and exposed, and she would be simply watching on.

Heart in mouth, I let my bra drop to the floor to join my other clothes. Somehow I knew that Phoebe was enjoying this. I was stood in the hallway, wearing just a pair of almost see-through panties. I bit the bullet and pulled them off. Now all of my clothes were on a heap in the floor in front of me. But shit, where's my iPhone? It was in my pants, that were now on the floor. Totally naked, I crouched on the floor with my back to Phoebe and tried both pockets of my pants. Nope. I found it in my back pocket. Still, I knew that Phoebe was looking me up and down and enjoying the sight. I stood up with my phone and flicked the camera function on. My ears were pricked for any sounds coming up or down the corridor. The elevator didn't seem to be in use. Fumbling the phone in my hands, I stood up and stuck mt left index finger out in front of me. I had to move back and forth in front of the mirror, and move my finger around in front of me to find the right angle. I took one photo and looked at it. It was not good, my right nipple was visible above my finger. I tried again, but was struggling to get my finger to cover my pubic hair. When I realized that it was going to be impossible, I took a few more snaps and looked at them again. I thanked my lucky stars that I had trimmed my pubes to a reasonable level only a few days previously, and that I wouldn't have to show them a full bush. Then the other elevator pinged.

'Shit', I said out loud and ran towards the one that Phoebe was holding open. As I stepped in, I realized I had left my clothes behind. I turned round and dashed for them, just as the elevator doors were opening. I didn't have time to see what it was I was picking up, but I had at least something in my hands, which I clasped to my breasts as I ran in a sort of hunched position, trying to cover as much of my modesty as I could. I shot back through Phoebe's elevator's doors as the occupants of the other one seemed to notice me. As our doors closed, we could hear some laughter, and muffled voices.

'Fuck!', Phoebe said with a huge grin on her face.

'Oh my God', I said, handing her my phone and reviewing what I had managed to grab from the floor. It turned out to be only my t-shirt and panties. I pulled on the underwear first, followed by the t-shirt.

'That was epic!', Phoebe said.

'Nerve-racking!', I said. I wondered how I was going to get my clothes back.

'Do you think they saw you?', Phoebe asked.

'Definitely, if only just a glimpse!', I said. My heart was still pounding. The doors opened again and I was relieved to see it was on our floor.

We laughed and giggled as we returned to the room and opened the door. I took my phone from Phoebe as she explained to Meg and Rhiannon what had happened.

'Classic!', Meg said, applauding and rocking backwards, laughing.

'Hero!', Rhiannon joined the applause. I was cycling through the pictures, trying to find the best one and deleting the others.

'So let's see the pic!', Meg said. She came and sat next to me on Phoebe's bed, and Rhiannon joined us.

'There you go', I said, handing the phone to Meg, a little nervous to know that they were about to effectively see me naked. Phoebe was looking over my shoulder too. It was a pretty flattering picture. It wasn't the first time I had taken a naked selfie, but I was quite proud of how this one had come out. Me left index finger was covering my nipples and my lower regions perfectly. My blonde hair was sitting over my shoulders and came down to the top of my breasts.

'Love the bush!', Meg said with a giggle. She had of course seen it last night already. In the photo, you could see a little hair coming out from behind finger.

'Yeah, wait, so you don't shave?', Rhiannon asked, a little puzzled.

'Well, sometimes I do, but at the moment no', I said. That was a lie. I hadn't ever given any consideration to shaving my pubes before. I thought it was something that only porn stars did. I had talked about it with my friends back home before, and we all either kept it nicely trimmed or at the most had a landing strip. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious, but remembered from the previous night that Phoebe too had a similar style, and Meg had a landing strip.

Meg passed the phone to Rhiannon, so she could get a better look. When she was done, she passed it to Phoebe.

'Hey, I saw more than just this tonight, I don't really need to see it!', she took it nevertheless and had a good look at it.

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

'Oh by the way Shan', Rhiannon said, 'we ordered room service for you', she gave a cheeky smile and winked at me. I knew precisely what she meant. I gulped.

