“How about the sofa?” I said, instead.
Ross frowned, eying it suspiciously.

“I don’t think so. Maybe you…”

“Nuhuh,” I shook my head resolutely.

“Oh come on! You could sleep on that; I can’t. I’m way too big for that.”

“Then it looks like the air mattress for you, Boss. Sorry, I was told this was an ‘everyone for himself’ kind of week, so boss or no boss; I win,” I said, giving him a smug grin.
He growled deep in his throat.

“I’m going to fire the person who told you that. But that bed is big enough for the both of us. Come on, please? I really can’t sleep on an air mattress, not for an entire week… have mercy.”
I looked from him to the bed. It was more than big enough; heck, even Eric and Joey could hop in there and there’d still be room.

“Oh alright then, but I’m taking the left side.”

“Fine,” he said, smiling, “I don’t care which side I have to sleep on.”
And that was that. For some reason, this week started off with me sleeping with the boss.
Literally.

**********

The first night I almost didn’t sleep a wink, listening to Ross’s regular breathing and aware of every movement and sound he made.
Ross himself seemed to be deep asleep, not a care in the world, and that was something for which I hated him.
I’d never slept with a guy before, save one and that ended in a disaster. Well, not slept as in actually sleeping. I’ve had a few boyfriends, sure, but I never spent an entire night with them, neither at their place or at mine. I always went home after we’d end up in bed (or a couch or whatever was appropriate), or sent them on their way when it happened at my place.
This was weird. Somehow, every sound in the room is multiplied a hundredfold when you’re just lying there. I could hear the tiny snore he made, even above the wind that was howling around outside.
When I finally did fall asleep, light was already forming in the east.
During the next day I was a little brackish for shortage of sleep; but I didn’t dare sleep in. When I woke up, Ross had already left the room, though.

The second night went a bit better, and the third I slept like a baby, courtesy of half a dozen beers, a lot of fun and me being sleep deprived for two nights in a row.
That day, though, had me quickly reforming my opinion about the majority of my colleagues. Maybe the work they did was not the most glamorous, programming, testing and such, but they sure weren’t! That came to me as a bit of a shock, really, but a pleasant one.
The biggest dork in the company, fifty-three year old Joe Lopez, had me on the floor, on my hands and knees, laughing like a hyena on crack. He had the driest sense of humor I’ve ever come across.

Getting to know all of them, listening to their stories about other colleagues, friends and family, was kind of nice. They made me feel welcome, even when I was asked if I had a girlfriend and replied that I wasn’t rooting for the female team. Sure enough, jokes were flying within minutes but they weren’t hurtful or mean; half of them I had told myself but I even learned a few good new ones.
One thing was a little disconcerting though; when I said I was gay, one guy said that it was no wonder then, that I shared a room with Ross. When I asked him why he would make such a strange remark, all I got as an answer was a cryptic ‘you’ll find out soon enough’.
What, he thought I shared the room because I though Ross was hot?
Well, okay, he was very attractive, but that wasn’t the reason. And not explaining what he meant made sure that this particular colleague wasn’t on my list of reforming an opinion about; he slid down further.
Aside from that little incident, the day and evening went by fast.

During the day we had spent hours on the slopes, with me and a dozen others in the kiddy class, learning how to get the hang of it.
Half the time we were flat on our asses or faces, having more fun than I ever had.
So when I arrived in the room, tipsy like my grandma during the holidays and with a body that was sore from all the falling during the day, I didn’t really care if Ross was there or not; I just wanted to sleep.
He was there, though, sitting up in bed, reading some papers. I just stripped down, the beers making me less inhibited than I normally am, yawning and giggling at the same time, and stumbled into bed, ignoring several annoyed looks thrown my way.

“You’re drunk,” he said disdainfully.

‘You’re boring,” I replied, slurring a bit on the ‘r’.
He raised a dark eyebrow and put down his papers as I turned onto my side, facing him. That I turned with a lot of noise and movement didn’t seem to make his mood any better.

“Excuse me? I’m working.”

“We’re supposed to have fun,” I said, grasping the papers away and throwing them on the floor. “No work.”

