I grabbed the overhead handle as the hummer went over a particularly large bump. The woman in the driver’s seat laughed as the truck tilted to one side, “Stop being so jumpy!” She called as she took one of her big, white, fluffy hands off the wheel.
	“Put both hands on the wheel!” I whined as I put one of my hands on the dash.
	The woman laughed at me as she plowed through a snow bank, sending a blast of snow up into the windshield, “Relax! I’ve driven this plenty of times!” 
	“The snow is WAY deeper than usual and your family isn’t here to bail us out if you get stuck again!” 
	“That happened once!” She playfully shoved me and laughed, “We’re almost there!”
	“Just slow down!” I pleaded as I was jostled in my seat again.
	She ignored me, “Look! There’s the cabin!” Amongst the pure white, undisturbed snow, past the dark evergreens was a quaint cabin made of light brown logs. The only color on the cabin was a bit of red on the door and window sills. Past the cabin was a wide open area with the mountain stretching into the sky. There was a little trail off to the side that helped us get a way up the mountain to ski or board down. The best part was, we got this whole area to ourselves. It was a winter wonderland in the middle of summer. The local population around and on the mountain was almost exclusively ice and snow mamano that needed the cold to live comfortably. Due to mamano mana, the weather had changed. It was currently a little into the evening, the orange sun was peeking out from behind the mountain from where we were.
My nerves finally calmed down as my friend finally slowed as we neared the cabin. With one final skid on the thin layer of ice under the snow, the hummer came to a stop, “You look as pale as the snow, Anon!” My friend put her big fluffy hand on my shoulder and shook me slightly.
	I groaned as I unclenched my bone white hand from the overhead ‘oh shit’ handle, “Can it, Trish.”
	As she got out, the yeti turned back and stuck her tongue out at me, “Make me!”
	I could only watch as she easily stomped through the deep snow. I got out and tried to do the same, but the snow quickly began to slow me down. Trish disappeared into the cabin as I trudged closer. Soon, she reappeared with wide snow shoes strapped to her fluffy white feet and a big shovel in her hands. The rest of her was covered in form fitting athletic pants and a grey and orange snow coat. I was doubled up in layers, snow pants over sweatpants with a thick hoodie and a waterproof bright yellow coat over it. I shivered as the freezing cold began to pierce my core.
	“Are you cold already!?” Trish groaned at me, “Catch!” She tossed me the snow shovel before grabbing a second one by the door, “C’mon, we gotta clear some area before anyone else gets here!”
	I nodded, “Then we don’t have to do any other chores!”
	Trish just smirked, “You got it. We’ll be nice and get some firewood ready too. Hurry!” 

	“One, two, three!” Trish grunted as I heaved the large cooler into her arms. She tumbled back a little bit as I quickly hopped out of the trunk and grabbed one of the ends. Long shadows were cast across the white ground. The area in front of the house had been shoveled and packed down to allow for her family to easily bring in their things as well as us. A big ice chest full of meat and beer was the last thing we were bringing in. Trish stepped onto the little stone porch and stomped her feet to get some of the snow off and I did the same. With the closing of the door behind me, we both breathed a sigh of relief, “Finally!” The yeti bellowed into the empty house, “It felt like we were working for hours!” She unzipped her coat to reveal her sports bra and tanned, toned abs. The brown of her skin contrasted quite nicely with her short white hair and fur. 
	“You’re only wearing that underneath your coat and you’re still not cold!?” I scoffed in disbelief.
Her blue eyes looked down at the cooler then back up at me as I yanked off my gloves and rubbed my hands together for warmth, “I’m never cold, Anon. But if you needed some heat you could have just asked!” She teased as she grabbed my hands in hers. It wasn’t really holding hands, at least that’s what she’d always tell me, we were merely friends after all-- maybe not best friends anymore, but still friends. I could vividly recall all the times she had done this for me as a kid. 
	“Thanks,” I chuckled as my eyes locked with hers. Both of us blushed and let go, “Right, well,” I glanced back outside, “When should the others show up?”
	“Mom and dad said they’d start driving around noon tomorrow so we’ve got the whole place to ourselves till then!” Trish excitedly reminded me as she stepped further into the cabin. We had a decent stack of logs near the front door and a small, crackling fire going. In the main area there were two couches that could be pulled out into beds, a dining table, a few shelves with board games and books, and a kitchen area with a stove, little oven and a refrigerator. Lastly, there were polaroids and other kinds of photos hung up in frames along every wall in the cabin. It also had electricity which was surprisingly reliable. Off the main room there were a few doors, a bathroom, a master bedroom with a queen size mattress, a smaller bedroom with two tiny beds and the smallest room with a bunk bed. I picked up my sleeping bag and blankets and took them to the bunk bed, throwing it all on the top. Trish was in soon after, throwing her bedding on the bottom bunk.
