Summer Storm

A pod of long-beaked dolphins was hunting salmon in the ocean just beyond the bay, their white sides gleaming against the dark, sun-sparkled waves. Melanie was supposed to be cleaning cabin number eighteen and getting it ready for a family that was arriving that evening. But it was hot and sticky, and this was her last assignment for the day, and the dolphins were a delight to watch, especially for an eighteen-year old prairie girl.

Above average height at five foot seven, lanky and lean ('Skelly-Melly' the girls at school had labeled her), with straight, dark brown hair that hung past her shoulders, brown eyes just a little too close together, nose and mouth just a little too big—her looks didn't attract second glances from boys. But her smile, the rare times that she used it, lit up her entire face.

She was a runner. On her high school track team she had excelled at the metric mile. A college down east had offered her a scholarship. It would be her first time living away from home and her parents thought a summer job out of province would be good experience for her. Obediently, Melanie had applied for a job as a chambermaid at a resort in British Columbia. The acceptance letter had come as a shock.

The resort was a privately-owned island in the middle of the Great Bear Rain Forest, accessible only by boat or float plane. In shape it looked like two small islands joined by a land bridge—a connection that disappeared underwater twice a month with the king tide. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the southern half had been extensively logged, but the northern part was hardly touched. A main lodge and twenty-four cabins of various sizes, all built out of logs from the south island's trees, housed the resort's guests.

The area's main attraction was ecotourism—exploring not only the northern old growth forest, but also the many islands that made up part of the archipelago along BC's northwest coast. As well, the resort offered scuba and snorkeling packages, and even had a nine-hole golf course.

The majority of the summer staff at the resort was made up of college students, all in their late teens or early twenties. Romantic connections and sexual hook-ups among them were not uncommon. It was understood that any pairings would last only for the summer, although there were two returning couples who had maintained their relationships from the summer before.

Normally, summers on the island were mild, with afternoon temperatures rarely exceeding seventy-two degrees. The high humidity, however, made that feel closer to eighty degrees. Over the past week and a half the resort had been plagued by an unusual warm spell, with thermometer readings in the mid-eighties, and humidex values of close to a hundred. According to the weather channel a cold front coming in from Alaska was expected to bring relief by tomorrow, but there was a high risk of thunderstorms later that day.

Nolan had just finished his first year of college, and his golfing scholarship had helped him get a job as the assistant golf pro at the resort's nine-hole golf course. Tall (six foot two) and thin, his arms and legs seemed too long for his body, giving him an awkward, gawky look.

By one o'clock dark thunderheads were building up heavily in the northwest. Nolan had been advising golfers not to book a tee time past noon. You didn't want to be caught out on a golf course during a thunderstorm—golf clubs made excellent lightning-rods. At one-thirty he sounded the klaxon to advise golfers to leave the course. His last threesome had teed off at eleven fifteen and he could see them coming down the par four ninth fairway. After they left the green he hopped into his golf cart to do a quick tour of the course to make sure it was clear.

Melanie was just finishing in cabin eighteen when she heard Nolan's warning klaxon. A look up at the sky showed black storm clouds moving ominously close, bringing with them dark gray curtains of rain. She set out fresh towels and did a final check, then stored her cleaning cart inside the utility shed between cabins nineteen and twenty. She set out across the golf course to wait out the storm in a small, unoccupied cabin about ten minutes away. Cabin five was scheduled for renovation and was only used if there was no other accommodation. Having been teased unmercifully in high school about her skinny body, Melanie dreaded being naked where other girls could see her. To avoid using the communal showers in the girls' dorm, Melanie often showered in cabin five.

She'd already crossed fairway three and was starting up fairway seven when the storm caught up to her, staggering her with a sudden gust of wind. A torrent of rain bucketed down and in less than a minute had soaked through her dress and underwear all the way to her skin. Her saturated hair channeled rain down the back of her neck and over her forehead into her eyes.