He tried to prevent me from succeeding with the disposal of the paperwork and he huffed as they landed on the floor. He turned back the covers with an angry gesture and swung his legs over the edge to get up.
As the blankets came off and he rose up to go and get the papers, I got a glimpse of a nicely tanned body, dressed in tight boxers. From the back, he had this whole V-shape going from his hips to his shoulders and when he returned I saw a thin layer of short, chest hair. Not too much, just right, and with a little trail that disappeared down from his bellybutton into his boxers. He didn’t have an obvious six-pack, but there were the contours of one. He had nice legs too, for as far as I could see; muscled and none too hairy.

“Like what you see? Can I get back into bed now?” his voice suddenly spoke, clearly annoyed. “Go to sleep, you smell like a bar. You could’ve at least brushed your teeth.” I giggled and nodded, getting up.

“Yes honey. Whatever you say, honey,” I mumbled, stumbling to the bathroom. “Stop nagging, honey.”

He yelled something back at me but I’d already closed the door, blocking it. After brushing my teeth, I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea to also take a shower. I turned on the taps and got in there for a quick, refreshing cleanup. It didn’t really make me sober; I still had that pleasant buzz in my head, one of those that make the world a much more fun place.
After I toweled off, I realized that the shower-idea had been a good one, save the re-dressing part; I hadn’t brought any clean underwear.
I opened the door slightly, to see if Ross was still awake. The room was dark by now so I couldn’t really tell if he was lying with his back turned towards me or facing this way. It didn’t matter though, it was dark enough. I snuck into the room as silently as I could and got to the closet, quickly grabbing a pair of boxers and returned to the bathroom. After I was done, I switched the lights off and went back to bed.
It took me a while to find a good spot, then I sighed deep and content; that had been a good idea, taking that shower.

“Next time you feel like walking around naked, and you don’t want me to see it, turn off the light in the bathroom too,” his voice suddenly spoke, giving me a fright.
But it sounded like he was trying not to laugh.

“Hmprf…,” I quipped, “Liked what you saw? Can I go to sleep now?”
I groaned on the inside. God, stupid, stupid, stupid! I should’ve worn a towel. But he didn’t answer.
I didn’t say anything else, instead opting for a turn onto my side, my back facing him.

CHAPTER *4*

The next day I woke because of a steady stream of warm air that kept blowing onto my face. It was a nice feeling, warm and comfortable and I crept a little closer to the source. But when I opened my eyes I found the sight less than comfortable; a lightly haired chest, not two inches from my nose.
Great. One super-sized bed, more than enough space in there to accommodate at least two other people comfortably, and I find the only other occupant in it, without missing a beat, and all the way on the other side.

His head, resting on the pillow slightly above my own head, was inclined down a little and he was breathing steadily through his mouth, causing the flow of warmth onto my face.
I slowly moved my head away and looked up. He appeared relaxed, almost serene. Even his chiseled features were somewhat softened now, giving him a more approachable appearance.

I tried to move away from his body, which was practically radiating warmth underneath the blankets, only to find that I wouldn’t be getting very far. Somehow, in our sleep, our legs had entwined, and one of his, a heavy sucker, was pinning one of mine down onto the mattress. When I tried to pull my leg free, he grunted somewhat annoyed and an arm crept onto my side underneath the blanket, halfheartedly trying to get me to remain where I was.

I stopped moving, watching his face closely. When it looked like he was about to wake up, I closed my eyes quickly, lay as still as possible and tried to fake-sleep my way out of this one.
It didn’t take that long, fortunately. A couple of deep sighs, finally leg movement, then one giant yawn, a bump on my head when he brought an arm down that had been placed above me and the elbow came into contact with me, a quick move to bring the arm out of reach and then… silence.
I could almost feel him staring down at me.
I faked waking up disturbed, rubbing my head. Then I looked up, finding him on his side and indeed, looking at me.

“Hello,” I said, squinting because of the light coming from outside.

“Morning,” he replied, the corner of his mouth lifting up a little. “Sleep well?”
I yawned, a real one, and touched my head.

“Hmm… I must’ve bumped my head last night or something.”
He surprised me by showing good manners, admitting that it had been him.

“Sorry… I’m afraid that it was me who did that.”

“What, you figure to start the day off by trying to beat me up?” I asked, making a face. “Cracking my hand to pieces isn’t enough anymore?”
He actually smiled at that.

“It’s not every day that I wake up with someone close beside me…” he spoke, lazily smiling.