	“Man, these beds feel smaller every year,” I joked quietly.
	Trish punched me on the shoulder, “We’re not getting that fat!” She was more than six and a half feet tall at this point, “Hey, look at this,” She grabbed a photo off the wall and shoved it in my face. It was a picture of us as kids sitting on the couch. Both of us were wrapped up in snow gear with matching blue, hand knit scarves draped around our necks, “I’m so glad we got to come out here again.”
	“It’s been a while, huh?” 
	“At least since we came out together,” She gave the photo a wistful look before putting it back up on the wall, “We’ve been staying in this room together since we were little.”
	I opened up the closet, pushed aside some old clothes and peeked at a little chest in the corner, “Look, some of our old toys are still here.”
	“It's our combined action figure collection isn’t it?”
	“And a big bag of those little green and tan army men,” I added with a small chuckle.
	We both stared for a while until Trish shook me gently, “Hey, the meats gonna go bad if we just leave it in the chest,” I nodded and followed her back into the main room, “Thanks for doing this, by the way.”
	“I should be the one thanking you. I’d still be cooped up in my room if you hadn’t asked me to come with,” Both of our smiles dissipated quickly, “I just hope we can actually relive some of those old memories.”
	“Yeah, hopefully the fun of the past will make these new, sad memories go away. At least for a while,” Trish let a dejected sigh escape her lips, “C’mon. Stop moping around!” She slapped her cheeks a few times to try and instantly change the vibes in the room, “Turn some lights on! We’re only gonna feel more and more dreary in the darkness!”
	“Yeah, right!” I acted peppy, doing my best to push the negativity out of my mind, “How about we crack open the cider? Get a little buzzed and have dinner?” 
	“Sounds good to me,” Trish opened up the cooler and tossed me a bottle before grabbing the stuff that needed to be refrigerated and tossing it in, “I think I’ll hit the hay afterward.”
	With a shrug, I nodded in agreement, “It's getting dark out anyways. Want me to help you cook?”
	“I’m just gonna make some Chef Boyardee, man. I think I’ve got this!” 
	I smirked and followed her to the kitchen. We cracked a few jokes but never really said anything of substance. In fact, neither of us had said much of substance since she had come back from abroad and back into my life. I had expected never to see her again, but of course she had to show up when I was at my lowest like she usually did. But this time felt different, something was on her mind too but I had no idea what. All I could do was put on a little fake smile and keep going along with it. In a short time we had both eaten and climbed into bed.
	I lay on the top bunk, staring up at the ceiling. I heard Trish shuffle about before stopping for a bit and sighing quietly, “Hey, Anon?”
	“Yeah?” I called back. I didn’t have to see her to know the sad look she was wearing on her pretty face.
	“You don’t hate me, right?”
	I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth. We had been chummy and joking around on the drive in, but this was our first real time talking since we had met up again, “Just drop it, Trish,” I said in a flat voice, “We’re gonna shred that mountain tomorrow, right? It’ll be great, like when we were younger,” I tried to sound a little cheerful.
	The yeti was quiet for a little while. I couldn’t hear anything but the wind blowing outside and remnants of the fire crackling in the main room, “I hope so… Good night, Anon.”
	“Yeah, night,” I yawned back, finally letting my body succumb to the embrace of the dream realm. 

	I shivered as I awoke. The night had been dreamless, which was probably fortunate for me. I climbed from the bed and put on something warm. Trish was already up, evident by her sleeping area being an empty mess. I soon smelled the sizzling of meat on a pan and it smelled like... bacon, perhaps? Trish stood at the little stove, potatoes cooking in one pan and bacon in the other, “Good morning,” I called to her. She was wearing basketball shorts and a tank top. I'd never understand how she did it in this freezing weather.
	“Hey, Anon,” She gave me a little wave, “Foods almost done. Do me a solid and grab some plates, would you?” Without another word, I grabbed two plates for her, “Hey, we should go out on the mountain and shred it early. Gotta be the first up there this year!”
	I nodded, “Sure. We can tube down it first like we used to.”
	“Come on, we’re not kids any more,” She gave me a frown.
	I shrugged, “Well, it's tradition. We used to go down together, grabbing on to one another’s inner tubes.”
	“Anon, we both know how to snowboard now. We can just do that instead,” She told me while dishing up our food. We sat at the table across from one another. 
