What can I say? I don't like making scenes. However, he did not mind making them at all. In the end, he got frustrated when I refused to take the bait that he had offered and join in the yelling. So he escalated it himself and stormed off, but not before he had called me a desperate, frigid bitch. Yes, that's my loveable, charming, sweet, caring, kind ex-boyfriend, ladies and gentlemen. Don't you just wish you had one of him for yourself?

            What did I do then? I gulped down my drink and then another and returned to talking with my friends. Some of them knew me well enough to change the subject. Others simply continued to gush on about how I could have such patience and dignity that I refused to lower myself to his level. They conveniently forgot that I had been making mean comments behind his back like a spiteful twelve year old, but I saw no need to remind them.

            I also saw no need to correct them. Dignity? They thought I left that encounter with my dignity intact. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who had had a tad bit too much to drink.

            I was mortified, in my own wretched behaviour and in his. How mature was what I did? How juvenile was his tantrum? Either way, it was one of those clichéd messes when someone joins in on some male-bashing and said male appears to hear it.

            That wasn't the first or the last of my mistakes of that night. After such embarrassment, I was no longer in the mood to celebrate the upcoming year. So around ten o'clock, I quietly slipped away from the party after telling the friend I came with that I was leaving. She offered to leave with me, but I refused. She accepted my refusal and assured me that she would catch a ride home with someone else.

            Snowflakes tumbled to the ground in any which order they pleased on their way to the already blanketed ground, but did I stop to think about the weather? No, of course not. I saw the snow and thought, Oh, this looks pretty.

            It did. I loved snow. I was terribly disappointed when it was a green Christmas, so I believed that Mother Nature was making it up to me by snowing now. I should have known better. Mother Nature was never contrite. Nope, she was a vengeful, malicious bitch or at least she chose to be one on tonight of all nights.

             The New Years bash was being held in a rented chalet in the country. Well, not the country exactly. Not the cute-little-farms-and-horse-ranches country, but the  secluded, isolated place with winding, twisting, dirt roads surrounded by acres of huge, looming trees and signs that warned of deer or bear that might be crossing the road.

            It wasn't crowded or well-lit or alive at night like the city. It didn't give you the feeling of safety that city nights gave you either. It wasn't ominously silent and isolated and oh so dark in the city. This place at night would be the prefect setting for a horror movie.

            Of course, when I entered and started up my car, I didn't think of that. That would show foresight and impulsive, rash, stupid people like myself did not have foresight. If I did have foresight, I might have thought to write the directions to the chalet on something better than post-its. As it was, I lost one of the post-its, the second one. I had followed the first; the third was still there, but no second post-it.

            Only God knew how far I had traveled from the chalet, but I miserably turned back around. It looked like I was simply not meant to leave the party. I had only driven for two minutes in the direction of the chalet when I heard a little bell ring once.

            To make my horrible night complete, the car was acting up again. One small little light lit up when it simply was not supposed to. I thought to ignore it and keep on driving. It proved to be a persistent, little pain in my ass for it started blinking. Still, I kept driving. What else could I do?

            That was when the car got really pissed. It was steaming, nope, smoking. Let me tell you something that most of you smart people probably already know. Smoke, coming from the hood of the car, is a bad thing. I, grudgingly, pulled over the car to the side of the road and turned the ignition off. Still, it smoked.

            Call me paranoid, but that did not seem like a particularly healthy thing for a car to do. I simply had seen to many action movies. After a strenuous car chase, one car would always start smoking. The occupants of the car would give each other a panicked look and run out of the car. Then as if timed to, which in movies I suppose it was timed, the car exploded into a fiery ball from hell.

            So taking my cue from Hollywood, I got out of the car as fast as I could. However, much to my relief and acute disappointment, my piece of junk that I passed off as a car did not explode. Of course why would it do a cool thing like that? Alright, I was also thankful, but not overly since it was still smoking. Therefore, I would not get back into the car. At least if it had exploded, the fire would have attracted noticed and people would have come in my aid.

            It also would have provided the warmth necessary to help me survive. But alas, no such luck. I was left to shiver and have my teeth chatter. I was wearing nothing but a blue silk gown and a black duster to go over it. I wasn't wearing much underneath my gown as I had dressed for vanity tonight, not survival. One layer of silk simply was no protection for the freezing temperatures and the biting wind that had begun to pick up.