“What time is it?” I asked, quickly, feeling my cheeks warm up.
Damn, he looked downright horny, what with the stubble on his chin and cheeks. He lifted his arm and looked at his watch, frowning.

“Six.”
I groaned, burying my face in my pillow.

“Too early,” I said, the words muffled by the pillow. “Wake me again in two hours.”

“Don’t be such a baby. Come on, get up.”
I protested when he yanked the blankets off of me, exposing me to the coldness in the room. At least I got the satisfaction of his own surprise; he yelped when he experienced the cold by himself.
I stifled a laugh when he pulled the blanket up again, with the same speed.
“Alright… maybe try to sleep another hour, then.”

“Right… and I am a baby, huh?” I said, lifting my head.
I found his much closer than expected and I held my breath when our eyes met.

“Be silent, you,” he replied.
His eyes narrowed a bit. Then he smiled.
“Green. Blue.”

“Huh?” I asked, yawning.

“Your eyes; there was something about you but I couldn’t figure out what. Now I see it,” he answered, looking a bit surprised.

“Hmprf…,” I replied, “not the quickest in the bunch, eh?”
He snickered.

“Go back to sleep.”

**************

When I woke up for the second time, it was because of the shower running and someone softly singing too false for it to be the radio. When I listened closely, I could hear Ross murdering a song from the Rolling Stones.
The running water stopped and there was silence for five minutes; then the door opened and he came out, toweling off his hair. When he saw that I was awake, he smiled.

“Well, you sure slept a hole in the day.”

“Huh? What time is it?” I asked, frowning.
He picked up his watch and looked at it.

“It’s after twelve.”

“What! Fuck, fuck, fuckerdifuck,” I gasped, turning back the covers and getting out of bed, grabbing my jeans. “Why didn’t you wake me? I was supposed to have breakfast with Eric and Joey!”

“Relax, Mark… I’m kidding. It’s a little after eight.”

“Jackass,” I mumbled, pulling my foot back out of the jeans.

“I’m sorry… what was that?” he asked, frowning.

“Nothing,” I quickly replied.

“I thought so.”
He dressed himself as I lay back on the bed, rubbing my face.
“I’m done in the bathroom, so if you wanna…”
I nodded and got up again, selecting a few clothes; then I disappeared into the bathroom.

**********

When I got down, about half of the occupants in the chalet were in the living room. Eric and Joey were having a go at breakfast, welcoming me with a slight look of relief because making breakfast for fifteen hungry guys can be a little too much for two guys who still let their mom make their lunchbox.
I said that I would take care of the pancakes and ten minutes later, the first batch was in the pan.
When breakfast was served, we all sat down in the living room, where plans were quickly made to spend yet another day on the slopes.
Since this was the fourth day, and my three day course in the kiddy-class had come to an end, I finally would get to do some real skiing, something I was actually looking forward to. But when I asked if could go along with the more experienced skiers, Eric and Joey among them, their faces told me enough; they weren’t about to play babysitter on me. They wanted to just go and do their thing. So there was nothing left but to see what the beginners from the other chalets were going to do and join them.

When breakfast was done, most of the guys disappeared upstairs to get their stuff, leaving me with all the dirty dishes. I sighed and got to it, piling the plates and taking them to the kitchen. I was up to my elbows in foam when Ross came in, took a dishtowel and helped me in silence. When we were almost done, he asked me if I wanted to join him on one of the easier slopes.

“I have to get back in form anyway and you looked disappointed when the others didn’t want you to come along.”

“It’s okay,” I said, but I was thankful that he asked. “They just don’t wanna be held back by me. I’ll go and see what the others from the kiddy class are up to and join them. I don’t wanna cramp your style.”
He snickered and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. We all had to learn at some point. They just forgot that they were once beginners too. I remember it. Then again, that was only three years ago.”
When I gaped at him, he answered it with a lopsided grin.
“What, you think we’re all born with ski talent? Nah… until three years ago, I hadn’t even seen a ski. So… you wanna go?”

“Sure! If you don’t mind picking me up every five minutes, or steer me clear of trees and such crap.”
He laughed, shaking his head.

“No, I don’t mind. Nine thirty, in front of the house?”
I nodded. He finished the last dish and disappeared upstairs as well.