	I sighed, “Yeah, you’re right,” I glanced out the window at the heavy snowfall, “The snow’s looking pretty bad out there.”
	“It’ll be fine,” She assured me between big bites of food, “Dress warm.”
	“Right,” I took a few bites of bacon and looked back at my old friend, “How was studying abroad? You went to the Himalayan mountains, right?
	Trish nodded and leaned back, “It was… fine.”
	I scoffed, “Fine? You gotta give me something more than that.”
	She shrugged dejectedly, “That’s all it was. Got my degree and that was it.”
	I glared, feeling a pang of anger, “You disappeared in mid highschool to go to school half way across the world without even saying ‘bye’ to me and the place is just fine? Then why the hell was it so important for you to just abandon me!?”
	“Anon, I really don’t want to talk about it,” She quietly pleaded while staring down at her feet. I did my best to conceal my annoyance but dropped it, “Uh, how was university for you? You went to that northern one, right?”
	I shrugged, “Spent some time at community college then started up there. Got my degree then just kinda… didn’t do anything.”
	“I thought those computer science degrees were in hot demand,” Trish mumbled.
	“Well, I got an offer to work in a shop that programs and repairs automatons. But I know if I started there I’d end up with an automaton wife. But, I didn’t want one. They’re so cold and artificial.”
	“How do you know that?” 
	“Modern automatons are excellent data gatherers and are pretty good about spreading that information around. I had one for a professor in university, she taught geology. I shook her hands and I just really hated how that felt. I have nothing against them but I just can’t go for that,” I sighed as I finished my food. 
	“I think you’d be happy with one. You’re a smart guy and they’re… machines? You always liked computers more than people. I used to have to drag you outside to play when we were little,” A smirk crossed her face finally.
	“I remember making you play video games with me too,” I smiled back, “Those were good times.”
	We were both quiet as we reminisced about the past, “Go get changed. I’m forcing you to play outside again,” Trish gave me a little awkward smirk, “I’ll clean up real quick.”
“You sure? I could take care of it if you want.”
“No,” She sighed, “I upset you. I’ll handle it.”
	I frowned. It felt a little weird having her try to make it up to me like this. I quickly decided I’d try to take care of lunch to make up for snapping at her. With a sigh, I nodded and went to our shared bedroom and layered up. I put my boots on last and trudged out of the room, “You forgot something,” Trish grabbed my shoulder and stopped me. She reached over and grabbed a little bag she had thrown onto the couch and pulled out something familiar. She wrapped a blue scarf around my neck and pulled it tight. The smell was familiar, albeit dull. It was comforting and made me smile.
	“I can’t believe you still have these,” I was completely shocked as I ran my fingers over the soft wool. I frowned, I tried not to remember the broken promise that the scarf represented.
	Trish had hers as well, “Well, yeah, I’ve been holding onto them for years. Kept ‘em in a little box,” She gave me a tiny smile, “Look, I’m sorry for what happened. I want us to be friends again. I’m gonna make it up to you this week, I promise.”
	I folded my arms, but I knew I couldn’t stay mad at her, “Alright. Let’s try to have some fun this week.”
	Trish lurched forward and wrapped her arms around me, trapping my arms at my sides. It was a very friendly, almost loving hug. My body very quickly heated up to a degree where I was almost sweating. I could count the number of times she had hugged me like this on one hand, of course I wasn’t counting the quick hugs she would give me as a greeting. I got too many of those to count when we were younger. As an elated sigh left my lips, I felt some inner peace. Trish did the same, “Thanks, Anon.”
	“Yeah, of course,” As she let me go, she stared into my face. I stared right back at her until both of us blushed and broke eye contact. 
	“Well, uh, I’m gonna go get changed. Be out in a bit.”
	As I waited for my friend to return I took a bit of time to get a fire going. It was getting cold inside the cabin. Trish only took a few moments to return. She was back in her orange and grey snowcoat and some thick pants. We stared at each other again, “Hey,” I stopped for a few moments as I tried to find the words, “I’m sorry that I snapped at you. Those years you were gone were tough.”
	“I… I regret it a lot. I’m sorry. I know you’re curious what happened, and maybe I’ll talk about it later, but I can’t right now,” She mumbled quietly, “I don’t have the strength for it,” I huffed quietly as she made for the door, my small fire crackling as we both prepared to leave the cabin. I pushed my anger and ire towards her away, I genuinely did want to have fun with her. Trish opened the door and was assaulted by a blast of frigid air and a shower of snow, “Ah! Anon! Hurry up!” I shot up and rushed past her, dashing out into the snow so she could close the door behind us. The area we had shoveled was full of fluffy snow again, our work completely undone. I pulled my scarf around my neck, pulled it up over my mouth, and grabbed the goggles from my pocket and threw them on, “Damn, it's really coming down out here!”