[tallishguy]

Awesome update!! You are a pretty fantastic writer !

[cross_girl]

Is there any chance you will continue this story ? It's really great and I would love to see an update.

[samskye1995]

Hey gus! I WILL be continuing this story, very soon! Watch this space... In the meantime, if you have Amy suggestions or anything you'd like to see in it, please inbox me!

[tallishguy]

Can't wait ! Awesome news this story isn't dead, one of the best ongoing on getdare right now

[samskye1995]

I desperately tried to think of an excuse to not go through with it. Phoebe gave me a playful poke. Meg walked over to me, took my hands and pulled me off the bed. Before I knew what I was doing, my hands were pulling off my shirt. I stood wearing only my panties.

'Can I do it like this?', I asked, hopefully.

There was another knock at the door.

'Take them off Shan!', Meg urged.

'It's going to be so embarrassing!', I pleaded with my friends.

Another knock on the door.

'Ok fine, answer it like that then', Rhiannon said. As I approached the door, there was a giggle from behind me. I gulped, raised my arm to the latch and opened the door. In front of me stood a guy, at most 2 years older than myself.

'Woah!', he said, taking a step back. I smiled and said nothing. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he was looking me up and down, taking in my entire nearly-naked body. I felt exposed, but in two conflicting minds. On the one hand I wanted so desperately to cover my breasts with my hand and close the door, but on the other hand I knew my new friends would mock me and say that I hadn't completed the task and I would fail the test. And at the same time, I realized I actually quite enjoyed having a total stranger see me in a way so few people had.

'Pizzas?' I asked.

'Errr', he couldn't get his words out, it seemed.

'You're holding them', I pointed out with a grin. He had still barely looked me in the face.

He handed me the pizzas and I returned inside the room with them and set them on Meg's bed. I went back to the door with some cash and leaned against it to keep it open.

'How much was it?', he asked.

'Err, 17 dollars', he said, his eyes fixed on my breasts.

And before I knew it, I could feel my panties coming down my legs, over my knees and round my ankles. Someone had pantsed me. I didn't look over my shoulder, just kept on going as if nothing had happened, counting out the bills. I chanced a look at the delivery guy. As predicted, his eyes were now locked onto my abdomen, my inner thighs and my newly exposed privates.

I was loving the attention, so much so that I decided to take it one step further to impress the girls. I pretended to drop a 5 dollar bill behind me.

'Whoops', I said, and made a big show of turning around and bending at the waist, so that my butt would be in full view for him. As I stood back up, I looked at the girls in the room. They giggled and Meg gave me a thumbs up while the other mock-applauded.

I turned back round to him and handed him the bills. He still did not walk away as I shut the door.

'Alright which one of you pantsed me?!', I walked back, pulling my panties back up my legs, feigning anger.

'Guilty!', Rhiannon said with a wink.

I picked up my shirt and pulled it back on.

'That was so good!', Meg said, 'he'll definitely be telling all his friends about that!'

'Yeah Shan, especially when you flashed him your butt', Rhiannon added.

'I'm glad you liked it', I replied. 'That's two tasks down already!'.

'And you could easily do the skinny dipping one again tonight', Phoebe said with a cheeky smile.

We sat down and ate our pizzas, and drank the vodka and soft drinks. We chatted about nothing in particular for the next few hours.

It came quite out of the blue when Rhiannon asked, 'so Shannon, you like having a bush do you?'. Phoebe scoffed on her drink mid-sip.

'Err, well it depends', I said, suddenly feeling put on the spot.

'What does it depend on?', Rhiannon asked, 'if it's not a personal question?'

'No, um, well at the moment I don't have a boyfriend, so that's part of it'.

'So when you have a boyfriend, do you keep it shaven down there?', she asked.

I felt embarrassed suddenly. I knew from the previous night that neither Meg, nor Phoebe was bald, and I couldn't imagine, based on how easy they all were with nudity, that Rhiannon didn't already know that.

'Um, I keep it tidier I suppose', I tried to evade the question.

'But not completely bald?', she pressed. I wondered why she was asking.