Nolan was following the cart path between the par five third hole and the par four seventh when the first spatters of rain started to fall. The wind had picked up considerably, and the temperature was dropping fast. A flash of lightning electrified the sky and Nolan started counting. He had reached three when a loud crack was followed immediately by a rolling boom. The strike had been less than a mile away. Large drops of rain pelted down mixed with hail, and a minute later sheets of rain swept across the fairway. Even under the golf cart's canopy Nolan was soon soaking wet. Ahead of him a girl was struggling up the fairway, headed across to the other side, her gray and beige chambermaid's dress already drenched with rain. The wind plastered it like a second skin against her lanky frame.

That's Melanie! I'd better give her a ride. He hesitated only a second before turning off the cart and charging onto the fairway to flag down the girl. Nolan tried calling her, but the roar of the rain and wind in the nearby trees drowned out his voice.

Motion to her left caught Melanie's eye. She turned to look, and through her rain-blurred vision made out a stick-like figure running towards her, waving his long arms. Is that Nolan?

Melanie quite liked Nolan, and considered him a friend. He was quiet and polite, and he always seemed to have time to answer a question or offer assistance. Like Melanie, he didn't attract much attention from the opposite sex. She knew girls liked him, but none of them viewed him as a romantic partner.

Nolan had given Melanie a couple of free golf lessons. He looked gawky and uncoordinated but, hitting balls on the driving range, his swing was long and smooth and graceful. Melanie had wondered what it might be like to dance with him, perhaps a slow waltz. And maybe a little kiss at the end. She had never had a boyfriend; her poor body-image and lack of confidence made kissing Nolan a wistful dream.

Melanie stopped to allow Nolan to get closer. I can't get any wetter! His beige golf shirt and gray slacks were molded to his long, lean frame by the rain. She could see the outline of his briefs through the translucent, gray material. She glanced down at herself. Her uniform usually hid her gaunt figure, but in this downpour the drenched, clinging material had become almost see-through, shamelessly showing every detail of what was underneath. He can see my underwear!

"You're soaking wet!" Nolan yelled in her ear. "Come in my golf cart and I'll drive you back to your dorm."

"I'm headed to cabin five," Melanie shouted back. "It's empty, and I have a key."

Another furious gust of wind pelted them with rain and hail.

"Come on, I'll drive you!" Nolan insisted. Melanie followed him to his golf cart. But when they got in and Nolan turned the key, nothing happened. "I guess the rain's shorted out the battery," he apologized. "Sorry."

"We'll have to run for it," Melanie shouted, and stepped out onto the fairway.

After another futile attempt to start the golf cart Nolan followed her. They had to fight the wind, rain and hail for almost ten minutes before finally reaching the cabin door, wet, cold, and very much out of breath.

Melanie fumbled for her keys, but her hands were too cold to feel anything. "In my right pocket," she told Nolan. "The keys are in my right pocket."

The pocket was wrapped around her upper thigh, glued shut by the relentless rain. Nolan forced his hand between the layers and dug for the keys. He had to steady her body against his as he searched, his fingers rubbing over Melanie's thigh and groin. They were both blushing by the time he retrieved the keys and unlocked the door.

Cabin five was no bigger than an economy hotel room, with a double bed, a dresser, a couch and two easy chairs. An open doorway led into a small bathroom. The room was dim; the log walls seemed to swallow up the gray light coming through the windows. Although it was early afternoon, the heavy thunderclouds and driving rain made it seem like evening.

Nolan clicked the light switch. Nothing happened. "Power must be out," he muttered. "No heat." He stared at Melanie, shivering beside him, her lips already turning blue. "We have to get out of these wet clothes."

Out of our clothes? Melanie watched apprehensively as Nolan pulled off his sneakers and socks, then struggled out of his shirt and slacks. He straightened up, his rain-soaked, white cotton briefs virtually transparent. Melanie could see Nolan's curled up penis, small and shrunken from the wet cold. It's kind of cute. And harmless.

Nolan looked down and shook his head, embarrassed. "These aren't hiding anything, are they?" he apologized."Sorry." He shoved them down and kicked them into the pile of wet clothes.

A flurry of lightning lit up the room, and a roll of thunder rattled the windows in the log walls.