	“Yeah,” I called back over the howling wind, “Think it’ll clear up?” The sun was out, but the thick dark clouds overhead kept the warm light from passing through.
	“Totally!”
	“S-should we really try to brave this?” I nervously wondered.
“It’ll be fine! Come on!” She climbed on top of her hummer and detached both our snowboards. She tossed one to me and hurried toward the mountain. I struggled to keep up as we trudged through the deep snow and made our way for the trail up. 
	
	As we neared the top of the trail, the snow was getting worse. I struggled to see and if not for the rope I clung to I probably would have gotten lost and wandered into the woods. I was covered in snow as was Trish. Even she shivered as the frozen winds pierced her coat, “Are you sure it’s supposed to improve!?” I shouted over the howling wind. 
“The forecast said we were in the clear!” Trish yelled back, her white fur and hair were both full of snowflakes, “We’re almost there! We HAVE to do this! Just like old times! That’s all I want!”
	“It won’t be like old times if we freeze out here!”
	“We won’t!” Trish stumbled as she reached the top of the trail. We both fell in the deep snow and struggled to strap ourselves to our boards. I was first and leaned over to help the yeti, her bigger hands making it a little difficult to manipulate the straps. With each passing moment, the cascade of snow was getting worse and worse. We both stood, helping each other up carefully as we could as more freezing, powerful winds blew through us. I could hardly see the slope down to the cabin and the cabin itself was totally obscured by the blizzard of white snow. For the first time, since I was seven maybe, I felt some genuine anxiety to go down it, “Come on!” Trish hopped a little bit and started down the slope. I heard her shout with joy as she went down the mountain side. It was a much shorter trip down than up, but it was steep enough to be quite fun. I scooted over to a lesser slope and started down it.
	I laughed as I made my way down, weaving back and forth down the slope. The rush of wind against my face, the feeling of the soft snow beneath my board as I gracefully glided by, it was a rush I had missed for many years. My heart pounded like it used to, even when going to other mountains without Trish in the years she was gone, it was nothing compared to this nostalgic slope. As I neared the bottom, the wind coming down the mountain turned into powerful gusts. I was thrown off balance while being buffeted by the air until I was knocked down completely, tumbling through the thankfully soft snow before coming to a stop, my body sprawled out on the ground.
I was completely dazed and turned around as I lay in the deep snow on my back. I tried to sit up, but pain shot through me making me grunt loudly and gasp for air, the wind had been knocked out of me as well. My eyes stung as snow landed between my eyelashes, I must have lost my goggles during the tumble. The wind howled around me as snow began to cover my injured form. I groaned and forced myself up out of the snowbank but struggled to get the snowboard off my feet so I could walk. Even if I was able to get myself free, I wouldn’t know where the cabin or even Trish was. I managed to sit up, “Trish…” I moaned, hardly able to get a sound through my throat and out my mouth, “Trish,” I cried out again before starting to pant for air.
	“Anon!” I heard her bellow above the wind.
	I managed to get up a little more, “Trish! Over here!” I weakly hollered, trying to get her attention. 
	Within a moment, her big fluffy, snow covered hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the snow, “I should have listened to you about the snow,” She grumbled to herself as she pulled me up. I winced in agony as pain shot up my back. Without missing a beat, the yeti picked me up over her shoulder and started to stomp back to the cabin, “I’m sorry, Anon. I’m sorry,” She kept whispering to herself as the wind howled in my ears, I could hardly hear her. As she grunted and trudged through the snow, the blizzard kept getting heavier and heavier, soon I could barely see my hand in front of my face. 
	I couldn’t see the cabin until we were basically on top of it. Trish threw the door open, it slammed against the inner wall as a gust of frozen air launched it out of her hand. She brought me in and set me down on the floor as gingerly as she could before grabbing the door and struggling to close it. She latched it close and breathed a sigh of relief. The fireplace was dim and cold, the wind had blown it out as the door flew open. Both of us were covered in snow, there was snow all over the floor near the door, and I still had my board on my feet. I groaned as I stirred on the floor, “Dammit…”
	“You’re gonna be fine, alright?” Trish shook the snow off herself, hurried to my side and started to strip the wet clothes off of me, “Anything hurt?” She asked as I grunted in pain again.