            It was until that moment that I thought of the eerie silence of the night or how the huge trees blocked out the moonlight, casting me into a world full of shadows. I sidled closer to the car so I was standing in the light given off by the headlights which I had left on.

            It wasn't the smartest idea. It was bad enough that I was trapped in this forest of gloom and was freezing my butt off, but was it necessary to expose myself to all those lurking predators out there by standing in the light and revealing that I was alone and vulnerable and ripe for the picking? I thought not.

            When I said predators, I wasn't just talking about the humans that stalked the night to look for some innocent passerby to be rendered helpless so they could rape, pilfer and leave your lifeless body in a ditch for little furry scavengers to pick away at your body until some other poor passerby stops to take a piss or throw up only to find your mutilated body.

            I was referring to the bears and the deer. Okay, deer didn't eat humans as they were herbivores, but think about all those other fanged beasts that preyed upon deer. If there were deer in the forests, it would only make sense that there were wolves and other monsters out there as well.

            It would be a field day for them. Finding a lost human was like ordering out to wolves. They didn't have to cook or chase down the deer; their meal came to them and only had two feet. Oh, I could run, but how far before they tackled me down and gripped my throat in their sharp, piercing fangs?

            I looked around suspiciously trying to spot any moving shadows and jumping at the slightest rustle of leaves. Considering that it was windy, I was jumping a lot.

            So there I was, in the middle of a dark forest, standing in the spotlight of my headlights, completely out of my element, freezing to my certain death, watching out for hungry, bloodthirsty creatures and jumping over the slightest noise. Yes, I was truly pathetic now. Could I have made a bigger mess out of things?

            I began to worry about frostbite and losing body heat when I heard the gentle roar of an engine. At first, I was elated. My rescue had arrived at last. Or had it? I unconsciously edged out of the light and into the shadows.

            Was it indeed rescue or danger of another kind? The human species was the most deadly. I should have been delighted that my knight in shining armor had arrived, but I had watched too many segments of America's Most Wanted and remained wary. As the car drew closer, I wanted to hide, but I couldn't do that. It might be my only hope of survival. Damn it, why did I get myself into these messes? I was in agony as the car approached.

            "Please don't be a serial killer. Please don't be a serial killer," I chanted under my breath, still edging backward.

            Then to my utter shock, it drove right past me. I decided I was enraged at the reprobate who wouldn't help a fellow human in need on such a night. Before I could let a single curse out, I wasn't beyond making a scene when no one was around, the car stopped. The taillights glowed red as the car began backing up.

            It stopped when it was adjacent to my car. I was further up on the road still standing in the shadows. The driver's window rolled down, but I couldn't see a face. "Isabel?"

            I froze. The serial killer knew my name! I shook my head. No, that was no serial killer. I knew and recognized that voice. It belonged to no one other than Cameron Maitland, my ex-boyfriend's bestfriend. He called out my name again. It was the concern in his voice that had me stepping forward into the light. He backed up the car some more so it was next to me.

            I tried my best to smile and calmly said, "Hello, Cameron."

            "Isabel, what the hell are you doing?" he demanded. He was used to my messes and had even rescued me out of a couple before. He had never liked me much when I was going out with Alex. He never said as much, but I knew and I hated the disapproving way he used to stare at me when I had wound up in one of my messes. I had always found it so disconcerting. He was staring at me like that now.

            I looked at him incredulously. "Oh, well I thought I might stop the car to get out and take a stroll in the middle of nowhere because it is just so pleasant outside." I hadn't been able to stop my teeth from chattering that time.

            He got out of the car and I automatically took a frightened step back. Did I mention he scared me, too? I thought I might have been better off with the serial killer. Give me Ted Bundy over Cameron Maitland any day.

            So unlike Alex, Cameron was the strong silent type, at least with me he was. Other women fawned over him. I understood why. Cameron oozed darkness, sensuality and danger. He was more often than not aloof, mysterious and was a notorious bad boy. Not the kind of man girls brought home to meet their parents. No, he was the one bad girls wanted to get nasty with and good girls wanted to reform. But whether you were a good girl or a bad one, you wanted Cameron Maitland.

            He sent me a look that let me know he knew I was afraid of him and thought me foolish. Okay, so I knew he wasn't likely to hurt me, but I was also vitally aware that he could and I would be helpless to stop him. Another thing he seemed to exude was strength.

