"Do you plan to continue driving at this speed much longer? Because I'm beginning to think that you are more dangerous than the bear…"

Oops. He was right: it was time to hit the brakes a bit. I slowly slowed down to a much more reasonable speed, relaxed my shoulders, and, for the first time since I'd seen him jump into the car, I looked at my co-driver.

"Oh, my God! You're naked!" I exclaimed, turning back and covering my eyes with my hands.

How could I have forgotten that?!

"The wheel! Don't let go of the wheel!"

Oh, true.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Open your eyes! Do you want to kill us?!"

Oh, yeah, I knew there was something wrong.

"Done, sorry!"

"Whoa! You're dangerous!"

"And you are in the buff!"

"I know that! It's not for fun, you know?!"

I had to look. I wanted to know if he was being sincere or if I had some kind of exhibitionist maniac occupying more than half of the front of my egg-car with his incredibly shapely body.

'Nope, nope, nope. Don't look at that. Not again.'

So I looked at him. Wow… not only was he clearly telling the truth, but he also had the warmest, most comforting eyes I had ever seen. Suddenly, just meeting them, the tension disappeared from my body and was replaced by a strange feeling of peace and, well, another kind of tension.

"So, are you going to tell me what you were doing running naked down the road in the middle of the woods?"

"Uh… no?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

My eyes remained nailed to the front, but my fabulous peripheral vision did not leave out as many details as I had hoped. Was he planning to stay turned toward me the whole time? At least, he could close his legs a little…

"Ugh… I guess you deserve an explanation, huh?"

"I would appreciate it."

"But, before… There is a chance that you lend me something to cover me even a little?

"Hm… Let me think…"

"Don't you have a blanket or a rag or something around here?"

"No. It's summer. What for would I want a blanket collecting dust here?"

The poor man sighed…

"I'd lend you some clothes; obviously, they weren't going to fit you but, at least, you could cover your… you know."

"And, are you going to do it?" he asked fearing how that conversation was going to end.

"No way! Do you know how hard is to organize and close the trunk of this car?"

"Are you serious?!"

"If I open it now it will explode like a clothes bomb and plague the road. Oh! I got it! I have plastic cups in the glove box! Although they are transparent, I think…"

"I'm not going to put it in a cup!"

"Right: it wouldn't fit."

"Hey, how do you know that? How much have you seen?"

"Where did you expect me to look at you while you came running toward me in your birthday suit? To the eyes?"

Suddenly much more aware of his situation, the hunky blond turned forward, closed his legs, rested his elbows on his knees, and covered his face with his hands.

"Don't worry," I told him without being able to avoid bursting out laughing. "I'll ask Olaf to leave you some clothes before you get out of the car. He is much shorter than you, and me, in fact, but he is chubby, so his clothes will be short on you, but you will be able to put them on."

"Sorry, Olaf?"

I turned to the side and saw him turn his face slightly and look at me sideways while most of his face was still hidden by his huge and strong hands.

"He's my friend. I'm on my way to a rural house that he, my sister, and I have rented for this week."

"Wait, hold on. I'm not going anywhere. In fact…" I could sense how he tensed the muscles of his back. "I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me here."

"Here? We are in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, but… there is something very important that I must do."

"What? Do you need to drop a log?"

"What?! No! I need to find Sven."

"Sven? You weren't alone?"

My very naked co-pilot removed his hands from his face and stared at the road with an obvious load of fear and guilt in it.

"He's my dog."

"Your dog? Is he lost?"

"Kind of… I guess it's me, in fact, who is lost."

"What?"

Then, he looked at me again totally blushing, scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, and drew his knees up to his chest. He probably assumed I was going to look at him a lot more from now on.

"I am also staying in a rural house. Well, mine is more like a little cabin. Sven and I didn't need more. The thing is that I am an ornithologist, and I had come to observe the birds in the area."

"The birds…"

"Yes. A moment ago, Sven and I were out for a walk and I heard what sounded like a thrush trilling, so I kept walking, looking up into the treetops for it. However, I did not see where the edge of the path ended and I fell down an embankment."

"Jesus! Are you alright?!"

'Fucking birdies…'

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm okay. But… I was unlucky enough to fall right between a bear and her cubs."

"Ow…"

"Yes. You should never put yourself between them. Bears aren't usually too violent, but a female bear protecting her cubs won't think twice about coming after you."

"Note taken."

"So… when I realized the situation I was in, I ran like crazy and she run after me."

"Then… It was the bear who undressed you?" I asked looking for claw wounds on his exposed skin and actually seeing a bloody wound on his knee.

"No… While I was running, I remembered an article that said that if you throw some clothes at them while they're chasing you it's distracting because it smells like you, so I took off my shirt and dropped it on the ground."

"And, did it work?"

"It did, but only at first. I bought some time, but then she came after me again, so I threw my pants at her and the same thing happened, and then, it was the socks, and in the end, even the underpants."

"Oh."

"And then, finally, I saw the road, and you showed up and saved my life."

"Then… It wasn't the bear who made you bled?"

"Ah, no… this is… it's just that… I've fallen over while taking my underpants off without stopping running," he answered almost at the speed of light.

'Don't laugh, Anna. Sure he doesn't think it is funny.'

"So that's what happened…"

"You can laugh, you know?" he said with a tone that made it clear that he was aware of the ridiculousness of the situation.

"No! No. It was a good idea. Thanks to that you have managed to get out of that."

"Thanks for letting me in, by the way. I forgot to tell you before with the nerves."

"It was nothing," I answered with a smile.

"No, it was something. You didn't need to stop, and I no longer had anything else to throw. I have no doubt that I owe you my life. Is there anything I can do for you?"

'Answer sensibly. This is not the time to remember "Hungry eyes and moving hips".'

"I'll be happy to know your name."

And he smiled, and I felt that that smile was all I ever needed in my life.

"Kristoff. My name's Kristoff."

"I'm Anna."

"Pleasure, Anna."

I had already realized how beautiful his voice was, but hearing my name from his lips made me fear losing control of the wheel.

"You are the one being more dangerous than a bear," I said checking the rearview mirror one last time.

"Sorry?"

"Alright, Kristoff. Do you want me to take you to your cabin and grab some clothes? Maybe Sven is back there."

"I can't get in, actually…"

"Into the cabin?"

"The keys, my wallet, my phone… everything was in the pockets of my pants."

"Ohh… Too bad."

"You tell me."

"Okay, then, we'll do this: We are very close now to the house I was going to. We go there, you get dressed, and we'll go find Sven."

Kristoff thoughtfully lowered his gaze for a few seconds, looked back at the road, and bit his lip, I could tell he was holding back tears.

"Okay. Let's do that. Thank you so much for everything."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Sven is doing fine."

His smile lit me up again and I thought I would melt the seat from the sudden heat that invaded my body.

"C'mon, then! Get ready, sis, I have a surprise for you!"