	“My back…”
	“Well,” She sighed with relief, “You can move, so I don’t think you broke it,” She slowed down as the wet coat came off. Next was the board, then my boots and pants. She brushed the snow out of my hair and began to strip herself. I shivered as the cold started to get to me. Every part of me felt like it was freezing now, “Lemme wrap you up,” Trish ‘offered’ without waiting for my response. I was wrapped in two thick blankets and deposited onto the couch. The lights over head flickered as the yeti continued to hurry about the cabin. Towels were thrown on the floor where all the snow had been brought in, she quickly got a fire going in the fireplace and a hot pot of water going on the stove. I could hardly hear the crackling of the fire over the howling of the wind outside as it buffeted the side of the house. All at once, the lights cut out, the only thing giving us any visibility was now the fireplace. I heard Trish groan and start to rummage through some of the supplies we had brought. She returned to my side with a little gas stove which she set up on the coffee table and began heating the pot of water once more, “Damn it all.”
	“I’ll grab some candles,” I offered as I shed the blankets and exposed myself to the frigid air. Trish opened her mouth to object, but I was already taking slow strides toward the closet. She just sighed and shook her head at me.

	After a short time, the room was dimly illuminated by a few candles, each one set in a little dish. I was wrapped in three blankets and Trish in one. We sat on opposite sides of the couch, giving one another some room as we sipped on hot coco, “Some fun vacation this turned out to be,” She grumbled to herself as she took her scarf off.
	“Hey, we’ve had a bit of fun so far,” I chuckled as I basked in the warmth of the flames.
	She sighed, “You’re not fooling anyone, Anon. I’ve ruined this trip for you already.”
	“Trish, I hadn’t seen you in more than six years. Just getting to spend time with you is enough,” I quietly said, “I… I missed you.”
	Trish looked at me, the dancing flames highlighting her features as she gave me little more than a wistful look, “You don’t know how much I regret what I did. You might never know.”
	“I doubt I will,” My confession felt hollow, but I didn’t know what else to say. We both stole glances at one another in between sips of hot chocolate, “It’s bittersweet.”
	“The chocolate?” With a chuckle, she looked at me.
	“There’s that humor I missed so much.”
	“Those six years must have been pretty boring if THAT’S what you missed… hehe...” Trish downed the last of her hot coco and roughly set the glass down with a loud, hollow clunk, “I can’t do this. I can’t keep beating around the bush like this. You’re mad at me, I know,” One of her white hands rubbed down her face, “If I could take back what I did, I would.”
	I set my drink down, “Why didn’t you at least say goodbye?”
	“I couldn’t bring myself to see your face when I broke the news,” She admitted, “I always hated seeing you sad, it always made me sad too.”
	“You were always around to cheer me up. And then…”
	“And then I wasn’t! I know!” The yeti let out a loud groan before burying her face in her hands, “I’m sorry!”
	The anger was building inside of me, “You promised me--”
	“I promised you that we’d be together forever,” She finished my sentence, “I thought about that every night when I lay alone in my dorm room.”
	“Then why did you go?” It was all I could ask as the tears welled up in my eyes.
	Trish scooted across the couch toward me, “Because I was a selfish, stupid kid! Okay!?” The tears on her face and the anger on her face both showed her frustration and fury at herself, “I loved you, Anon. I DO love you! But I had all these things I wanted to do, places I wanted to go… Stuff there was no way you would want to do with me. You were a homebody, and while it was comforting and fun to spend a lot of time with you, I felt the call to adventure. I was so selfish that I was only thinking about me and not about us. I-I wasn’t ready to fall in love. So I ran away.”
	I turned to her, both of us silently sitting with misty eyes, a few tears having rolled down our cheeks, “Was that it? Because I was a big dork?” I found myself chuckling in disbelief.
	“I didn’t leave because of you, I left because of me. I left and I tried to fulfill my dreams, thinking I could just come back and everything would be fine. But I forgot something, my dream of me and you together. I felt something I had never felt before. Cold. I felt so cold without your warmth, Anon,” The yeti was hesitant to get closer to me as she stripped off her blanket, “Six long years I went feeling nothing but pain, but I couldn’t go home until I was done with my degree,” She wiped her eyes as guilt stained her face, “I didn’t gain anything. All those dreams I accomplished left me feeling hollow and empty. It didn’t mean anything if I didn’t have you there with me to share in all those victories.”
	“Trish…” It was painful watching my childhood friend start to break down. My heart ached, it really did feel like she loved me and regretted it.
	“I can’t ask you to forgive me, I can’t even forgive myself for it. I was so stupid, Anon. But I’ve always loved you, and I-I can’t expect you to love me back after what I did. But I need you.  I’m sorry,” Trish put her head in her hands as she started to sofly cry. 