            Cameron was tall, with broad shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist. His black hair was forever unruly, but it added to his attraction. He had enigmatic grey eyes that never revealed his thoughts unless he wanted you to know what he was thinking. In his all black tuxedo, he looked like a creature of nocturne out hunting for prey and he found it. He found me.

            It was snowing heavily now. The wind whipped through my hair as well as his. It had also turned his cheeks red. Mine had already gone through that phase and remained pale. "Where are the keys to your car?" he queried as he took off his jacket and placed it around my shaking shoulders.

            "In the car," I replied. I had been too busy scrambling out of a car that I thought was going to explode to worry about the keys. He went to the car to get them. I noticed the car had stopped smoking. He probably thought I was a fool for not staying in the car. He turned off the headlights and locked all the doors. He returned and looked at me expectantly. "Well? Get in the car."

            When I still hadn't moved, he took my arm by the elbow and guided me around his small, two-door sports car and opened the passenger. Again I hesitated. I would be at his complete mercy once I was in his car. As if he read my thoughts, he leaned closer and drawled, "You could get into the car or you could stay here and either freeze to death since you are already halfway to that state or you could wait for another passerby to come along unlikely as it is. Hitchhiking can be dangerous, even deadly. At least, you know me."

            He was right. I sent him a disgruntle look and got into the car. I swear I saw his lips twitch as if he wanted to smile, but didn't. He got into the car and continued to drive towards the city. I glanced at the time and saw I had left the party an hour and a half ago. I had probably been contemplating my doom out there in the cold for roughly about an hour. It had seemed like a couple of minutes and an eternity at the same time, if that made sense. He turned the heat up in an attempt to warm me up. I was grateful. We drove in silence and I closed my eyes as the heat slowly began seeping into my frozen body.

            After a driving for a while, Cameron let out a hiss and the car swerved. I started and my hands went out to prevent myself from lurching with the car. It took me several moments to realize one of my hands was clutching the door handle and the other hand was clutching his thigh. I blushed as I removed my hand from his thigh and more so when he chuckled.

            It was then that I noticed the weather had considerably worsened. The fat, thick snowflakes were being whipped and whirled by the fierce wind causing driving conditions that were next to impossible. It was a wonder that we were still driving and on the road. I couldn't see it. I couldn't see anything except for white.

            "Can you see where we are going?" I queried.

            He let out a short, bitter laugh. "No." It was hardly comforting. Wasn't a knight in shining armor supposed to comfort the distressed damsel? He gave me another side look as if he had heard my thoughts, but said nothing.

            For a brief second the wind whipped the snow out of our path just long enough for Cameron to spot a gas station. The snow then returned to blind us and he had to guess where to make the turn for the gas station. It was a good guess. We only barely clipped the curb.

            "We'll wait until the snow lets up a bit and then continue driving. Stay here," he told me and then left the car to go see if there was a gas station attendant about. I waited and turned the radio on to listen to the news. The reception was horrible, but I could just barely make out what they were saying. It wasn't good.

            Cameron returned in a few minutes and was covered in snow. He settled back into the car and informed her that there was no gas attendant. He looked at her face and asked, "What's wrong?"

            Other than the obvious? I wondered, but told him what the newscaster had reported. "The snow storm is likely to last through the night and wane towards dawn. Driving conditions aren't likely to improve."

            He sat back and deliberated on that for a moment or two. He finally turned to me when he came to a decision. "It looks like we are stranded here for the night."

            "Pretty much," I muttered. I couldn't say I was pleased.

            After another moment, he said, "Isabel, we're going to have to save the battery for the car which means we are going to have to turn the car off."

            That meant the heat would be gone. "Okay," I replied, frowning.

            "There is a blanket in the backseat that we could share," he offered as he turned the engine off.

            I inwardly winced. I did not want to share anything with him, but it made sense. The body was an excellent source of heat and I was still chilled. The thought of us naked, nestled under a blanket sent a sizzle of heat through me that did a better job of thawing me out than the heaters in the car. It was just another reason why I was to remain wary around him.

            Cameron Maitland was dangerous. There was no female out there with an immune system that could protect you from or enable you to resist Cameron Maitland. Mine was pretty close though, or so I hoped it was. The last thing I wanted was to join his fawning fan club. To think that one day I would stare up at him with moon-eyes and adoration for him oozing out of my every pore, it simply wasn't a state I wished to be reduced to.

