"Oh, my God!" Nick exclaimed as he quickly climbed out of the hot tub. "Are you okay, Sara?" He looked at Sara's expressionless face. "Sara?" He carefully moved her head to see if there were any open wounds (he felt safe in doing this because her fall did not look like the type that would cause a neck or back injury). There didn't appear to be any open wounds, which meant that Sara either had a closed injury or no injury at all. Nick hoped for the latter. "Sara, please be okay." He grabbed a towel and dried her before carrying her to the bed. "God, Sara. I didn't mean for this to happen. I was just trying to be cute." He stroked the side of her face with his hand and felt as though he were on the verge of tears.
"Gotcha," Sara said as she sat up and began to laugh.
"Wow, Sara. That's really not funny. I thought I hurt you."
"Well, you did. My head does hurt and so does my pride. A wedgie is a private matter, Nick."
"Sara, I don't know whether to be relieved or angry."
"Why not both?" She smiles slyly "You see, Nick, our clothes broke my fall and I was on top of them for some time, so now they're too wet for us to be able to wear them to bed."
"Oh, that's no big deal. Every motel on the planet supplies hair dryers." He walked into the bathroom and looked for the blow dryer. He found it in the cabinet under the wash basin. "It's a bit of a fossil," he announced to Sara, "But my mom still uses a hair dryer that is almost as old as I am." He plugged it in and flipped the power switch. Nothing. "Dammit!"
Sara giggled to herself and then said, "Looks like we're sleeping 'in the buff.'"
"Well, Sara," Nick said as he exited the bathroom, "You're not going to sleep for at least an hour. You bumped your head and, since there is no open wound, we've got to wait and see if there's any swelling."
"But Nick," Sara protested, "I'm sleepy."
"That's a symptom of a possible concussion. God. I hope you don't have a concussion. I don't want to have to explain this in an emergency room."
"Jeez, Nick, you're altruistic," Sara pouted.
Nick looked at Sara, who appeared to actually be upset.
"Sara." He didn't know exactly what to say. He didn't know how much of his feelings he should express to her. "I also hope that you don't have a concussion because I really care about you and I would hate to be responsible for you suffering a serious injury."
Sara smiled. She was glad that Nick admitted that he cared for her.
The warmth from the hot tub began to wear off and the cool nighttime air from the desert wafted in through the open door of their room. This combination caused Sara to shiver.
"Sara," Nick said awkwardly as he scratched behind his ear, "Um…I think it might help you warm up if you took off your damp bathing suit and got under the covers." He turned to step out onto the porch to get another towel. He was also beginning to get cold and he thought that he should try to dry off a bit as well--it would also give Sara some time to get undressed and under the covers without being seen.
Sara recognized Nick's cue and did exactly what she was expected to do to fill the time while Nick was outside.
Nick sifted through the pile of wet clothes. There was water everywhere. What Sara hadn't lain on, Nick had gotten wet when he hopped out of the tub. Even their bags had gotten wet in the ruckus.
He took each article of clothing and found a place to drape it. Whether they got dry in time for bed, he reasoned, they would at least be dry by the time they woke the next morning.
He stood frozen when he saw Sara's underclothes in her bag. He knew that she had undoubtedly packed some, but he was unsure of whether he should get them out. "Don't be an idiot," he mumbled to himself, "They're just clothes."
They were more than that, though. They were Sara's intimates. He pulled them out gently and draped them over the arm of a wicker chair. They were white and very plain. It made him smile. He pictured Sara as his little goddess in white underwear. That , to him, was much sexier than a goddess dressed in red or black. Flashy lingerie, he thought, only attempts to compensate for inadequate sexuality.
When he returned to the room, he saw Sara smiling at him from under the covers that were pulled up to her chin.
"Any warmer?" He asked, returning her smile.
"A little," Sara replied, still slightly shivering. A thought ran through her mind. A sexy urge hit her. She would have ignored it, had she not been so incredibly cold. "You know, Nick," she began. Nick cocked an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. He could tell by her tone that she had something of interest to say. "I recall that on one of my favorite episodes of 'The X-Files,' Mulder brings up the fact that one of the best ways to generate body heat is to crawl naked into a sleeping bag with someone else who is already naked."
Nick's jaw dropped. "Sara," he said unsteadily, "I'm not sure whether I would be comfortable doing that."
"I wouldn't ask you to do it if I weren't so cold." Her teeth chattered a little as she spoke these words.
Nick stepped back out onto the porch to get his towel. He was incredibly nervous as he wrapped it around his waist and then removed his trunks. He was a little relieved to have them off because they were becoming cold and uncomfortable, but he was also apprehensive because he knew that, without the cold against himself, his body would be able to produce an erection.
He returned to the room. "Before you judge me," he began, "I want to first point out that men have certain natural reactions to touching a naked woman--hell, even being aware of the presence of a naked woman. I don't want you to think that I intend--"
"It's okay, Nick," Sara interrupted, "Remember, I'm the one asking you to do this."
He crawled under the edge of the covers, being careful not to raise them high enough to expose Sara's nakedness. He gulped audibly and then removed the towel from his waist. He crept closer to Sara.