	Slowly, I removed my blankets and scooted over to her, exposing myself to the cold, “Trish, of course I love you. Even if we were young at the time, why else would I have agreed to your promise? The one about us being together forever?” She looked up at me, giving me my opportunity to hug her, “I’m just happy you’re back in my life. That’s all I’ve wanted for the last six years.”
	The yeti’s arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly in her arms as we shared our warmth. Her crying had mostly stopped as she simply nuzzled against me for the comfort that I was eager to give, “I’m gonna spend the rest of my life making up the past six years to you.”
	I pet her head, my fingers running through her soft hair as I tried to calm her down, “That’s all I ever wanted,” I reached over and grabbed a blanket, laying it over the two of us.
	Trish forced me over, putting me on my back before getting on top of me. Her face pressed against my shoulder while one of her hands went to the nape of my neck and the other to my lower back. I returned the warmth and affection by petting her head and caressing her back. The yeti sighed and looked up at me, “This is even nicer than what I imagined.”
	I nodded, “Yeah.”
	“Hey,” She got off of me and touched my face, caressing my cheeks and chin, “Thank you,” Her hands gripped the sides of my head, keeping me still as she kissed me on the forehead, “If I can do anything to make you happy, just tell me.”
	“Well,” I stretched and took one of her hands in mine, feeling the soft, warm fur on my finger tips, “We could cuddle. That would be really nice.”
	“Your wish is my command, my friend. I mean, dear? Darling? Maybe I’ll call you Sweet Pea,” She chuckled as she held my hands, one in each of her’s, “And yes, for once this is hand holding. Lemme heat up the rest of you,” She grinned and lurched forward, grabbing me and wrestling with me.

	A strong wind crashed into the side of the cabin, carrying another load of snowflakes with it. The snow outside was piling high, the freezing cold was everywhere, but inside the cabin, in front of a crackling fire, on a pulled out futon, I cuddled with my childhood friend. One of her strong arms rested on my chest, holding my back against her belly, my head resting atop her soft, pillowy breasts, with her chin sitting on my scalp. Her other hand stroked my head idly. One of my hands stroked the fur on Trish’s digits and palm. Every so often, she’d snatch my hand and squeeze it tight with a small giggle. I pulled the blankets draped across our forms tighter around us. Most of the candles around us had been snuffed out, most of the light coming from the fire that we both watched. 
	“Do you remember how we met?” She suddenly asked me with a hushed whisper.
	I nodded back, “I was playing alone in the corner of the playground in grade school. It was chilly and I had forgotten a coat. You, having just transferred to the school, saw me shivering and came over to warm me up.”
	“All the other kids teased us when they saw me hug you, they said stuff about us getting married and having kids,” Trish chuckled, “If only they could see us now.”
	“I think you shouted something like ‘just you wait, I’ll marry Anon if I want!’” I gripped a few of her fingers, “Looks like you did want to.”
	“Of course I did,” She kissed my ear before leaning back.
	“Oh, remember middle school?”
	“I remember crying and begging my parents to transfer me to the school you were going to!” Trish laughed as she gave me a squeeze, “Neither of us had any friends there.”
	“But I had you, at least,” I reminisced, “It was you and me against the world.”
	“Yeah, remember when I threw that manticore? The one that bullied you?”
	“How could I forget the rage on your face as you lifted that mewling bitch over your head!” 
	We both laughed together, the feelings of warmth and love both protecting us from the elements. Trish sighed and scooted me off of her lap, “I need some water,” She grumbled. It was getting late, the two of us had already eaten dinner.
	“I got it,” I offered, hopping off the couch first and grabbing the big metal pot. I went to the door and cracked it open. The frigid air made my body shiver, but I quickly pushed the snow into the pot with my hand and took it to the gas stove. I shook my hand, trying to force the cold out of it.
	Trish turned the stove on then stood in front of me, “Lemme warm your hand,” She pulled her pants down, revealing her panties and plump thighs. In one quick motion, she forced my chilly hands between her hot, sweaty thighs. I blushed at her lewd act, but found myself unwilling to remove my fingers from between her flesh. Her thighs moved back and forth as I stared at her cute striped panties, “Maybe we can… do some ‘extra special’ cuddling tonight?” She asked, her digits caressing and feeling my face as a smirk crossed her lips, “I’ll let you take lead…” With a slow lean toward me, the yeti kissed me on the lips, “I know I don’t have a ring to give you, but I want you to be mine, Anon.”
"Aren’t I supposed to say that?" I chuckled nervously, my hands still trapped between her legs. I wasn’t sure if the moisture on my hands was my sweat, her sweat, or… something far more lewd. 