'No, not completely', I said honestly.

'You mean you've never shaved all your pubes off?', Rhiannon asked, aghast.

'No, I haven't'. Phoebe and Meg looked surprised as well. I felt I needed to explain myself, 'neither of my exes asked me to. Sure I've had a landing strip, and I never let it grow to a ridiculous length, but no, I've never shaved it all off'.

'You're missing out!', Rhiannon said, 'everything feels so much better shaved and smooth'

'It really does', Phoebe confirmed.

'Maybe I'll try it then', I said, eager to fit in and gain Rhiannon's approval.

'I think it ought to become one of your challenges actually', Meg said with a grin. 'In fact, I think you ought to do it right now', she winked at me.

'Now?!', I asked, confused.

'Yep, now, and then you can complete your skinny dipping dare!', she teased.

'Ok then, what the heck, I'll do it!', I was still feeling very aroused from showing off in front of the pizza guy, and I knew by the time we got downstairs to the pool, there would be no one left down there.

Rhiannon laughed, 'go on then, we'll get ready for the pool too while you're in the shower'.

I quickly went to the bathroom and took off the few clothes I was wearing. I grabbed my razor from the side, and turned on the shower, waiting for it to get hot. I looked down at my trimmed bush, and in my mind wished it goodbye. The conversation had made me think a lot about my pubic hair. It was true - why hadn't I shaved it all off before? I had been quite happy with a landing strip when I was with my boyfriends, and so had they. But still, why not shave it off? I was excited and nervous about losing it. Steam from the shower alerted me to the water being hot enough.

I stepped in with my razor and my can of shaving cream. I lathered some on the small amount of hair I had. I made a habit of keeping everything else down there completely hair free, and up until then I had sported only a small triangle of trimmed hair above my lips. Carefully I took the razor to the hair, shaved out a strip on one side. It took me less than a minute to get all the hair off. I washed away the remaining shaving cream and stepped out of the shower. I looked at my reflection in the slightly misted-up mirror, and I loved what I saw, I was now effectively hairless below the eyebrows.

I pulled my panties on again, and clasped my shirt to my chest as I exited the bathroom.

'Can't wait to see it', Phoebe joked as I passed. All three girls were wearing only their bikinis, and were holding towels. I realized I was going to have to get changed in front of them, but apart from my newly shaved privates, there was nothing they hadn't seen before. I grabbed my bikini from the shelf, and pulled on the top, then pulled down my panties and put on my bikini bottoms. Once I had finished tying the sides, I grabbed a towel and we headed out of the room and down to the pool.

It was dark outside now and no one was near the pool. It was snowing slightly, and I could hear people in bars and the dull drone of music coming from nearby. It felt very different today, not being encouraged by alcohol.

'Come on then Shan, let's see your handiwork!', Phoebe said.

'Alright but you need to warn me if anyone is coming!', I said. I pulled off bikini top and dropped it on the floor, then, facing my new group of friends, pulled the bow on each side of my bottoms. They tumbled to the floor between my legs.

'Nice!', said Rhiannon, applauding, 'that's what I'm talking about!'

Before I risked getting seen by anyone else, I turned and dived into the pool. I was followed by Meg, then Phoebe, and then Rhiannon.

[samskye1995]

In the pool, we splashed about and I completely forgot my nudity. Strangely, I didn't feel at all self-conscious in front of the three girls who only yesterday had been total strangers. In my heart of hearts, even, I wanted them to be naked too, the idea of skinny dipping and the risk of getting caught naked was exhilarating. I had never felt like this before. I began to realize that I didn't just enjoy the exposure, I actually found my friends attractive on a weird level. Rhiannon with her pale complexion and skinny frame. Megan, tall and lithe with her gorgeous eyes and cute butt. And Phoebe, who to me was a vision, with her athletic, toned build and pert rear. On an even weirder level, I got the sense that they might even be attracted to me.

I thought to myself about how I could get them to skinny dip too. Without the amount of alcohol that Phoebe and Megan had consumed yesterday, I thought it might be harder, but I decided to take the lunge and try and initiate it. As Phoebe had her back turned to me, I approached her from behind.