Melanie stared at the naked boy in front of her. She knew what naked boys looked like, of course, from museum art works and from internet porn, but Nolan was the first she'd seen face to face. He was tall and angular, blond and fair-skinned. His long legs were nicely muscled, but his upper body was thin—she could see his collar bones and chest bones and the outline of his ribs and hips. He's just as skinny as I am! Damp, red-blond curls clung to the triangle at the base of his belly. Freed from his briefs, Nolan's uncircumcised penis hung pink and soft.

Nolan saw her stare. "Not exactly porn-star material," he joked wryly.

Melanie let out an embarrassed giggle. "That's okay, neither am I."

"I'll see if there are towels in the bathroom. You get out of your clothes."

He wants me to take off my clothes! He'll see me naked! I can't! "I can't," Melanie wailed.

"Oh, right. You can't work your hands." Nolan stepped toward her and twisted open the buttons running down the front of her chambermaid uniform.

He's NOT ... Undressing me! Melanie was too shocked to protest. The dripping wet dress dropped to the floor, leaving her just in her bra and panties, her thin body fully revealed to Nolan's eyes. He stepped around her and she felt his hands on her bra strap. Not my bra! It released and fell away from her chest. And then his hands were at her waist. She felt him peel down her panties and pull them off her feet along with her shoes and socks.

A series of lightning flashes lit up the room for several seconds, illuminating Melanie's wet, glistening body. I'm naked!

Nolan looked in the bathroom and found a large bath sheet and two smaller towels He draped the bath sheet around Melanie, and wrapped her long hair in a towel. After quickly drying his head and chest with the other towel he lifted Melanie and carried her to the bed.

"We need to get you warm," he told her, "and body heat is all we have." A huge gust of wind hammered rain on the cedar-shingled roof and shook the windows. "I think we're going to be here for a while. And it might be hours before the power comes back."

He laid her on the bed and rolled her onto her side. Pulling the bath sheet free, he lay down and cuddled behind her, draping the bath sheet over their wet, cold bodies.

Melanie couldn't stop shivering, not all of it from the cold. I'm in bed naked, with a naked boy! She felt Nolan pull himself tighter against her back and bottom. What if he tries to ...?

Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The little log cabin shuddered from the heavy gusts of wind and rain. Melanie could see trees waving madly through the window, their wet, gnarled trunks creaking as they bent under the strain. Suppose a tree falls on us and they find our naked bodies like this. My parents would be mortified!

Melanie's shivering and shaking gradually lessened. Nolan's body heat was helping; she felt warmth creeping over her back. His arm around her waist felt warmer, too, and the backs of her legs against his thighs and knees. Gratefully, she shimmied her back and bottom tighter against him.

Nolan's mind registered the warming of his frontal regions, particularly his most sensitive part, now nestled into the space between Melanie's buttocks. When he'd peeled off her panties he'd admired her round, firm bottom. Her legs were quite nice, too. Melanie's bottom rubbed against his groin. His penis stirred in response.

It took a moment for Melanie to recognize what was causing the sensation between her cheeks. Although she'd never been with a boy, she knew about sex from reading articles in Cosmo and other women's magazines, and from visiting online porn sites. He's getting hard! Is he getting turned on? By me?

Nolan pulled away immediately, embarrassed by what was happening to him. "We need to get your front warm, too. Turn over and cuddle me for a while." He rolled onto his left side, facing away from her.

He's a gentleman! Melanie happily complied, fitting herself along his cold, still damp back. She carefully made sure that her right arm went no lower than his ribs, not wanting to risk stimulating Nolan's male response any further. She was conscious of her pubic hair brushing against his bottom, but her need to get warm overrode her sense of caution.

They lay silent for a while, listening to the roar of the rain and the booming thunder. From the timing of the lightning flashes and the thunder cracks, Nolan knew the storm was right on top of them, and that it didn't seem to be moving very fast. Either that, or it was huge.

Melanie's shivering had stopped, and warmth was spreading throughout her body. Lying naked against Nolan, and feeling safe and cozy in spite of the storm outside, infused her with a sense of intimacy she'd never had before. I feel like I can trust him. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" Nolan asked.

"For rescuing me, getting me warm and dry, and ... not taking advantage of me."

"Oh. You're welcome. That's how I was raised."

"Not to take advantage of helpless, naked girls?" Melanie teased.

"Well, yes. But mostly to be kind, and helpful, and a gentleman."

