Sorry I didn't update last weekend... I was a tad busy being in hospital getting my appendix removed. Yeah... but I'm all good now. :)

Avi heard rattling coming from the other side of the door, and suddenly the door swung inwards. Warm air flowed through the now open doorway and Avi immediately felt himself relax a little. Forcing his tired eyes to focus on the person standing before him, Avi's jaw dropped in awe. Standing in front of him, illuminated by the warm glowing light from inside the cottage, stood an angel! Golden blonde hair, a cute smile, and big beautiful brown eyes stared back at him as he gaped. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing... he was literally being saved by an angel!

---

Kirstie fumbled to unhook the security chain, before unlocking the heavy wooden door and yanking it open. Leaning against the door frame, looking half frozen and on the verge of passing out was the most beautiful man Kirstie had ever laid eyes on. From his neatly trimmed beard, to his perfect features, and when his eyes met hers, wow! His eyes were the most unusual moss green. It felt like Kirstie could get lost in their depths for eternity...

Goosebumps prickling her skin from the cold wind quickly brought Kirstie back to reality. She knew she had to work fast if she was going to save this perfect specimen of man from becoming a human Popsicle.

"Come inside, please, before you freeze to death," the young blonde called to be heard over the howling wind. She reached forward and placed her hand on the strangers back, ushering him inside the cottage.

"Th-thannk y-you," the man mumbled through chattering teeth as he stumbled past Kirstie, who shut the door as soon as he was safely inside. With the door shut tightly, the wind could barely be heard at all, and the only sounds Kirstie could hear were the crackling fire and the chattering of the man's teeth.

"You poor thing," she said taking in the man's hunched, shivering form, his arms wrapped around himself for warmth. "Come over to the fire and warm up, you're freezing!" The man nodded in agreement, and Kirstie helped him stagger towards the fireplace in the centre of the living room.

Stopping right in front of the fireplace, the stranger sunk to his knees on the hardwood floor and held his trembling, gloved hands out in front of him towards the flickering orange flames. Kirstie watched as a faint smile tickled the corners of the man's pale blue tinged lips as the heat of the fire thawed his body and warmed his soul. He looked exhausted. Studying the man's clothes, Kirstie realised that his jacket and beanie... and everything else were damp from the snow...

"Sir," Kirstie came over and kneeled down at his side, placing her hand on his shoulder gently. "Listen, your clothes are still damp from the snow, and we need to get you warmed up so you don't get severe hypothermia," she explained. The guy slowly dragged his gaze away from the flames and nodded slowly, his eyes drifting closed.

"I know you're probably exhausted, and just want to sleep, but we need to get these wet clothes off," Kirstie pleaded with a small smile, hoping he would stay awake long enough to assist her. "Can you do that for me, Sir?"

"A-Avi," the stranger mumbled, shuffling and practically falling sideways until he was sitting on the floor. "M-mm-my name's A-Avi," he stuttered, still shivering visibly as he pulled off his gloves and started to work on his boot laces.

Kirstie smiled. Avi... why did that name sound so familiar? An unusual name, but then there was nothing usual about the handsome creature that was currently sitting in front of her. He was struggling to untie the laces of his boots because his hands were shaking, pale white and most likely numb from the cold. She took pity on him.

"Let me," she offered kindly, making quick work of untying the laces and removing the chunky black boots, setting them off to the side of the fireplace to dry. Avi was shrugging out of his leather jacket when Kirstie turned back towards him, so she took it from him, dragging the drying rack closer to the fire and hanging the heavy jacket up to dry.

The blonde watched as Avi pulled off his beanie, revealing long dark brown curly hair, also damp from the ghastly weather he had been trapped in. Piece by piece, the young man stripped off his wet clothing and handed it to her to hang, finally down to his black skinny jeans and V-neck T-shirt. She bit her bottom lip, taking in the delicious sight of Avi's toned arms and the little bit of chest hair that was peeking out from the neck of his shirt. Kirstie felt a little guilty that she was deriving so much pleasure from Avi's unfortunate situation... she felt her cheeks warming, but silently hoped that Avi would keep going...

"Um, m-my jeans are d-damp t-t-too..." Avi said, his hands pausing where they rested on the waistband of his jeans, before looking up at Kirstie bashfully. He had a pink tinge to his cheeks and tip of his ears, and the blonde girl knew it wasn't from the heat of the fire alone. He was blushing! "Um... do you... h-have... "

"It's okay," Kirstie said, realising that the guy was shy about stripping down to his underwear in front of her. Damn he was cute. Sitting there on the floor with his hair hanging in his face, still trembling slightly from the cold, he looked like a drowned puppy... and Kirstie was definitely a dog person.

"I'm sure I have some oversized sweat pants somewhere that will fit you," she explained in an understanding manner. "Here," Kirstie picked up a thick blue blanket from the couch and offered it to him. "Wrap up in this to keep warm while I go and look for something for you to wear."

As he reached up to accept the blanket, Kirstie's fingers brushed Avi's cold hand, and her eyes widened in shock as she felt a tingle rush through her... like nothing she had ever felt before. Glancing at Avi, he too looked stunned. Had he felt the same tingling sensation that Kirstie had? She felt her own cheeks heating up, and with one last look at the bemused man, she turned and fled toward her bedroom.

---

Avi just sat there on the hard floor in front of the fire, holding the blanket in his hands and blinking repeatedly in bewilderment. What was that?! When their hands touched... Avi swore he had felt a rush of something warm and tingly. Wow. He didn't even know the girls name and already he was imagining that he had feelings for her. Avi shook his head and sighed. She was an angel. A kind, beautiful angel... and way out of his league.

It was the hypothermia screwing with his perception... that's all. He felt warmth from her touch because he was still freezing and she was warm and it was obvious, and logical, and... and nothing magical or anything to do with soul mates or sparks or anything. It was the cold messing with his head. Avi nodded in agreement with his own reasoning. Anyway, the last thing he needed in his life right now was more complications.

Glancing at the doorway the girl had gone through to check that she wasn't watching, Avi stumbled to his feet. Balancing on wobbly legs, he took a second to make sure he wouldn't crash back to the floor, before making quick work of dropping his jeans and wrapping the warm blanket around himself tightly. The blanket smelled of vanilla and strawberries and... something sweet that reminded him of freshly baked gingerbread. Avi grinned, as he nuzzled his bearded face further down into the soft blanket, relieved that it was large enough to successfully preserve his modesty.

It's not that Avi was prudish, it's just that he didn't even know the girl's name, so he really wasn't comfortable with her seeing him in his underwear. He wasn't the most confident guy when it came to body image and he had to admit he had felt a little embarrassed to be undressing in front of such a gorgeous young woman.

Picking up his damp jeans, Avi shuffled over to the drying rack and hung his jeans up to dry with the rest of his clothing. The blanket dragging on the ground as he moved, the bearded man made his way back towards the fireplace and stood in front of it, simply revelling in the pleasant warmth and calming sound of the crackling fire. Avi knew if he got too comfortable he would most likely drift off to sleep, and he wanted to at least have the opportunity to learn the name of the kind-hearted angel that had taken him in and thank her for her kindness.

To be continued...

I appreciate any feedback, so please leave comments. Thanks for reading.