            He repeated my name and when I turned to face him, he had that knowing look in his eyes. "If you want," he said very softly, "you can have the blanket. We don't need to share and I am hardly cold."

            He was a liar. It was so cold, we could see our breath. He was a horribly, rotten, charming, sweet, thoughtful liar. "No, it is okay," I heard myself saying. "We'll share."

            He smiled slightly as if amused at my begrudging tone. "Alright, give me a second to get settled."

            The car was only a two-door car and so he had to get out, move the driver seat out of the way and climb into the back seat. He wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and sat down. "Okay, climb over the seats into the back."

            "How come you didn't climb over the seats?" I protested. It wasn't exactly the most graceful way to get to the backseat.

            "Because I wouldn't exactly have been able to crawl through that small space now would I? Don't worry, I'll help you," he assured me.

            Though I wasn't exactly assured, I did as I was told. He helped by lifting me up and seating me on his lap. Before I could scramble off, he grabbed a hold of my jacket. "It's wet. You can't wear a wet jacket. How are you ever supposed to warm up?" He was forever the voice of reason. I hated him for pointing out my nonsensical behaviour.

            Moving my limps as if I were a puppet rather than a person, he took off my jacket and his since the jacket he had given me had become damp from the jacket I had been originally been wearing. Confusing? I thought so too.

            So I was stripped down to my silk gown and undergarments, seated on his lap, resting against his chest with his arms and the blanket wrapped around me. Did I worry about this being a mistake or where it would lead to? No. I was too busy concentrating on him, his body to be more specific.

            "God, you really are freezing. How long had you been out there?" he asked.

            "God, you are burning. You are like a furnace," I almost moaned as I snuggled closer to him. Though I'm not sure how I could possibly get closer, I was sitting on the man's lap. I buried my head into the curve of his neck and his arms tightened around me. I mumbled the answer into his neck.

            "An hour!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you stay in your car?"

            "It was smoking."

            "Smoking?"

            I nodded. "I thought it was going to explode."

            He chuckled. "You watch too many movies."

            I must have been delirious because then I told him about everything. That included the bears, wolves and deer, that Mother Nature was a bitch and how I was afraid he was a serial killer. He had chuckled quite a few times as I was relating my thoughts so I knew he was being entertained. I had gotten far too carried away to stop and had blurted out, "Then I saw it was you and wished it had been Ted Bundy instead."

            He tensed and quietly asked, "Why?"

            I realized what I said and had the good grace to blush. "Well, I didn't really prefer him to you, but…"

            "But what?" He lifted my chin up so I would have to look him in the face.

            "But I had made a fool of myself in front of you and the others at the party, made a fool out of myself after leaving the party and you never liked me anyway."

            He raised an eyebrow and looked slightly bewildered. "You didn't make a fool of yourself, well maybe a little, but you made a bigger fool out of Alex. We all know that is in your nature to get into messes and it was probably destined for you to get lost out here in the woods, but why on earth do you think I don't like you?"

            "Well, one because you are a good friend to Alex and in your loyalty to him, you aren't suppose like me. Another reason is even when I was going out with Alex, you never talked to me. The third reason would be you always gave me those disapproving looks when I ended up in one of my messes and then there were other times when you stared at me kind of like you are staring at me now," she finished off, awkwardly.

            He had that enigmatic look in his eyes and she had absolutely no hint to as what he was thinking. "How am I staring at you now?" he queried softly.

            I decided I hated when he talked softly or quietly. It usually meant that he was going to put me in an awkward situation or that he was going to have his way if we were arguing.

            "I don't know how you are staring at me," I stated. "I can't tell what you are thinking, but I assume the worst so I feel you are staring at me as if I am the stupidest woman you have ever met."

            "Don't be silly. I've met plenty of stupid women and you certainly are not in that category," he declared. His gaze instantly warmed up and his grey eyes dimmed to black as his gaze settled and focused on my lips. His eyes flicked to mine and his desire was plain in them before they flicked back to my lips. "Do you still feel stupid now?" Cameron drawled.

            I swallowed. "No, I feel awkward," I replied honestly.

            "Somewhat distressed?" he asked.

            "Maybe," I whispered back.

            A slow, sensual smile appeared on his features. God, I was falling for him. Less than an hour ago, I was cursing his existence and now I was being seduced by him, willingly! Talk about being inconsistent.