The sasquatch stared at the shop owner for a moment, looked around the store. He was the only other living thing there. There was definitely no sign of the sasquatches he was trailing. They must have moved on.

He was just about to leave, when one of the shelves caught his eye. He lumbered over to it in disbelief.

It was full of miniature sasquatches!

He took one down off the shelf and held it in his large, rough hands. It was very soft and squishy. He was careful not to grip it too hard, in case he hurt it.

“Ook ook,” he greeted it.

The plushie said nothing.

What was wrong with it? It, and all the others, were just sitting there on the shelf, perfectly still. He took another one down, and looked it over. Were they dead? No, they couldn't have been. Their eyes were open, and all of them were smiling.

He gently shook them, trying to wake them up, and to his surprise, one of them spoke.

“I'm a big scary sasquatch! Let's be pals! Huh huh!” it laughed in a crackly, mechanical voice.

The real sasquatch was shocked. It was speaking human language! “Ook ook!” he replied.

This was fantastic. He'd found two new friends. If he was able to form a connection with those hairless sasquatches he was tracking, he'd suddenly be quite popular! He turned and headed for the door, a mini sasquatch in each hand.

“Hey man, what the hell?” asked the cashier, grabbing the sasquatch's arm as he was halfway out the door. The sasquatch jumped in surprise. He didn't hear the hairless sasquatch approach! “You can't just leave without paying for those.”

“Eeee!” the sasquatch screamed. He swung his strong, furry arm against the cashier, striking him in the chest and sending him flying back against the wall. The entire wall trembled, and dozens skis and poles were dislodged from their hanging places, clattering to the floor in a messy heap.

The sasquatch stepped forward cautiously to see if the cashier was still alive. His bare feet were unsteady on the scattered skis.

The man stirred, coughed, and began to get up. “Get the hell outta here!” he shouted.

“Ook ook?” asked the sasquatch uncertainly. He didn't mean to cause this man any harm.

When the sasquatch didn't move, the cashier picked up one of the ski poles as if to use it as a weapon. “You heard me! Get the hell out of my store, or I'm calling the cops!”

Startled, the sasquatch let out a cry of “Eep! Eep! Eep!” and tried to leap backwards. However, the polished, frictionless skis beneath his feet did not provide good traction. As he pushed back with his feet, a ski slipped out from under him, sending him sprawling on the floor. The ski flew through the air...and stabbed the cashier directly in the heart.

The sasquatch pushed himself up and saw what happened. “Eee! Eee!” he cried. He dropped the mini sasquatches and scrambled for the door, confused and shocked.

….........

Getting Chase off the ski lift was a lot easier, and the party found themselves finally skiing the slopes. The trail was pretty easy, very wide with a forgiving grade. It ordinarily would have been a bit tame for the tastes of Flor and the cheerleaders, but Chase was there, and her enthusiasm was infectious. She whooped and cheered the whole way down, celebrating every turn and every burst of speed.

At the bottom, she was breathless, with a huge grin on her face. “Well? What do you think?” asked Alicia, stopping beside her.

“Ski much fast! Much fun!” Chase replied.

They spent the rest of the afternoon trying out the various green circle tracks, and by the time the lifts were shut off for the night they had even worked their way up to a couple of blue squares. All of them were in high spirits as the night fell, and were looking for something to warm them up.

“Alright, time to see if this bad boy works,” said Lindsey, as they stood outside a convenience store near the lodge. They had dropped their skis off at the lodge and slipped into their regular boots.

“What bad boy?” asked Flor.

Lindsey smiled, reached into her purse, and pulled out a very real looking ID.

“'Pauline Atwater. Age 22,'” said Flor, reading it.

“Everybody in Sunnycrest knows me, so I haven't been able to test it out,” said Lindsey eagerly. “I've been saving it for just such an occasion.”

“Would you put that stupid thing away? You're going to get us kicked out of the resort,” protested Caitlin. “You don't even look like a Pauline.”