'Hey, not fair that I'm the only naked one!', I said, grabbing her neck as I tried to wrestle her top off her.

'Hey, get off!', she laughed and wriggled, escaping my grip.

'Yeah Shan must be getting lonely on her own, come on Rhi, let's strip Phoebs!', Meg joined in. We cornered her against the wall of the swimming pool, and Meg grabbed her neck as I had done. I dived under the water and grabbed her ankles, and pulled them up to the surface so that she was floating in the water. Rhiannon approached from the side and with Meg restraining her arms, Phoebe was unable to resist Rhiannon untying her top and pulling it off, despite her writhing and wriggling. She was laughing at the same time, and Rhiannon playfully tickled her exposed armpits, making her cry out in fits of laughter. I took her moment of distraction as an opportunity to finish off the job, and with one hand, untied each side of her gray bikini bottoms. Although untied, they clung to her with the water, so before I could do it, Rhiannon had pulled them off and thrown them on the side.

My eyes were instantly drawn to her newly exposed privates. Although I had seen her like this before, in exactly the same place, it was different this time. I was far less drunk than previously, and in a moment that seemed to stand still, I took her all in again, in more detail.

There was no doubt that she was one of the most attractive girls I had ever seen. She didn't have an ounce of excess weight on her, and her legs, although strong and toned, did not meet at the thighs, giving her a noticeable gap. Her hips, though, were wide and made her abdomen look even tinier in comparison. Her pussy lips were, as yesterday, shaved and smooth, with an inset triangle of hair above them. Looking further up her body, her abs were subtly toned, with a clear but soft ridge running up each side of her abdomen. Her breasts were around the same size as mine, perhaps a little larger. Her hair was still braided in one long plait, as it had been since I arrived.

My admiring of her body was interrupted as she finally broke free from us and turned on Rhiannon. Her top was off in seconds, and Meg helped her out with her bottoms as I stood and watched. Rhiannon managed to swim away and began to climb out of the pool before Meg caught up to her and, just as she was getting out, pulled at the back of her bottoms. They slipped down slightly, showing the top of Rhiannon's crack. She pulled them back up and made to run away, but Meg caught her and held her arms by her sides, while Phoebe climbed out. As she exited the pool, I didn't know where to look - at Phoebe's beautiful ass or at Rhiannon's breasts as they bounced while she tried to escape from Meg.

Rhiannon tried to kick Phoebe away as she approached, but inevitably her bikini bottoms were down in an instant, and I got my first view of Rhiannon in the nude. She was, predictably, shaven smooth down there. I didn't find her nearly as attractive as Megan or Phoebe, but I knew that she was still a pretty girl, and that certain guys would find her skininess attractive.

'Right, not it's your turn!', Rhiannon said, making for Meg.

'You'll have to catch me first!', Meg teased, and began to run off, around the pool, taking with her all the towels, Phoebe's bikini bottoms, Rhiannon's bottoms, and my entire bikini. She shot inside the hotel, shutting the glass door behind her. Rhiannon reached the door seconds later, and tried to open it, but after the pool was closed, the door wouldn't open from the outside. Meg was the other side of the glass, clutching all the bikinis and towels, making her a L-shape on her forehand with her thumb and forefinger, winking mockingly. She ran off.

'Fuck!', Rhiannon said loudly, an astonished but terrified grin spreading across her face.

'What are we left with?!', I asked.

Rhiannon had a quick count up, 'my top, and Phoebe's top'.

Phoebe grabbed her top from the pool and climbed out, putting it on. Rhiannon pulled on her top.

'What the hell are we going to do?', Phoebe asked. Although the circumstances could have provoked mild panic, somehow they hadn't, somehow we were all still excited.

'I know, but you're not going to like it', Rhiannon said.

'What? I am not walking through the hotel naked!', I said.

'No', Rhiannon replied, 'it's almost worse though'.

'What?', Phoebe asked.

'I brought my phone down', Rhiannon said.

'So?' Phoebe pushed.