"You are certainly all that."

Melanie felt a warm, wet prickling between her thighs, and reflexively squeezed them together. Not now! Despite her shyness about her body and her lack of experience with boys, Melanie harbored a robust sensuality. She secretly masturbated while relaxing in the bathtub, reading erotic romance novels. Or when her parents were out and she was free to visit her favorite porn sites. She often had wet dreams.

Another lightning flash and thunder crack were followed by a flurry of rain and wind smacking the windows. "We're not getting out of here anytime soon, are we?" Melanie murmured.

"I don't think so," Nolan confirmed. "And even after it stops, we can't go anywhere until our clothes are dry."

Melanie propped herself up on her elbow and looked at the sodden pile of clothes in the middle of the floor. "Well, they're certainly not going to get dry sitting like that." She sat up, clutching the towel to her chest. "There should be a clothes rack in the broom closet."

"Where's that?" Nolan asked, sitting up as well.

A cold draft on her bare back made Melanie shiver. He can see all the way to my bum. Lightning lit up the cabin and thunder boomed and rolled. So what? He saw me naked when he was undressing me."I know where it is. I'll get it," she offered.

"Uh. Okay," Nolan assured her. "I promise I won't look." He lay back down and put his arm over his eyes.

Melanie giggled. "You are a gentleman."

As she slipped out from under the bath sheet, a lightning flash lit up her nude body. A little disappointed that Nolan was being so gentlemanly, Melanie padded over to the broom closet. As she had expected there was a small clothes rack. She unfolded it, then picked up their wet clothes and draped them strategically to dry. Is he watching me? She checked over her shoulder, but Nolan's arm didn't seem to have moved. He could at least take a peek. I am a girl after all. As she hung up her bra and panties, she checked again to see if he was looking. He wasn't. I guess he's already seen all that he wants to.

The air in the cabin felt cold. Melanie scooted under the bath sheet and snuggled into Nolan's back to warm up again. She lay silent, listening to the storm.

Melanie became aware of her nipples hardening against Nolan's skin. "Nolan," she spoke up. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure," Nolan replied, only a little hesitant. "What do you want to know?"

"Being a gentleman," Melanie ventured. "Does that mean you'd never take advantage of me?"

Nolan thought for a minute. He had the feeling it might be a trick question—that whatever his answer it would be the wrong one. All I can do is tell the truth. "If I did ... take advantage of you ... it would only be because I knew you wanted me to."

Melanie fell silent again, trying to sort out the confusion of feelings swirling inside her. If I want him to do anything, I'll have to let him know. Do I want him to? How will I let him know? I can't just say 'Nolan, have your way with me.' Can I?

Her groin was tight against his bottom. She was warm and cozy, and that familiar, coiling itch inside her was becoming insistent. If I don't do something, nothing will ever happen. She shifted restlessly; her arm dropped down to Nolan's waist. Daringly she drifted her hand over his belly, stopping when it bumped against the warm hardness of his erect penis. A thrill of danger shot through her lower regions.

Nolan was startled at being touched in such an intimate place. "Melanie!" he protested.

"Hush," she retorted. "I've never been with a naked boy before. I want to explore."

"O-okay. But be careful. I'm pretty sensitive there. Something might happen that you don't intend."

"How do you know what I intend?" Melanie teased.

Nevertheless, she explored cautiously, feeling the length and breadth of his erection, following it down to its base, delving between his parted thighs to stroke his scrotum, and carefully fingering the spheroids inside.

Nolan tried to relax and enjoy the sensation of her hand on his genitals. No girl had ever touched him so intimately. He wasn't sure how, or even if, he should respond. Why is she doing this? Is it just curiosity?

Melanie was finding it a little awkward playing with Nolan's boy parts from behind him, and her hand and wrist were getting tired.

"Nolan, please lie on your back."

"Why?"

"Because it'll be easier if you do."

Nolan hesitated. What will be easier? What's she going to do? The stomach sinking feeling he felt was both frightening and exciting. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "But I know I want to find out."

Nolan turned onto his back and looked in her face. She smiled at him, and he couldn't help smiling back. She's a lot prettier when she smiles like that!