Lindsey chuckled. “Caitlin, please. You worry too much. I've got this.”

The blonde entered the store. She strolled to the alcohol section as if she was supposed to be there. There wasn't any hard liquor there, so she picked out three six packs.

The other four nervously watched from outside as Lindsey went up to the register and tried to pay. The guy behind the counter gave her license a close examination. He gave it a skeptical frown, then asked Lindsey an angry-looking question.

Lindsey responded with a laugh and a cheerful, pretty grin. She leaned forward onto the counter, made some unnecessary physical contact by touching his hand, and got him to look her in the eye as she answered him.

They conversed back and forth for a tense moment as the others held their breath. The girls saw the cashier turn red at something Lindsey said, laugh awkwardly and look away. Then, he gave her the ID back and accepted her money.

Lindsey walked outside with the alcohol in tow. “Guess what? I got a discount!”

“You're amazing,” said Flor.

They brought their bounty back to the lodge, shed their winter layers, and kicked off a small, but rowdy party. After they each had a couple drinks in them, Lindsey said, “I think it's time for the hot tub, don't you guys?”

“ALRIGHT!” shouted Alicia. “HOT TUB! HOT TUB!”

“Wait, you guys have a hot tub?” asked Flor, shocked.

“Oh yeah, wait'll you see it!” said Lindsey. She grabbed her top from the bottom and peeled it off, tossing it on the floor. Flor glanced at her bra discreetly and looked away, wondering how on Earth she'd lucked into this situation. “Last one in's a yellow yeti!”

“Wait, hold on a second,” said Caitlin. “We discussed this. We don't have swimsuits, remember?”

Lindsey laughed. “We don't need swimsuits! We can just go nude!”

“N-n-nude?!”

Nobody said anything for a minute. Then, Alicia took a big gulp of her drink, and said, cheeks flushed, “Heck, I'm game!”

“Me too!” said Chase. “All see nude in lock room, no diff.”

“Flor?” asked Lindsey.

“Anything I say might spoil this,” Flor replied. Lindsey took that as a yes.

“W-wait,” said Caitlin. “I don't know if...”

“Aw, c'mon, Cait,” said Lindsey. “It's like Chase said, we've all seen it.”

But Flor hadn't seen it. And for some reason, that mattered to Caitlin. Like with Chase, the locker room had made Caitlin used to being seen naked by her peers. But somehow, this was different.

Lindsey stepped outside for a second to start filling the hot tub as Alicia and Chase both began to undress. Still in a state of disbelief, Flor pulled off her ever-present hoodie. All the cheerleaders had secretly been wondering what Flor was hiding under there, and took a look as the hoodie went over her head.

“You know, you have nice proportions, Flor,” commented Alicia.

“Yeah?” asked Flor, tossing the hoodie on the nearest bed. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a skateboard company's faded logo on it.

“Absolutely. You should go without the hoodie every now and then,” said Lindsey.

Alicia asked, “Do you ever, like, go shopping for cute stuff?”

“Eh, not really...” said Flor. “I just wear whatever's comfy.”

Just like she always did with Chase, Alicia was already getting tons of ideas for outfits Flor would look good in. “Aw. Well, if you ever feel like trying out a different style, we should go shopping together sometime,” said Alicia.

Lindsey was first to strip everything off and get outside. “Oh shit, it's cold out here!” she announced. The others heard a splash. “Ahhh, that's more like it.”

When they were ready, Alicia, Chase and Flor joined her outside as a naked group, bringing their drinks with them. Caitlin followed behind, fiddling nervously with her bra as she went.

“Oh!” shouted Chase as she lowered herself in. “Much warm! Water jet and move!”

“Yep, that's what a hot tub's all about,” said Alicia, sitting next to her. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Ahhh, that feels nice.”

Lindsey leaned back and opened her arms wide, resting them on the edge of the tub. “Think we can get one of these in the locker room?” she asked blissfully. She looked up at Caitlin, and said, “C'mon in, Cait, the water's great!”