'There's only one person I can think of who could help us'. I had a sinking feeling.

'Not Ryan?', I asked.

Rhiannon nodded.

'What about the other girls?', Phoebe asked.

'They're all out tonight', Rhiannon confirmed.

'Shit, what are you going to say?', I asked. I had a horridly excitable feeling that Ryan was about to get his 'revenge' on my having walked in on him naked.

Rhiannon handed her phone to Phoebe, 'I'm not saying anything, Phoebe, you get on best with him!'

'What can I say?!', she asked, taking the phone but naturally embarrassed.

'Just explain the situation, it's not that weird'

'It fucking IS weird!', Phoebe said, searching for Ryan in Rhiannon's phonebook. I wondered what Meg was doing now.

Phoebe had the phone to her ear. 'Hey Ryan... No it's Phoebe... yeah you?'

Phoebe pulled a face at us.

'Ryan, Ryan, listen. We're in a spot of bother here, can you help us?... Yeah well, we were kind of swimming... yeah me, Rhi and Shannon... uhuh... and Meg kind of...' she stopped.

'Well Meg stole our towels and bikinis', she blurted out.

There was a long pause. I could hear laughing at the other end.

'Yes, again!', Phoebe said, rolling her eyes. 'Look, can you just bring us down some clothes? Great, bye', she put down the phone.

I realized then that none of us were making any effort to cover up our modesty in front of one another. We waited, somewhat cold in the thickening snow.

'Hey guys, looking good down there!', a male voice came from above us. It was Ryan, leaning over his balcony railing, with another guy who I assumed was Charlie.

We instantly covered ourselves over and huddled together. I could feel Phoebe's left breast on my back.

'Can you hurry the fuck up and stop gawking at us?!', Rhiannon asked in mock anger. They stood for a minute, enjoying the sight, before they threw down 2 towels and disappeared from the balcony. Rhiannon took one for herself, and Phoebe shared the other with me. We wrapped it as best we could around the two of us, standing hip to hip. I felt a surge of arousal as our skin touched, knowing that neither of us was wearing anything on our lower halves, and I wasn't wearing anything at all.

'I'm going to kill her', Rhiannon said.

After a few minutes, Ryan and Charlie appeared at the glass door. Phoebe and I pulled our towel tight around us. I felt utterly embarrassed that the first time I was meeting Charlie was in such a predicament.

'Well well well!', Ryan said as he opened the door. They were both carrying come pants and t-shirts.

'Thank fuck you're here', Rhiannon said, approaching Ryan and making for his pile of clothes.

'Woah, not so fast', Ryan said, lifting the clothes out of Rhiannon's reach.

'What?', Rhiannon said, jumping up while awkwardly keeping her towel in position with one hand.

'We want to know how you ended up out here wearing so little!', Charlie said.

I hadn't seen Charlie before. He was very different from Ryan. He had short dark hair and was shorter than Ryan by at least 4 inches. He was, however, a lot stockier, and from what I could see of him, more muscular.

'Take a wild guess', Phoebe said sarcastically.

'Having fun sharing a towel are you?', Ryan poked fun at the two of us. He looked me in the eye and winked. I knew precisely what it meant.

'Whatever, we went for Shannon's skinny dipping task for the newbie challenge', Phoebe explained, 'and it got a little out of hand'.

'So it would seem!', Charlie laughed.

'Fine, have some clothes', they threw their stuff on the ground in front of us. Rhiannon stood one side of the clothes, with her back to the boys and opened her towel out to cover us as we got dressed.

'Awww, too bad!', Ryan joked, 'that was the only reason I came down here!'

'Fuck off Ryan', Phoebe said as we scooted awkwardly towards the clothes on the floor. We dropped the towel and pulled on some loose pants and t-shirts. When we were dressed, we did the same for Rhiannon. When we were all dressed, we went back inside.

'Any ideas where Megan is?', Rhiannon said.

'I guess you'll be wanting revenge?', Charlie said with a grin.

'Too right', Rhiannon replied, 'she's dead when I find her'.

I wondered what Rhiannon had in mind...