	Trish looked around, “I know!” With hasty steps, the yeti hurried over to the fireplace and scrambled to get something. I took a moment to quietly wipe my hands dry on a towel. Trish ran back over, her feet stomping on the rug before she knelt in front of me, “Anon,” She took one of my hands in hers, “I know we used these to make a promise once, but this time we-- I won’t break that promise,” Gingerly, she presented the scarf to me, holding it up in one hand, “Will you stay with me forever?”

----------	
	My mind quickly flashed back to middle school. In this very cabin, on a much nicer day before a few days of fun with Trish, her mother had presented the young yeti with two blue scarves. Trish had put her’s on first then presented the other to me. She hadn’t gotten down on one knee, but she did present it to me, “Hey, Anon? I wanna tell you somethin’,” She grinned as she started to put it on me, “I wanna be best friends with you forever!”
	“Really!?” I smiled back as she finished tightening it. 
	“Yeah! These are like those promise ring things. I promise to be your friend forever!” 
	I grinned, absolutely elated, “Okay! I promise too!”
	That was the first time she gave me one of those really loving hugs. I couldn’t forget that feeling if I tried to. That picture that hung in the bedroom was taken shortly after our promises.
----------

	“I promise it will be different this time,” Trish followed up quickly, “I… I want to be your best friend again, well, more than that. I want to be your wife and I want you to be my husband,” She clutched my hand tightly as her eyes showed me the love in her heart as well as the guilt and desperation that she did her best to hide it from me, “Being away from you made me realise how much I need you in my life. I-I know I don’t deserve you, but I need you.”
	I took her hand in both of mine, “Yeah,” I nodded with a little smile, “I need you too, Trish. Husband and wife, best friend, I want both of those things,” I helped her to her feet and gave her a short, loving kiss on the lips, “I love you, Trish. I always have.”
	My friend-- now fiance slowly put the scarf on herself first, then moved on to me. Her eyes were getting wet, a few tears rolled down her cheeks as she finished reverently tying on my scarf. Trish put her hands on my shoulders, “I’m going to be honest with you. I didn’t expect you to forgive me enough to say yes. Thank you.”
	“Just don’t run away again, okay? Please take me with you if you decide to run off on an adventure,” I gave her another hug that she swiftly returned, “I don’t want to be alone again.”
	“You won’t be. Ever,” With that firm affirmation, she picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. She tore off her sweater and pants before following me in. She was in panties and a sports bra, “Let me feel your skin on mine,” The whisper in my ear made me shiver as she unzipped my coat and helped me peel my shirt and pants off. Trish looked me up and down before running her hands across my skin. I couldn’t tell if the sensation of her soft, warm fur gently and teasingly grazing over my flesh was what was giving me goosebumps or if it was the way she breathed into my ear, “No need to stare, Anon. You can touch me if you want.”
	My hands nervously touched Trish’s warm and tanned body. She giggled as my digits felt the muscles on her arms. She flexed them slightly for me with a little smile on her face. Our breath was visible as it mixed in the small space between us, but neither of us really felt the cold air around us. The fire in the other room crackled as we giggled and gasped while playfully exploring one another’s bodies. My hands found their way to her toned abs. The hot muscles flexed at my touch, almost as if delighted my hands were running over their surface, “Lower,” Trish whispered in my ear. She was shivering with anticipation as my hand wandered lower and lower down her body. My hand inched towards her sodden, white panties while her hands rubbed my shoulders. I slipped my fingers down her panties, feeling the hot, wet, and soft folds of her pussy. I heard her breathe sharply as her hands gripped me a bit tighter. One moved to my face, caressing me before holding me still and pressing her lips to mine, she took my hand off of her hip and forced it under her bra. I gave the breast a squeeze, making her throw her head back and gasp. 
	Trish pulled her mouth away from me as she began to grope and touch me through my underwear. She was surprisingly gentle as she felt me through the thin layer of cloth. I shuddered, making her lurch forward and force me onto the bed. We kept fondling and making out with one another, our combined body heat easily kept the frigid cold at bay. I found myself on top of the yeti as she stared up at me with half closed eyes. I gripped the hem of her sports bra and pulled it off of her, letting her large, caramel breasts spill out. After only a few moments to take in their glorious, soft and shapely splendor, Trish grabbed the back of my head and forced it between her pillowy mounds of flesh. She giggled while I struggled to remove my head from between the soft, hot mountains. After giving my hair a good ruffle, she let me go, allowing me to sit up on my knees. I felt something wet on my cock, looking down, I saw it was pretty much rubbing up against her sopping wet pussy, “S-so…” I mumbled.
