Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I'm watching the Season 6 marathon today...so bittersweet. I'm glad to ease my DC withdrawals, but dreading each episode as things get closer.

"So Michelle, you've been quiet as a church mouse about Colorado!" exclaimed Donna as the waitress brought the group of women their drinks.

"Yeah," piped up Sophia, "You must have had what twenty feet of snow?"

"Forget the snow," griped Dawn, "Give me sand, waves, and palm trees."

Michelle liked this group of friends she had made from her apartment complex, but she really didn't want to share the sordid details with them. Part of her wanted to keep those unbelievable memories close to her heart and away from the judgmental tendencies of the public. There was another voice urging her to scream from the rooftops what an amazing man she had met. "It was good, lots of snow."

"I saw on the weather channel that that area got hit with a horrible blizzard and ice storm. Did you get stuck in it? I was so scared you'd freeze to death on one of your hikes" commented Ashley who was the worrier of the group.

"Yeah, the first storm hit the day after I arrived but blew through quickly. The second one was the doozy. We lost power for several days. Even sleeping in front of the fireplace was cold." She realized she had slipped up but hoped that no one had caught it.

Sophia, the most observant of them all, dashed that hope. "We? We as in all the people around the mountain or we as in 'I hooked up with a local mountain man'?"

"Funny Soph, like Michelle would ever have casual sex with some stranger," chided Dawn.

"Yeah, Dawn is more likely to get laid like that than she is," teased Donna.

"Gee thanks. What the hell would I do without friends like you?" muttered Michelle a little miffed.

"Um hello!" waved Sophia capturing everyone's attention once again. "Michelle you didn't answer my question." She had noticed the smile Michelle always seemed to have so she was really hoping for a juicy romantic story to warm her own nights.

Michelle never was a good liar, so she decided that less would be better than nothing at all. "We as in yeah I met someone. How were your holidays?"

"Oh no girl, you can't just change the subject after drooping something like that in our laps," demanded Donna ordering another round of drinks.

"Fine. There was a mix up with the cabin reservation and it got double booked."

"And!" they all said at once.

"One thing led to another," shrugged Michelle taking a sip.

"You had sex with some random stranger?" the revulsion apparent in Dawn's voice. "He could have been some deranged psychopath."

"But he wasn't" reprimanded Sophia.

"No, it wasn't quite like that. Lisa my old roommate loaned me that cabin right? Well apparently her husband had told his friend Andy that he could use it too, not knowing I was already going to be there," clarified Michelle. "I don't think I would have slept with just any Tom, Dick, or Harry."

Sophia leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, "So did you two do it in bed under an old worn quilt or in front of the fire?" She was going to add a few happy thoughts to her own fantasy file for later.

Michelle smirked, "Both."

"Both! How many times did you two sleep together?" said an astounded Ashley.

"Umm, I didn't really keep count. Christmas Eve to New Year's Day," blushed Michelle.

"Get outta here!" laughed Sophia. "That's a freakin' honeymoon!"

Michelle huffed, "Better than my honeymoon was."

"So…" prodded Donna.

"So?"

"Are you going to see him again? Or was this just a vacation rendezvous? Details woman, details!" ordered Donna.

"We're going to try to get together this summer," smiled Michelle.

Sophia shook her head, "Not good enough. If he's a keeper, he needs to come see you sooner than that chica."

Michelle held her hands out, "He's a fisherman from Alaska. He can't get away until then and I certainly can't take time off my job so-o..."

"A fisherman," sniffed Dawn. White collar was as low as she would date and a man who worked with his hands wasn't even a blip on her radar.

Michelle was offended, "Money isn't everything Dawn."

"Forget her," scoffed Sophia, "I need some juicy details."

Michelle shook her head, "Sorry ladies. That's all you're getting.

~DC~

"Oh yeah! Now that was knarly ride!" Andy yelled over the hailer. "Head's up!" The weather on the Bering Sea had been rough. Another wave crashed over the rail and Andy watched as his crew was swept across the deck. "On your feet Fortner! I'm not picking splinters outta yer ass this season!"

John snatched the hailer out of Andy's hands, "Neither am I!" Mike finally gained his footing and turned to the wheelhouse and good-naturedly flipped them both off. Handing the hailer back Johnathan turned to Andy, "So are you ever gonna tell me about this chick that has you so messed up?"

Andy kept his eyes glued on the churning water, "What do you mean messed up?"

"Look at you! You showed up late and everyone can tell you'd rather be somewhere else. This isn't like you brother." Then John muttered under his breath, "I just hope she's worth it."

Andy heard the barely audible comment and added his own, "She is."

Johnathan crossed his arms and looked over at the captain's chair, "Alright. That's a start. Is she hot? Did…"

Andy glared over at his older brother, "Don't cross that line."

John threw himself down in the co-captains seat, "Tell me something then," he huffed in exasperation. "What's her name? Or is that off limits too?"

Andy cracked a smile, "Her name is Michelle, she's Lisa's old college roommate."

Johnathan smirked then frowned, "Wait. Who's Lisa?"

"Lisa is Chris' wife. She had loaned Michelle the cabin for Christmas and Chris had loaned it to me."

"Oh," John really wanted details, but kept his mouth shut. If Andy was stalking that was a starting point. "So are you going to see her again?"

"That's all you got?"

"Well, no. But you're being so secret agent about it all…"

"We're going to hook up sometime after opi's."

"Sometime?"

"Dude, I don't know when we'll be done. And she's a teacher so she can't just drop everything."

"Where does she live?" maybe some inane questions would be all right.

"Kentucky. Look out fellas!" The boat dipped under the power of the wave.

"Does she wear shoes?" joked Johnathan.

Andy stared pointedly at Johnathan's sock clad feet, "Do you?"

"Bite me."

"Didn't get vaccinated for that," snarked Andy.

John propped his feet up against the window. "You have a chance to look over the Discovery and Geico schedules yet?"

"No, why?" Andy was surprised by the change of subject.

"Geico has us appearing at the Kentucky Motor Speedway, last weekend in April."

"Seriously?" Andy perked up at the thought that he'd at least get to see Michelle briefly then.

"See, this is why you keep me around…"smiled John looking out the window

"Yeah, cause you don't do anything else during opis," smirked Andy.

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