Caitlin hesitated. She glanced at Flor, and saw the girl wasn't looking. She had her eyes closed in satisfaction, savoring the feel of the hot water. This was Caitlin's chance. Quickly, she finished undressing and climbed into the tub. Only when she was in, her body concealed by the frothing water, did Flor open her eyes. She met Caitlin's gaze, and smiled.

“Flor, thanks for ski and hot tub with!” Chase spoke up loudly, looking a little tipsy. “Did want know Flor more. Date Tor months now but not know much of Tor's friends.”

“Believe me, the pleasure's all mine,” said Flor, trying to keep her eyes on Chase's face.

“So what do you think, Flor? Glad you went skiing today?” teased Lindsey.

“Did I actually go?” asked Flor. “I'm almost positive I'm still in bed and dreaming.”

“Is that so?” asked Lindsey, leaning towards her. “Want me to pinch you?”

Flor yelped and laughed as apparently Lindsey pinched her somewhere underwater. “Ack! H-hey! Stop it!”

….........

They woke up around ten on Sunday, then went down to the lodge's lobby for continental breakfast. The lobby had huge, tall windows, giving it a very open feel. It was gently snowing outside, and had been all night, depositing some fresh powder on the mountain for them all to enjoy. Flor rubbed her forehead as they ate, feeling a bit hung over.

“How do you get hung over from three beers?” asked Alicia, over a bowl of granola. She put a spoonful in her mouth and crunched it.

“I'm a lightweight I guess. I don't drink that much,” said Flor.

“Well, why on Earth not?” asked Lindsey.

“I dunno. I guess I just don't get invited to that many parties,” said Flor.

When they got their skis on and headed out to the mountain, she was still feeling crummy.

Alicia opened the ski map with her mitten-covered hands and looked it over. Snowflakes were alighting on her red hair. “Let's see, which ones haven't we done...”

“Want do black jewel slope now!” shouted Chase eagerly, pointing at the map.

“Are you sure, Chase?” asked Caitlin. “Those are for experts, remember?”

“Am fine at ski now, can do!” insisted Chase.

“I wanna do a black diamond too,” grinned Lindsey. She nudged Alicia with her elbow. “You KNOW you won't be able to leave until we try.”

“Yeah, that's true,” smiled Alicia. She folded up the map and stuffed it in her pocket, her decision made. “Alright, let's do this.”

Flor shook her head. “Sorry, I'm still not feeling that good. You guys go on ahead. Maybe later I'll try one but for right now I'm gonna warm up on some easier stuff.”

“Aw, Flor...” said Alicia. She visibly began to have second thoughts. “We don't want to just leave you alone...”

Caitlin realized this was the chance. “I'll stick with you, Flor,” she said. “I'm not really that excited about the idea of doing a black diamond, myself.”

This solution worked for everyone. Caitlin and Flor got in line at the familiar ski lift they'd frequented yesterday, while Alicia, Chase and Lindsey skied over to a different one, which up until then they'd stayed clear of. It had sort of an ominous feeling to it. Caitlin tried to trace the ski lift cables up the mountain with their eyes, but they were quickly lost in the blur of falling snow.

“They must be crazy. You couldn't get me to go up there,” said Caitlin.

“You could do it, you looked pretty confident on the blue square slopes yesterday,” said Flor.

Caitlin looked at her, then down at the snow. She adjusted her grip on her ski poles. “Hey, Flor? Why didn't you peek at me in the hot tub yesterday?”

“Hmm? Did you want me to?” probed Flor.

A redness filled Caitlin's cheeks. “No. I just thought you'd pounce on the opportunity.”

“It's too early in our relationship for that, Caitlin,” Flor answered. “When I see you naked on our wedding night, it'll be all the better because we waited.”

Caitlin tossed her head back and laughed. “You're such a dork.”