	She was staring as well, “W-well… uh…” Trish swallowed nervously, “How about you show me yours and I’ll show you mine?”
	We both chuckled but her giggling stopped as my member flopped out and rubbed against her panties. She stared at the erect, throbbing member as she shuffled slightly, “Is it that… weird?” I whimpered.
	“No. I’m just so fucking turned on right now,” She told me as she instantly tore off her panties and threw them aside. I gazed upon her glistening pussy, “Come on!” Her order roused me from my horny stupor. I nodded and grabbed my member, giving it a few strokes before lining myself up and pressing the head against her snatch. We both gasped as I pushed myself inside her, the tip of my member sliding in and grazing against the soft, wet walls of her pussy. I grabbed her hips and started to thrust slowly, pushing myself deeper and deeper into her as I passionately made love with my soon to be wife-- at least by mamano standards. I heard her cry out in moans and shouts that deafened me more than the howling wind outside. My own gasps and pants were quiet as I furiously pleasured the two of us. The yeti grabbed me as she began to quake, the bunk bed was creaking and rattling as we continually slammed it against the wall behind it. Her firm hug popped my back but my grunting in pleasure continued, the pressure in my loins was building and I knew Trish was close as well when she firmly wrapped her legs around my hips. I began to kiss her neck, making her shout with joy as she screamed my name. I felt my body convulse as her’s shuddered. In an instant, her pussy was pulsing, demanding I cum while her leg lock forced me deeper inside. I gasped once, hardly audible over her yelling moans of pleasure, as I came inside her, my load being shot deep into her. 
	As the waves of pleasure began to subside and the fog enshrouding my mind began to fade, I looked down at my fiance-- now wife. She was gorgeous, tastefully plump or muscular in all the right places, her beautiful face glistening with sweat as she lay panting with a big smile on her face aimed right at me. Her wild sex hair was spalayed on the pillow behind her. I leaned down and caressed it before whispering in her ear, “I love you.”
	Her arms wrapped around me in a soft, loving hug, “I love you more, Anon,” She giggled. Before I was able to protest, she had me on my back, “My turn,” She licked her lips and brushed the hair out of her face. She straddled me, rubbing against my member to quickly bring my erection back. She gently ran her hands up and down my chest while licking her lips. I let out a sigh, prompting her to sit up and grab my shaft, her furred hand pumped it a few times before she took the plunge, shoving me inside of her. She grabbed my hands and started to vigorously ride, using me to pleasure herself. I felt nothing but pure bliss as she roughly asserted dominance, her body riding mine and her hands completely encompassing mine with a tight grip. Trish grinned, her face completely red as she gleefully moaned. She sped up, her hips slamming into mine and making wet, lewd, and plapping noises. I cried out, completely at her mercy as she vigorously rode my shaft. I struggled to hold myself back as I felt the pressure in my loins build and it was like she could sense it. With a few final pumps, she slammed down hard, her pussy quivering again as she continued riding through her orgasm. My climax came quickly, forcing me to shoot another hot load into her, spurting the rest of my cum just as deep inside of her. 
	Both of us collapsed as our climaxes slowly came to a halt. We panted as the afterglow of passionate, loving intercourse kept us warm despite the cold and lack of clothes. Lazily, Trish pulled her sleeping bag around us, slipping us both into the opening and curling up around me, “I hope this blizzard never ends. I just wanna spend the rest of my life like this, with you,” Her giggling and cooing into my ear was complimented by her soft, warm hugs.
	“It's great,” I hugged her back, letting her hold my head on her shoulder, “Even if I am with you, I don’t think dying in this cabin is what I want to do.”
	“Fine… Hopefully this’ll clear up in the next few days and we can make it home. But, until then, you’re all mine,” She giggled and pulled me into the sleeping bag, even though it was larger we fit quite snugly inside. Trish snickered as she tightened her hug, “Hey… what do you think our parents are gonna think about this?”
	I gave her a quick kiss, “I know my mom is a bit mad at you. But she’ll probably be happy to see us having made up. Your mom probably expected this.”
	“Yeah, she did. I think both our dads are going to just say ‘congrats’ and give you a pat on the back,” She smirked.
	“Probably,” I stretched as much as I could while being trapped by Trish and accompanied that with a yawn, “You should go to sleep. I’m sure we’ll be busy tomorrow.”
	She sighed and nodded, “Good night. I love you.”
	“I love you too,” I snuggled up against her, basking in her heat before slowly drifting off to sleep. I could only wonder how long the blizzard would last. At least I would get to spend all that time with her.